Breakfast In Bed

Settling in at Chicago

Sleeping in a new apartment was weird. Even though it contained all of her (and some of Becky's things), the set of rooms still didn't feel like home. Alyssa suspected that feeling would remain unchanged until Becky was with her when FCKC was in town. Still, she did her best to settle in, arranging her bedroom so that is was similar to their one in FCKC. The stuffed rhino that Becky had gotten her from their first visit to Lincoln park zoo was sprayed heavily with the blonde's favorite perfume – it helped the goalkeeper fall asleep. She tossed and turned each night, struggling to fall asleep in the unfamiliar place, eventually giving into sleep between 11 and 1 each night.

"Alyssa! Wake the hell up and come get coffee with us!" Fellow Masshole Steph McCaffrey barged into her new apartment at what she would later learn was 8:00, thanks to spare key she bribed Julie for. Center-back Sam Johnson followed her roommate, wary of waking the sleeping goalkeeper.

Alyssa rolled over, throwing an arm over her eyes as she heard Steph's voice carry down the hallway. She knew that giving JJ her spare key would be a bad idea. The woman could be talked into anything, especially if fighting would keep her from Zach. She had a suspicion that Steph had been planning something – she had been trying all week to get Alyssa to hang out. They hadn't had much free time between team bonding, training, and recovery. Alyssa had focused on unpacking and settling into her new apartment, often opting to stay in and FaceTime Becky rather than go out on the town with her teammates.

"Go away Steph." She groaned, trying to hang on to the remnants of a dream. All she could remember was that she was with her love on a private beach. The sand was white and the water a glistening blue. Palm trees had swayed in the breeze, as had the hammock they had been in.

"Nope. Not happening. You are becoming a hermit again, just like you did last season. Come get coffee with Sammy girl and me." Steph barged into Alyssa's bedroom.

"Girl I have been trying to talk her out of it since she got up this morning. Hoodrat won't budge. Just make this easier for me and come get coffee, please. Hell, I'll buy yours if it makes you get up faster." Sam spoke as she leaned up against the bedroom doorframe.

Alyssa let out a sigh, rubbing her eyes as she forced them open. Grumbling incoherently, she threw her pillow at Steph. The woman got clipped as she tried to dodge it, making Sam laugh. Alyssa was typically a morning person, but the defender would bet that her friend wasn't sleeping all that well after getting to spend much of the offseason with the woman she loves.

"Get out so I can get ready. I'll meet you in the living room." She swung out of bed and stretched, her back joints popping in sequence. Steph flinched at the sound. Alyssa shot her a glare. "Out. Now."
"It's not like we haven't seen it before." Steph scoffed.

"I don't care. I like my privacy. Get out." The keeper strode toward the small forward. Steph quickly backed until she ran into Sam, who cackled.

"Chicken! I told you that you wouldn't be so tough once you woke her up. Come on, let her get ready in peace." Sam grabbed Steph by the arm and hauled her out to chill on Alyssa's couch while the woman got ready.

The goalkeeper took her time getting ready. It felt like she had only been asleep for a moment when Steph woke her up. And she would have loved to go back to the dream of Becky on a beach rather than wake to an empty bed.

It wouldn't last forever. That was what Alyssa kept telling herself as she washed her face and brushed her teeth. One day soon they could either play for the same club, and if that didn't happen, their playing careers would end, and they could settle down. For now, the brunette would adjust to another season apart and focus on the positive. That had been her lover's plea with her before she left – to try to focus on the good and not let the bad weigh her down. So, she would go catch up with two of her close friends. It would probably do her some good to get back into a groove.