The two forwards sat staring at each other, both in pain, neither knowing what to say.
"Uhhm, Chris, what happened? I thought everything was good between us. You told us you were sure. Is it us? Did you think there was something that we have been excluding you from? I don't understand what's going on. Please talk to me babes." Alex pleaded, slightly desperate for answers but unwilling to overwhelm the girl.
"I've just been thinking about all of us these past few days. I've been having these hang-ups about us. The distance from each other, the secrecy from the public, the feeling of me intruding on y'all relationship. Its been weighing on my mind and I just have serious doubts about this working," Christen explained almost frantically.
Alex grabbed Christen's hands,"Baby, I need you to look at me." Alex waited patiently as Christen willed herself to look into the pools of blue. She swallowed at the sincerity and love she found shining in those striking eyes.
"Chris, know that im not just spouting some bullshit because I want to have some meaningless fun. This is all from the heart and I know for a fact that the connection all three us have is real. We've been friends for years and yet it doesn't feel like a normal friendship...it never has. I truly believe that you fit into our lives perfectly as our girlfriend. There has always been a tension and as we all have grown closer, my feelings for you have grown to what I now recognize as a deep seated like. I already love you as our friend and I am falling in love with you as our partner. I reiterate that there is no pressure and whatever you decide we will respect. I just don't want you to make any rash decisions because of fleeting emotions or concerns that can easily be rectified."
Alex finished her spiel and waited with bated breath to see the brunette beauty's response. Just before she got a word in, Tobin came strolling into view, clearly trying to figure out what was going on. She sat behind Christen, who was in clear emotional distress, and wrapped her up in her arms. She kissed the side of her head and slowly started rocking them back and forth.
Alex looked at Christen imploringly, quietly hoping their hearts would not be broken tonight, as Christen looked back torn at what she thought was right and what she felt was right.
They sat in silence for a long few minutes before Alex got a bit wound up.
"Alright come on you guys," Alex commanded as she held her hands out for each of them to take.
"Where we going Al?" Tobs asked as she placed her hand in her girlfriends. Christen still sat with her hands on Tobins left forearm that was still around her neck. She waited hesitantly for the answer, not in the mood to get up and be around the general public or the rest of their teammates.
"WE are going to take Chris here on a proper date, and after tonight we will give her space to think, and when she is ready she will tell us where she wants us in her life," Alex stated looking between the two for any possible hang ups about the improptu plans. She got none as she pulled them to their feet and started heading toward the hotel lobby after signaling for the other two to stay there.
Tobs looked at Christen who was still staring after Alex longingly and smiled slowly. She turned and gave the forward a full on hug as she kissed both her cheeks, her forehead, and then patiently waited for Christen to kiss her forehead in return but the kiss never came. She lowered her head so her forehead was even with Christen's lips and lightly whispered, "I'm waiting baby," and of course Christen gave in at the sound of the hoarse voice. Just as she tapped a kiss to her face Tobin came back up and rubbed their noses together and gave her a peck on the lips. It was their thing and Tobin was glad to see that Christen still responded to it.
She felt Christen completely relax in her arms and pretended to not notice as Christen formed a small smile on her face.
Christen knew Tobin didn't have to say much to have her feeling some type of way. Alex's strength was her words, and Tobin's was her actions, all the little things.
They were interrupted by a black Tahoe truck pulling up beside them. Alex hopped out the drivers seat and held the passenger door open for the other two.
"Your carriage awaits my ladies," she said jokingly as she bowed awkwardly. They all laughed as Christen got into the middle of the bench seat with Tobin sitting right next to her. Alex got back in the drivers seat and even though the truck was very spacious, they were bunched together for some odd reason.
She connected her phone to the bluetooth and pressed shuffle play on her R&B playlist. Naked by Ella Mai came on and the couple immediately looked at Christen knowing it was one of her favorite songs at the moment because of how well it fit her. Christen smiled and lightly hummed along to the song.
Tobin laid her head on the forwards shoulder, yearning to be closer to the noise. She closed her eyes listening to the black haired brunette go from humming to actually singing. She actually had a beautiful voice Alex and Tobin both thought.
The song soon ended then Close by Nick Jonas came on and Christen soon fell quiet, realizing how applicable the lyrics were to their situation. She felt Alex keep peeking at her and she turned to meet her head on. They were at a stop loght so Alex continued to stare. Christen sharply tilted her head to the side as if to say 'what?'. Alex smirked at her reaction and puckered her lips to mimic the act of kissing. Christen scrunched her nose while Alex pretend to be heartbroken and they both broke out into giggles.
Christen slid her hand on Alex's knee and left it there for the rest of the drive until Alex told Tobin to cover her eyes.
"Wait why?! I thought this was a regular, normal dinner date why does my eyes have to be covered?" Christen whined as Tobin sat up to follow her girlfriends orders.
"Because Alex rarely does normal, hence how we ended up in this predicament," Tobin chuckled out. Alex started driving again once Tobins hands were covering Christen's eyes.
Christen finally felt the truck stop and felt herself being guided out of the truck. She felt Alex take one of her hands and walk her onto the sidewalk.
"Ok so we decided that our first date should be something you especially would enjoy so here we are," Alex said as Tobin removed her hands. Christen looked up and saw a gigantic poster of a lady with yoga attire holding a wine glass.
"Drunk Yoga?! Oh fuck yes," she yelled excitedly. She didnt drink much but she did enjoy her wine whenever she decided to indulge and don't get her started on yoga.
"Yeah, you like it? Ready to go in?" Tobin asked as she held the gym door open. Christen did this weird shuffle dance in answer and Alex thought 'Wow, how cute'.
A few hours later, Alex escorted two relaxed, tipsy ladies back to the truck. She drove here so she regulated herself to two drinks while the other two probably had around 15 between them.
Alex drove them to ice cream parlor and they all got root beer floats for some reason. They quietly talked on the drive back about pretty much everything. How much retail sucked, the cheapest ways to travel, mental health issues, 6ix9ine snitching on everybody. At some point Christen checked her phone and realized it was way past her bedtime. They had mid day training but she still didn't want to mess up her sleep schedule.
Tobs and Alex knew what that meant and immediately started getting out the truck. They walked to their floor in silence, aware of the very real possibility of this all coming to an end. Christen's room was past both of the other players but they kept walking towards it. As they reached the forwards door they stopped in silence, everyone unwilling to break the little bubble they were in.
Alex and Tobin held open their arms, waiting for a hug. Christen looked at them, then leaned up to give each of them a slow kiss on the lips. "Good night you guys, I will see you tomorrow." She whispered and headed inside her room. She leaned against the door and after a moment, she heard their footsteps heading away from her.
She looked into the darkness of the hotel room and realized that a part of her peace (Tobin) and happiness (Alex) had gone, leaving her feeling kind of lonely and stale despite the fact that she could hear Ashlyn's snores from 8 feet away.
She leaped on the bed and stared at the ceiling. 'Congratulations Christen, you discovered you STILL have it bad. Now lets stop being idiotic and tighten it up, its cuffing season.' She thought to herself as she dozed off.
