ғᴏᴏᴛsᴛᴇᴘs | ᴋᴍ ✔︎

Thorn in Action

"But you know that I'd rather run away with you
Forget about the things that we gotta do
Oh I would rather be at home with you right now."
- The Aces

It was routine. Cody would go for a morning run with Blue, come back, get maybe two sips of water before her mom would call. After the call she would shower, feed Blue and then head to practice. She would then shower at home, get something to eat and call Kristie. When that was all done, she had the rest of the night to herself.

It didn't bother Cody, she liked having a routine.

"You guys are doing great, We've made sure to watch every game." Cody grinned, not missing the confusion on Alex's face.

"We?"

"Yeah, Hope and I. Sometimes Kling joins us--"

"Kling? Did she find my snacks?" Tobin demanded, the urgency in her voice screamed 'this is important' despite the trivial topic.

"No. Not for her lack of trying, though."

"Did you--"

"Yeah, I move them everytime she comes over, she'll never find them." Cody chuckles. "How are things anyway?"

"All good here." Alex smiles before Tobin nudges her with her elbow. "We have something to tell you."

There was a silence. That silence was different for each end of the call. For Alex and Tobin it was crackling with excitement and happiness. For Cody it was suffocating, the anticipation of bad news.

"Well?" Cody prodded through gritted teeth. "Are you going to tell me or just keep looking at me like that?"

"We've set a date."

"Finally!" The younger morning grinned. "I thought you were just gonna be one of those couples that remains engaged for the rest of their lives."

"Very funny. There's something else." Alex smiles. "It's good news.

_______________________________________________

"That's exciting, right?" Kling asks as she passes the ball back to Cody, the two already finished their warm ups for the friendly game.

"It is. I'm glad they're getting closer to tying the knot." 

"You don't sound excited..." The short defender frowns. "Do you not want them to--"

"I do, I do and I am excited, I'm just nervous to get back to playing." Cody sighs. "I've not been this nervous since my State Championship game and...I don't even remember that."

"You got this. Don't worry."

Kling left Cody with Smith and Weaver, the two taking shots at Britt until Mark called the team back to the locker room.

"You all know your roles and what to expect. Remember, it's a friendly, lets not have any bad tackles out there. It's about gaining match fitness and getting familiar with one another. Lets go out there and get a win." Mark finished his seemingly impromptu speech.

The team rose from the seats, leaving the room one after the other. The subs make their way straight to the bench as the starters line up beside their counterparts, a small club visiting from Canada. 

"You got this." Kling asked Cody, patting her shoulder as she walked to the front of the line, being the captain for the day.

It was a Thorns team made up of those not at the Olympics - mainly rookies, those returning from injury, or those forgotten by their National team.

The pressure was off for Cody. The game wasn't being shown on TV anywhere, and Mark was trying a new system so the Morgan woman was up top with Sophia. It had been a while since she had seen her fellow American, if she was being honest the last time she remembered seeing Smith, she was busy swapping spit with Jack while Cody and Tara sat awkwardly at the side. 

That was a lifetime ago.

"She's right." Sophia smiled. "We do got this."

"Never thought we'd be on the same team." Cody shrugged. "You know...when your tongue was in my best friend's m--"

"Yeah, I get it." Smith quickly cut her off, leaving Cody a few steps behind her as she sets a foot on the ball, waiting the referee.

"Just checking." Cody chuckled, stretching one last time before the whistle went. "How is Tara?"

"I was hoping you would forget about the entire thing." Cody could hear Sophia mumble quietly. "She's fine, can we stop talking about this?"

"Sure. For now." Cody smiled at her teammate as the referee put the whistle to his lips. 

Portland Thorns matchday report.

'It was a great day for the Thorns and anyone watching in the stadium as the team stormed their way to a 3-0 victory thanks to goals from Sophia Smith, Cody Morgan and Tyler Lussi.

Mark Parsons set his team up to play free, forward flowing soccer and they did just that. With many of the stars of the team away for the Olympics, it was a chance for the lesser used players to step up, and step up they did. With the guidance of veteran captain, Meghan Klingenberg, the young team managed to ease to the victory.

The question now is what happens to the younger players who displayed so much potential in this game when the first team comes back from the Olympics?'

"Hey! Cody scored!" Jack yells across the conference hall that the US team is using. The news is met with cheers, and a wide grin from Alex. "And...Sophia Smith...why does that sound familiar?"

"Someone you know?" Mal smirks, as if knowing something that Jack doesn't. It rubs the Carter woman the wrong way, as well as Christen but she tries to hide that.

"I don't think so." Jack shrugs, dismissing the name and turning her attention back to her coffee.

"You really don't remember?" Kelley whispers, leaning close to Jack so that nobody else hears.

"Remember what?" The blonde asked, glancing around at everyone at the table to see that no one was paying attention to them.

"She was the one you went on a double date with, Cody was with her friend." Kelley patted her daughter's shoulder. "If memory serves well, it ended very, very well."

And just like that, the memory played back in Jack's mind. Cody. Sophia. Tara. A lot of tongue. As the image of her making out with Sophia plays in her mind, Jack chokes on her coffee, she coughs as the hot liquid impacts back into the cup before jumping out its confinement and landing over the table and Jack's lap.

"What the hell happened?" Alex asked, ignoring the laughter from Kelley and focusing on her daughter's best friend.

"Nothing. Nothing. I'm good." Jack coughs again, taking the napkins Christen hands her and wiping her face and patting down her lap. "I need to change."

A/N - Nearing the end of Book II, what a ride!