After Extra Time
- Reads 29,738
- Votes 120
- Parts 164
Rhea Carpenter and Leah Williamson were never meant to get along. From the first training session at Arsenal, they clashed - sharp tackles, sharper words, and a constant battle for control. Rhea was bold, brilliant, and impossible to ignore. Leah was steady, strategic, and quietly ruthless. They fought like fire and ice.
But somewhere between the bruises and the banter, something shifted.
A glance held too long. A silence that felt safe. A moment off the pitch that neither of them could explain.
Then Rhea disappeared.
Now she's back - older, rawer, and carrying the weight of everything she ran from. And Leah? She's still there. Still watching. Still wondering.
Set in the world of elite women's football, Rhea Carpenter is a story of rivalry turned connection, of identity reclaimed, and of two players learning that sometimes the person who challenges you most... is the one who sees you best.
All Rights Reserved
#66
matildas
Join the largest storytelling communityGet personalized story recommendations, save your favourites to your library, and comment and vote to grow your community.
You may also like
Hearts In The Fast Lane
Leah Williamson is used to pressure. As Arsenal Women's captain and an England legend, she knows how to lead a team, stay composed, and never let anyone past her guard. Samantha Jenkins is a rising star on the track, training for the Olympics with nothing but grit and speed. They meet by accident - a stolen glance across a stadium, a follow on Instagram, a bold message neither of them expects to change everything. What begins as teasing banter and stolen moments soon spirals into something deeper: voice notes at midnight, custom football boots engraved with initials, and a little family who thinks Leah might just be magic. But as the world watches them chase gold, records, and greatness - Leah and Sam have to navigate something far more terrifying than elite sport: falling in love, for real. A slow-burn, sports romance filled with chaos, tenderness, and the kind of love that changes everything - even the finish line.Complete
Hot Off The Press
Leah Williamson doesn't do journalists. To her, they're all the same - relentless, nosey, and willing to twist anything for a headline. She's spent years keeping every reporter at arm's length, never letting any of them see more than the polite smile she wears on camera. Except Amy Perk. Amy is the one exception - the only journalist every footballer seems to love, and the only one Leah can actually stand. Sharp, warm, and annoyingly good at disarming her, Amy has a way of asking the questions Leah never lets anyone close enough to ask. But when Leah becomes entangled in an incident that could derail her career if the press ever finds out, Amy is the last person she should trust - and the only person she wants to. What starts as a cautious friendship begins to blur into something far more dangerous: late-night meetings, stolen glances, and a connection Leah knows could cost them both everything. Now Leah has to decide - protect her secret, or risk it all for the one person she swore she'd never fall for.Complete
Chasing The Impossible
On the pitch, Leah's a rock-Arsenal defender, Lionesses captain, everyone's dependable hero. Off the pitch, her life is just as steady, thanks to her best friend, the one person who's always had her back. And there's only one rule that's ever mattered between them: never get involved with family. But rules feel different when her best friend's sister-just three years younger, newly confident, and somehow... different-starts drifting into her life in ways Leah can't ignore. Their easy friendship turns into late-night talks, unexpected touches, and a connection Leah doesn't know how to name. As the season heats up, so does the tension. Can Leah risk her oldest friendship for the chance at something more? Or will she let love slip through her fingers to keep the peace? 🚨Explicit Content 18+🚨Complete
My Princess - Alessia Russo
What happens when a girl who is hard to love joins arsenal? I guess you're about to find out... Ps don't come at me for anything I'm not trying to do anyone dirty this is all just for fun. Also non of the games in the book are according to actual games played. Tell me what you lot like and things I need opinions expressed what ever your feeling with a comment please and enjoy the book!! *this book is for mature audience there are some triggering things so read with caution*Complete
Spotlight & Silverware
Fresh from captaining England to their historic Euros victory, Leah Williamson should be revelling in the moment. The parades, the interviews, the celebration at Buckingham Palace-she's the face of a nation's triumph, the captain whose name is on everyone's lips. Ashley West has no intention of being there. A rising star on the West End stage, she's been dragged to the Palace celebrations by her best friend Emma, reluctantly swapping rehearsals and quiet evenings for a world of roaring football fans and champagne flutes. She plans to stay at the edges, unseen, until the night is over. Then, by sheer chance, Leah nearly collides with her outside the Palace gates. A tangle of apologies, a shared laugh, and a glance that lingers far too long for two strangers. Leah is captivated-by Ashley's warmth, by her refusal to be dazzled by fame, by the way she feels like a breath of calm in a night full of chaos. As Leah's world hurtles forward in a whirlwind of media demands and Ashley's in the unforgiving spotlight of the stage, they find themselves meeting in the spaces between-late-night conversations, stolen coffees, quiet corners where the rest of the world can't reach them. But with their lives pulling them in opposite directions, can a footballer bound by the pitch and a performer bound by the stage find a way to write a love story that lasts beyond the final whistle?Complete
Can You Hear Me?
At twenty-four, Ellie O'Connell has fought harder than most to make it in football. Partially deaf since childhood, she's spent years learning to read the game in her own way-through instinct, timing, and sheer resilience. Talent has never been her problem; being underestimated always has. When Arsenal offers her the chance of a lifetime, Ellie knows she belongs-but she also knows the Women's Super League spotlight will test every weakness she's worked so hard to hide. Leah Williamson, Arsenal's unshakable captain, doesn't believe in weakness. Stone-faced and disciplined, Leah leads with an iron will, never allowing herself to falter-on or off the pitch. To Ellie, she's everything untouchable: a role model, a wall, a woman impossible to impress. But as the season unfolds, Leah starts to notice the quiet strength behind Ellie's guarded exterior. And Ellie, in turn, discovers that even the toughest leaders have their own cracks, their own silences. What begins as respect grows into something far more dangerous: a slow-burning, impossible-to-ignore connection that threatens to break through every wall they've built. A story of resilience, trust, and the unexpected ways love can be heard-even in the quiet.Complete
Touchline Temptation
When Arsenal legend and club captain Leah Williamson returns from injury ahead of the new season, she's met with an unfamiliar presence in the medical room - the newly appointed physio, a 25-year-old specialist with sharp clinical instincts, a guarded disposition, and a nine-month-old child born from a past she refuses to revisit. What begins as a professional collaboration rooted in recovery protocols and training schedules gradually shifts into something more profound. Leah, typically composed and focused, finds herself increasingly drawn to the quiet resilience and fierce protectiveness behind the physio's eyes. But the physio, still rebuilding after a toxic relationship, keeps her distance - not out of disinterest, but out of fear. In this slow-burn romance set against the backdrop of elite women's football, lines blur between recovery and vulnerability, between guarded professionalism and growing connection. Leah falls first - steadily, quietly, unshakably - but it's the physio who falls harder, discovering in Leah not only safety and stability, but the kind of love she never believed she'd deserve. A story of healing, trust, and the transformative power of love after trauma.Complete
Fake It Till We Make It
Maeve Linton's transfer from Manchester United to Arsenal was supposed to be a fresh start - new city, new teammates, and no unnecessary drama. Two years on, her career is thriving... but her personal life is a mess, thanks to her parents' relentless questions about her love life. In a moment of desperation, Maeve blurts out that she's already seeing someone. And when they press for details, she drags in the only person she trusts enough to fake it with - her best friend and teammate, Leah Williamson. Leah agrees, because that's what best friends do. They hold hands at family dinners, post the occasional carefully-staged photo, and laugh through awkward questions. But the longer they play pretend, the less it feels like acting. Jokes turn into late-night confessions. Staged kisses feel alarmingly real. And suddenly, Maeve and Leah are caught in a game neither of them prepared for. With the season heating up and feelings threatening to derail everything, the two must figure out if they're willing to risk their friendship for something more - or if love, like football, sometimes requires the boldest moves of all.Complete
Leah Williamson is used to pressure. As Arsenal Women's captain and an England legend, she knows how to lead a team, stay composed, and never let anyone past her guard. Samantha Jenkins is a rising star on the track, training for the Olympics with nothing but grit and speed. They meet by accident - a stolen glance across a stadium, a follow on Instagram, a bold message neither of them expects to change everything. What begins as teasing banter and stolen moments soon spirals into something deeper: voice notes at midnight, custom football boots engraved with initials, and a little family who thinks Leah might just be magic. But as the world watches them chase gold, records, and greatness - Leah and Sam have to navigate something far more terrifying than elite sport: falling in love, for real. A slow-burn, sports romance filled with chaos, tenderness, and the kind of love that changes everything - even the finish line.
More detailsContent Guidelines