Have Hope

39

Y/N POV

The rest of the conference was a blur, though it didn't last very long. I couldn't stop smiling as I felt the material of my new jersey in my hands. I kept looking down at it, reading the name on the back.

It had been my dream since I was five years old to play in the world cup and dawn number one with the name Solo. With all that's happened with my mom, I didn't think I'd ever get the chance. Now here I was, playing in France for the finals, Solo printed in bold letters on the back of my jersey.

The media couldn't get enough of the news about Hope Solo being my mom, asking tons of questions about why no one knew before and all that.

My mom did her best to explain without giving away any personal information, basically just saying that she hadn't felt ready, but had realized how it was hurting me to keep me hidden.

People did ask about her and Kelley since they had had a public relationship, but Hope was quick to dodge them, obviously not ready to say anything.

By the time the press conference had ended, kick off was in less than two hours.

Everyone headed to the locker room to clean their makeup off and get changed into our practice kits. My mom would have to leave before we walked out for kick off since her seat was in the family section, but I was just glad she was there with me.

Once we reached the locker room, out of sight from any reporters, I turned to my mom.

"What made you....?" I asked, motioning to my jersey.

She grinned. "You always said you wanted to play with your name on it. I didn't come up with the idea, though. You've got Alex and Kels to thank for that. I just helped them convince Jill- which wasn't hard, to do make it happen."

I looked over at my girlfriend, who was laughing and dancing around with the mentioned defender. I smiled just as I did every time I saw her.

"You've really got a good one there, Y/n. She loves you more than anything."

I nodded, still looking at her. Alex seemed to have sensed someone's eyes on her and turned, meeting my gaze. She giggled and grinned then turned back to Kelley.

"I know. I still can't believe it. I love her so much."

Hope and I looked back at each other, and I saw nothing but pride in her blue eyes. "You're gonna kick ass tonight, Y/n. I'm so proud of you." She pulled me into a hug, despite it being in front of the entire team. "I love you."

"I love you too, Mom."

She pulled away, fixing my hair. "Alright, you need to get changed so I'll leave you to it. I'll be in the tunnel when you walk out, and I'll see you after the game. Good luck Y/n." She pressed a kiss to my head before waving goodbye to the team, telling everyone good luck, and kissing Kelley.

Then she was gone.

I walked over to Alex and pulled her into a hug. The brunette chuckled, resting her head on my shoulder. "What's this for?"

"Well one, because I love you, and two because I wanted to thank you for this. My mom said that you and Kelley had this idea and helped her convince Jill to make it happen. I really appreciate that, Lex. Thank you so much."

"Of course baby. I know how much this means to you, and I wanted to do something special for you. I'm so glad you like it. And since you asked earlier on the bus, yes, this is why I wasn't with you guys this morning. No, I'm not pregnant, I heard Kelley and Allie trying to spread that rumor." She laughed, shaking her head at her friend's antics.

I chuckled, pulling away before kissing her. "Well as exciting as that might be, I think it's much too early for that, and is definitely something I'm not ready for."

"Yeah, me either. Maybe like when I'm thirty, but now? No."

I nodded in agreement.

"Five minutes left to change guys, then we're out to practice!" Jill called.

"Shit."

I quickly changed into my practice kit, grabbed my gloves and tape, and headed out to the field with the rest of the team.

Mark ran drills for the defenders, while Erica and Dawn ran footwork drills for the mids and forwards. Ash, Alyssa, and I were in goal with Abel, blocking the shots he took while doing ladders and zigzagging in between discs laid out on the field. 

The crowd was growing larger and larger by the minute, and it was said to be a packed house. 

59,186 fans would be here today, and another 1.12 billion would be watching at home, around the world.

It was the biggest international sports even of the year, and my friends and I were right at the center of it all.

Practice ended all too quickly, and soon enough we were back in the locker room, now having changed into our official gameday jerseys. I still couldn't believe I was finally playing as a Solo.

Just before lining up in the tunnel, the captains and Jill gave us all their motivational speeches, then it was time to walk out.

As we left the locker room, Alex came up behind me and whispered in my ear.

"Baby you look so hot in that jersey."

I laughed, shooting her a grin and a wink.

We took our spots, lined up in order, holding the hands of our player escorts. Jill and my mom stood in front of us.

"Good luck guys!" Hope called, waving one last time before leaving to go take her seat.

The opening ceremonies passed by much more quickly than I thought they would, and before I knew it, it was time for kick off. 

The whistle was blown, and the game began.