A Storm Is Brewing

Her Truth

Leah and I found our own balance between being together, her training, my work schedule, and spending time with the team. I hadn't really expected to feel this comfortable here; I thought I would feel awkward by day and safe at night when I was in Leah's arms. The team made us both feel able to be ourselves, though, knowing that we couldn't escape the hotel to go on dates in fear of accidentally showing each other affection and facing the consequences of a country not as clued in on freedom as our own. Plenty of nights, Leah had been whisked away for leadership meetings or media, and I had spent the few hours playing games, watching movies, or telling stories with her teammates.

This night was no different. Leah and I had gone back to our room to get ready for the evening ahead, both tired from our early start. As I exited the bathroom, I stood silently around the corner for a few seconds, listening to the video playing through Leah's phone. I could hear a voiceover of a woman talking about the top wedding venues in London, chuckling to myself at the thought of Leah clearly being down some kind of TikTok wormhole. I made my presence known by moving around the corner, and she quickly clicked her phone closed before widening her eyes as if to say what's so funny.

"Thinking of a career as a wedding planner?" I jibbed.
"I've got to start preparing; I'm not getting any younger."

Wait - for a wedding? Soon?

"For retirement, I mean, Soph." She chuckled.
"Yeah - no - I knew that."
"Unless?"

Fuck.

"I'm joking; we are definitely a long way off that. Stop looking so worried." Leah smiled.
"Yeah - a long way." I returned the smile.

At least I knew where Leah stood; it was clarification after our previous conversation about marriage. It felt strange; we both still had the rings—not on us, obviously, but back home. We were no longer engaged, though; we no longer had a plan to marry one another in everyone else's eyes, just in our own. I would be lying if I said I didn't think of it. Plenty of times I've wanted to scream out at her to just marry me already, but building things back up with Leah was more important to me than rushing her to do too much at one time; rushing her to have the pressure of having to communicate how she was forever. We would grow until we grew into that couple that people cry over at their wedding. I was sure of it.

Leah was pulled away almost as soon as we got downstairs, leaving just Rafa and me to play an intense game of table tennis, one that she was always going to win. She chuckled as I missed almost every shot, only successfully executing my chances when it was my turn to serve.

"Not just a pretty face." Rafa exclaimed as she pretended to model strut from the table to the beanbags.
"I really should get better at sports."
"The England captain's girlfriend becomes an international table tennis superstar." She said in a reporter's voice.
"I'll be her wife by the time I ever learn that skill, Rafa."

I noticed how her eyes went wide and her smile grew significantly as she tried to choke back a laugh with a cough.

"What's so funny?" I huffed.
"You and Leah. You make me laugh."
"How so?"
"She says, oh no, I will wait until she is ready; you probably say, oh, I will wait until Leah is ready. Both of you are waiting for the other person; it's funny. One day you will be 80 and still waiting on the other person to be ready." She chuckled.
"Leah isn't ready yet, though. She told me."
"No." Rafa facepalmed.
"No?" I raised my eyebrows.
"Leah doesn't want to tell you she's ready in case you are not ready. Classic case of loving too much."
"Loving too much?"
"She loves you too much to make you feel pressured, and you love her too much to make her feel pressured. Both of you feel pressured to be the responsible one."
"You talk with such little sense but so much sense at the same time, Rafa." I joked.
"I know, it's my special trick." She chuckled.