Driving Force

chapter 43

"Jessie. Would you want to go out to dinner tonight?" I ask her as I lay in her dorm room bed alongside her.

"I would love that, bubba." Jessie smiles and looks up from leaning on me.

"I've missed you. I've missed us." I stroke her hair out of her face. "I'm sorry for the person I was the past few weeks. I know you and the others were just looking out for me. I see that now. Cameron recommended her therapist and I am slowly working on myself and my emotions."

"You don't have to apologize. Grief is one of those things everyone has their own ways of dealing with. You could have continued to push me and the others away but we weren't going anywhere. I wouldn't leave you." Jessie promises me.

I nod at her statement before turning my attention back to the TV. "What do you have planned after college?"

"I was thinking about drafting into the NWSL but I also was talking to other players on the national team which opened the discussion to play in the WSL."

"Europe?" I pause and clarify.

"Yes. There is a different atmosphere and dynamic playing overseas. I feel as though I can grow more signing with a team over there."

"So... You already kind of thought it through," I ask as reality set in that our already long-distance relationship is now going to include a time zone difference. Feeling my hesitation, Jessie gets up from my chest and sits to face me.

"Kind of... But Madi, I still want us to be together."

"I don't know..."

"Don't know about us being together?" My silence instills fear in her face but I quickly shake my head.

"I don't know my future. I would love to be with you and I want to be with you. I just never really planned out the next steps of my career."

"You have a lot of options. D1 College? NWSL? WSL? Anywhere overseas?" Jessie smiles and counts off.

"It's not just options though. They directly correlate with my career and future. One decision can change the path I am on."

"I understand that, completely. Regardless, we should continue talking about it and you can ask others to get an idea of different approaches in their career. I support you no matter what choice you choose."

Feeling the genuineness in her voice makes me smile as I place a kiss on her lips. "Thank you. Now let's get ready for dinner. I am starving." I pat her head before hopping off the bed.

"Where are you taking us?"

"A surprise."

"Now, Madi, you and surprises don't have a good history." She reminds me making me give her the stank eye before caving and laughing.

"Well, it will be a great and worthwhile surprise if you are hungry. Are you hungry?" I question completely forgetting I didn't even know if she was ready to eat.

"Not really, but I know a couple of things I can do with you to work up an appetite," She smirks before standing up and tugging my shirt to pull me to her. Our breaths in each other's faces and before I can react, she cups my cheek with her hand and locks our lips together before making her way to my neck and proceeds to work her way down.

I let out a soft moan, feeling the heat rising between us. I wrap my arms around her waist and pull her closer, deepening the kiss. It's been too long since we've been this close, and I'm not about to let this moment go to waste.

But as much as I want to continue, I reluctantly pull away. "As much as I'd love to stay here with you, we have reservations to keep," I remind her with a smirk.

Jessie pouts, but eventually relents. "Fine, let's go then," she says, taking my hand as we head out of her dorm room and down the stairs.

As we make our way to the restaurant, we talk about everything and nothing, catching up on each other's lives. It feels good to be able to talk to her like this again, to feel like we're on the same page.

When we finally arrive at the restaurant, I can see the surprise and excitement in Jessie's eyes. "Wow, Madi, this place looks amazing!" she exclaims as we enter the dimly lit room.

I can't help but feel proud of myself as I lead her to our table. As we sit down and look at the menu, I can feel the tension between us easing, the weight of the past few weeks lifting off of my shoulders.

As the night wears on, we finish our meal and pay the bill. I take Jessie's hand in mine as we step outside into the cool night air. "Thanks for tonight," I say, looking down at her with a smile.

"Anytime, bubba," she replies, leaning up to give me a kiss on the cheek. "I love you."

"I love you too," I say, feeling my heart swell with affection.

As we walk back to her dorm room, hand in hand, I know that whatever the future holds, I'll face it with Jessie by my side. And that's all I need to know.

...................................

As I step onto the field for the Women's Super League match between Chelsea and our rivals, my eyes are drawn to Jessie. We've been playing together for years now, and there's an unspoken bond between us that goes beyond just being teammates.

As we play, I can feel the electricity between us. We move together like a well-choreographed dance, passing the ball back and forth with ease. It's like we can read each other's minds, anticipating each other's next move with precision. The entire team, staff, and fans could see how well we complemented each other on the field.

We even end up scoring the winning goal. Feeling an overwhelming sense of pride and joy, not just for the team, but also for Jessie as she racks up goals this season. We share a quick hug, and I can feel her heart racing against mine.

"Great job, bubba." I whisper in her ear.

Later, as we walk back to the locker room, our hands find each other's, fingers lacing together in a comfortable grip. We don't need to say anything to each other, as our love is communicated through our touch.

As we sit together in a quiet corner of the locker room, I watch Jessie with admiration. She's an incredible player, but she's also an incredible person. Memories flash of when she was just a Canadian player helping me with homework and then progressing to helping me recover from my head injury to now being my wife. We talk about the game, but mostly we just sit in comfortable silence, enjoying each other's company, and decompressing.

"Great job out there," I say, breaking the silence.

Jessie looks up at me, a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips. "Thanks. You were pretty amazing yourself," she replies.

I feel my cheeks flush at her compliment as if she were a high school crush. "I couldn't have done it without you," I say, squeezing her hand.

Jessie's smile widens, and she leans in to press a quick kiss to my cheek. "You're always the one who has my back out there," she says softly.

I feel my heart swell with affection for her. "I always will," I reply, my voice filled with conviction.

THE END

AN

Well folks, thank you for coming along this journey. I wanted to give you guys closure for this book and not leave it uncompleted (even though it's a bit rushed). I cannot thank each of you and this fandom enough for your support. I will always be here if you ever need anything. Don't hesitate to reach out. As for USWNT fanfics, I believe this is the last one I will write. I am headed off to medical school so that's that. Thank you all, again. You have no idea the impact you've made on me. 

Godspeed. 

~AK