Chapter 10
TEN
LILY
NOVEMBER
Oh my god, oh my god. The things Wren Parker could do with her lips.
Lily’s mind went temporarily blank as Wren sucked gently on that spot below her right ear, the sound of the old movie they had been watching on the thrifted VCR playing in the background.
She shifted, her legs still draped across Wren’s lap as Wren’s hand slid up her thigh, pausing before continuing to move up her body.
Since their first kiss last New Year’s Eve, Lily had known Wren was a good kisser.
And somehow she had only gotten better. Wren’s lips found Lily’s again, her fingers playing with the hem of Lily’s shirt, slipping under, brushing fingers up her sides.
“Wren,” she gasped, reaching for her, gently pulling Wren’s hand back. “Isn’t Sydney going to be back soon?”
“Eventually, but we could be quick,” Wren said, hopeful, batting her eyes in the way Lily had a hard time saying no to.
Ever since that afternoon in the basement of her mama’s house, sex seemed to be the thing on the top of Wren’s mind.
It was at the top of Lily’s mind too—how could it not be—but it was starting to feel like the expectation was that every time she and Wren could find alone time together, sex was on the table.
Lily was still trying to figure out a way to bring it up to Wren that that wasn’t what she wanted.
She looked into Wren’s deep green eyes, placing a gentle hand on her chest, the other tucking a dark curl behind her ear.
“I don’t think so,” she said softly, placing a light kiss on the tip of Wren’s nose.
Wren’s lengthy arms wrapped tighter around her, pulling Lily’s body in closer. “Please?” She drew out the word, sticking out her bottom lip in a pout that had a high success rate for getting her what she wanted.
Lily considered her for a moment. She hated saying no to Wren—the guilt of not giving her what she wanted when she easily could gnawed at her.
Lily chewed the bottom of her lip before speaking. “Okay, but only if—” The sound of a key scraping in the lock drew both of their attention as Wren’s roommate and teammate, Sydney Stone, entered the apartment.
Wren groaned, tossing her head back, the waterfall of her dark curls falling over the back of the couch.
“Hey, loser,” Sydney called, a paper bag of groceries in hand. “Get your ass up and come help me with the groceries.”
“Yeah, one sec,” Wren grumbled, swiftly kissing Lily on the cheek before getting to her feet.
Lily popped up too, moving towards the door to help with the groceries.
Sydney turned, bag in hand. “Oh, hi Lily. I didn’t realize you were still here,” she said coolly, handing the grocery bag to her.
Lily fought the urge to roll her eyes. What a fucking Sydney response. “Yup. Still here,” she said sweetly, trying her best to do what she always did and kill Sydney with kindness—the strategy she had been using since Wren and Sydney had signed their lease together last February.
She wasn’t sure why Sydney didn’t like her.
It seemed like no matter what she did to try to win her over, it was no use.
Lily had tried everything, including making her semi-famous sugar cookies and an objectively cute handmade card when her birthday rolled around in June.
But Sydney Stone had a permanent stick up her ass and was, unfortunately, Wren’s best friend, so Lily would keep trying.
She placed the paper bag on the small apartment kitchen counter, then began pulling items from it.
“You don’t have to do that, Lils,” Wren said, holding two paper bags in her hands.
“I don’t mind. Happy to help.”
The front door to the apartment swung shut and a clattering sound drifted to them as Sydney wrangled the cart into the hall closet before joining them in the kitchen, making the small space feel even smaller.
Sydney reached into the bag closest to her, pulling out a six-pack of colorful cans. “I got a new IPA for us to try, Wrenny,” she said in that annoying voice she tended to use with Wren. And Wrenny? Really?
“Oh, cool. The cans are so pretty,” Wren said, hoisting herself up to sit on the counter. Sydney popped one of the cans out of the recycled plastic holder and tossed it to Wren, who nearly dropped it. Wren smiled sheepishly at Lily before pulling the tab and cracking the can open, taking a sip.
“You want one?” Sydney asked, popping another can free and holding it out to Lily.
Lily looked from the can in Sydney’s hand to Wren then back to Sydney.
She had drank with Wren and her friends at the apartment before—it was the first place she had actually gotten kind of drunk.
That evening should have been filed away in her mind as one of those fun core memories, except that Sydney and a few of Wren’s other friends had spent most of the next day making fun of her for being such a lightweight.
“Oh come on, you’re not too good for us, are you?” Sydney pushed, condescension all over her words, wiggling the can in front of her. “Grow up, Lily. Have a beer. It won’t kill you.”
And that was the tipping point where Lily lost her remaining control over her facial expression because the force with which she rolled her eyes could have registered on the Richter scale.
“Thanks, but no thanks,” Lily snapped. “I was about to leave.”
Wren looked at her, confused. “You were? I thought we were getting dinner, you know, because tomorrow is a travel day before the semi-finals and we won’t see each other.”
Lily shot an annoyed look at Wren. “No, I can’t get dinner. I forgot I’m supposed to help my mom drop her car off at the mechanic,” she lied. The mechanic? Really? Could she honestly not think of any other believable excuse?
Wren, still looking puzzled, hopped off the counter. “Oh, okay, well, let me take you to the ferry then.”
Sydney laughed, cracking open the can she had offered to Lily, taking a drawn-out sip. “See you around, Gallagher.” She smirked.
Lily grabbed her things off the couch, slipping into her sneakers and raincoat, Wren doing the same. Out on the street, they pulled their hoods up, shielding themselves from the gentle mist that had been falling all day.
The ferry terminal was a five-minute walk and a fifteen-minute bus ride from Wren’s apartment. And for those first five minutes, they walked in silence.
When they arrived at the bus stop, Lily pulled out her phone to check when the next bus would arrive. Ten minutes.
“I kind of get the feeling that you’re mad at me,” Wren said, looking down at her feet. “Whatever I did, I’m sorry.”
Wren had a habit of giving preemptive blanket apologies. It both broke Lily’s heart that Wren felt the need to apologize for everything and infuriated her that she struggled to identify what actually needed an apology.
“What was that in the kitchen with Sydney?” Lily asked, crossing her arms, looking up at Wren.
“What do you mean?”
“Why did you let her talk to me like that? You didn’t even say anything.” The hurt in her words hung between them as Wren shifted uncomfortably, still not speaking. “And since when are you drinking on weeknights?” Lily added, annoyance replacing her hurt.
“That’s just Sydney, Lil. You know how she can be. She’s kind of a bitch to everyone. Eventually, you sort of tune that part of her personality out.” Wren shrugged, flexing her hands before balling them into fists and shoving them in her pockets.
“That’s not an answer, Wren, that’s an excuse.” Lily cocked her head to the side, her long blond ponytail slipping out from under her hood. “And what about the drinking?”
“Lily, c’mon.” There it was, that adorable lopsided smile pulling at the corners of Wren’s mouth. “It’s not a big deal. Syd and I have just been having fun trying some different IPAs. It’s like one beer a week, max.”
Lily eyed Wren closely, searching for anything hidden behind her words, but she came up empty-handed. Her shoulders relaxed as she let her guard down.
“In the future, when Sydney’s being a bitch to me, can you just, like, say something to her?”
“Yeah, of course,” Wren agreed nervously, reaching out to wrap her arms around Lily.
Lily welcomed the gesture, sinking into Wren’s gangly embrace as the bus rounded the corner. “You don’t have to take me all the way to the ferry,” she muttered into the fabric of Wren’s coat.
Wren pressed her lips to Lily’s forehead, making her smile as the warmth of the kiss spread throughout her body. “What if I want to?”
“Fine. I’ll allow it.” Lily grinned, leaning back.
“Good, because I want as much time with you as I can get. You’re my good luck charm, and if we’re going to win the semi-finals against Minneapolis, I need to soak up as much of you as I can get,” Wren said as the purple city bus pulled up in front of them, hissing to a stop before opening its doors.
Not only did Wren’s team go on to win their game against Minneapolis FC, but Wren also came out the hero when the entire game came down to penalty kicks.
Wren scored the game-deciding goal, advancing Puget Sound Pride on to the championship match, where they would be facing off against Nell’s team, the Philadelphia Freedom.
Lily was ecstatic for Wren. She understood what it meant to dedicate your life to sport and the incredible feeling of being at the top of your game—something she currently couldn’t feel further from herself, but still, she was happy for Wren.
Watching her succeed felt like succeeding herself, and she couldn’t be prouder.
The following weekend, Lily, her mom, and Nell arrived at the stadium where the NWSL championship game was taking place. Nell handed them their VIP stadium credentials as they headed into the venue.
“So what’s this big surprise Wren’s been going on about?” her mom asked as they each stepped through the security checkpoint.