Chapter 13
CHAPTER
THIRTEEN
WREN
They won. They had actually pulled it off, and on top of that, Wren had scored again.
She felt like she could fly when the referee blew the final whistle.
The whole team was ecstatic. She could feel the energy all but visibly vibrating off her teammates.
After their first game, many of the older players had walked along the walls of the field and signed autographs for fans.
Wren had joined them for a short time, but not many spectators had known who she was yet.
So, while fans had readily accepted her autograph and had asked for photos with her, there hadn’t been anyone there for her.
But now, after their second match, as she looked out into the crowd, her breath caught in her throat.
There were more than a few Wren Eames signs.
People had been holding signs up with her name on them.
She swallowed back her emotions—caught up with the thrill of their come-from-behind victory and the fact that she had actual fans who were there for her—and jogged over to the team bench.
Courtney was passing out markers to everyone while Coach Jameson did his best to hold their attention, despite the entire team’s energy being at an all-time high.
Wren slid into the huddle next to Rebecca, letting their shoulders bump together.
She threw her teammate an excited smile as she did her best to concentrate on what their coach had to say.
She couldn’t focus though, despite her best efforts.
Her eyes were still zipping through the stadium, overwhelmed by all the young people who had come to watch them play, stunned by all the rainbow flags being used as capes, and the way the fans were happily chatting with each other as they waited hopefully for their favorite players to come through and sign stuff for them.
It hadn’t truly sunk in after their first match, the sheer number of fans who had come to watch them play.
As soon as Coach Jameson dismissed them, she grabbed Rebecca’s arm, just above her elbow.
Wren had noticed that after the first game, Rebecca hadn’t stayed to sign anything.
But not only were there Wren Eames signs, there were Becky Rothschild signs, too.
Wren nodded up towards the stands. “Come on. Let’s go sign autographs for our fans.
” She emphasized the word, wanting to make sure that Rebecca knew that she had fans, too.
When Wren turned her attention back to Rebecca, she found those intense hazel eyes staring intently down at her.
Sweat still dripped down the sides of Rebecca’s face.
Her freckles practically sparkled under the fluorescent lights of the stadium.
Wren forgot how to breathe. They were only recently friends, they were definitely coworkers, and they had literally just told their coaches that there was nothing going on between them.
This was just the high from the game and the thrill of having fans.
It had to be. Wren absolutely should not be looking at the freckle that kissed the top of Rebecca’s upper lip, just to the left of the bow.
Wren felt her grip tighten on Rebecca’s arm as if she had no control over her own actions.
She blinked suddenly and stepped back a half step, letting go of Rebecca’s arm as she did so.
Perhaps more startling than the desire that had curled in the pit of her stomach in a matter of seconds was that Wren hadn’t been alone in her moment of whatever that had been.
She wouldn’t call it a weakness. She didn’t feel weak for thinking Rebecca Rothschild was hot.
It was, however, definitely a moment of disaster.
And something she absolutely could not act on.
Neither of them could. They had signed contracts.
Coach Jameson was already tired of their shit.
This had to stop and fast because Rebecca was absolutely staring at her like she was strongly considering devouring Wren right here in the middle of the field.
Wren pointedly looked over Rebecca’s shoulder, back towards the crowd. The crowd who was, without a doubt, watching them and snapping photos of their every movement. “Autographs?” She said, her voice soundly entirely unlike her own.
Rebecca nodded as she licked her lips and shook her head a little bit, like she was physically shaking herself out of whatever had just passed between them. “Yeah, autographs.”
“Come on,” Wren said, forcing all of her attention back to the crowd. “I see our names on some signs over there.”
Their names were in fact on several signs, a few signs had their names on them together. One even said, “Wren + Becky = Wrecky.” Wren stared at it and then looked up at the young woman holding it.
“Is this a thing?” Wren asked, pointing at the sign.
The fan blushed and nodded, maybe a little embarrassed to have actually been noticed by one of the players she clearly admired. If Wren had to guess, the girl was probably in her early to middle teens. Younger than Barbara, but not by much.
Wren threw her head back with a loud laugh. “Hey, Re- um, Becky?” She called out, getting Rebecca’s attention from down the line. They had stayed fairly close together but had put a big enough gap in between themselves that fans had their attention individually.
“Yeah?” Rebecca called back, looking up from the sign she was writing on.
Wren pointed at the poster. “We have a ship name.”
“What’s a ship name?” Rebecca asked, though her tone suggested she really wanted to ask “What are you on about?”
“Can I have this for a second?” Wren asked the fan who had made the sign.
The girl’s eyes widened. “Yeah, of—of course.”
Wren took the sign and held it up for Rebecca to see. She watched as Rebecca’s gaze sharpened on the words. Fortunately, Rebecca seemed to find it as funny as Wren did. “Give me a minute,” Rebecca called out as she quickly scribbled on a few more posters and jerseys near where she was standing.
When she wrapped up that section of fans, Rebecca jogged over to where Wren was waiting. “Okay. Explain this to me.”
“Oh, because of the rumors about us,” Wren said, pointing. “Like Bennifer or Brangelina. We have a couple name. The fans ‘ship’ us.”
“Wrecky, though?” Rebecca asked. She looked up at the fan who had brought the sign. “Do people really use this?”
The girl nodded, clearly floored that she had gotten this much attention. “Y’all are trending on most social media platforms.”
Wren bit back another laugh. It was too funny not to.
But Rebecca looked shell-shocked, and Wren didn’t want to make it worse.
She nudged Rebecca’s arm. “Well, let’s give the fans what they want.
” She signed over her name and held the poster steady for Rebecca to do the same.
“Come on, Becky. Positive media,” Wren said quietly enough that the fans wouldn’t have heard her.
Rebecca handed the sign back to the young fan.
“Um,” the fan started. “You helped me come out.”
Wren and Rebecca both froze. Wren recovered faster. “What was that?” She asked, wanting to make sure she’d heard the girl properly.
The young girl nodded and pointed to the rainbow flag that was round her neck.
She was one of the many using the flag as a cape.
She then turned back and looked at an older adult, someone who she bore resemblance to, probably her mom, if Wren had to guess.
“My mom went to LAU,” the girl said to Wren.
“We watched your games a lot. When you did that ad for queer athletes, I showed my mom. It um, it helped me come out.”
Wren’s eyes watered. She looked to Rebecca for support, finding her equally as emotional.
All of the shit she had been through over the past few weeks was suddenly ripped into perspective.
Did she like getting called a cheater? No.
But was her being a public figure and true to herself helping people?
Apparently, yes. Suddenly, the good vastly outweighed the bad.
Just by being herself, she’d actually helped someone.
Rebecca cleared her throat. “Do you want to get a picture with us? Maybe with your mom, too?”
The girl’s eyes widened. “Yeah.” She turned. “Hey, Mom,” she called, waving her mom down. Her mom came down the steps of the arena quickly. “Can we get a group photo with them?”
The mom nodded. She looked genuinely excited for her daughter, and it warmed Wren’s heart in a way she couldn’t explain.
“Can I hold your flag for it?” Rebecca asked the fan.
And Wren’s heart rate soared. The fan rushed to give Rebecca the flag that was tied around her neck. Rebecca had been outed just a few weeks ago and here she was, holding a pride flag—in a photo with Wren, no less.
“Alright,” Rebecca said, fully in charge of the exchange now. “You hold your sign. We’ll hold the flag. We just need…”
But Wren was already on it. She had already motioned Morgan over. “Can you take our picture?”
Morgan was more than happy to oblige. She took the fan’s phone and backed up enough to get them all in the frame. Wren made sure to center the fan and her mom. This was their moment.
“I took several,” Morgan said as she handed the phone back to the fan.
“Tag us in that, yeah?” Wren asked as Rebecca handed the flag back.
Rebecca nodded in agreement. “Yeah, please? I’m proud of that.”
As they gathered up their things after signing more autographs, Rebecca leaned over, speaking quietly enough that none of their teammates could hear her. “You really don’t think we’ll get in trouble for that photo, do you?”
Wren thought about it for a second before shaking her head.
“No, the coaches don’t want bad press. They didn’t say anything to me about Andy’s post. I don’t think they would say anything about this, either.
And if they do, we can just tell them the truth, being out and proud helped a fan come out.
That’s bigger than soccer. And at least to me, moments like that make everything else worth it. ”