Chapter 28
CHAPTER
TWENTY-EIGHT
BECKY
Becky really hadn’t known what to expect when it came to long-distance dating Wren—especially after everything that had happened before—but she certainly hadn’t expected for it to feel so easy.
She absolutely missed Wren. She missed sleeping wrapped up in each others’ arms and the quiet comfort that came from sharing a space with her, but Wren was a surprisingly good communicator.
Every single morning they’d been apart, Becky had woken up to a text from her. It was always something sweet and flirty, and even more impressive—unique. Becky never woke up to the same message twice. The first one had been sent just after midnight.
Wren Eames (12:13 AM): You wake up too early and you’re three hours ahead of me. So, I’m just going to send this now: Good morning, Rebecca, I hope your day is amazing.
Becky had responded right after she had woken up.
Becky Rothschild (5:03 AM): Good morning, Wrengalina. I liked waking up to this. Not quite as much as I like waking up to your grumpy ass.
Becky Rothschild (5:04 AM): I hope you have an amazing day, too.
And every morning after had been started the same way. A cute message from Wren and a massive smile on her face. Today had been no exception.
Wren Eames (12:32 AM): I miss you. Like emo high school kid miss you.
I’m really glad I get to see you in three days even if it is to play against you.
It’s probably too sappy to say, but I can send you the schematics of BMO Stadium if it meant you could figure out a way for us to kiss without getting caught.
And that had sparked an idea in Becky’s mind that she just couldn’t let go.
Should she have texted Wren to make sure it was okay she came early?
Probably. But this was a good idea. She knew it was.
They had texted each other how much they missed each other every day for three brutally long weeks.
And while they had absolutely perfected the art of phone sex, that only carried so far.
Becky wanted a kiss and a good night’s sleep.
And annoyingly enough, it seemed she needed Wren’s body heat to achieve the latter, and she definitely needed Wren’s lips for the former.
Suitcase in one hand and a bouquet of flowers in the other, Becky climbed the steps to Wren’s second floor apartment.
She and Wren had started mailing each other postcards from all their away matches, so she’d had her address for a few weeks.
When she made it to the top of the stairs, she took a deep breath.
This was a good idea. Wren was going to love it. She knocked on Wren’s door and waited.
Wren pulled the door open just wide enough to get a look at who would be knocking on her door this late at night. She frowned before her eyes widened in shock. “Rebecca?” She asked, quickly shutting the door so she could undo the chain security lock.
“Hey,” Rebecca said when Wren got the door opened all the way.
Wren beamed at her, letting out the cutest laugh. “What are you doing here? I didn’t think your team would get here until Wednesday?”
Becky shrugged, smiling so widely her face hurt. “I know, but we just kept saying how much we missed each other and I just thought”—
—“I knew it!” A voice called out from inside Wren’s apartment.
Wren flinched.
Becky’s heart stopped. She’d never considered that Wren might not be alone.
“Barbara is here,” Wren said, blushing. She let out a laugh and shook her head. “Well, come on in. I guess our secret is out now.”
Wren’s stepsister was adorable and bouncing, genuinely bouncing with excitement. “I knew it,” she said again. “She tried to play it so cool,” Barbara said, cackling. “You should have seen her.” She did her best Wren impression, “Ugh, don’t believe everything you read in trashy magazines, kid.”
“I don’t sound like that,” Wren said, crossing her arms over her chest.
“Take the flowers from your girlfriend, Bird. I’ll give you two a minute to greet each other properly, but it’s going to be one minute exactly. So, don’t get naked,” Barbara teased. Becky watched as the young woman spun on her heels and walked into a room and shut the door.
“Hi,” Wren said, turning all of her attention to Becky. “You got me flowers.” Her voice softened.
“I did,” Becky said, blushing. “I’m so sorry, Wren. I didn’t think about the possibility that you might have someone here.”
“It’s okay,” Wren said, taking the flowers from Becky and setting them down on her coffee table. “I’m beyond stoked that you’re here.” She pulled Becky into a massive hug, and Becky let herself melt into it.
“I missed you,” Becky whispered. She pressed an easy kiss to Wren’s lips. She knew they couldn’t get carried away, but, holy shit, did it feel good to kiss Wren. When they broke apart, Becky pulled Wren into another massive hug. “Three weeks is too long.”
Wren nodded. “I agree. One was okay, two was a little rough, but three was brutal.”
There was a knock on the door that Barbara had disappeared behind. She very dramatically emerged with one hand covering her eyes. “Is everyone decent?”
“Oh my god,” Wren said, her voice fully deadpan.
Barbara finally lowered her hand and walked over, offering the same hand to Becky. “Since Wren has no manners, I figured I’d just introduce myself. I’m Barbara, Wren’s little sister.”
Becky already loved her. “I’m Becky. It’s nice to meet you.
Wren has told me a lot about you.” She did her best to fight back her smile for the next part though because she wanted to make sure that Barbara knew she was being sincere.
“I am sorry to have interrupted your time together, though. I truly didn’t know you were going to be here or I never would have imposed. ”
“Are you kidding?” Barbara said, her voice full of excitement. “This is literally the best thing that ever could have happened.” Barbara grinned at her. “I’ve been rooting for you two.” She turned her attention to Wren. “Has she been here before?”
Wren shook her head no. “Nope, first time.”
“Well?” Barbara asked.
“Well, what?” Wren returned.
“Show her around.” Barbara flung her hands around dramatically.”
Becky burst out laughing at that.
Wren rolled her eyes. “I’m so glad the two of you have met,” she said sarcastically. But the way she was smiling told Becky the truth; Wren really was glad this was happening. All of Becky’s nerves about intruding melted away.
Wren’s apartment was cute and also very Wren.
It was fully themed soccer, sapphics, and sci-fi, and it was perfect.
With a little more ribbing from Barbara, Wren did finally put the flowers in water and give Becky a tour.
Though, to Wren’s point, there weren’t exactly hundreds of rooms to see.
Her front door opened into a little entryway with a closet.
That opened into the living room. It was all very open concept so the living room flowed into the dining room, which flowed directly into the kitchen.
There were two doors off the living room that led to Wren’s room and the bathroom, which could also be accessed through Wren’s room. And that was it.
“Are you hungry?” Wren asked as she concluded her tour. “We ordered Thai food a while ago. I could heat up some leftovers for you.”
Becky smiled at her. “That sounds really nice actually.” Becky took a seat at Wren’s kitchen table.
“Okay,” Barbara said, sliding into the seat next to her. “Can I ask questions now, because I’m dying?”
“I mean, I don’t have a problem with that,” Becky said, honestly. “As long as Wren doesn’t mind.”
Wren sighed. “Fire away, Barbs.” Becky watched Wren as she busied herself with making her a plate of leftovers. She bit back her smile and forced herself to turn all of her attention to Wren’s little sister.
“When did this start?” Barbara asked.
Wren froze in the kitchen. “Next question,” she said, never turning back around.
Barbara’s eyebrows lifted. “Wait. Did you really cheat on Andy? I mean, she was always a bitch, but damn.”
Wren put the food in the microwave and hit a few buttons before spinning around and lifting herself up to sit on the counter. She turned her gaze to Becky. “It’s up to you.”
“I mean, she’s your sister,” Becky countered.
“I think it’s probably best if we just start telling our loved ones the truth,” Wren said. “I mean, doesn’t Katie already know?”
Becky nodded at that. “Yeah, she does.”
“Is that your sister?” Barbara asked.
Becky shook her head. “No, I have a bunch of brothers.”
“Ew,” Barbara said.
Which pulled an easy laugh out of Becky. “Agreed. But no. Katie is my best friend.” She looked back at Wren. “Okay. Well, here it goes.”
“You see,” Wren said, though she was interrupted by her microwave beeping.
“Right,” Becky tried again. “It’s like this. When we were about your age, we went to a soccer camp together.”
Barbara’s jaw dropped. “No.” She was fully riveted.
“Yeah,” Wren said, setting the plate down in front of Becky and dropping into the seat across from her. “We were actually a year younger than you.”
“Did y’all hook up?” Barbara asked.
Wren blushed, but she nodded.
“Fully?” Barbara asked, her voice raising an octave.
“Jesus,” Wren said, wiping her face with her hands. “Yes, but don’t tell Dad that.”
“And you’ve been giving me so much shit about making it to second base with James!” Barbara looked fully pissed.
“Well, yeah. My heart got broken right after, and I’m trying to keep that from happening to you,” Wren said, exasperated. She froze, but the words were already out, hanging over the table.
“Oh,” Barbara said softly, looking between them. “That makes sense. You would have stayed together if something hadn’t happened, duh.”