Page 57 of Rumor Has It

Wren hummed in agreement.

Becky was just thankful that the coaches were on the far end of the table. She genuinely couldn’t handle the thought of them being able to hear anything she or Wren said or did at dinner.

“Have you ever been to Sweden before?” Ali asked.

She was sitting on the other side of Wren, not that that was a surprise. It also wasn’t a surprise that that question was directed solely at Wren.

Wren shook her head. “Nah, I’ve not been many places. I was on a club team one year that did a UK circuit for a summer, but that’s about the extent of my traveling outside of the US.” Wren leaned back in her seat, clearly opening up the conversation to the rest of their section of table. “What about you guys?” She asked.

Becky shook her head no. While she’d been to a few more places than Wren, her parents were firm believers in just driving south to Florida for summer vacation. They weren’t big fans of experiencing other cultures.

As it turned out, the only people who had been here before were returning players. A few of them commented on previous games they’d had here or some things they’d gotten to see in their down time, but for the most part the question fizzled out. Everyone seemed too groggy from their flight to hold much of a conversation.

The only reason Becky was as alert as she was, was because for the first time since they’d seen each other again, Wren didn’t seem determined to avoid contact with her. It wasn’t that Wren was pressed up against her, or anything, but their hips were touching. Their arms kept brushing against each other as they reached for their silverware or drinks. More frustrating was that Wren didn’t even seem to notice.

Becky’s heart rate would have nurses on standby, but Wren just seemed to be content.

She was trying to be rational about all of it. They were sitting in an overcrowded booth, all squeezed onto the bench, so it made sense that there was some contact. But Wren was fully in Becky’s bubble, and it made it nearly impossible to concentrate on anything else.

It was a relief when they were all finally ushered onto their team bus to head to their hotel. It was an even bigger reprieve when they had finally made it back to their room and shut the door firmly behind them.

Wren grumbled, “I feel too tired to even shower. How am I still tired?”

Becky wrinkled her nose at that. “You have to shower, you were on a plane.”

“A chartered plane,” Wren argued.

Becky shook her head. That was an absolute no for her. Recycled air was gross. Full stop. For the most part, germs didn’t bother her. She was too used to sweating on other people for her day job. But breathing the same air for ten hours and sharing it with more than thirty other people when they counted the flight crew, the coaching staff, trainers, and players was disgusting. She shuddered at the thought.

“Still a plane,” she countered as she started to unpack her suitcase. “Do you want to go first?” She asked as she filled the top drawer like she had on all their other shared hotel stays.

But Wren didn’t answer. Becky wondered if she’d managed to fall asleep already, but when she spun around, Wren was watching her, chewing on her bottom lip. “Is it too late to take it back?” Wren asked.

Becky’s heart stuttered in her chest. “Take what back?”

“I haven’t really slept in, like, a week,” Wren said, not really answering Becky’s question. “What if we”—Wren cut herself off—“Just forget it. I’m going to shower.”

“Wait,” Becky said, quickly cutting off Wren’s route to the bathroom. “What were you going to say?” Becky had never needed the answer to a question more in her life.

Wren’s jaw clenched. Her gaze dropped to the floor. Becky wanted to lift her chin desperately, but she didn’t want to push too far. She had no idea how Wren had been feeling about everything that had happened between them.

“I haven’t really slept either,” Becky offered, hoping that it would prompt Wren to continue.

Wren frowned. “I feel like we’re doing our team a disservice.”

“By not getting any sleep?” Becky asked, trying to clarify.

A small shrug lifted Wren’s shoulders. “Yeah. Seems like we’re being bad teammates.”

Becky swallowed, praying that she was right in assuming what Wren was tiptoeing around. “I mean, like I said a few nights ago. We could share?”

“Nothing sexual though,” Wren said quickly and succinctly.

“Of course,” Becky confirmed. “Just trying to get better sleep.”

Wren nodded. “It’s for our team.”

“I think we’re being irresponsible by not, honestly,” Becky hedged.