Chapter Text
"I'm not even tired. Maybe I'll go for a walk." Ashlyn put it out there, hoping someone would take the bait. Hoping that someone would be Ali. She slowly got up and pretended to stretch to make it more obvious she was about to go. She saw Ali yawn out of the corner of her eye and figured it was a lost cause. "I'll be back in a few guys..."
"Actually, hang on a sec. I'm not tired either" Ali lies but Ashlyn is glad she does "I'm gonna come with you. Anyone else?" She asks but doesn't wait for an answer as she walks out of the room. She could never pass up a chance to be alone with Ashlyn. The rest of the team looks around at each other knowingly. They all know Ali has a crush on Ashlyn but no one knows for sure if Ashlyn has figured it out yet.
...
"Left or right?" Ali asks with arms pointing in both directions when they walk out the hotel's main entrance. Ashlyn says nothing but motions to the right and they start on their way. "Why do I feel like you know exactly where you're going?"
"Because I do. This ain't my first rodeo." She jumped up and clicked her heels. Ali laughed and shook her head. "But really I remember from last year. We had a lot of downtime between games, lots of time to explore..." Ali was quiet, thinking back to last years Algarve Cup and how she had to watch from home- still recovering from her knee injury. "...I'm happy you're here this year. It wouldn't be the same without you." Ashlyn pulled her out of her thoughts when she noticed what Ali was probably thinking about.
Ali feels herself smile but tries to keep it under control- she grazes Ashyln's upper arm and loops her own with it- her hands resting on her bicep. Now Ashlyn feels herself smile too.
They walk down a sandy walkway to the beach and wander along the shoreline for a while. Ali still making sure to hold onto Ashlyn's arm in some way the whole time. As they walked back toward the hotel- Ashlyn realized she was still not ready to let go of their time alone together. She freed herself from Ali's hold and grabbed her hand. The touch alone made both of their hearts jump. Ashlyn tried to make it seem like she needed to grab Ali's hand so she could lead her a secret way back to the hotel but they both knew it was essentially Ashlyn's first move.
She guided her past the pool and hot tubs, around the lounge area, and through the hotel gardens. No one was out at this time- which was surprising to Ashlyn- considering it was only 10 pm- but she certainly didn't mind the privacy. They finally arrived at Ashlyn's destination- a cluster of hammocks hung between palm trees- hidden from the rest of the resort. She let go of Ali's hand. "How did you know about this?" Ali asked as she looked around- trying to find the best hammock to lay on.
"I told you..." Ali patiently waited for the rest of the explanation... "this ISN'T my first rodeo!" Ashlyn pretended to yell but she laughed and Ali pushed her back by her shoulder. "No, but really. It's on the hotel map. Read up, kid." Ashlyn took a few steps closer and wrapped her arm around Ali's shoulders. Ali shook her head again with a smile.
"Such a wise ass" and she playfully pushed Ashlyn off.
"But I'm your favorite wise ass" Ashlyn beamed with a huge smile on her face. Ali's smile grew.
"Don't push it, Harris." She mumbled through the smile. Ali finally spotted the perfect hammock- close to the edge of the lawn, facing the ocean. She took a deep breath and grabbed Ashlyn's hand, pulling the blond behind her as she walked to the spot. Ashlyn could feel her heart beating faster and hoped Ali didn't notice.
"How do you get on a hammock with two people? I don't think I've ever come across that before." She looked back at Ashlyn who was still smiling at her. She let go of Ali's hand and moved toward the hammock, pushing it up in the air and leaning her back against it. She motioned for Ali to come stand next to her on the right and wrapped her arm around her shoulders.
"Hang on" Ashlyn warned as she carefully walked forward, her arm still tightly wrapped around Ali. They are slowly forced to lean back until they are lying on their backs, lightly swinging on the hammock. "That's how you get on a hammock with two people" Ashlyn whispers slyly as they stare up at the stars. She really just wanted to whisper into Ali's ear- hoping to increase her chances.
They stared up at the stars for a while in silence, each one hesitant to say something to the other. Ashlyn thought about pulling in the arm that was still around Ali- pulling her close- but she didn't want to make a move if Ali didn't want the same thing. They had snuggled a hundred times before- but tonight felt different- it felt real.
Ali stopped herself twice before going for it. She slowly rolled to her left and trailed her right hand across Ashlyn's stomach...