Maybe I Got It Wrong (Leah Williamson x Reader x Steph Catley)
“It’s been going well” you nodded.
You were sat across from your colleague and mate, Freddie, grabbing lunch and a coffee and talking about both of your dating lives. He had just started seeing a girl and so had you.
“Yeah, it’s going good for me too” he smiled. “What’s her name again?” He asked before taking a bite of his sandwich.
“Leah” you reminded him. “Date number three tonight” you chuckled.
“And have you?” Freddie raised an eyebrow.
“No” you shook your head with a laugh. “Have you?” You threw his question back at him.
“We’ve kissed but nothing else” he shrugged. “But I’m trying not to rush into anything” he added.
“Me too” you agreed.
You’d been seeing Leah now for a few weeks. Phone calls, text messages and two dates had you both fairly smitten. But you promised yourself you were not rushing into anything. You’d rushed into several relationships before and most of them hadn’t made it past the first week and the ones that did never saw out the month. So you took some time out of dating to work out what you wanted in a relationship. And it was great, because the week you put yourself back out there, you met Leah.
Dating for you hadn’t really worked in the past. Girl’s got suspicious of you keeping elements of your job from them and always presumed you were cheating, when that was never the case. Other girls were just not into the tall, nerdy thing, which was completely fine.
You were a harmless person, highly intelligent, but you enjoyed playing video games with Freddie more so than hooking up with girls. You and Freddie were similar in that sense. You were both naturally awkward with girls. He was with a girl for a long time but they had broken up last year.
Leah had presented herself to you with a squeaky clean reputation, which was impressive when you found out she was a celebrity. She’d only ever had one serious relationship and with a new contract with Arsenal, her childhood club, she was planning to settle down with someone forever in London. And maybe in another life, that would have been you.
-
That evening, you met Leah outside the restaurant she’d picked for tonight’s date. She smiled when she saw you and you pressed a kiss to her cheek.
“Lovely to see you” Leah said as she backed up to take you in.
“And you” you smiled. “Will we go in then?” You asked and the footballer nodded.
You and Leah always talked with ease. She’d tell you about football, which before Leah you weren’t exactly interested in. You’d tell her about your job, in little details, which she found fascinating.
You worked for the government in cybersecurity and Leah thought that was the coolest thing she’d ever heard someone say, even though you left the government word out of that sentence. You never met someone who thought that about your job, until their laptop or phone got hacked and suddenly they became interested.
Everything was going good on the date, like usual. The conversation had shifted to a slightly different tone tonight than on your other dates. You were both flirting, well, you were trying, and neither of you were shying away from the fact you were hungry for something other than the food. But then, the strangest thing ever in your history of dating happened.
A group of people walked in, celebrating a birthday by the seems of things. They sounded American, well at least one of them did. One of the most stunning women you’d ever seen sat down facing your table, facing Leah, and she made immediate eye contact with your date. Leah was drawn to her straight away, and from the second their eyes met, Leah could not focus on anything other than that girl. She felt a spark, and while she’d felt something with you, this one had the capability to burn the entire building down.
“You seem distracted” you chuckled, as Leah finally flicked her eyes back to you.
“Yeah, sorry. What were you saying?” Leah asked, taking a drink of her wine.
“Doesn’t matter” you shook your head and watched Leah’s eyes settle back on that girl.
“She’s pretty” you eventually mumbled before you took a large gulp of your own wine.
“I’m sorry if this sounds weird” Leah began, eyes flicking briefly back to you. “I think she’s my soulmate” Leah said.
“Your soulmate?” You asked, looking back at the girl Leah had been staring at. It was how fast the girl’s eyes went down that you realised she’d been staring at Leah too.
“Does that sound mad?” Leah asked.
“A bit” you chuckled.
“I’m a bit of an idiot, amn’t I?” Leah laughed and you nodded.
“Well, go talk to her then” you pushed the girl’s arm.
“What?” Leah frowned.
“Come on, we’re not serious and it may sound stupid but if you think she’s your soulmate, you need to speak to her” you urged her on.
“Are you sure?” Leah asked.
“Definitely. But you can pay for this because it’s the last meal we’ll ever have together” you stuck your hand out and Leah slotted hers into it.
“Deal” Leah nodded with a smile.
You finished off your drink and left the restaurant and to Leah’s surprise, once you left, the girl she’d been practically drooling over came and stood beside the seat you’d just vacated.
“Is she coming back?” The girl, who was American, asked your date.
“No” Leah shook her head. “Do you want to join me?” Leah gestured towards the seat and the girl slid into it.
“Elle” she smiled and placed her hand out for Leah to take.
“Leah” the English girl grinned and squeezed Elle’s hand.
You couldn’t even be angry with Leah, because she ended up marrying Elle a few years later. But how you ended up at the girl you’d went on 3 dates with wedding? Well, that’s a whole different story that began not long after Elle and Leah’s first meeting and your and Leah’s last date.
-
You weren’t overly upset things ended with Leah. In all honesty, you and Leah were probably too similar for it to work out between you, but the way it ended was a better story than just for things to filter out. Things just didn’t work out and despite Leah being a nice person, and her values aligning with yours, you weren’t letting that hold you back from trying again. You were just glad that you didn’t rush into anything and stayed true to yourself.
You went back to work Monday morning, the tale of the most bizarre date anyone had ever heard of was the gossip of the office. Your colleagues found it hilarious, and it was great to have something to laugh about on the usually dull office floor.
Your job was no laughing matter, so in the moments when you all could have a laugh, you took them. You were top dog of your department. Head hunted from a tech company that didn’t test you or your knowledge at all. While your job was quite secretive, due to the nature of it being at government level, you couldn’t see yourself doing anything else ever again.
You’d usually start at 7:30am and finish up around 5:30pm, which was why you were never truly pushed yourself to rush back into the dating scene. You had been quiet in work recently, but there was always things that needed to be done. The world changed so quickly and the cyber world? Even quicker.
“Hey” Freddie mumbled over to you. You liked Freddie, but he got easily distracted.
“What?” You sighed back, knowing full well that he was about to annoy you for the next few minutes.
“I’m picking something up on my screen, any ideas?” He asked, pointing to his screen as you made your way over.
You squinted your eyes at what he was trying to show you.
“Yeah, it’s nothing” you said as the peering eyes of your other colleagues turned and went back to work. Only, as you said it, you pulled open a notes tab on Freddie’s computer and wrote him a note.
Either it’s nothing, or we’re catastrophically fucked
That does not comfort me Freddie typed back
You and Freddie worked in tandem and complete silence for the next few hours. Once you realised the threat had the potential to leave the British government catastrophically fucked, as suspected, you subtly alerted the higher ups of a vicious attempt of a software attack. These types of things always played out that only certain people needed to know all the details to avoid any important details being leaked.
You and Freddie worked for hours and with no sign of either of you leaving this office, even now at 1am. So you both decided to camp out for the night. It was a thing you’d both had to do several times since you started working here, but you both got on with each other and enjoyed the nights you stayed up late chatting about one thing or another while trying to not let the British government’s entire online entity be hacked.
“Fancy running to the 24/7 and getting some snacks?” Freddie asked with a yawn.
You’d both taken to the bean bags on the floor with your laptops sat on your laps. Endless coffee mugs and a few pizza boxes had started to scatter around the pair of you on the floor.
“My eyes could do with a break” you nodded and rubbed them with your fists. “Text me what you want” you added as you placed your laptop on the desk and managed to get yourself up off the beanbag.
Freddie text you his list and sent you over some money with this stupid GIF.
You strolled through the aisles of the nearest 24/7 shop and you thanked the heavens above that London had these types of shops. You’d picked up all the things Freddie said he wanted and grabbed a couple of bits for yourself. You were struggling to hold everything due to this very convenient shop not having baskets of any kind. You were making your way back up the aisle when you came across the only other person here, apart from the staff, looking at the international section.
The girl was a good bit smaller than you, brunette and currently hunkered down in this 24/7 shop at 1:15am looking at the sweets on the shelf labelled Australia.
“Looking for suggestions?” Your over tired self decided to ask this girl.
She spun around and stood up straight to face you, with a smile that you felt like you’d earned with your line.
“Do you think you know Australian lollies better than an Australian person?” The clearly Australian girl asked.
“In my defence” you began. “I didn’t know you were Australian” you chuckled.
“I would ask if you wanted a suggestion but I can see you’ve already got your hands full” the girl smirked as you looked down at your very full arms and then shot your eyes back up to look at her.
“Working late, we needed a break” you explained.
“What do you do that’s got you still working at 1am?” She asked.
“Uh” you hesitated. You always had to be careful declaring what you did. Even though you’d told Leah what you did, a lot of the details of your job went undisclosed.
“I work in cyber security. It’s mostly threat analysis and incident response” you explained.
“I understood maybe two of those words” Steph laughed.
“That’s alright” you chuckled. “Just an emergency at work tonight” you said.
“Seems serious” the Australian girl smirked as she looked at the numerous items in your hands.
“Something like that” you nodded and chuckled. “What are you looking for?” You asked the empty handed girl.
“I was just looking for Milo, but they don’t have any” she said.
“What’s Milo?” You hummed.
“Chocolate powder, the nicest hot chocolate ever” she replied, almost like she was embarrassed for you that you didn’t know.
“Makes me think of home” she admitted before turning red.
“Have you been living in London long?” You quickly inputted and the girl didn’t say it, but she appreciated you did that.
“A couple of years, around six” she nodded. “I just got back from Australia, I go back a few times a year. But I can never shift the jet lag quickly” she explained.
“Makes sense why you’re here at 1:30am” you chuckled and the girl smiled. “Oh, I’m Y/n by the way”
“Steph” she replied. “I’d shake your hand, but I don’t think you can” she giggled.
“If you give me a hand, I’ll buy you whatever you want on that shelf” you nodded towards the Australian snack shelf.
The Aussie turned and grabbed something before taking some items out of your hands and helping you over to the till. The shop keeper packed them all in a bag for you and when you got to the shop door, you rooted out Steph’s chocolate bar and gave it to her.
“Thank you” she smiled.
“I best head back to the office” you mumbled and nodded your head towards the way of your building.
“It was nice meeting you” the girl said and subtly nodded the other way to indicate this was where she was leaving you.
“You too” you smiled. “Good night” you said as you made your way back and the girl started walking her own way too.
“Could I get your number?” Steph shouted after a few seconds of walking in opposite directions. “Or are you too cyber safety conscious to give it to a complete stranger?” She chuckled.
“I think I can make an exception” you grinned and walked back to the girl to input your numbers into the opposite phone. “I’ll call you” you added before saying your goodnights again and heading off.
You wondered if she asked for your number in a flirty way or just in a friendly way, but you didn’t have time to properly think because you needed to get back to the office.
When you got back to the office, you wanted to tell Freddie about this amazing girl you’d just met. But when he updated you on the level of threat, you didn’t have time. You split the snacks and got straight back to work.
-
Days passed, you and Freddie eventually got everything under control and back to normal. But the days were long and draining and you forgot about the girl’s number that was sat idle on your phone. Steph wanted to message you, but you’d said you would call her and she didn’t want to seem eager. Or desperate.
What you didn’t know about Steph, well actually there was a lot you didn’t know, but she was newly single. She had recently split up with her long term partner and they had been engaged and living together in London. Steph was a professional footballer and lived with her teammate, Beth, and their dogs Calvin and Myle since the break up.
And maybe if you would have paid attention to anything Leah was telling you on your dates about football, or taken her up on coming to a match, you would have known Steph’s professional football career had led her to play for Arsenal too.
Don’t worry, you eventually came to your senses and remembered the conversation with Steph in the shop that night/morning. Your brain had been so fried by work that you couldn’t believe you still hadn’t called her.
What got your attention was the shiny green hot chocolate powder tin in the shop you’d stopped into on your way home from the gym. On the front of it read Milo
It had been about a week since you met Steph. And you thought that was seven days too many that had gone by without calling her. So you bought a couple of tins of Milo hot chocolate powder, and called the girl when you were back in your car.
“Hello?” Steph said when she answered. You called. She couldn’t believe you actually called.
“Hey” you smiled at the sound. “Are you busy?” You asked.
“Sorry, who is this?” Steph mumbled into the phone.
“Oh, uh, it’s Y/n. We met the other night at the-”
“I’m just messing with you” Steph giggled and you let out a sigh of relief.
“Here I was buying you this Milo stuff and then thinking you didn’t even remember me” you chuckled.
“Holy shit, where did you find it?” Steph gasped.
“It was in the shop close to my gym, I got you a couple of tins that should do you until you go back to Australia again” you said.
“You did?” Steph asked, trying not to let her brain melt at that.
“Where can I drop them to?” You quizzed.
“I’m home right now, do you want to come over?”
“Yeah sure, send me your address” and within seconds the girl had texted you her address.
You arrived at Steph’s door a little while later, not thinking too much about how her place was on your route to and from work. You got to the apartment building and a blonde girl with a small black fluffy dog held the door open for you.
“Thanks” you said to her.
She looked down at the bag full of hot chocolate tins in your hand before looking back up to you and smiled.
“No problem” she nodded, placed her dog on the ground and walked off.
You got to Steph’s front door and knocked on it. You were expecting the door to fully open when you heard the handle start to rattle, before you realised she’d opened it with the latch still attached.
“Uh, hey” you stuttered out.
“Hey” the Aussie said through the small crack in the door.
“Do you want me to just pass it through?” You asked, holding the bag up and through the gap.
“No, you idiot” Steph laughed. “Do you mind big dogs?” She asked and you realised the girl was currently holding back a giant ball of fluff behind her.
“Not at all” you shook your head and she took a breath of relief.
She undid the door latch and fully opened it for you to step inside, continuing to hold back this massive fluffy dog who was practically running on air to try and get to you. Once you shut the door, Steph let him go and he immediately jumped on top of you, almost knocking you over.
“Calvin Catley” Steph shouted.
“He’s alright” you reassured her as you fully embraced the dog.
Steph couldn’t believe that you were stood in her apartment, playing with her dog, holding onto a bag full of Milo that you’d spontaneously picked up for her and rushed over to give it to her.
“Do you have time to stick around? I can make you a cup” Steph gestured towards the bag as you looked up at her and away from the dog.
“I’ve got time” you nodded. “I was expecting a cup of the best hot chocolate in the world to be made by a proper Aussie” you chuckled and handed her the bag.
“Well, you’re in luck” Steph smiled.
She walked off towards the kitchen with the bag and her dog pottered in after her, leaving you stood in the hall. The night you met Steph, you remembered on the walk back to your office building thinking that for someone suffering from jet lag, she still looked good. But now seeing her again when your brain wasn’t fried, you realised good was an understatement. She was beautiful.
“Are you good?” Steph asked, a mug in each hand at the top of the hall.
“Yeah” you nodded. “I didn’t know where to go” you shrugged.
“Here” Steph gestured you with her head to the door and you walked into her living room.
She handed you your cup of hot chocolate and she sat in anticipation waiting for your reaction. The Australian woman was overjoyed when your reaction was positive.
“That is incredible” you hummed.
“I told you” she shrugged playfully. “I’m really glad you called” Steph admitted.
“I’m sorry I didn’t call sooner” you said. “Work goes through stages of being crazy and you just caught me at a bad time” you explained.
“What did you say you did again?” Steph asked.
“Cyber security” you reminded her as she nodded.
“Oh yes, I remember now” she nodded. “Threat and response” she added.
“Exactly” you chuckled. “What do you do?” You mumbled as you picked up the mug again and took a sip from it.
“I play football” Steph answered.
“That’s cool” you nodded. You felt bad for Steph and even Leah in that moment that their big job reveal was completed wasted on someone like you.
“That’s why I go back to Australia so many times, in case you’re able to track my whereabouts on your computer” Steph laughed and you rolled your eyes playfully.
“You know, I dated a footballer very briefly before” you chuckled as Steph giggled.
“Oh yeah?” The Aussie asked, sipping from her mug.
“Yeah, it was going really well and then one evening we were out for dinner and she told me that her soulmate was sitting at the table across from us” you explained as Steph’s jaw dropped to the floor.
“Oh my god, what did you say?” Steph gasped.
“I told her to go for it” you shrugged. “It was only our third date”
“I’d never be able to live down that embarrassment” Steph said before realising what she’d said. “That was shit of me to say, sorry” she apologised.
“I think I got over it about five minutes after it happened” you smiled and Steph smiled back at you.
You were a very relaxed person, and in whatever context this was going to be, Steph needed someone like you in her life.
“Well, I’m sorry that happened to you” Steph reassured you. “You are a good person” she said.
“You hardly know me” you reminded her.
“Well, let’s change that” Steph smiled and you glanced down at your watch.
“I could do another cup” you said, shaking your empty cup around as the girl willingly took it off you and went to make another cup for you both.
You found out that Steph had been engaged, she lived in this apartment with her friend and colleague, Beth and her dog. Steph had family all back in Australia, but nobody properly here except her Australian friends who also played football and her colleagues.
Steph told you about herself with very little prompting, but she really had to drag information out of you. It was due to you being a factual person and not speaking more than needed when explaining something. You also were sceptical of handing out personal details that could be used against you for ransom. Not that you were stupid enough to have anything personal in your passwords.
You could already take a guess that Steph’s passwords all consisted of the world Calvin.
Steph found out about you, about your friends, family, more about your job and your past relationships. She also came to the conclusion you were an awkward over explainer and you knew every fact there was to know about computers. You were terrible at flirting when your intentions were to flirt, but somehow you managed to pull it off. She found you charming and awkward, and fortunately for you, that was just her type.
“So, is your party trick that you know weird facts about computers?” Steph teased.
“Not weird facts. Important facts” You corrected her with a chuckle.
“You’re such a nerd” Steph grinned into her mug.
You couldn’t get over how easy it was to talk to her. She was like this breath of fresh air that you felt you really needed in your life right now. On top of that, she was hot.
Your phone buzzed in your pocket and you politely apologised as you pulled it out. You were about to prove Steph even more correct on that nerd comment.
Freddie
Jumping on?
Mate?
Hello?
Hey man, this is tradition you are ruining
“Shit” you mumbled.
“Everything good?” Steph asked.
“I just completely lost track of time and blew my friend off” you explained. “Our schedules are the same and we usually watch a movie or play vid-” you began before you stopped yourself.
“You can say video games” Steph grinned cheekily.
“Video games” you chuckled.
“Well, go” Steph said. “I don’t want to keep you from saving the world or stopping a zombie apocalypse”
“This was nice though” you said and the girl nodded. “Let me take you out this weekend, are you free?” You asked.
“After my game on Saturday, I’m free then” Steph replied.
“I’ll pick you up from here around 6:30, how’s that?” You said.
“Sounds great” Steph nodded.
“It’s a date then” you smiled.
-
Steph had told Beth about your date. Your words. You’d labelled it as a date. Steph was excited about it, and so were you. It was exciting to be able to think about seeing Steph again and actually having a plan put together and not just hoping it would happen.
-
Unfortunately for Steph, Beth could never keep her mouth shut about anything. The team usually went out after every game day to celebrate or drink their sorrows, but Beth decided to tell everyone in the changing room post game about Steph’s absence.
“What time will I be expecting you two over then?” Leah asked the housemates as she swung an arm around each of their shoulder.
The team were meeting at Leah’s house for a few drinks before hitting the local nightclub. The usual spot where things would always get messy. It seemed as though everyone was carrying something on the squad, be it relationship problems, bad match results or contract issues. Some of the contract issues were so bad that Kim Little, the club captain, had to call in her sister who specialises in that area of law.
“Oh Steffy won’t be joining us” Beth fake pouted. “Shes got a date”
“A date?” Leah smirked. “Who is he?” She asked.
“She” Beth corrected her as Leah raised an eyebrow in approval.
“It’s very new” Steph explained. “We met the day I came home from Australia”
“Happy for you, Catley” Leah grinned. “What’s she like?” Leah asked.
“Very sweet” Steph hummed.
“Turned up at our door with Australian hot chocolate because the day they met Steph was crying the shop didn’t have any” Beth chuckled.
“I was not crying” Steph clarified.
“If it works out, bring her to my birthday in a few weeks. You still need to meet Elle” Leah said, punching the Australian girl softly in the arm.
“I’ll let you know if I need a plus one” Steph winked.
-
You and Steph met that Saturday evening. You picked her up at 6:30pm as agreed and told her it wouldn’t be anything too fancy.
“How was your match?” You asked.
“Fine” Steph mumbled. They’d drawn 1-1 with Everton. “I don’t want to talk about it if that’s okay” she added. You were completely fine not talking about football.
“Absolutely” you nodded. “I hate talking about work too” you said and she mumbled a response that was almost like she was grateful you didn’t push her.
You took Steph bowling and after taking the hint that Steph wasn’t too happy with the result of her football match, you let Steph win.
“At least I can say I lost to a professional athlete” you grinned, still sat on the chair as Steph stood in front of you.
“And the athlete you lost to doesn’t even use their hands for her sport” she teased, poking your nose.
“Ouch, my ego” you sighed playfully, putting your hand across your chest to indicate your heart hurt.
You didn’t have an ego and you weren’t competitive, at bowling. Steph liked that about you more than you realised in that moment.
The next time you and Steph went out, which was only a few days later, you went for breakfast on a morning she had off and you were starting late.
And a few days later, you and Steph caught a film at a cinema near your houses and you dropped Steph back to hers. You’d been tempted throughout the very boring film to lean over and kiss her, but you didn’t want your first kiss to be in the back of a cinema screen like you were teenagers. But Steph rested her head on your shoulder while you both watched the movie.
“Beth’s away in Manchester” she informed you as you parked in Beth’s empty parking spot. “Come up, if you want” Steph challenged as she swiftly got out of the car and closed the passenger door.
You’ve never unbuckled your seatbelt so fast and scrambled out of your car so quickly before. But if you were honest, the past few weeks getting to know Steph had left you completely in awe of her. So you followed her to her apartment and to her living room where you both got lost in a steamy kiss. You were thankful you let this be your first kiss.
You spent that night in Steph’s place, but nothing further than that kiss and a cuddle happened. You and Steph were happy in your bubble, and were aware that your bubble was only big enough for the two of you. But you were both happy to not rush anything.
-
Within weeks, Steph and you made your relationship official. Steph wanted to be your girlfriend and you were more than happy to be the one to ask so you could both take that jump. You were regularly spending the night in each other’s places. She would finally get to see your competitive nature when she’d watch you play video games with Freddie, shouting down the headset at him which had Steph almost crying laughing.
She’d met Freddie in person too and you’d properly met Beth. You had to fix the footballer’s laptop after it stopped turning on and the two of them watched you at work, Steph enjoying it more than Beth, obviously. Beth just wanted her laptop back working, which you sorted for her.
You even ended up dragging Freddie to an Arsenal game. You thought Steph was great, even with your limited knowledge of the sport, which you were anxiously trying to improve to talk to her more about. All this time, you didn’t think twice, or even once about the blonde you’d briefly dated also playing for Arsenal, because she was nowhere to be seen. Leah had picked up an injury and hadn’t been training with the squad, so in Steph’s daily rambles about work, Leah never came up.
Maybe you should have remembered Leah told you Arsenal was the team she played for, but you barely remember anything about Leah. You were too hyper focused on Steph. The way it was always meant to be.
Steph had gone back to Australia to play football and you agreed to work on the night shift for the next two weeks for no reason in particular. Definitely not because it was easier to talk to her as your body clocks were running on the same time. It was the first time and you and Freddie had ever worked on different shifts, but he understood why he was being dumped.
You would split your work screens to have Steph’s match playing on one of them so you could talk to her about her game on your call that would come later that day. You noticed she was really happy when she was in Australia, and you figured if she ever wanted to move home that Australia would beat you in Steph’s mind.
You met a couple of Steph’s family on FaceTime and gave awkward conversation. You were just a nerd at heart and always had been, so even the fact you could talk to Steph was impressive for you. Her family liked you, and you would talk Steph through fixing her parent’s IT issues which they seemed to have a lot of in a 12 day period. You sometimes thought Steph made it up just to hear you speak smart tech jargon.
Steph loved being home in Australia and being close to her family and friends, her home. But she was shocked at how much she missed you. She couldn’t concentrate on enjoying her time in Australia because she was anxious to get home to you and Calvin. The home she found away from home.
-
When Steph returned from Australia, you decided to surprise her by picking her up from the airport, with Calvin, who you had been watching in your house. Beth was away on international duty too, but Myle was with her other mum who was out injured.
Steph greeted you with a kiss and then dropped to the ground to greet her overexcited son. He had been good as gold for you while Steph was gone, fully aware of his surroundings in your house from multiple visits in the last while. He also knew you very well now and he was very comfortable with you.
“I missed you” you happily admitted as the Aussie rose to face you again.
“I missed you more” she smiled, kissing you again.
“Calvin” a collective group of girls shouted and ran over to play with Steph’s big dog. They all looked equally as tired as Steph did so you presumed they were her Australian teammates that also played club football in London.
“Guys, this is Y/n” Steph introduced you to the group of seven girls.
They introduced themselves as Alanna, Caitlin, Charli, Ellie, Katrina, Kyra, and Sam. Four girls left very quickly and then another girl, Katie, arrived to collect Caitlin. Katie also played with Steph at Arsenal.
You were being quizzed by this Irish girl about an issue she was having on her computer, while Caitlin was questioning Steph about you. Caitlin and Katie had both known Steph a long time, and they were just glad that Steph had met someone that made her happy. They hadn’t seen her happy in a very long time.
“Make sure you invite her out this weekend for Leah’s birthday” Caitlin reminded your girlfriend as the couple went to their car, bidding you, Steph and Calvin farewell.
“I know I already told you, but I really missed you” you told the girl when you got in the car.
“Wouldn’t hurt to hear it a couple more times” Steph giggled and kissed you.
“I missed you” you repeated. “Now all my other girlfriends are on their own trips away I’m glad you’re back” you teased.
“Hey, don’t tease. You know I get sensitive” Steph pouted, wrapping her arms around your neck.
“I’m sorry” you mumbled and kissed her like you wanted to make sure she knew it was only her for you. “You know it’s only you” you added softly and the girl melted against you.
Things hadn’t even shifted fast with you and Steph, it had just flowed naturally and easily. This was what people were talking about when they said relationships shouldn’t be hard, because being with Steph was like heaven.
“Stay with me tonight?” She asked and you nodded before continuing to kiss her.
Eventually Calvin had enough and poked his head between you both so you would start driving home. You drove to your house because Calvin’s bed was there as was the flowers you’d gotten Steph.
You and Steph got caught up, and you left her in bed to go to the kitchen. Steph had two days off until she was due back at work, so you took two days off to spend them purely doing nothing with her. While you were making her a cup of hot chocolate, she snuck up behind you and wrapped her arms around your waist, resting her head against your back.
“What did you think of my friends?” She asked.
“They seemed nice” you shrugged. “I’d trust your judgment of character” you added.
“It’s one of their birthdays this weekend and she’s having a party. Would you want to come with me?” She queried as you turned and handed her the mug.
“We’re getting quite serious aren’t we?” You chuckled as the girl smiled before giggling.
“I guess we are” she nodded before kissing you softly.
“I’m happy to go if that’s what you want” you replied, stroking her cheek with your thumb and pressing a kiss to her forehead. “Did I make it right?” You asked, nodding to the mug.
“It’s perfect” Steph said.
“Like you” you added.
“God, you can be such a dork” Steph laughed before she jumped up onto the countertop and wrapped her legs around your waist.
-
The weekend rolled around and you found yourself in a taxi on the way to Steph’s friends birthday party. If you were honest, you didn’t think to ask Steph whose birthday party it was because the way she phrased the question, made it sound like it was one of the girls that you’d met in the airport’s party.
“Here, give me your jacket. I’ll go put it in the cloakroom” you mumbled to your girlfriend as she handed it off to you.
“Come and find me when you’ve finished, don’t wander off trying to buy people drinks” she pressed a kiss to your cheek and headed off in the opposite direction to you.
She located her friends and made her way to them, keeping her eyes firmly planted on the door that she’d came through so she could spot you.
“I thought you were bringing Y/n” Caitlin hummed as she shoved Steph’s arm.
“I did” Steph shoved her back. “She’s sorting my jacket” she explained.
“Steffy” Leah shouted and swept her up in a hug. “Thanks for coming” the England captain grinned.
“You know I was left with no choice. You only reminded everyone a thousand times” Steph giggled.
“Come on, let me introduce you to Ellen” Leah said, pulling Steph towards her girlfriend.
You came into the main bar and looked around, not being able to spot Steph anywhere. You got quite anxious then, you never really liked nightclubs or bars. But then Caitlin waved at you and you relaxed a bit, knowing Steph must be over there.
“Guys, this is Y/n, Steph’s girlfriend” Caitlin introduced you to a group of girls sitting and standing around the table.
You greeted them with a nod of your head and a smile before turning back to Caitlin.
“Do you know where Steph is?” You asked, quietly.
“Just over there with the birthday girl” Caitlin replied, pointing you over to a darker area of this place where Steph was stood. You could make her out but not the two people she was talking to.
“Oh there she is now” Steph beamed as you walked towards them and both Elle and Leah turned to catch a glimpse of you.
“No way” Elle gasped quietly.
You were too busy staring at the ground before you finally got to Steph’s side and slipped your arm around her waist for some sense of comfort. Only when you looked up to be eye to eye with Elle and Leah you almost could have collapsed, so you gripped Steph tighter.
“Y/n, this is Leah and her girlfriend, Elle. Guys this is Y/n, my girlfriend” Steph smiled and waited for a handshake, a hug, a hello, a breath. Nothing.
“Well” Leah eventually said.
“Am I missing something?” Steph asked.
“Me or you?” Leah asked, eyes firmly on you as you sighed.
“Do you remember the story I told you about the footballer-”
“No” Steph breathed out. “Leah was that date? And Elle was that girl?” She frowned.
“Yeah” you nodded.
“So you dated?” Steph asked.
“Did we even?” Leah said with a chuckle.
“Not really” you smirked. “I see you were right, anyway” you glanced at Elle.
Despite Leah coming with a squeaky clean reputation when you were dating, Leah could get anybody she wanted. Steph knew that, hell, everybody knew that. But how could you find her and Leah attractive when they were so different to each other?
“No hard feelings, yeah?” Leah stuck her hand out.
“Of course not” you shook your head and shook her hand. “I think we both ended up better off” you said quietly to the girl, both of you still gripping your own partner’s waists.
After the brief encounter, you got on with your night. You and Steph had a good time, drinking, dancing and you were getting to know her friends more. But Steph seemed awkward since the conversation with Leah. Her eyes drifted towards the English girl a lot during the night, even though Leah was too busy looking at her own girlfriend.
“Everything alright?” You asked, fingertips gripping Steph’s hips.
“I’m a bit tired” Steph mumbled. “Can we go?”
“Course we can” you nodded.
Both of you said goodbye to the group and you and Leah shared another laugh before Steph’s hand slid into yours. You grabbed your coats and jumped straight into a taxi back to Steph’s house.
Steph headed straight for her bedroom when you got home, starting to take her makeup off and get ready for bed. You went to the kitchen and waited for a few minutes for Steph to come out to you, but she never did. You made her the usual hot chocolate before bed and brought it into the bedroom. She was tucked into bed, wearing a baggy t-shirt that you recognised as a t-shirt that had went missing from your wardrobe a few weeks ago.
“Uh, I made you this” you mumbled as the girl looked up from her phone.
“Thanks” she said and flicked her eyes to her bedside table to let you know that’s where she wanted you to put it.
“Do you want me to go home?” You asked.
“What?” The girl frowned, pulling the covers off of her and standing up out of bed.
“Is it too weird for you? With Leah?” You sighed. “I genuinely just didn’t put it all together because-”
“It’s not weird” Steph shook her head. “But she’s Leah, you know? I don’t get how you would think I’m better than her” she sniffled.
“Are you joking?” You asked, slipping your hand into hers and cupping her cheek with your free hand. “I’m in love with you, Steph”
“What?” The girl said and her eyes went wide.
“I went on a on a few dates with her, and never thought twice about her when we finished. We never even kissed let alone anything else. I knew from the second I met you that I wanted you in my life and the way I have you in my life, as my girlfriend, is something I thought was only going to be in my imagination at first. You are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met and the kindest person I know. And that’s why I am in love with you” you blurted out.
“I love you too” Steph cried and smiled simultaneously. “You’ve made a thing I was so afraid to do again be so easy” she added.
“Do me a favour?” You asked and the girl nodded. “Never feel like you’re going to have to start over again, because you’re it for me” you pressed your lips against hers before eventually getting into bed.
-
A little under four years later, you and Steph settled into a booth at the restaurant she had picked for your four year anniversary dinner. You ordered a bottle of wine, Steph’s favourite, to the table and then began to scan the menus. The waiter came, took your order and scooted off to leave you and Steph be with your wine.
“So Leah’s wedding?” Steph asked.
“I applied for our visas yesterday” you nodded.
Leah and Elle were getting married in New York and you and Steph had been invited to attend. You had become very friendly with the couple, often going out on double dates when Elle was in England. You’d booked time off work to go to New York for the wedding and then to Australia to see Steph’s family. You and Steph had been happily dating for exactly four years and you couldn’t have been happier. She moved out of Beth’s place and in with you a few weeks after Leah’s birthday party. She retired from football last year and was doing a lot of media work now.
Steph, of course, knew everything about your job now and the sensitive nature that came with it. So, you kept your relationship very low key on social media. You didn’t have any social media apart from WhatsApp and Steph would argue that WhatsApp wasn’t even included in that.
The waiter came back with your food and your New York planning came to a halt for a few brief seconds. You tucked into the food and got straight back to planning, moving on now to what you were going to do in Australia, and who you had to meet. Steph always had a long list of people to meet when she’d go back to Australia.
You spoke to Steph’s family just a few weeks ago, giving her parent’s a call one late night at work which was their morning time.
“Hey, I have a weird one for you” you said just after the waiter took away the plates and you’d ordered desserts.
“Go on” Steph smiled.
“I know this might sound mad” you began. “But I think my soulmate is sitting over there” you finished, nodding your head in Steph’s direction but your eyes were going beyond her.
Steph frowned at you before turning her body to catch a glimpse of this girl that you believed was your soulmate. But when Steph turned back towards you, you were still sat in your seat, your index finger pinning a small black box to the table.
“As I was saying” you smiled. “I think my soulmate is sitting over there and I wanted to know if she wanted me to continue what I’m about to do in this very public place” you chuckled anxiously.
“She’d want you to continue” Steph nodded and wiped her eye with a tear that was threatening to escape.
“I spent a long time thinking soulmates were stupid. But everything with you has always just felt easy. You know I love you and our life together. And I choose you, in this life and in every life. So, in saying that” you said, popping open the box and slipping out of your seat and onto one knee. “Will you marry me?”
“Of course I will” she cried and pulled you to your feet. You slipped the ring on to her finger and she pressed a hard kiss to your lips.
“Now, as requested” the waiter said. “Two cups of Milo hot chocolate” he added, sliding a cup in front of you both.
“I’m so lucky that you’re mine” Steph said, holding your hand.
“Happy anniversary” you smiled back.
