Page 77 of Couple Goals

‘What about your family now?’ Maeve asks gently.

‘My parents have never once come to visit me,’ says Kira, shaking her head. ‘Or see me play or anything. I guess they’re used to prioritising their new families. We text every now and again but I feel like they don’t really make any effort, they don’t care about football or… well, about me, either.’

‘I’m so sorry,’ Maeve squeezes her hand. ‘It sounds so useless for me to say, but I am.’

Kira looks at her, sidelong. ‘Well, Adriana kinda let slip that you might know what that feels like. To have your parent move to be with another family.’

Maeve swallows hard and nods. It still hurts, every time she is reminded of the dad she’s not spoken to in nearly ten years.

‘I’m sorry too,’ Kira says softly.

Instinctively, Maeve turns her head to kiss Kira’s shoulder, then leans away, worried she pushed it too far.

‘I’ve had Adriana though,’ Maeve tells her. ‘And my mum. I can’t imagine how difficult it must be to not have anyone around me like that.’

Kira leans back, adjusting without Maeve’s head there. ‘It gets lonely. It does. And I try to ignore that feeling, and just distract myself with the next adrenaline hit or the next match. I’ve got used to it. Every team I’ve been in has always hated me. I’ve got used to that too. I know I don’t exactly make a good first impression, especially because this time I’d followed Serena from our last team.’

She laughs, touching the back of her neck, but there’s a real sadness in her expression too.

‘I think now I’ve got so used to it that I kind of… lean into it. You know, make myself unlikeable so that it feels like it’s on my terms, not being rejected.’ She shakes her head. ‘I know that probably sounds crazy.’

‘I get it,’ Maeve assures her. ‘That actually makes a lot of sense to me. I was so scared the girls in school would ignore me that I avoided them first, made myself invisible so that they couldn’t make me feel that way instead.’ Maeve’s chest stabs with guilt and she hangs her head. ‘God, I am so sorry for then utilising that tactic, trying to get the team against you. I’m so sorry.’

‘Murphy, it’s okay. Honestly. I forgive you. I hope you can forgive me too. I’ve been chaotic too. I know I was goading you. I guess I wanted to get under your skin. Get your attention somehow.’

‘Can we… Can we start over?’

Maeve nods, gripping Kira’s hand tightly in a shake that lingers and now they’re just holding hands. Kira holds her eyes, and brings Maeve’s hand up to her mouth. She kisses her knuckles. Then her wrist. Maeve’s body dances to life,electricity pulsing through her arms, down to her legs, her chest, her neck, as Kira presses her lips to Maeve’s skin.

‘It’s like you said. We never got to just hang out,’ says Kira. ‘We have never really had a normal conversation. As two people who are getting to know each other. And there’s so much I want to know about you.’

‘There’s so much I want to know about you too,’ Maeve smiles.

That’s what she finds most incredible about being around Kira, she realises. It’s how she normally only feels when she’s playing, or maybe laughing with Adriana: Maeve feels fullyalivewith her. Like she doesn’t know what’s going to happen next, but that, for once, that’s okay. It’s going to be okay.

‘I don’t know where to start!’ says Maeve.

Kira’s expression softens. She moves closer towards her. Slowly, deliberately, she reaches a hand out, and traces her thumb along Maeve’s cheek, her jaw, tipping her chin towards her own.

‘Well, you could start by calling me Kira.’

They hold each other’s eyes.

‘Kira,’ Maeve says, softly.

Their faces are close now, so close that Maeve can’t stop her lips from reaching for Kira’s, but Kira smiles, holding her just far enough away.

‘Maeve,’ she whispers, and kisses her.

Maeve feels like she’s floating. Kira pulls her in closer, and then their hands are under the other’s kit, stroking along each other’s sides, Kira’s thumb skimming the lines of Maeve’s sports bra, Maeve tracing the edge of her nails along her shoulder blades until Kira’s back arches.She pulls Maeve onto her lap, straddling her, and as they kiss, harder, hungrier, Maeve barely even realises she’s grinding into her, their bones creating waves of pleasure through her, still wanting more. Acting on pure impulse, Maeve starts tugging at the shorts between them, not knowing quite if they’re her own or Kira’s, just needing them off so there aren’t this many layers between them –

And then Kira stops her.

‘Believe me,’ Kira pants. ‘I could very happily carry on, and for a very long time. But firstly, we’re very much in a public space, and secondly – you wanted to meet with me for a reason that wasn’t just apologising and hooking up.’

‘Right, right,’ Maeve flushes, nodding. ‘Yes. You’re right.’

She looks down at Kira from atop her.

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