The Big Fish by Madison Henley (best free e reader .TXT) 📕

arousal and confusion as Georgia pressed her lips against hers.

CHAPTER TWENTY THREE

“Gabrielle, hey Gabrielle? Kom igen, vakna!”

 Gabrielle shot her eyes opened and her heart leaped as she startled from the harsh voice that pulled her out of her dream. Hazy eyes scanned the room and she looked to find her teammate standing over her.

“What?”

Gabrielle breathed.

“I told your ass to get up half an hour ago! Breakfast.”

“I’m coming.”

Gabrielle sighed and fell back into her bed once she heard the click of her hotel room door close shut. She always had pregame jitters the day of a game and they would always go away as soon as the whistle blew but the fact that Meredith would be there practically sent her into cardiac arrest. Her forehead was covered in sweat and the hotel room felt like a sauna. Gabrielle ran her fingers through her damp hair and sighed heavily walking to the shower. She took a quick shower and by the time she got downstairs for breakfast, most of the food had become left overs. She settled for lukewarm oatmeal and sat down at the table with Becca and most of the veterans on her team. There was a lot of playful banter exchanged at the table as everyone was excited for the tournament but Gabrielle drowned it out, tuning into thoughts of her own. She rested her chin into the palm of her hand while absentmindedly stabbing her oatmeal with her spoon. She didn’t get any sleep last night, she was tired, annoyed, her oatmeal was fucking cold, and the sun wasn’t out and it was all thanks to Meredith. She was pulled out of her thoughts when she felt a strong arm grab her hand and take her into the corner of the elevator hall. Gabrielle lazily padded her feet behind Becca and furrowed her brows, ready to spit at her when Becca slammed her against the wall.

“What the hell happened to you from two days ago and now?”

Gabrielle rolled her eyes to the top of the ceiling and yanked her arm away from Becca’s grip.

“Nothing.”

“You can say nothing all you want. You and I both know it’s something. Is it Meredith?”

“Fuck off, Becca. I’ll be fine before the game so take your nose out of my business.”

Gabrielle took the stairs up to her hotel room to avoid the awkward elevator ride with her roommate and winced when she replayed her and Becca’s conversation in her head. She obviously didn’t deserve that but Gabrielle needed anyone to blame. Anyone besides herself. She was stubborn that way. She sat on her hotel bedroom and scrolled through her phone, looking at her latest added contact. Meredith’s number. She smoothed her thumb across the seven digits with the sudden urge to press it but she didn’t take the risk. What would she even say? Can’t wait to see you at my game despite you hating every fiber of my being. Gabrielle pressed her phone against her forehead and sighed.

***

Meredith mindlessly tapped her fingers against her knee as she used her left hand to stab her fork at whatever the hell she was eating in the restaurant her father picked out for his birthday.

“This is great! Breakfast at Sweden’s most famous restaurant and later great seats to a professional soccer game. My birthday couldn’t have been better.”

Reginald Compton beamed while wiping his dark mustache with his napkin. Cindy smiled at her husband while his son and daughter laughed at him. Roelle and Meredith just blinked, unaware of the current conversation. Meredith twisted her fork into her breakfast and thought about her encounter with Gabrielle. Did Payton really have to be so…Payton? Inviting all of them to Gabrielle’s game without anyone else’s say was by far the biggest mistake she could’ve made. Meredith cringed just thinking about watching Gabrielle up and down the field for ninety-minutes. Every pass, every goal, every cheer a constant reminder of what had to take place for Gabrielle to be playing in Sweden. It was pure torture.

“You think it might get cancelled?”

Meredith blurted out.

“What might get cancelled?”

“The game.”

“Why because of the weather? It’s inside!”

“I certainly hope not. I was really looking forward to seeing Gaby play professional ball.”

“It’s really all the same.”

Payton feigned shock.

“Is this coming for the girl who puts soccer almost as close as Jesus to her heart?”

Meredith smirked and sipped her lemon water.

“No, I’m just saying- -you’ve seen her play before. Different teams, different fields, different places. It’s the same.”

“But it’s professional.”

Payton wrinkled her forehead, not fully grasping Meredith's standpoint

“You keep saying that like it’s supposed to mean something.”

“It does! Mer, it’s professional! It’s not about where or who she’s playing. It’s about the good ass beer and foot long hotdogs, the children who paint their faces in their country’s colors and oh the goals!

Meredith laughed and shoved a part of her food in her mouth, suddenly realizing her taste buds agreed with it.

“Okay. You still haven’t proved your point.”

“Well aren’t you at least glad to see Gabrielle?”

“Uh, yeah I guess. I mean- -”

Meredith shrugged her shoulders.

“Sure.”

 Roelle had been quiet for almost all of breakfast, taking herself out the conversation to observe her younger sister. She hadn’t been sleeping well for the past couple of days due to her mind repeatedly trying to analyze from every angle why Meredith and Gabrielle would act the way they did around each other. Theory after theory it all came down to one surmise. Roelle didn’t