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When Jackie thought of soccer, it was almost always reminiscing about the national championship winning Yellowjacket’s team. It was their yellow and blue uniforms and the pure adrenaline of lifting the trophy and getting their medals.
When Jackie thought of international soccer, she thought of the women’s national team and the fact that they were (in Jackie’s humble opinion) the greatest team in the world.
When Jackie thought of soccer in any capacity, the thing that never came to mind was a blue jersey with the Italian badge stamped over the heart and the scrawny, scrappy winger on the Yellowjackets that drank too much and skipped class to smoke.
But there she was.
Natalie Scatorccio, arms crossed over her chest and staring straight down the barrel of the camera.
Jackie had to admit, after high school, certain things fell completely from her mind. To her credit, it wasn’t like she wasn’t dealing with her own shit back then. Like finding out that Jeff had been cheating on her with Shauna or finding out that she definitely did not like guys like a straight girl did or the fact that she genuinely didn’t know what she who she was out of high school.
Friendships fell out of her mind. Soccer fell out of her mind. Everything that reminded her of Shauna fell out of her mind.
Honestly, it was kind of a miracle that they had ever rekindled their friendship or fell into their relationship now.
Jackie hadn’t thought of Natalie Scatorccio in years but there she was, on a banner promoting the Women’s World Cup in a jersey that marked her as an Italian player.
“I still can’t believe Natalie was the one that ended up making it,” Shauna said, arms crossed over her chest as she stared at the banner too.
“Crazy, huh?”
The Natalie on the banner didn’t look too different to the Natalie in Jackie’s memory. The same haircut. The same hair dye. The same eyes, a little hard and rough around the edges like they were desperately trying to hide the softness that Jackie knew lurked there.
It suited Natalie, Jackie thought later in the day as Shauna tied an Italy scarf around her neck, this whole Italy thing. Van insisted they get there early to get the full hospitality treatment which were, apparently, paid for on Natalie’s dime. They were given fancy lanyards with fancy passes that marked them as the friends and family of a player and were served fancy food and drinks and given free merch just because of who they knew.
Nat was out on the pitch already, dressed in her warm up kit and running through light drills with her team. She hadn’t changed much since high school. Her hair was still that terrible blonde dye job cut in the same style. She was still one of the shorter players on the pitch. She still looked like she could dribble through cones with her eyes closed. She still executed her passes fast and neat. She still took her first touch with the outside of her boot and always took a shot so hard that the ball still spun when it hit the net.
She looked a little older though, a lot more mature than the Natalie Scatorccio in Jackie’s memory. She actually looked like she was enjoying soccer for once, laughing as one of her defenders hoofed the ball up the field and away, compared to high school when she came to practice every day like someone was holding her hostage.
“I feel like we’re traitors,” Jackie groused and Shauna rolled her eyes.
“You’re only wearing a scarf.”
“An Italy scarf! We’re betraying our team!”
“You’re so dramatic. It’s not like you’re wearing a shirt like Van is.”
“Hmm. I guess you’re right.”
Jackie’s eyes narrowed as she cast her eyes over to Van, unashamed of the blue shirt with the Italian badge stamped over the chest. Under any other circumstance, she would have tried to wrestle the damn thing off her but Jackie refrained.
It was all because of Van that she and Shauna were here in the first place. Van was the one with the tickets including all of the VIP perks that came with it. So, Jackie let Van keep her ‘Scatorccio 5’ shirt only because she had Van to thank for this whole trip.
“I wonder why Nat changed her number,” Shauna said, following Jackie’s gaze to where Van was excitedly speaking (and wildly gesturing) to some people she clearly knew while Tai politely nodded along,” She didn’t used to be five, right?”
Jackie had to cast her mind many years back to think. She had been number nine back in high school. Jackie wasn’t entirely sure why she’d chosen that number but she had it all the way from freshman to senior year. Shauna had done the same with her number six, carrying it with the whole time. Tai had been eleven for a few years before switching to the eight when the previous girl wearing it graduated.
Van had been forced into a similar thing. She had taken number thirteen when she had joined because the classic keeper number of one had already been taken by the keeper in her senior year, though Van snapped it up almost as soon as that girl graduated.
Jackie searched through her jumbled thoughts, sorting through old teammates and matches she had long since buried. “Five,” She repeated, flashes of dark hair and long legs filling her head,” Five was Lottie, right?”
It had to be Lottie. Dark hair, long legs, crunching tackles and brick wall in defence. Yes. Lottie had been number five.
“And Nat was…”
A teenage Nat flashed in Jackie’s mind, the unruly hair and biting scoffs and the smell of smoke and alcohol and weed. Bursts of speed and perfect ball control to weave through defenders.
“Nat was seven. I think?”
“Huh.” Shauna flipped through the match program, eyes skating over the Italian team. “I wonder why she changed it then.”
“Anything interesting in there, Shipman, or are you just trying to avoid talking to me?” Jackie teased. She reached across the table to brush some of the hair from Shauna’s face, fingers light and gentle and touching Shauna’s cheek just right to have it grow warm and red under her touch.
“Avoid talking to you?” Shauna teased right back, one brow raised in challenge,” As if you’ve ever let me do that.” She turned another page in the program. “But, no, not really. Unless you want a fold out poster of Nat?”
“We could get her to sign it.”
Shauna chuckled. “I’m sure she’d hate that.”
Jackie winked. “Then pull that poster out, Shippy, and we’ll make her sign it for us. We can hang it right up on the wall next to your degree.”
“Alright, Jax, I draw the line at that. Can’t we just stick it on the fridge or something?”
For a moment, Jackie pretended to mull it over, sighing dramatically. “You drive a hard bargain. I guess I can agree to it. Happy wife, happy life, huh?”
“We’re not married, Jax.”
“Not yet.”
“You’re so annoying.”
“Yet you keep me around.”
Shauna glanced up at her, eyes softening and head tilting to the side ever so slightly. Her reply was a little breathless and awestruck. “Yeah, I do.”
Jackie had never had a soccer experience like this before. Her parents had never approved so it was up to Shauna’s mom to take her to watch matches and that only happened on special occasions like her birthday or celebrating an important milestone.
And none of those times were anything like the VIP and pregame treatment that Jackie was experiencing now. The drinks were free. The food was free. Everything was free and Jackie took another bite of cake as she walked down the steps to her seat.
“Hey,” Shauna said suddenly, eyes wide,” Isn’t that-?”
“Lottie!” Van cheered from the front of their little group,” There you are! I’ve been looking for you everywhere!”
Jackie’s eyes snapped up, just as wide and shocked as Shauna’s.
There she was.
The enigmatic Lottie Matthews who had all but dropped off the face of the earth after graduation.
Jackie had to admit, Lottie looked good. She was still just as tall and leggy as ever. Her hair was perfectly done, framing her face like it had been cut by an angel. She was much tanner than in high school, looking like she just stepped off a magazine photoshoot.
Like Van, she was wearing a 'Scatorccio 5' shirt, her smile bright and happy as she greeted Van and Tai warmly. Maybe they hadn’t lost contact with her like Shauna and Jackie had all those years ago.
“You look good, Lot,” Jackie said as they briefly hugged in greeting, collapsing into their seats with a sigh as the sun beat down heavily.
“Thank you.” Lottie took a long sip of her drink. “Italy is good for me, I think. The sun certainly is.”
“You’re living in Italy now?”
“Oh, yes. I was in Switzerland very briefly last month for a meeting but I always sleep better at home in my own bed. We’ve got this lovely little house just out of the city. Peace and quiet, you know?”
Jackie thought of her own cramped apartment with Shauna in New York and laughed. “I’ll take your word for it, Lot. Sounds nice.”
“Like something out of a painting,” Shauna agreed from Jackie’s other side,” It suits you.”
Lottie beamed. “Thank you.” She leaned a little closer. “You know, I was so excited to hear Van was inviting you both. Almost feels like old times, doesn’t it? Minus…”
“A few teammates?” Jackie asked dryly.
The sun was hot. The crowd was screaming. The teams were walking out. She relaxed back in her seat.
“I don’t know why we didn’t all meet up before this. It feels exactly like old times.”
The stadium was electric with energy as the whistle blew and Jackie’s jaw snapped open. She thought high school soccer was intense but there was just something about watching the professionals go at it.
Someone in a blue Italy jersey slid in on a crunching tackle, sending the other player sprawling to the ground and recovering the ball in the same instant. They passed it into midfield. Back to defence. Midfield again. Up to the winger. Back to midfield. Hoofed diagonally up field.
Where it landed at Nat’s neat feet.
She took one touch to control it, several more to dribble past the fullback that looked out for blood. A shot.
The ball spun, perfectly curved and soaring through the air.
Jackie held her breath. Van’s mouth was already open. Tai’s hand had clenched. Shauna was frozen. Lottie’s hand was tight around her armrests.
Saved.
The crowd roared in disappointment and on the pitch, Nat shook her head. She didn’t linger in her disappointment for long, already setting up for the resulting corner.
“High school Nat would have still been throwing a fit over that save,” Shauna muttered under her breath and Jackie found herself nodding along.
Nat still looked like Nat. She still carried herself in the same way, still ran with that chip on her shoulder. But she seemed more mature now, like she knew when to keep fighting, when to keep pushing on something. She knew when to bite and when to roll over.
So she got up from brutal tackles and dusted off her shorts. She didn’t bite and snap at the refs when a foul wasn’t called or a card wasn’t given. She just got on with it. She got between her teammates and opponents when moments got hot and tense, shoving everyone back and trying to keep the game rolling.
“Nat was worried about college, you know,” Lottie said idly at half time.
Jackie felt gross and sticky, practically roasting in her sweat. The others didn’t look much better, fanning themselves with their hats and their Italy scarves. It was completely unfair that Lottie still looked perfect, relaxed and at ease with herself. Maybe she was a robot. That would explain the lack of sweat.
“She was?”
Even with all the heat scrambling her mind, Jackie could still grasp what she needed. When everyone was talking about college applications in the locker room, Nat had always been noticeably silent. She never talked about her future, never mentioned a college she was applying to or even one she was considering.
Back then, Jackie hadn’t thought much about it. Back then, Jackie hadn’t really thought much about anyone.
“She thought she wasn’t going to go,” Lottie continued,” Money, you know? And her grades meant she was going to get an academic scholarship. She told me so many times that college just wasn’t in the cards for her.”
That was the other thing. Jackie hadn’t really thought about it back then but looking back, Lottie and Nat were always around each other. When Nat actually came to class, she would take the seat right next to Lottie. They would arrive at the locker room together. They would leave together. Jackie was pretty sure she’d seen Lottie give Nat rides home more times than she could count.
She supposed that it made sense they would still be in contact.
“But Nationals,” Jackie said like it was an explanation.
Lottie laughed. “But Nationals,” She agreed,” There were some scouts there. You know what scouts are like. They were watching her all tournament and then came up to her all ‘we’ve been wondering why no one has gotten an application from you, Miss Scatorccio’. You should have seen her face. I’ve never seen Nat so wrong footed in her life.”
Nat had always been so sure of herself in high school. She knew the type of person she was and she owned it, walking the halls with her heavy boots and the contraband in her bag. She only went to classes she wanted to. She didn’t stick around if she thought something was boring.
The only time Jackie had ever seen Nat in shock was that one time she’d seen Lottie accidentally come out in her jersey. Jackie still wasn’t sure how that mix-up happened because Misty swore it wasn’t her fault. Nat had been shell shocked on the practice field, face all red looking a little sunburnt and frozen.
Lottie hadn’t even seemed to notice until Nat pulled her to the side and they were hurriedly swapping shirts before Coach Martinez saw them.
“Must have been a hell of a scholarship,” Jackie said and Lottie’s grin only grew.
“The motherload of scholarships,” She agreed,” It did Nat some good, you know. I think it gave her some hope. For the future.”
“I’d say so. Look at her now.”
Nat led her team back onto the pitch after half time and whatever speech had been given in the locker room clearly had been what they needed because they ran like a well oiled machine. The passes were crisp and fast and the most accurate things Jackie had ever seen.
The shots came in hard and fast.
They rained down on the goal with reckless abandon and Jackie was once again reminded of just how dangerous Nat was when she wasn’t crossing the ball into the box. She started taking more shots, beating her defenders and going at it alone.
A few of them, Jackie thought were certain to go in but the opposing keeper just got her gloves to the ball every time.
“Nat’ll get one,” Van was saying from the other end of the row,” Nat always gets one.” But she still leaned forward, elbows on her knees like just shifting slightly meant Nat would drag the team to victory.
Jackie turned away from the pitch as someone went down after a hard tackle. The whole stadium took a deep breath in sync. Lottie was gripping the arm rests so hard her knuckles were turning white.
“Nat was born in Italy, you know,” She said, voice a little stilted and tense.
“Huh?” Jackie said,” She was?”
“Yeah. She told me after practice one day. They only moved to Wiskayok because her dad got in an argument with her nonna. He dragged his whole family across the world because of some stupid argument.”
“Men do stupid shit all the time,” Jackie agreed,” It looks like it worked out for her though.”
“Yeah,” Lottie said softly,” I guess it did.”
On the pitch, Nat took the ball. A penalty in the dying minutes of the game. She kissed the ball, head tilted up into the stands for a moment like she was searching for someone. She set it down. Three steps back and one to the side.
The stadium took a collective intake of breath.
Van’s hand shot out to hold Tai’s hand, squeezing tightly. Lottie stared straight at the goal, refusing to look away. Jackie couldn’t look. She’d never been able to stomach a penalty. She’d been put on penalties once in middle school and then threw up all over the grass from the nerves. She had never taken a penalty again.
She squeezed her eyes shut, burying her head in Shauna’s shoulder. Gently, Shauna’s hand came up to cup the back of her head.
“Run up,” Shauna narrated gently, voice silky smooth and breaking apart Jackie’s nerves with ease,” And-”
The stadium roared and Jackie’s head shot up.
“Come on!” Van cheered, on her feet and hands pumping.
Tai, ever polite and in control of herself, let completely loose. She jumped up and down, arms up high into the sky as she screamed. Lottie was on her feet, the proudest smile on her face as she clapped. Jackie shrieked with laughter as Shauna caught her around the waist and spun around.
On the pitch, Nat sprinted past the ref, face split wide open with infectious celebration. Her teammates chased after her as she hit the barrier. One big step and she was standing on top of it, right in front of the Italian fans, tapping the badge and screaming something unintelligible.
“Park the bus!” Tai spat several minutes later as the game leaked into injury time. “Park the fucking bus. What the fuck are they doing?!”
The anxiety was back full force. Jackie was watching the match through her hands. Italy hadn’t stopped pressing, wanting that second goal despite being so close to winning the match. If they won they booked their spot in the final.
Natalie Scatorccio, a world cup finalist.
It was within reach but Italy refused to play it safe, once again losing the ball in midfield. They committed so many players up top that the defence was in disarray when their opponents recovered the ball and were now bearing down on the goal.
“I can’t watch!” Jackie announced but still kept watching.
Then, out of nowhere, a blur of blonde hair and Italy blue. A crunching tackle that Jackie had only ever witnessed Lottie pull off successfully. Nat slid in hard and fast but perfectly legal in the eyes of the ref. She won the ball cleanly even as the other girl went crashing to the floor in a heap.
The whistle rung out along the stadium just as Nat hoofed the ball up and away from the Italian goal.
“Hell, yeah!” Van cheered,” That’s what I’m fucking talking about, Nat! Let’s fucking go!”
Jackie wasn’t sure or when it happened but the celebrations swept her up like the rapids of a river. Somewhere along the way, she and the others ended up back at the team hotel, still dressed as they were for the match but somehow mingling with the Italian team and their staff.
“Free bar,” Shauna said softly,” Be a shame if we didn’t take full advantage.”
“Shipman,” Jackie said proudly, linking their arms and stealing a kiss,” I love your mind.”
The bar was, indeed, free so Jackie took full advantage. Two rounds of shots to start off with before letting Shauna order her a drink to nurse for the rest of the night.
It wasn’t long before the players floated in and out of the room, each one a varying stage of drunk and wasted. For a moment, Jackie stood back and observed.
Nat was in the middle of a circle of players, each one slapping her on the back and talking in rapid Italian that she responded to with laughter and words in even more rapid Italian. She had showered since the match, washing off the sweat and grime, but hadn’t fully dried her hair.
Somewhere in Jackie’s memory, she remembered one day in the locker room when Nat complained that using a hairdryer made her hair go all poofy. That probably still happened which explained why strands of Nat’s hair were still hanging damp and limp around her face.
“She looks good,” Shauna said, head on Jackie’s shoulder and one hand around her waist,” Nat, I mean. I don’t know how I thought she would end up.”
“I don’t know either.”
“But she looks good. More than good. Happier now.”
“Much happier.”
Shauna tapped Jackie’s hip once before releasing her. “Here she comes.”
Nat weaved around the bodies of people, stopping occasionally to thank whoever was congratulating her before finally ended up at the bar. “Scotch on the rocks,” She ordered. She inclined her head, wispy bits of damp hair falling over her eyes briefly,” Shipman. Taylor.”
“Scatorccio.” Shauna lifted her drink in greeting. “You allowed to be drinking? Could have sworn bigshot athletes were meant to take of their bodies.”
Nat laughed. “I won’t tell if you won’t.”
Shauna huffed in amusement but didn’t respond. She didn’t really have a chance because Jackie shot forward, launching herself into Nat’s arms and squeezing tightly.
“It’s so good to see you, Nat!” She exclaimed,” You look so good! And that penalty! Wow. Cool, calm and collected!”
Nat laughed, adjusting her grip on her drink while still having an armful of Jackie Taylor at the same time. “Good to see you too, Jackie. I heard you and Shauna finally got your act together. Congrats, by the way.”
“Thank you,” Jackie beamed,” We have to catch up! I mean, this all seems so crazy. One minute, Van’s talking about having tickets to the World Cup and it’s like we blinked and suddenly you’re out representing Italy!”
Nat scratched the back of her head awkwardly. “Yeah, it seemed that quick for me too.”
In the end, there was a small table and chairs set up near the back of the room, just close enough to the partying people to still feel the heavy beat of the music and soft murmurings of conversation but not close enough that they had to shout to hear each other.
“Yeah,” Nat said awkwardly,” I play for Roma now. It kind of came out of nowhere. Fresh out of college and they called me up. I, er, I didn’t want to accept at first but-” She shrugged, looking at Shauna “-You know what a pushy girlfriend is like.”
Shauna laughed and Jackie rolled her eyes.
“I’m feel like I should be offended by that,” She said dryly before excitement lit up in her eyes,” But I’m too excited about what else you said! Girlfriend, Nat? Your girlfriend told you to accept the Roma offer?!”
Shauna frowned, leaning forward. “You said she was pushy? Like, the bad kind or…?”
Nat shook her head. “Not like that. She’s pushy in the good way,” She assured Shauna,” Honestly, I was kind of talking myself out of even entertaining them, you know? My Dad was a major Lazio fan when we still lived in Italy. But then she was all ‘what would be the biggest fuck you to your Dad? Play for Lazio’s rivals’.”
“Sounds like some girlfriend,” Shauna laughed. She took a swig of her drink. “The good kind of pushy, huh? More like she knew exactly what you needed to hear to get that ball rolling.”
“Yeah.” Nat grinned down at her glass, swirling the ice cubes. “She’s good like that. Good enough to not be my girlfriend anymore.”
Jackie gasped. “You broke up?”
“Nah.” Nat tugged a necklace out of her shirt, a shiny wedding ring dangling from it. “I just made her my wife.”
“Ho-ly shit.” Shauna’s mouth hung up in shock, opening and closing several times as Jackie shook her in excitement.
“Holy shit is right!” Jackie exclaimed,” Nat’s the first one out of us to get married?! Oh, wow! That’s a nice looking ring.”
Nat grinned, that same cocky grin she used to have in high school when she would score a free kick at practice and challenge everyone else to score a better one. No one ever did but it never stopped Lottie from trying.
“The wife bought it,” Nat said haughtily, a teasing glint in her eyes as she drained her drink,” You know what she’s like anyway. Too much money than she knows what to do with.”
Jackie and Shauna exchanged a look.
“What?”
Nat just waved away any confusion. “I’m just saying,” She said,” You know what Lottie’s like. Give her an excuse to spend her money and she will.”
“Lottie?” Jackie echoed, blinking rapidly as her mind tried to make sense of too many things at once. “What has Lottie got to do with anything?”
Nat frowned, head tilted to the side. “What are you talking about?”
“No, what are you talking about?”
“My wife.”
“No, you were talking about Lottie.”
“Yeah,” Nat said slowly,” My wife.”
Then like she was summoned just from her name, Lottie glided over. She passed Shauna and Jackie with a soft smile and dipped her head down to press the softest of kisses to Nat’s lips. She lingered for a moment, savouring it before lowering herself into the seat next to Nat, threading their fingers together tightly.
“I see you found Jackie and Shauna, then.”
“I did,” Nat said,” Did you see where Van and Tai went?”
“Last I saw them, Tai was speaking to your coach and Van was trying to get the dj to put on something different.”
“Ah.” Nat whistled lowly. “Sounds like them. So long as they’re not trying to get my team to get wasted, they can do what they want.”
“I think your coach might want to start drinking after Tai’s done with him.”
“That’s his choice.” Nat lifted her near empty glass up from the table. “Meanwhile, I’m stuck with one drink only tonight. We’ve got recovery tomorrow and light training. Not too long until the final, you know.”
Jackie still hadn’t felt like she’d recovered. It was one thing to learn an old teammate had gone professional and was captaining their national team at the World Cup. It was another thing to learn that teammate was former burnout and perpetually unimpressed Natalie Scatorccio. It was something completely different to find out that same Natalie Scatorccio was married to Lottie fucking Matthews.
“And you’ll do wonderfully then as well,” Lottie said and Jackie watched with wide eyes as her old teammate gently played with the stray baby hairs at the base of Nat’s skull, a small content smile on her face like this was all completely normal. Maybe it was. “Just imagine what your father’s face would look like if he knew you were bringing back the world cup as a Roma player.”
“I kind of wish he wasn’t dead just to see that look.”
Lottie and Nat shared another quick peck, hands still laced tightly together.
“Hey,” Nat said,” We’re just gonna go and say hi to Van and, hopefully, drag Tai away from my coach. Meet up in, like, ten minutes? It’s been a while since we’ve all hung out together.”
She didn’t exactly wait for a response, disappearing into the crowd with Lottie attached to her hip.
Jackie sagged in her seat. “Nat and Lottie,” She said,” Are married.”
“Yeah…”
“Married. To each other.”
“Yep.”
“How long do you think they’ve been together?”
Shauna winced. “I don’t want to think about that.”
“Since high school then." Jackie's eyes tracked them. They weren't moving any differently than they did in high school. They were still joined at the hip, close enough that it was hard to tell where one of them started and the other ended. They still whispered to each other as they walked. They still looked at each other like nobody else was in the room.
Jackie whistled out a low note as she watched them disappear into the crowd. "God, how did we miss that?”