[ Sorry this took so long! But in all honesty, even though it took so long for this chapter to come together, I think it's one of my favorites of this book! Hope you enjoy. ]

Throughout their evening, they had asked each other questions about one another, but both of them struggled to answer. They were both closed off, and he was a mystery. She wanted to open up to him, but she could not find it in her heart to do so. She had had her heart broken to awfully for her to open up so easily. She was damaged goods, but she got the feeling he was too, but neither of them knew why.

She had found out that Alessio had grown up and lived in Chicago his entire life. He traveled with his father a lot growing up, and took over the family business when his father passed away when he was twenty-two. When Casey had asked how he died, that was when he shut her down, and they moved on to another subject. That was the format for the entire night, but they did not seem to mind, they just wanted to be in one another's company. They both had issues they needed to work out.

She was in the doctor's office within the next couple days in hopes of being cleared. She had had no pain or trouble breathing, so she hoped she would be able to get back to playing with the Orlando Pride that afternoon. They had a game this coming weekend, and they were already itching for her to come back after their previous match performance. They gave up two goals but were lucky to score two to have a draw with the North Carolina Courage. Casey was just so far ahead of the other goalkeepers in the league that it was a huge loss with her being out with her punctured lung.

"Alright Casey, everything looks good, bring this clearance form to your team and you're all set." Her doctor told her, and she grinned, taking the clearance form and getting up from her seat.

"Thanks a lot." She responded, shaking his hand and exiting the examination room. She internally squealed at the idea of being cleared as she looked at the time, seeing she needed to leave straight from the doctor's office to the field if she was going to make it on time. She rushed out to her car and made her way to the field, getting to the stadium just in time for training to begin. She went into the locker room and found their trainer and gave him the forms to approve her to play.

"Welcome back Casey, go ahead and suit up." He told her, and she smiled, quickly getting out of her street clothes and into training attire, then went and joined the rest of the team out on the field.

"Casey! Are you back?" Shelina asked her, and she nodded eagerly.

"Alright good, let's get warmed up and get to work. Casey, can I speak with you?" Marc announced, and she stepped aside while everyone went to warm up.

"What's up, coach?" She questioned.

"I know you're fully cleared, but I would like you to take it easy the next couple of days, yaknow, ease back into things." He told her, and she nodded.

"Sounds good to me." She responded with a chuckle, and he patted her back as they came back from their warm-up run. She hopped right back in with them and went through training, taking it easy as her coach instructed her to, but nonetheless had a good session with her team.

"Hey Casey, Syd picked me up, think I could get a ride with you home?" Alex asked after training when they were in the locker room.

"Yeah sure hitchhiker." She answered with a laugh, putting her training attire back in her locker and changing back into the shorts and t-shirt she had showed up in. She made sure she had her lanyard and phone, and Alex made sure she had everything as well before they left.

"How was your training?" Alex asked once they were in her car beginning their twenty minute drive back to their home.

"Uh it was alright, I'm tired but a good tired. At least I can breathe." She answered with a laugh, getting Alex to laugh as well.

"That's good to hear, wheezy." She said, and they both continued to laugh. Ever since the injury, there seemed to be a discomfort between the two of them, and they could both sense it, but they never talked about it. It did not mess with their friendship, but everything just seemed a little off and awkward for the past week and a half.

They arrived back at their home to dogs barking like crazy, excited to see the both of them. Atlas had been by her side day and night throughout the past week, glad to have her home and resting with him. It was a good bonding time for the two of them, and they both took advantage of it. The bad thing was that Atlas had gotten into a routine whenever she came home, and she would have to break that routine.

"You wanna order food? I'm not in the mood to cook tonight." Alex asked, and Casey did not oppose.

"I am down, what are we getting?" She responded, and that was a question they could both answer right away.

"We get the same thing every time because we can't decide, so why are you asking?" Alex responded, and they both just laughed as she took out her laptop to put in their Chipotle order to GrubHub.

"While we're waiting, I'm gonna go hop in the shower." Casey informed, but Alex reached out her arm to stop her.

"Can we talk?" She asked, and she just nodded, stopping herself and slumping down onto the barstool. Alex sat as well, avoiding her eye contact.

"Al, what's up?" She questioned, trying to lead her on. She looked like she was trying not to overwhelm herself with emotion, but she reached out and squeezed her hand.

"I know we joke about your injury, but Casey, I thought I was gonna lose you. You were barely breathing, it was like you were dying in my arms." She finally spilled out. Her grip was tight around her hand, and Casey squeezed back.

"Alex, I'm not going anywhere." She assured, but she shook her head.

"I don't know what I'd do without you." She croaked out as a few tears rolled down her cheeks.

"You have helped me through so much, Al. I don't know what we'd do without each other at this point. You're stuck with me, I promise." Casey said, getting Alex to chuckle and sniffle at her tears. "I never thought I'd be able to say this but you, Alex Morgan, are my best friend."

"And I'm honored to say you, Casey Radcliffe, are mine."

--

"I want to see you once more before I head back to Chicago." Alessio said over FaceTime. She had just finished her last training of the week before her first game back tomorrow afternoon.

"I do too, but I just got out of training. I need to shower." She responded with a laugh.

"No, I wanna see you as you are. Come outside." He answered as she opened the door to the back parking lot. She looked up and saw him standing outside of her Jeep. She looked at him with her mouth wide and a chuckle escaping her throat as her teammates exited the locker room around her. She hung up with him and started walking toward her car with her keys in her hand.

"What are you doing here?" She asked with a laugh as she approached. He was his version of dressed down, which was a pair of ripped jeans and a fitted black t-shirt with a black Nike jacket.

"You look great fresh out of training." He told her. "Like I said, I wanted to see you before I left for Chicago in the morning."

"You could have waited until I look decent." Casey answered, and his gaze caught her off guard.

"Casey, you always look absolutely stunning." He countered, and she was taken aback, her cheeks flushed with red. "I had to take an Uber here so I hope you don't mind driving?"

"Uh no, not at all. I just have to make sure Alex has a ride back, wherever she went." She responded, the last part more to herself than to Alessio. He grabbed her bag from her and put it in her backseat for her, and she smiled a silent thank you.

"Take your time, sunshine." He said, and she nodded, heading back toward the doors to the locker room. Just as she went to reach for the handle, Alex and Sydney were walking out.

"Hey Casey, you ready to go?" Alex asked, and she chuckled nervously.

"Um, so here's the thing, uh, Alessio kind of got an Uber over here, wanting to hang out a last time before he heads back?" She explained quickly yet hesitantly, and Alex smiled.

"Go, hang out with your boy toy before he leaves. I'll hitchhike my way back." She responded, with a wink. "I actually had plans to go spend the night at Syd's so I can visit with my niece and nephew."

"I'm so sorry about this." Casey rambled, flustered, but Alex pulled her into a hug.

"Be happy Casey, you deserve it. Just remember to use condoms, and I'll see you tomorrow back here." She said in her ear so only she could hear, but Casey slapped her back.

"Thanks." She scoffed with a laugh, then the two of them went their separate ways, Casey walking back toward her Jeep, where Alessio's eyes just followed her as she walked back toward him. "Well? Are you getting in?" Casey asked, and a smile appeared on his lips. Without an answer, he went around and got into the passenger's seat as she got in the driver's seat. As soon as she started the car, her phone had connected to the bluetooth and was blaring Skateboard P by MadeinTYO and Big Sean. She turned it down, and he chuckled, turning it back up. She looked over to him and watched as he hyped himself up to Big Sean's verse, rapping the entire thing. She gazed at him and eventually joined in, a smile forming across her face. She put the car in drive and started toward the exit, and they were jamming out to her music the entire time. Eventually she had to turn it down to see where they were going.

"How about we get a pizza and head back to your house. You've talked about your dog so much, I'd love to meet him." Alessio suggested, and she agreed to the idea. They stopped at her and Alex's regular pizza place and got what they usually got, which he was not opposed to. He had suggested buying a bottle of wine, but she assured him that they had enough at her house. Sometimes she and Alex would just have nights where they would just get wine drunk and dance around their living room. The dogs hated it because it was usually two or three in the morning when that happened, but that was when they had the best bonding moments because those were the times that only the two of them could understand.

They arrived at her house twenty minutes later, Alessio taking the pizza and breadsticks while Casey decontaminated her backseat from her soccer bag. She then followed him to the front door, Casey squeezing in front of him to unlock the front door. Atlas and Blue greeted them with wagging tails, a little barking at the newcomer, and lots of smelling. Eventually they let the two of them in, and Casey let them out into the backyard.

"If you want, you can just set the pizza down in the living room and we can eat in there." Casey suggested, and Alessio did just that before joining her in the kitchen.

"So wine or beer?" He asked her.

"Well I have a game tomorrow and I don't get as drunk off wine, so wine it is." She reasoned as she grabbed two wine glasses out of an overhead cabinet. Alessio found an unfinished bottle of rosé and poured them both enough to fill each glass about halfway. They brought them into the living room and sat on the floor, Casey handing him a plate and Alessio extending a glass of wine toward her. They exchanged and dug into the pizza and breadsticks, Castello's never failing to disappoint her.

"What do you think?" She asked him, and he nodded.

"This is amazing. Who knew pizza could be so good? I thought Chicago pizza was the best, but this..." He paused, taking another bite. "This just might just top it."

"I'm glad you like it." She chuckled, finishing her second slice and going for a third.

"You're having another?" He questioned as she put it on her plate, and she shrugged, nodding.

"Yeah, why?" She asked, and he sighed, shaking his head.

"Nothing, it's just refreshing to be eating with someone who doesn't only eats salads and water for dinner." He chuckled, which made her chuckle as well.

"Well if you're sticking around, you're gonna have to get used to it." She responded with a cocky raise of her eyebrows. He smirked and took another sip of his wine.

"So, answer me this Casey. How is a wonderful, beautiful girl like you not with someone?" He asked a few minutes later out of the blue. The question caught her off guard, and she had to set her glass of wine down before she dropped it at the sudden question.

"I was..." She started, but trailed. She did not want to keep going, but when he rest his hand on her knee, she knew it was safe to tell him. "I was in a relationship for about two years. We started dating my senior year of high school. I thought he was the love of my life, I thought we were going to get married. And then, about three months ago, I found out that my best friend of ten plus years was sleeping with him behind my back." She told him, her voice cracking near the end as tears threatened to fall. She had not talked about it with anyone since the whole ordeal happened.

"Casey..." His voice trailed, and she shook her head.

"No, no pity. It's all in the past, I've cut them out of my life. Fresh start, I guess." She interrupted, and he nodded. "Now, your turn. How is the charming, handsome, number one thriving billionaire bartender still single?" She asked, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"When I was twenty-three or so, I had been in a relationship for about four years. We were living together, we were planning to get engaged after we both graduated college. She too was the love of my life, until she was taken away from this world by a drunk driver that ran a red light, t-boned her car on the driver's side. She didn't suffer, she died on impact, but it was my fault. If we hadn't been arguing, she would have never left the house." He opened up to her, and they could both just feel their hearts breaking for one another.

"Alessio, I'm sorry, and it wasn't your fault. It was the driver's fault." She reassured him, placing her hand on his knee.

"Yes I know that now, but I still think of it that way from time to time. Like you said, it's all in the past." He responded with a broken smile. For the rest of the night they sat around in almost silence, talking quietly to one another until they drifted off to sleep in one another's arms against the couch, vulnerability taking its toll on their emotional strength.