Cosima was utterly ecstatic with the way her afternoon went and was sure she sensed a mutual connection between herself and her new French companion. The only problem was that she wasn't sure what kind. She knew Delphine was flirting back and admitted she was nervous. She saw the woman blush more than once and felt the heat radiating off of the woman whenever she adjusted her for the next photo. This was the first time in what felt like forever that Cosima had to work for a woman's attention. Before she settled down a bit with Kathryn and became a bit of a homebody, women seemed to flock to Cosima. She'd often just attend an event or go to a bar and wait for the women to spot her out. Her friends and teammates referred to her as "The Fonz" and teased her for the amount of straight women that would throw themselves at her. This persona was something she was proud of before her reputation began to precede her and a gossip magazine headline was published that read "USWNT Captain Niehaus a player on and off the field?" This headline led to the end of her nearly two year relationship with Kathryn Channing.
The now infamous Kathryn was a fitness model and celebrity personal trainer. She met Cosima while training her for the annual ESPN Body Issue that showcases featured athletes' nude form. It was an honor and a high profile gig that Cosima was extremely excited to participate in. Despite her excitement, Cosima was a bit annoyed that the magazine insisted that she 'tighten' up and even went through the trouble of hiring someone to train her. That was until she saw Kathryn. Cosima's ex-girlfriend was a beautiful blonde with an amazing physique and the bluest eyes she'd ever seen. She was the quintessential California girl and Cosima was smitten from the start. Even though most of her intrigue was due to physical attraction, the two developed a strong bond through mutual interests and a fierce physical connection. Cosima really thought they would last when Kathryn agreed to move in after a year of dating. Kathryn had been as averse to commitment as Cosima and their cohabitation was thought to be a sign that they were 'growing up'. Needless to say the split not only devastated Cosima but led her back to her nonchalant treatment of women's feelings.
…
"Hey Felix is everyone home, I'm on my way"
"Yes Darling everyone's home and if you don't hurry up Alison will have your head" Her younger brother warned in a playful tone.
"Tell her I'm almost there, I got stuck in some traffic and I…"
"Tell her yourself, you're on speaker"
"Shit…Hey Ali, sorry I'm late again"
"Language Cosima…And yes I've heard that before, were you up all night with one of your groupies again? I can't even count how many times you've been late for my WEEKLY Sunday dinner now. The time hasn't changed!" Cosima's oldest sibling chastised as she set the table.
"Sorry… I know I know… and what about groupies? I was at a team function Ali, I have obligations you know"
"Yes, yes all of your obligatory parties, how could I forget? Just hurry up please your niece is getting antsy"
"Alright I'm almost there…Hey Monkey be there in a bit, sit tight!"
"I know auntie Cosima, Auntie Alison should know that you always run late by now."
"You hear that? Even the nine year old knows you're unreliable." Felix says with a laugh from across the room.
"Alright critics, I'm around the corner, see you soon" Cosima hangs up with an eye roll and proceeds to turn up the volume on the radio to hear the next song playing on her Edith Piaf Pandora station. Delphine told her that if she wanted to explore French music she needed to start with the classics.
After arriving at the Hendrix household, Cosima gave herself a silent pep talk before heading inside. Although her family was wonderful, they had a knack for dissolving into chaos if the drinks flowed too easily. Alison and Sarah tended to butt heads over Sarah's career choice and their husbands Cal and Donnie couldn't do more than observe helplessly. Felix had recently taken up the habit of getting drunk before dinner and passing out in the guest room after desert and Cosima was left to deal with the scrutiny of her elders, being the youngest sibling left at the table. Despite the prying eyes she always had little Kira on her side to take on the meanies.
"Hey kids how's it hangin'?"
"What on earth kind of greeting is that Cosima?" Alison asked with a head shake
"The kind one gives when they took two swigs of Jameson on the porch in an effort to better handle their family." Cosima shouted with a laugh.
"Now who wants to give me a hug?"
Kira runs to her aunt and wraps her arms around her as Cosima continues to walk pretending that she doesn't realize Kira is there.
"What is this thing weighing me down? I mean it looks kinda like my niece but it's far too big and strong to be my little Kira."
"Of course it's me Auntie Cosima, you're just being silly"
"You're right Monkey I'm being silly and I'm apparently always late" She repeated with a wink.
After a relatively peaceful dinner Felix was noticeably inebriated and was in no shape to drive. Cosima offered to take him home since Sarah and Kira were already staying in the guest room. Despite protests from Alison, Cosima had insisted she was fine to drive. She truly was since she hadn't any drinks after the initial shots on the porch but her sisters still worried over her for thirty minutes before letting them leave. After gathering their coats and saying goodbye, Cosima led Felix to the car and buckled him in.
"Hey I'm all for being a lush once in a while Fe, but your niece is in there. Maybe we should make an effort not to be the weird drunk Uncle from now on?"
"Ooooh I'm sorry my life is such a mess. I'm sorry I can't make an ass of myself in front of the entire country like you Big Sis." Felix slurred with a forced smile.
Cosima glared and tried to calm herself knowing her brother would only act like that if something was bothering him.
"Not that you're forgiven... but what is wrong with you? You've been moping around for weeks and getting pissed drunk at these weekly dinners. What's your deal Dude?
"I know, I know… I'm so sorry Cos" He replied with a whimper.
"I'm just a total mess and I'm just making things worse but I can't help it. Colin broke up with me and he won't even explain why. He doesn't return my calls and I went to his trailer yesterday to talk and he wouldn't open the door. One of the grips told me they thought they saw him in there with someone…I can't handle seeing him on set with someone else Cos I just can't"
Felix met Colin on the set of the film he was currently doing the make-up for. He always swore he wouldn't date on the job but Colin was far too exceptional to pass up. He was handsome, although not in the traditional sense, but he was sweet and treated Felix with a respect he was not used to. They hit it off quickly and fell madly in bed after a night of hard drinking and dancing at Rage. Felix just knew Colin was his happy ending after a string of one night stands. When it ended so abruptly after months of dating he was truly worried he would always be the plaything and never the boyfriend. The worst part is that everyone warned him not to get involved but he ignored them and ended up heartbroken. He couldn't bring himself to discuss it with friends because he could stand to hear I told you so.
"Oh I'm sorry Fe. I had no idea. Why didn't you tell me? We could've talked about it. If anyone knows about heartbreak and embarrassment it's your big sis here" She teased as she pulled into his apartment parking lot.
"I know it's just that your love life has been stricken with bad luck and I didn't want to come to you complaining when you're still suffering you know? I tried to talk to Sarah but she thinks Colin was no good for me and that it's for the best"
"While I'm glad everyone is so considerate of my feelings, I will admit I'm not really all that broken up about Kat anymore. The more I think about it I realize we were really just great in bed together. I mean she was great at her job and she liked decent music but she was not really all that interesting. She just had the body of an angel and I was blinded by her ability to make me see God." Cosima stated matter-of-factly as she laughed to herself.
"Ya I can see relate to that. Why do you think I have Colin saved in my phone as 'Magic Stick'?" They both laughed at that and made no movement toward exiting the car.
"Yeah that explains your absence from the bars while you two were dating. He met your needs all on his own."
She smirked, with a sigh and leaned her head against the window hoping the cold glass against her skin would make her more alert.
"Yes but now I'm sprung, He's like a drug to me Cos. I wish I never met him…but I guess I shouldn't tell you that with the way Kat turned into Cruella after you two split. At least he's not bothering to drag me through the mud"
"Yeah, but there's always a light at the end of the tunnel man. There's always someone new you know?"
"No I don't know but I want you to tell me because that's the most positive you've been about 'love' in months…what's her name?" He said with a grin as he rested he chin on his palms in anticipation.
"Oh yeah, well I met this photographer on Friday and we really hit it off. We are going to lunch on Tuesday."
"A date during daylight? She must be special. Tell me more"
She couldn't help but chuckle at his intrigue.
"Well she's French, Her name is Delphine and she is absolutely gorgeous Fe. I mean classic beauty… old Hollywood type" She swooned as he brother listened with intent.
"Sounds lovely, much different than the big breasted bimbos you've been after as of late. So where are you two going?"
"Hey hey now I can heal however I see fit Mister…And we are going to Gracias Madre, I'm assuming she's vegan but that's probably only because of her boyfriend…"
"Wait what?...Excuse me but please tell me boyfriend means something else in French?"
Cosima gave an uneasy smile and shrugged her shoulders. She knew she was foolish for even making him think this was a date but she had tricked herself into believing it too.
"Yeah it's complicated but who doesn't love a challenge right?" She joked with a cheeky smile as she got out of the car to help Felix up to his apartment.
"God help this family of love fools…" He replied with a palm to his forehead.