chapter 2 - rebound holiday

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The final whistle blew and it's had ended 3–3. Another lapse in defence had lad to them conceding a late goal. Another late goal, story of their tournament Jake thought. The team trotted back down the tunnel and into the changing room, their heads hung in disappointment of what could've been. They should have gone further and there was no hiding their upset. The silence was deafening, each player showering and changing I'm pretty much silence before getting back on the team bus to the hotel. Jake stared out of the window looking into the Italian hills, thinking about his own performance and what else he could've done to prevent this. There was nothing he could do now this was the end of a very long season.

He looked down at his phone - texts from his mum and dad saying they were very proud, his twin sister saying the same thing plus could she grab Dominic Calvert Lewin's phone number 😜. He smiled and told her to piss off. Another name caught his eye in, the stream of texts coming in to his phone. Alex, his ex and only ever 'significant' other, had messaged saying well done. Alex was Jake's first everything. The guy who made him realise he was gay, his first love, his virginity, his best mate. That all came crashing down when Jake got called up to the England Seniors.

Alex couldn't hack that Jake didn't want to come out which made Jake feel so guilty. October 2018, he went on his first England camp, and decided to put all that out of his head. He didn't make his first appearance but Jake loved the experience - the training, set up at SGP, the group, all of drove Jake into putting his all into making the starting 11 one day. But as he left the training camp, his phone rang. One of his best mates, Anna rang to tell him she had been on a night out in Manchester and seen Alex get with another guy. Jake was distraught, he immediately rang Alex who confessed. Lots of tears followed, both of them heartbroken, but they realised they wanted different things and that that it was the end for them. Alex couldn't continue being Jake's secret and Jake simply wasn't ready for the spotlight being an openly gay footballer in the Premier League would bring. Jake was devastated but threw himself back into football and time had healed. It didn't stop his stomach from dropping when he saw his name on his screen though. He swiped the message away and put his headphones in, as the coach continued on towards the hotel.

jakerivers6: not the result we wanted, but these boys are family - win together, lose together, grow together 👊

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jakerivers6: not the result we wanted, but these boys are family - win together, lose together, grow together 👊

declanrice: lots to be proud of fam
mollyrivers: love you bro ❤️
fikayotomori: brother🤝

The coach arrived back at the hotel and the boys scooped themselves out of their seats and off the bus, back into the Italian heat. As they all went back to their rooms before team meal in the evening, Jake realised he thought he'd be here till the final and had absolutely no plans for a couple of weeks. He had a plan and thought he'd air it to the boys.

young boyos in italia

riverz
right boys I know not the result we wanted. I don't know about the rest of you but i'd planned to be here for a couple more weeks. anyone else at a loose end and fancy a week sunning on a greek island somewhere?

hendo
im pale as fuck and will burn but jakey i like your thinking......

madderz
gotta head back to blighty boys but enjoy!

tammy
don't be old af mads! come on join the lads on a week of clinging on to our youth. count me in jakey

tammy changed madderz nickname to grandad

grandad
wow ageism is reallll

feeks
yeaaaa tomori is on board

foden
ye y not

tammy
the golden child is in, yes philly❤️

riverz
you old enough to drink phil? (serious q)

foden
ye im 19 ya bell

riverz
respect your elders, feeling some strong 'were in' vibes here so im gonna plan

DCL
im in

solanke
me too

el captino
can't sorry boys gotta head back to the gf

feeks
jake saltz is whipped pass it on

el captino
so true, im under the thumb

feeks
boreddd can't believe you letting the CB crew down

mase
yeah im in

tammy
young gun number 2 reporting for duty (and some serious corruption)

grandad
ah fuck it I'll come

tammy
YASSSS come on grandad!!!!

riverz
any more for any more - booking villa tonight so just let me know at dinner if you want in

Jake felt better, the results may not have gone their way but at least the bond as a team was as strong as ever. As he entered the hotel restaurant, a couple of the lads came up to him to give their apologies for the upcoming trip, 'at least this gives me definite numbers' Jake thought and he pulled out his phone and got booking whilst the rest of the boys chatted about random shite in the background. Plane sorted, villa booked. Summer was about to begin.

riverz added tammy, feeks, madders, dcl, solanke, foden, hendo and mase to the group

riverz named the group 'greek gods n grandad'
riverz changed madders nickname to grandad

Greek gods and grandad

riverz: pack your trunks boys - plane sorted, villa booked, greek islands here we come 🙌 flight is tomorrow night, meet in lobby at 3pm

grandad: the abuse is reallll man

tammy: yes the bois, gassed for this

feeks: 👊👊👊

foden: 🕺🕺🕺

mase: 🤿🍻🍻

hendo: cheers jakey boi, let's go!

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