Gold Rush

ENG vs HUN: Part 1

The squad had been training relentlessly all week in preparation for the World Cup Qualifier match against Hungary.

This was their second clash with the opposition and the lads had not long ago endured a horrifying away game against them, during which they were subjected to racial abuse, taunts and a volatile stadium. However, they managed to channel this negative energy into storming a well deserved 4-0 win.

Match day rolled around quick and with an hour to go before kick off, Gareth Southgate had gathered the squad for a passionate team talk in the home dressing room.

*
Jack watched on as the gaffer pulled a chair into the middle of the dressing room, he didn't give a shit that the majority of them were half naked, still getting changed. No one batted an eyelid anymore.
Gareth waits for no one, and he confirmed once again who was in the starting line up.

Pickers, Mings, Stonesy, Shaw, Walks, Rice, Mount, Foden, Kane, Sterling and of course, him.

He was dead chuffed to be starting tonight and the hunger for another goal was more apparent than ever.
It just hit different being called up to represent your country, he was determined to prove himself.

Gareth has had an issue with him for a little while. He wasn't happy with Jack's 'behaviour' off the pitch, which he could understand to a certain degree, he had made mistakes - but all that was in the past.
He'd apologised for his actions and the gaffer had still called him up for international duty, yet he occasionally still liked to knock him down a peg or two. Just to make sure he wasn't getting too big for his boots.
Jack didn't have the time for mind games or power trips, so he just tried to keep his head down.
Even more so now. For Sophie.
It was important to him that she didn't think badly of him.

*
Behind the scenes in the stadium, Sophie busied herself with gathering the pitch side medical supplies that may be needed and besides, going through her mental checklist settled the anxiety that had been bubbling under the surface for the past couple of days.

She couldn't put her finger on what was 'off', but there was definitely something.

Towels... to soak up any blood.
Medical gloves... goes without saying.
Petroleum jelly... for a temporary seal of small wounds.
Oral airways... to maintain a safe airway should anyone become knocked unconscious.
Water... both drinkable and sterile.
Bandages.. non-absorbent and absorbent...
Ice...
Eye wash...
Stitch packs...
Smelling salts...
Painkillers...
Glucose shots...

She double and triple checked again, before packing the supplies into a large backpack and resting them on the stretcher, ready to be rolled out to the side of the pitch.

She lingered outside of the dressing room waiting for Gareth to finish up. She was miles away in thought, lost in her head until she became aware of Louis walking down the corridor facing her. He was effortlessly carrying two canisters of both oxygen and entonox.

*
Being the only two medics at SGP, they found themselves spending an increased amount of time together and they got on surprisingly well. They'd worked as a team to come up with action plans and recovery packages specifically tailored to each individual player, taking into account old and new injuries, with aspects to work on whilst implementing a routine which complemented the things the players were already good at.

Gareth was impressed with the work they had done in such a short space of time and stated he would generously feedback to their respective managers.

She got vibes from that other Physio, Millie, that she couldn't explain, all she knew was that her gut was telling her to just stay out of her way unless absolutely necessary.

The hairs on the back of her neck stood tall and her ears pricked up whenever she observed Millie and Jack together during training sessions.
He didn't act any different, but she did.
Girls just know.
Millie was definitely more hands on with him, more so than she was around other players.
Sophie didn't understand why she was on high alert, but she was listening to her intuition.

She had spent most nights with Jack, and that week he had been shagging her quite literally senseless. It reminded her of that holiday sex, the kind where you just cannot get enough and it ends up happening twice, sometimes three times a day.
The combination of the change of scenery, plush hotel rooms and the intense secrecy of their situation seemed to spike both of their feelings. They were highly charged and unpredictable. Sophie's already heightened feelings had daily rises of this nervous energy and when this happened, she had felt more jealous, more needy than ever before.

*
Louis placed the heavy canisters down onto the stretcher and held his arms out in front of him, attempting to release the tension that he now felt lingering in his bicep.

'Penny for ya thoughts Sophie?'

The mild warm midlands accent made her naturally smile back at him, 'Just in my own world Lou.. nothing to worry about..'

Louis knocked lightly on the dressing room door and he and Sophie entered. Gareth and some of the players acknowledged their presence with a nod, as they discussed tactics for the game.
Sophie looked around the room, Kate, Jamie and Millie were already there.
She caught Kate's line of sight and smiled, thinking she must have stopped listening approximately 15 minutes ago, going by the obvious glazed over look coated across her eyes.

Gareth quickly wrapped up the team talk and left the boys to finish getting ready whilst he went for a scheduled pre-match interview.
Jack remained shirtless as Millie began her physiotherapist duties of using the Theragun on his exposed, defined back. Most of the players really like to use this alongside stretching during the pre-match period as it helps lubricates the muscles and encourages blood flow.

Sophie watched on as the head of the Theragun pumped thunderously just on the surface of his skin, causing Jack to groan out loud, clearly feeling the benefits of the tool.
This caused her to tense inside.
Properly tense.
It made her furious that someone else was teasing those noises out of him and all she wanted at that very moment, was to straddle him right there in the middle of the dressing room.
It was as if he could sense how she was feeling, he rolled his head back, then to the right and finally to the left, before focusing his eyes on Sophie across the room.
He winked at her.
One of those trademark winks.

Sophie absorbed the cheeky look that flashed across his face and quickly cracked on with the pre match routine, having a word with herself in the process, in fear that if she didn't then she would combust right there on the spot.

*
She knew it. Millie had called it from day dot.
Call it woman's instinct.
Seeing Jack wink at Sophie in the mirror was the confirmation she had needed.

Despite saying that she wasn't expecting anything from him earlier in the week, seeing him again in the flesh, with those tiny shorts pretty much pulled up to just below his muscular arse cheeks and that glint in his eyes.. it all weakened her, he weakened her. Her best sex was with Jack over that whole weekend and no one since could even come close, literally.

He wasn't taking her on when she got a little bit closer to him than she did with the others.. or when she'd spent that little bit longer helping him stretch out his limbs and perfect his technique in group yoga.
Millie couldn't understand why he wasn't giving in to her advances.
But it all made perfect sense now.
And she didn't like it.