pinky promise - jamie tartt

‟ LATER, TATER! „

˗ˏˋ 'ˎ˗

Tatum knew she had to bite the bullet and introduce herself to Coach Lasso, but that didn't mean she wasn't dragging her feet down to the locker room.

She had watched the boys leave the pitch from one of the club's many windows, and then timed how long it would take for them to change, and yet when she reached the level of the locker room, Jamie Tartt was already dressed and leaning against the wall in the hallway.

"Did Lasso go already? I wanted to introduce myself." Tate questioned him, glancing around to see if any of the other boys had left yet. Maybe she could put off the introductions a little longer, then, if everyone was gone.

"Ah, no, he's still in there." Jamie shrugged, acting completely uninterested in what she was asking. "I just gotta go and get waxed. Keeley made the appointment for me."

"You're getting waxed?" Tate could barely contain her laughter, caught off guard by the statement. There was nothing wrong with him getting waxed, it just created an amusing mental image. Jamie finally looked directly at her, a grin on his smug face.

"The fans like me smooth."

"Do you hear yourself when you talk?" Her own amused smile was wide, an unusual occurrence when in the presence of Jamie Tartt. Though, her smile was not because of him, but at his expense. "Because I don't understand how you can say that and still take yourself seriously."

His face scrunched up in genuine confusion.

"Right," Tate nodded, remembering who she was talking to. Self-awareness was not a trait that Jamie had ever exemplified in the entire time she had known him.  Glancing behind him towards the locker room doors, Tate bit her bottom lip out of nerves. "What do you think about the new coach?"

"As long as he lets me do my thing," Jamie shrugged. Tate wasn't even sure why she asked him; she could have predicted his answer. "Don't know why we had to change coaches to that American clown anyways." He looked her up and down, seeming to remember that Tate was, in fact, American herself. "No offense, babe."

"George was a creep, Jamie." Tate rolled her eyes. She wasn't surprised he hadn't noticed how horribly the previous coach treated her, how every time she needed to talk to the shitty excuse of a coach the previous season she made Sam, Roy, or one of the other boys stay nearby. "But I actually really hate to agree with you about bringing in Lasso, if he truly doesn't know as much about football as he says."

"Of course you're going to agree with me. I'm me." He replied smugly, his tone practically saying duh.

"Actually, I take it back, you child—"

"Tatum!" A feminine voice called from down the hallway. Tate's smile turned genuine at the sight of Jamie's much better half approaching.

"Hi, Keeley." She replied brightly, as if she hadn't just been bickering with Keeley's boyfriend. The bubbly blonde pulled her in for a tight hug, despite the fact that Tate had only met her a handful of times.

"What are you up to today?" Keeley questioned, seeming genuinely interested in her life. For not the first time, Tate wondered what the sweet woman saw in Jamie fucking Tartt.

"Preparing for the season to start, really." Tate grinned, glancing briefly at Jamie to find him looking rather bored with the conversation. "Probably not as interesting as taking my boyfriend to his waxing appointment."

While Keeley laughed, Jamie looked put out by his girlfriend's reaction.

"Right! We better leave now, or else we'll be late." Keeley played peacemaker between Tate and Jamie, which had historically proven to be a difficult job. Exchanging goodbyes, which was little more than a nod from Jamie, they went their separate ways.

Tate would never admit it aloud, she hated to even think it, but for those brief moments she was talking to Jamie, she had forgotten about her stress with the new head coach.

She knocked on the open door of the locker room, smiling at a few of the players as she entered. She met Sam's gaze from across the room, and the look he gave her told her all she needed to know about how the initial meeting between players and coaches had went. Awkward, was the word she was certain he would use.

The new coaches were setting up their office, so she knocked on their door as well, ignoring the kiss Richard blew her. Lasso and Beard both turned immediately in her direction, looking surprised for all of two seconds before Lasso was smiling kindly.

"Are you one of the girlfriends as well? Heck, I bet I could guess who you're here for. You seem kind—is it Sam?" Lasso began, speaking a mile a minute, and Tate was momentarily stunned. She supposed she did look a little young to be working for the club, which had been the catalyst the previous season for—

"Bumbercatch." Coach Beard added, an analytical look on his otherwise neutral face. "Sleeper pick."

"Oh, good one, Coach." Lasso nodded, hands on his hips, then turned towards her expectantly. "Did we get it right?"

"Uh, no." Tate shook her head, still confused. Lasso and Beard deflated, and she knew she needed to continue on before either one of them kept talking. "I'm Tatum Greene, but you can call me Tate. I work here, in the social media department."

"My apologies, that's on me for assuming." Lasso held up his hands to claim guilt before shaking hers. Beard nodded solemnly, the action turning the corners of her lips upwards in amusement. Their comments didn't feel demeaning, like they probably would have coming from others, and she felt that they were genuinely sorry for the misunderstanding. "And you know what happens when you assume."

"Yes, I do." She grinned despite herself.

"Wait," Lasso jumped slightly, pointing a finger at Tate. "American!"

"We should start a club," Beard continued, his monotone voice a stark contrast to Lasso's excitement.

"Yeah, we can chat about how much tea sucks and how confusing English slang is." Tate snorted, relaxing in their company and momentarily forgetting the reason she had found herself down in the coaches offices.

"Oh boy, we are going to get along fantastically, Tater Tot. I'm Ted, by the way. And this stoic soldier is Coach Beard." Lasso grinned widely, and she was momentarily stunned by the truth she heard in his voice. The truth, and the use of her childhood nickname she hadn't heard in years. "I declare this the first formal meeting of the Americans in England club. First order of business, likes and dislikes. Let's get to know each other."

His comment drew a genuine laugh from her, but Tate shook her head, knowing she had dragged her feet too long getting down to their office and had a meeting to get to soon.

"I've got to run, Coach, but I wanted to introduce myself. You'll probably be seeing me a lot down here; I'm good friends with most of the team." Tate explained, and though Ted seemed disappointed she wasn't continuing with the club's agenda, he glanced to Beard after learning about her closeness with the players.

"What about Jamie—?"

"Definitely not." Tate shook her head, the coaches deflating. "Keeley? Yes. But Jamie doesn't seem to realize that he's actually playing a team sport."

"Well, we'll see about that. Thanks anyway." Ted was still smiling; she wasn't sure how the man could keep it up for so long. Turning to leave, Tate paused halfway out of the door frame.

"My favorite flowers are lilies and I don't like driving." She confessed, a hesitant smile on her face, as she gave the coach her likes and dislikes. Things were different this season—and that hadn't just been a lie to soothe Chase the night before.

"Favorite book?"

"Pride and Prejudice." She answered before turning to leave once more. With her back turned to the coaches, she rolled her eyes with an honest grin. She would take Ted's foolishness over the previous head coach's misogyny any day.

"Meeting adjourned!" Ted shouted despite the fact that she was nearly in the hallway. "Later, Tater!"

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