MASTERMIND | Jamie Tartt

FIFTY TWO: FAMILY TIES

we're back! missed you darlings <3

"It'll come soon, J," Billie sighed, running her hand up and down his arm, the pair of them laying on her sofa, Jamie lying on top of Billie, his head resting on her chest, "I believe in you."

It had been seven weeks since Richmond's fateful loss against West Ham, and since then, the greyhounds had failed to win a match. It was dire, even with a player like Zava in their starting eleven, they couldn't secure a win. They weren't meeting their full potential, and deep down everyone knew it.

The beauty of Richmond that set them apart from other clubs is that they were family first, teammates second. But perhaps Zava's arrival had hindered their ability to utilise that beloved dynamic, much like the shift in a family dynamic caused by the arrival of a new step parent.

It weighed heavy on Jamie's head too, he wanted to be an asset to the team, he wanted to be a striker the team could rely on, knowing that if they fed the ball to him that he'd get it on target. He'd been relentless with his 4AM training sessions, and most days he was doing well at compartmentalising his energy usage. But there were some days, usually the day after a match, on which he would just want to crash, watch crap TV and cuddle Billie.

"My job is just scoring goals, I can't even do that," Jamie huffed, trailing his fingers up and down Billie's back.

"Jamie," Billie furrowed her eyebrows at him, "Don't talk like that, it'll come, it's just a rough patch, it's our dark forest, remember that?"

"Yeah," Jamie smiled, catching sight of Nelson who was sprawled across the other sofa, "I just wanna do more, wanna make sure the boys know that I'm trying, you know?"

"Everyone sees how hard you're working, and I am so proud of you for putting every bit of energy you have into this," Billie assured him, pushing his damp hair from the shower out of his face, "I love you, J, and I'm going to be there when you score a beauty of a goal and the fans chant your name."

"Don't know what I did to deserve you," Jamie hummed, interlocking his hand with hers, "But I'd do whatever it was again and again to stay like this."

"I think we'd find each other in every lifetime," Billie whispered, grazing her fingertips over his jaw, admiring his defined cheekbones, "I love doing life with you."

"Ditto."

Jamie smiled as he rested his head against Billie's chest, her steady heartbeat was a comfort, and he could fall asleep like that (he often did). She was where he felt safest, and the love he had for that woman was unquantifiable, even though they'd only been together less than a year, he knew that Billie was it for him, he knew that there could never be anyone else that came close to making her feel the way Billie did.

"How long do we have till we have to leave for training?" Billie hummed as she trailed her fingers over Jamie's broad shoulders.

"About thirty minutes," Jamie sighed.

It was the start of a new week, following their loss against Newcastle on the Saturday, they had a well earned duvet day on the Sunday morning before a roast dinner at the pub with Roy and Phoebe. Jamie had already been out first thing, training with Roy at 4AM, before returning to Billie's flat, sharing the breakfast she prepared and then cuddling on the sofa. The training could be tough, Roy didn't go easy on him, but Jamie loved the way his life looked (minus the lack of goals), he wasn't ashamed to admit that he enjoyed the brief moments of bonding with Billie's brother during their training sessions.

The press attention on their relationship had died down somewhat, except there often seemed to be new photos of them arriving or leaving training online every few days, which they both tended to ignore. Then there was the offers for exclusive interviews with various magazines, which Billie and Jamie mutually agreed to decline.