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liked by: jamie_tartt and 86,272 others
billie_kent: almost a year ago I told this man i couldn't wait to see him make his england debut, he didn't believe it was possible...you've done it starboy and I couldn't be prouder <3
COMMENTS: jamie_tartt: I love you so much
will_kitman: mega!!!
colinhughes: the real life posh and becks
alfiesykes98: let it be known I wrote an article at the beginning of the year predicting this...
keeleyjones: you bloody cuties
It dawned on Billie as she entered Wembley stadium's VIP lounge that had been decked out for the England players' partners and families, that she hadn't ever watched Jamie play a match which wasn't in a work capacity. There was of course the Chelsea match, when he'd insisted that he take her up to sit with Rebecca, but until that moment she'd had every intention of staying pitchside.
But she was glad that on an occasion as big as Jamie making his England debut that she could keep her focus on him, rather than making sure she was spreading her attention equally between the team as she photographed them.
To be back at Wembley for a football match was daunting, given what happened after the FA Cup match, but the pair were in a far better place, and they had each other. Billie hoped that returning to the same locker room wouldn't affect Jamie, and from the few text conversations they'd had that morning, she knew he would want to focus on the match, and that was what she'd let him do. She hadn't seen him since she drove him back to St George's Park after Uncle's Day, and she wouldn't see him until after the match, which felt unfamiliar, given their routine of seeing each other before every match.
Billie's phone buzzed in her pocket, she pulled it out to see that Rebecca was calling, so she stepped to the side, glancing over at the women in football shirts and men in suits who she assumed were FA officials.
"Hey," Billie answered, "Everything alright?"
"I'm just about to head into the Akufo meeting," Rebecca sighed from the other end of her phone, "I just felt like a little pep talk from you would make me feel more prepared."
"You don't need to be prepared, Rebecca," Billie assured her, "It's Akufo that's trying to sell the dream here, he needs you and the other owners to join or his league won't exist, remember that."
"The only other women in that room will be the staff, I'm almost sure of it," Rebecca muttered, knowing that the meeting's contents would inevitably be stale and male.
"You deserve to be in there as much as any of them," Billie reminded her, "They were all little boys once, without their football clubs, they are still probably just old boys."
