Concentrating on work the rest of the day was nearly impossible. Would it be so crazy to say yes to Coach Lasso's offer? Bailey genuinely enjoyed working for him and imagined it would be even easier to satisfy his chaotic whims if he were the only coach she had to cater to. The extra cash certainly wouldn't hurt either. A surplus ten thousand a year would be a significant increase. She took out the slip of paper Ted had handed her earlier. That was when she realized the proposed salary was written in Pound Sterling and not US Dollars. A quick Google search helped her effortlessly checking the conversion rate. If she included the extra ten thousand that Ted had offered, it was actually nearly double what she were making at her current job.
"I mean I'd be insane not to take it right?" Bailey asked her sister Anna over the phone during her lunch break.
"It sounds like you can make a boatload of cash and see the sights while doing it. Maybe even get some alone time with Coach Lasso." Her sister teased.
"Stop! He's married!" Bailey laughed. She hadn't realized she'd been so obvious about her crush on him. She had always tried her best to remain professional.
"That hasn't stop you from bringing him up in almost every conversation we've had the last two years." Anna sighed. "Still, it might be fun to do holidays in another country. Anyway, I'm not going to tell you what to do. And in case it needs to be said, you have my full support whatever you decide. Probably Mom and Mama too."
"I appreciate it, Anna." Bailey smiled. "I guess I've gotta go. I have a resignation letter to draft."
Everything seemed to happen at lightspeed after that. Bailey was packing morning and night, even on her lunch break. Whenever she could. She had to call and break the news to her moms, who both managed to at least sound supportive over the phone. They promised to visit as soon as she was settled at her new place.
The Athletic Department had a grand going away party for Coach Lasso, Coach Beard, and Bailey. They were all well like within the department and around campus. This made for a really mixed feeling around the room as they tried to mingle and offer their collogues polite good-byes. While some shared true words of encouragement, ("You're really going to flourish there!") others supplied what were probably meant to be jovial jabs Bailey was sure, though they came off as somewhat menacing. ("We'll still be here when you can't hack it over there.")
"Peas and Carrots I haven't been in a room this divided since JT and Britney split." Coach Lasso whispered to Bailey when their paths briefly crossed at the buffet table. He offered a low whistle for dramatic effect.
"Team Britney forever." Coach Beard added even quieter from behind Ted.
"Hope all this isn't making you regret your decision to come along with us." Ted told her.
"Are you kidding?" Bailey snorted. "You two are the only people in this room I actually like. I was going to be broken hearted if I was stuck here without you."
"Well, you hear that, Coach?" Ted looked over his shoulder at his best friend. "Sounds like we're bringing our number one fan along with us. Say, Bailey," His tone changed to a slightly more serious one. "I want you to know that Coach and I, we're tickled pink you agreed to come along."
"Wouldn't be the Dream Team without ya." Beard agreed before patting her gently on the back. The average passerby wouldn't know it, but she'd been working alongside the duo for two years. That sentence was high praise from Coach Beard. Dream Team. That part sounded like it had originated with Coach Lasso, but still Beard had said it. If she had any doubt that joining them was a mistake, the brief conversation was enough to convince her that it wasn't.
The closest airport to the school in Wichita only offered domestic flights, with meant that the following morning Bailey, Coaches Lasso and Beard all piled into the back of a cab for their flight out of Kansas City International Airport. None of them had any bags to check, having sent most of their things along weeks ago with the movers. Bailey had made sure they were all registered for TSA pre-check, so their pre-flight security screening was a breeze too.
"Now I know that you've both explained this to me about a hundred times, but I still can't wrap my head around the fact that our flight leaves at one PM and will arrive at seven AM." Bailey and Coach Beard exchanged a look, each trying to communicate to the other that it was in fact their turn to once again explain time zones to Ted.
"It's a twelve-hour flight. Twelve hours from now it will be one AM Kansas Time. When it is one AM Kansas time it will also be Seven AM in London." Coach Beard explained.
"Still sounds like time travel to me." Ted insisted with a smile. "You doing okay, Bailey? You seem nervous."
"It's my first time on an international flight." You told him. "I've been on a plane before. It's usually about a five-hour flight home to Connecticut, but twelve hours is a long time to be stuck somewhere."
"Well, there's nothing to be nervous about! Me and coach'll be there the whole time to keep you company. You can sit right next to me." Ted gave Bailey's knee a comforting pat. The brief touch was enough to send a shiver up her spine. She began to wonder how much longer her heart could handle its little crush on Ted Lasso. Poor thing was likely to go into cardiac arrest before they even made it on the plane.
One hour, and an in-depth conversation about the International Date Line later, thier flight began to board. When it was time to claim their seats, Ted made sure that he and Bailey were seated next to each other. Beard sat directly behind Ted and cracked open the spine of Coaching Soccer for Dummies. He'd purchased several books on soccer that he planned to read through the duration of the flight.
While waiting for the rest of the passengers to board, Ted was stopped by another passenger who asked for a selfie before immediately telling the coach he was mental for doing something "so stupid." The comment seemed to weigh on Ted as he peeked over the back of his chair at Beard. Sensing his friend's eyes on him, Beard peeked up from his book.
"Are we nuts for doing this?" He asked Beard quietly.
"Yeah, this is nuts." Beard nodded.
"Hey, but taking on a challenge is a lot like riding a horse, isn't it?" Ted mused. "If you're comfortable while you're doing it, you're probably doing it wrong." Beard offered him a solum nod in agreement. The stewardess announced that the flight would be taking off soon and the lights would be going out. Everyone was required to be in their seats with their seatbelts fastened. "Good night, Coach." He added before turning around.
"Beard you brought your own blanket?" Bailey commented, watching him from over her shoulder. "Wish I'd though to do that."
"Not to worry!" Ted assured her. "I brought a big enough blanket for both of us." Ted then proceeded to pull out a blanket from the backpack at his feet. It was fleece and fluffy and absolutely big enough for the two of them. The blanket was a nice rich blue color that Bailey noticed complimented Ted's deep brown eyes well.
"Well, I've got a ton of movies downloaded to my iPad. If you're willing to share your blanket, I'll happy share my headphones." Bailey offered. She opened the library on her iPad so that Coach Lasso could see how extensive her move collection was.
"You've Got Mail?" Ted exclaimed when he found the title on the list. "That is one of my favorite movies.
"Mine too." She smiled. Ted scooted a little closer to her side of his seat so that he could share his blanket with her, and Bailey told herself that she was moving closer to Ted to get a better view of the screen. She hoped that maybe when they were wrapped up under the blanket together that their hands might accidentally touch or perhaps their legs would brush against one another. Anything for another taste of the electric feeling that the slightest touch from Ted Lasso brought.
Halfway through the movie Bailey felt her eyes begin to droop. She attempted to fight off the sleepiness while Ted whispered his personal commentary about the film to her. She managed to stay awake through the film, but she was definitely yawning while the pair of them debated their next film. When they finally arrived on The Princess Bride, she knew there was no way she'd make it to the end of a second movie.
"If I'm not awake when this ends," she yawned to Ted. "Feel free to keep watching whatever you want. If the screen locks, the password is zero, eight, three, three." Bailey wondered absently as her eyes began to close if he had figure out her password spelled Ted. He didn't seem to notice as his eyes were already trained on the small screen in front of him.
He'd been watching the movie for twenty minutes before he realized that Bailey had fallen asleep. It was another ten before he looked over to find her head resting on his shoulder. While he was wondering if he should push her off, sleeping like that couldn't be good for her neck, she snaked both of her arms around his right arm. Ted glanced over his shoulder to seek advice from Beard, who was also sleeping. He looked back at Bailey and noticed she'd begun to smile in her sleep.
"Well, 'least one of us is comfortable." He commented and decided to leave it be. The truth was Ted didn't mind the extra weight on his arm. It had been sometime since anyone, especially his wife Michelle, had wanted to hold him close like that. Not that he thought there was anything explicitly romantic about letting a young lady rest on his arm. In fact, Beard had used Ted's shoulder as a pillow on more than one away game related occasion. Still, something felt different about Bailey's hands being wrapped around his biceps than Beard's or even Michelle's ever did.