The walk home was quieter than usual. Beard and Ted didn't discuss the game at all. They didn't talk about the loss or what the new strategy for Monday would be. Ted didn't tell Beard about the photo and Beard didn't ask where Bailey and Ted disappeared to in the middle of the party. Bailey wondered if Ted had told Beard about their kiss. She wondered if the walk was as agonizingly quiet for either of them as it was for her.
"I hate losing." Beard sighed finally as the group came up on the road where they parted ways.
"Bird by bird, Coach." Ted replied back. Bailey wondered if she would ever understand the secret language the two coaches shared. Beard continued on his way while she and Ted turned down a side street in the opposite direction. Bailey sucked on her teeth not sure how to start the conversation now that the two of them were alone. All she could manage was his name.
"Ted." She began quietly. She looked up at him. His face was framed in the soft light coming from the streetlamps. "We have to talk about…" Her sentence trailed off as he turned to look at her.
"Yup, I suppose we ought to." He agreed. They kept walking, continuing towards home.
"I owe you an apology." Bailey told him. "You were very clear that you wanted our relationship to remain professional. And you set a clear boundary, and there was cake batter, and I was probably over tired and…and…" She realized halfway through that she was rambling. She was speaking in short incoherent sentences, but Ted made no effort to stop her. He waited until she paused and gulped down a large breath of air. "And…"
"[Y/N]. It's okay." He assured her. "It's okay."
"It's really hot out here." She huffed. Bailey began to fan herself with her hand. It had been freezing most of the day. It seemed weird that everything suddenly felt so hot. "And my chest hurts. Does yours? It just feels tight right here." She gestured to chest where it felt like the muscles were being pulled to their limit.
"Let's get you some water, okay?" He waited for her to nod before putting an arm around her. Ted guided her to the Crown and Anchor since it was closer than his flat. He found a table tucked away in the back corner. Most of the locals had left hours ago following Richmond's defeat. Ted brought Bailey a glass of cold water. She accepted the glass and began sipping from it.
The pub's proprietor, Mae, placed a frosty mug of beer at Ted's elbow. She mumbled something about the game, but Bailey was too busy focusing on her breathing to really hear her. When she had drank about half of the glass of water and her hands weren't shaking as much, she decided to try again.
"Ted, I am sorry that I kissed you." Bailey told him with a level, measured tone. Now was not the time for her emotions to get the better of her. Bailey and Ted needed to have this conversation.
"Well, I'm not." Ted replied. She assumed he was just trying to downplay the situation for her benefit, until he added, "Especially not as much as I ought to be. I've known since before we moved that you had feelings for me."
Bailey felt her blood, which had just begun to settle, rush towards her cheeks again. It wasn't from nerves now, but sheer embarrassment. She had assumed all this time that she'd been keeping her insignificant little crush on Ted Lasso under wraps. She didn't know what to say, so she didn't say anything. She just stared at her glass of water on the table.
"And the truth is Bailey, I think I owe you an apology myself." Her eyes shot up from the glass to meet Ted's. Maybe it was the topic of conversation or the dim pub lighting, but his eyes seemed even rounder, more vulnerable. "I knew you had feelings for me, and I asked you to leave the country with me. Now, I didn't have anything to do with your flat not being ready, but I didn't hesitate at the idea of having you around more. As for the cake batter, well blame for that falls on me too, don't it?"
"I…you…but you're married." Bailey managed to sputter out.
"And that puts us in quite the pickle." He sighed. Ted reached for his beer and drank from it slowly. When he put his tankard down, his expression changed. "I love my wife, Bailey."
"I know. Of course. I should have never…" She tried to explain herself, but he interrupted.
"You didn't let me finish. I love my wife, but I also care a lot about you." The fact that he hadn't said he loved her had stung a little, but Bailey softened the blow by reminding herself that he at least said he had feelings for her too. "I confided in you that me and Michelle are taking a break. If something has broken entirely between the two of us, I'd like to say that beyond a shadow of a doubt I gave my very best to my marriage. I think I owe my family that much. I also think you deserve someone who can give their whole heart over to you. I can't do that right now. I ain't asking for you to wait on me or nothing."
"I would if you asked." She found herself saying without thinking. She'd meant it of course. Bailey would wait a lifetime for him. Probably more if he requested it.
"This ain't a Nicholas Sparks or a Nora Roberts movie. This story might not have a happy ending, Bailey." He warned her.
"I love you, Ted." It was a relief to finally say the words aloud. A beat passed. Ted drank his beer and Bailey reached for her glass of water. "Do you remember Billy Weatherspoon?"
"Weatherspoon?" Ted repeated the name. Bailey drank from her glass, waiting for his reply. "The quarterback from the University?"
"Yes." She nodded. "You had only been working at the school for about a month when you came barging into my office. You asked me if I knew how much the school charged the players for their equipment. When I told you that yes, I did and I showed you the itemized list of what the equipment cost the school, you demanded the number for vendor and talked them into giving us a twenty percent discount."
"Oh, I remember. Some of the other coaches were mighty mad about it. They'd tried themselves to talk to Jasmine and she never much took to any of them." Ted smirked. "She was a hoot."
"Well after getting us that discount, you then told me that you were going to cover the cost of Billy Weatherspoon's equipment for the next three years and if anyone had any trouble paying for their equipment to send them directly to you." Bailey reminded him.
"Any other coach would have done the same." Ted insisted.
"No." She shook your head. "I worked at that school for almost a decade, Ted. You were the only coach who ever offered to pay for an athlete's equipment. You always made sure your boys had clean clothes, textbooks for their classes, just someone to talk to. Even now, meeting with Keeley to learn more about Jamie. The suggestion box. Michelle and Henry. You care so much about the people in your life. It's a beautiful thing. It might even be the thing I love the most about you."
"I wouldn't dare hope that things don't work out between you and your wife." She continued. "I wouldn't wish that sort of pain on anyone. But I'm not going anywhere, Ted. I want to support you, whatever that looks like. Because I'm in too deep now. I learned a long time ago that there's no offense that can rival Ted Lasso's defense. I'd rather be by your side than with anyone else anywhere else in the world. We should be getting home." She told him, getting to her feet. "Big day, Monday."
Bailey and Ted left the Crown and Anchor. Their walk home was quiet, but it was different than before. The air didn't hang with tension. Her heart didn't feel like it was racing. She wasn't waiting in an agonizing silence. If anything, Bailey felt relaxed. Relaxed because Ted had known all along. Relaxed because he'd said he cared about her and somehow that was enough for now.
"I baked you cookies last night." He said as they entered the flat. "Double chocolate chip, your favorite."
"Mmm perfect midnight snack." She smiled. "But maybe I'll save them for breakfast." She decided with a yawn. "Goodnight, Coach."
"Say, Bailey," He called out to her as she walked towards her room. She looked back at him. "I meant everything I said back there, and in the morning we'll both have to go on pretendin' we ain't got all these feelin's, but do you think it might be okay if I were to kiss you? Ya know just something romantic to add to the story in case it turns out we are living in a movie?" He asked.
"I think, just this once, that would be okay." She agreed. Bailey closed her eyes and waited for his lips to touch hers. Instead, Ted surprised her by planting a kiss on her cheek. She opened her eyes to see his face still dangerously close to hers. Bailey bit her lip to stop herself from leaning forward and kissing him again. "Goodnight, Ted." She whispered.
"Good night, Bailey." He said back. They walked down the hall together before retreating to their individual rooms.
"Everything is going to work out exactly as it's supposed to." Bailey remembered Beard's words from earlier in the night as she readied herself for bed.