Ted ended training early on Saturday afternoon so that everyone could go home and get ready for the Gala. Since he was attending the party with Ted, Nate gave Bailey, Beard and the Head Coach all a ride home. The four of them had a late lunch at the Crown and Anchor knowing that there would be a dinner served at the event later. Once the meal was finished Beard assured the three others that he would see them later with his new girlfriend, Jane.
Bailey made a cup of tea while Ted showed Nate the two suit options he'd picked out for the kitman to try. She didn't mention that she had been the one to acquire Nate's measurements from his personnel file, go to the shop and buy the four suits. (Two for Ted to choose from and two for Nate to choose from.)She knew bringing it up would be petty. She was Ted's assistant. She was supposed to go out and fetch things from the shops for him.
It had just stung a little when she realized he'd asked Nate to be his plus one to the gala instead of her. Despite what she'd told Keeley at first, Bailey had actually wanted to go. It had been a long time since she'd had an excuse to dress up. Bailey sipped from her cup, watching Nate hum and haw about how Ted was being too kind. Neither man could see her staring daggers at their backs.
"Bailey, are you gonna be alright here by yourself all night?" Ted looked over his shoulder at her. "I'm sure if you decided you'd wanted to come along Rebecca could squeeze and extra chair at our table."
She smirked behind the rim of her mug realizing she hadn't told Ted that she'd changed her plans. Originally, Bailey lied and said she had no interest in the Gala. She'd told him this because it would have been too much for her to see him dressed up and tugging anxiously at his collar. Too much to see him looking so desperate for someone to saddle up next to him and smooth over the conversation as his nerves got the better of him. She'd want to rescue him and the temptation to brush her hand against his or give his shoulder an affectionate squeeze would have been easy to succumb to.
She decided not to attend to gala because there would be too many people from the club in attendance. Too many eyes around waiting to catch even the smallest slip up from the American Head Coach. Bailey assumed Ted had accepted her lie for the same reason she'd told it. He knew that he'd seek out comfort from her. Comfort she couldn't offer in a way either of them wanted. So, she lied, and he accepted it and they both pretended it had nothing to do with their feelings for each other.
"Oh, didn't I mention?" Bailey put her mug down on the counter. "I actually am going to gala."
"You are?" Ted's eyes widened. He was surprised. He blinked and in that half-second used the time to reconfigure his expression to something more neutral.
"Yeah, last minute change of plans. Someone asked me to go with them and I thought it would be rude to turn them down. I should probably start getting ready myself. Glad the suit fits, Nate." She smiled at him. Bailey sauntered through the living room towards her bedroom. Seeing their looks of shock had been enough to make her feel like she was floating.
Wait till he finds out who I'm going with. Bailey thought to herself as she opened up her closet and eyed the black dress 'd purchased the day before.
Roy arrived at 7pm sharp. He banged on the front door so hard it caused Nate to ask who on earth would knock like that. His cheeks turned tomato red when he saw who was on the other side of the door. Conversely, all of the color seemed to drain from Ted's face when he opened the door to invite Bailey's date inside.
"Well, Howdy, Roy!" He greeted with a too-wide smile. "You are looking mighty dapper this evening."
Ted wasn't lying. As Keeley had predicted, Roy Kent was wearing black from shoulders to toes. His shoes were shiny and black, his finely tailored pants and jacket were black, even his silk tie was black. He looked good but he also looked completely like Roy Kent. Bailey wondered how a man could look so comfortable in both a loose-fitting football kit and a form fitting suit.
"The invitation said black tie." Roy grumbled as if daring the other two men to challenge him on his outfit choice.
"They don't mean literally black ties, do they?" Nate wondered, looking down at the green tie he'd selected for the evening.
"You ready to go?" Roy asked Bailey, ignoring Nate.
"Absolutely." She took her coat off the hook by the door and followed Roy outside. The street that Ted live on was too narrow for a car to fit down it, so they had to walk to the main road where Roy's black car was waiting.
"Wrong side!" He warned as her when she opened the driver's side door.
"Right. Sorry." He followed her to the proper side of the car and held the door open for her. He made sure she was safely inside before shutting the door.
"You didn't tell Lasso you were coming with me?" Roy asked, not starting the car.
"I didn't tell him I was coming at all." She confessed under his dark glare.
"Why not?" He wanted to know.
"I had originally told him I wasn't going, but that was before I talked to you and Keeley." Bailey explained. "Sorry I didn't think it would be that important to you."
"S'not." He shrugged, starting the car. "I don't like be a pawn in someone else's game is all. I didn't want you to use me to try an' make him jealous or nothing."
"Jealous?" Bailey scoffed. "You asked me to come with you."
"Yeah." Roy chuckled, "Maybe I was hoping it would make him a little jealous. Did you catch his face when he saw me at the door?"
"What do you mean?" She played dumb.
"Come on." He snorted. "Have you really never noticed? Half the time we're in training he's watching you more than the pitch. Whenever you're talking to 'im he stares are you like the world revolves around you. He's got you living in his flat for Christ's sake! You'd have to be an idiot to not notice he's keen on you. And you're not an idiot, Bailey."
"Roy, he's married." She reminded him.
"Yeah, 'cause that always stops a person." He said. "Nah, you're probably right, I can't see Yankee Doodle cheatin' on his wife. Which is the other reason I asked you to come to this shit party with me. I can't believe I'm saying this, but Keeley's right. You need to make some friends. You need to hang out with people other than him."
"Why are you so nice to me, Roy?" Bailey asked.
"Fuck if I know." He blurted out. "You want me to stop being nice to you?"
"No." She couldn't help but laugh. "If Nice-To-Me-Roy-Kent swears at me this much I can't imagine what it's like to be Jamie Tartt."
"Jamie Tartt is a massive prick." He interrupted her.
"Noted." She couldn't disagree.
"Maybe I feel bad that you're in love with gaffer and he's in love with you and there's nothing the two of you can do about it." He said.
"I never said I was in love with him." She frowned.
"You didn't have to." He told her. "You stare at him just as much as he stares at you and god forbid the two of you make eye contact! You both look away so fast you'd think you were trying to win a race. You actually think all his weird little reference are enduring too, don't you? It would be nauseatingly sweet if it weren't so fucking sad. I mean it. Wish I had someone who loved me as much as you love him. Someone who followed me to another country to make sure I was being taken care of. We're here." He said as his guided his car into a valet line for the venue of the gala.