Their moment was broken when a drunken idiot shoved passed them to get to the toilet. Twat can't hold his alcohol, Jamie thought irritably. He could see the uncertainty starting to overtake Alexandra's sweet face and suddenly he decided he needed more time with her.

"You want to get out of here?" Jamie spoke casually, not wanting to come across as creepy and weird.

Alexandra's mouth opened in surprise as her eyebrows rose. "And leave the party? Jamie, this is your house."

He shrugged, not really caring if the party went unattended for a few hours. The truth was drunk people will do whatever they want, whether he's there to see it or not.

"It'll be fine," Jamie continued as she gave him a skeptical look. "Just to get some fresh air?"

After a moment of hopeful waiting, she finally gave him a small smile. "Alright."

Jamie was able to convince Isaac to watch over things for him while he was out, as a test of his captain abilities. Alexandra stopped to tell Keeley she was going out for a walk. Jamie tried to tell her it would be best to just sneak away but she insisted on telling her new dear friend in case Keeley got worried. He watched from the doorway as Keeley took in the information. She immediately found him from across the room, making a rude gesture - her left pointer finger in the air and her right-hand portraying scissors and snipping the pointer finger aggressively.

He read her message loud and clear: Hurt her and I will cut your dick off.

Jamie replied with a singular nod before darting out of the house. It was best for them to leave separately. He didn't want to give anyone reason to gossip about Alexandra. After a few paces down the pavement, she had caught up with him.

"You're gonna have to slow down. I can't keep up." She huffed, doing her best to match his stride. "We all can't have incredibly muscular legs, you know."

He halted completely and raised an arrogant brow as a smirk stretched across his lips. "You like my legs, eh?"

The redhead's cheeks flamed before she gave him a shove. "Shut up."

Her embarrassment only worsened as he simply chuckled at her. Jamie loved to see those sparks of fire she rarely let come through her shy surface. "Don't worry, darlin'. All women do."

Alexandra raised a challenging eyebrow. "Well, you can take your walk with another woman then. I can go."

He snatched her wrist gently as she turned to leave. "Alright. 'M sorry, Alexandra. I'll knock it off, yeah? Don't go."

She relented in trying to leave and began walking next to him again. "Does the arrogant attitude work with every girl you meet?"

"Basically, yeah."

She looked up at him with an unimpressed look. "You're probably meeting the wrong girls, then."

Her reply left him speechless. He never saw a problem with his casual sex life before. If anything, he loved being able to talk to whoever he wanted, fuck who he wanted, and not have to worry about emotions. He never was good with that part of relationships, having to open up and talk. Every girl – most girls he hooked up with knew what he was looking for. He always made it clear he wasn't interested in a serious relationship. It worked out because the women only talked to him because they wanted to be able to say they fucked a professional footballer, and he was fine with that. He always parted ways with both getting what they wanted.

Jamie let the conversation die out for a while as they walked, mostly because he didn't know what to say and he didn't want his time with her to be about his experience with other women. Thankfully, she broke the silence by asking him questions. As they walked aimlessly, Jamie found himself talking about things he'd closed off to most people a long time ago. It helped him to see her face clear of judgement. She was just listening to him.

"Me mum's the most patient woman I know," He smiled as a wave of memories hit him. "I didn't make it easy for her. Especially when I was a lad in primary school."

"Do you see her often?" Alexandra asked softly, seemingly not wanting to overstep.

Jamie shrugged, 'Not as often as I should, I suppose." His face darkened slightly with guilt as he watched his feet walk on the pavement. "She deserves better. If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't be playing football at all."

"I'd love to meet her at a game sometime."

He cleared his throat uncomfortably. "She doesn't like going to games." When Alexandra looked at him curiously, he continued. "She used to, but now that me dad's always around she doesn't want to see him." Jamie's jaw tightened, "and I don't blame her."

The truth was Jamie would rather never see his mum if it meant keeping his dickhead father away from her. Even as a small lad, he was always protective of her. Whenever his dad came home drunk, Jamie always made sure to stay near his mum until the bastard passed out in case she needed him.

"What about you?" Jamie said suddenly. "Are you close with your mum?"

Alexandra gave him a smile he loved, so genuine and bright. "She's my best friend."

"It's funny though," she continued. "When I was a little girl, my father and I were two peas in a pod. We shared a love for football – American football. Sorry," she finished sheepishly as she noticed his playfully offended face.

"It's alright," Jamie smirked casually. "What changed?"

She sighed. "I guess as I got older and became consumed with figuring out who I was, we stopped having things to talk about. He didn't understand the change in me when my life stopped revolving around sports." Jamie watched her swallow hard. A part of him wanted to change the subject but more of him wanted to know her. "My mom became the person I ran to with my problems. She understood me and my insecurities. We bonded over our love for baking as well. Everything I know in the kitchen comes from her."

"Remind me to thank her if I ever meet her." Jamie gave her a playful grin and felt proud as he watched the dusting of pink cover her round cheeks. What did she have to be insecure about? Jamie wanted to know her reasons so he could set her straight, but he knew that would just overwhelm her. God, therapy really was working. Dr. Sharon is the fucking best.

They turned a corner down another street, getting out of the way of a passing cyclist. The action of squeezing together on the sidewalk made Alexandra shiver against him as his body heat warmed her.

"Want to wear me jacket?" Jamie started removing his Versace jacket from his shoulders, but she protested.

"Oh, no. I'm fine." She gave him a sheepish smile. "It looks really expensive."

"So?" He stripped it off and draped it over her shoulders. "Versace looks good on you."

Jamie started walking again to keep her from protesting further. She mouthed the word Versace with wide eyes when his back was turned and gave it a small sniff. He knew that's exactly what she was doing and smirked back at her. "My cologne is Tom Ford; in case you were wonderin'."

Alexandra looked at him like she'd just been caught with her hand in the cookie jar. "If you keep blushin', your cheeks are going to match your hair, love."

"You love embarrassing me." She muttered with narrowed eyes, yet joining him, nonetheless. "It's not fair, you're always so put together." Alexandra continued as he looked at her with confusion. "You're probably the most confident person I've ever met. I wish I could be that sure of myself." She admitted with a pinch of shame in her gut. "Whenever I watch you play, it's like you're not afraid of anything."

"Alex-"

"Even with a black eye," She laughed at the absurdity. "With thousands of people watching you."

Jamie looked at her softly. "You want to know my secret?"

She nodded.

"Stop giving a shit about what people think." He stated bluntly. "I know it's easier said than done but once you realize what people think of you is out of your control, it'll set you free. Do what makes you happy and fuck the rest."

Suddenly Jamie came to a stop and Alexandra looked up in confusion for a moment before realizing where they were. They were standing on Nelson Road, right in front of the Richmond Stadium.

He gave her a playful nudge and dug into his pocket. "We might as well go in, yeah?"

"You have a key?" Alexandra asked in bewilderment as he held up the shiny metal.

"Yep, paid off a janitor for it so I could train whenever I want."

Alexandra's giggle tore through him in the best way as she smiled fondly at him. "Why does that not surprise me?"

Alex shivered despite wearing the most expensive and warm piece of clothing she'd ever seen in her life. How was she here right now? She stood on the Richmond pitch with who her uncle refers to as "the best player I've ever coached". Jamie insisted on showing her how to score a "proper goal" and was being the goalie as she lined up her shot. What's crazy about it was she was having fun.

"Give it your best shot, yeah?" He yelled from the goal box. "Try to pretend the ball is someone you really fucking hate."

"Jesse Mullens." She grumbled with disdain. "He used to call me Annie because of my red hair. He'd sing The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow almost every day from preschool until we graduated high school."

Jamie rested his hands on his knees as he bent down. "I've never seen the film, but he sounds like a proper twat."

Alex nodded with determination as the numerous memories of Jesse's teasing played through her mind. She lined up the ball on the grass and walked backwards with her eyes focused solely on the ball. With a running start she approached it, preparing her legs for a kick. Alex surged forward with her right leg and made strong contact with the ball. It sailed through the air and Jamie, suspiciously slowly, went to block the ball from entering the net. The ball soared past the striker easily and entered the left corner of the net with a whoosh.

Alex burst with excitement and gleefully jumped up and down. "I did it! I scored!"

After a few twirls around the pitch, she noticed the proud grin he was sending her way. Her face heated once again because of him, but this time she didn't mind it.

"Well done," He approached her with the ball tucked under his arm. "You'll be the next Beckham at this rate."

She snorted a laugh, "With you coaching me, that might be possible."

A sudden wave of heat came over his face and pride bubbled through her as she realized what he was doing. "Well, well, it seems the Great Jamie Tartt does get embarrassed."

His eyes narrowed as he fought to keep the smile off his face. "Keep it up, firecracker, and see what happens."

She childishly stuck out her tongue at him and he began chasing her around the pitch. It didn't take long for him to catch her, with his freakishly strong legs and her shorter ones that hadn't been tested in weeks.

He gripped her by the waist before they both tumbled to the grass. They laughed together as they looked up at the sky. Jamie leaned over her and slowly raised his left hand to move the fiery hair out of her face, opening her up to his observations.

His gaze flickered to her throat as it worked to swallow as she stared back at him. His roughened hand slowly slid down her temple, danced across her cheek, and finally rubbed along her soft bottom lip. Her mouth parted slightly as Jamie rested his thumb against her lips.

Jamie knew this was a sign she would let him kiss her. God, how he wanted to kiss her. Never had he talked this much with a girl without it leading to sex. He needed to pull back before it was too late, before it led to them doing something she'd regret. He knew if anything happened between them everything would be ruined, and Ted would never trust him again.

Jamie was starting to pull away when the little firecracker began running her own hands to his hair. A shiver ran through him as her fingers raked through his scalp. He felt her body relax further into the grass as he hovered over her.

To both their surprise, it was her who surged forward and allowed their lips to meet. His brain froze as he became exquisitely aware of her soft lips against his and all her other softness pressing against him. Jamie finally reacted once her sly tongue brushed against his bottom lip. His left hand cupped her jaw firmly yet gently, as his other arm kept him from crushing her and rested on the grass near her head.

He felt her shiver as his tongue plunged past her lips to meet hers. Jamie swiped through her mouth with practiced grace, retreating a bit to nibble on her bottom lip. He felt his blood rush to his dick as she breathed a moan against his mouth.

Holy fuck. He groaned with frustration and lust as he continued his attack on her mouth. His hand moved up to fist her hair lightly, causing her to squeeze her legs around his hips. At some point he'd moved in between her legs completely, and he loved the soft cushion her thighs were giving him as he tasted her lips.

"Jamie." She breathed once he'd backed off a bit to let them both take in some air.

"Alexandra." He replied with a growl and moved his head down to mouth at her smooth neck. She started to giggle as he took small nips at her exposed skin. With every bite he gave her, he soothed it with a light kiss.

"Why do you…" She started to say but couldn't seem to focus while he sucked on her pulse point. "Why do you call me Alexandra?"

Jamie lifted his head at the sudden question. "What do you mean?"

He watched her flushed skin and parted lips, which were pouty and full from his kisses. Why were they even bloody talking right now?

"You and Rebecca are the only ones who call me that." She explained. "Everyone else here calls me Alex."

His eyebrows still crinkled together as he thought of what to say. "Do you want me to call you something else? Alex...? Lex...? Lexie...?"

A deeper flush painted her skin. "I like the way you say Lexie."

"Alright, so that's what I'll call you." Jamie finalized with a shrug before his eyes darkened again and his focus resumed on her lips. "Now, can I go back to kissin' the bloody hell out of you, Lexie?"

She nodded enthusiastically and he laughed at her readiness. He'd just begun getting reacquainted with her soft mouth when she said, "It'll take some getting used to though. Uncle Ted is the only one who really calls me that."

As if a bucket of ice water was just poured onto him, Jamie went completely rigid. The realization of who he was making out with slammed into his stomach at full force. He immediately released her and rolled onto his back. His heart was hammering now for a completely different reason. Coach is going to fucking kill me.

He stood abruptly and pulled her to her feet. Jamie ignored the confused look on her face as he picked up the soccer ball from a few feet away. "We should get back to the party. Make sure me house is still standin'."

"Jamie…" Alex started to say, clearly confused at his sudden actions.

"Let's go before someone catches us here." He kept his back to her and began walking off the pitch. He listened closely to make sure she followed him off the grass.

Their bodies were separated as much as possible on the pavement as they walked back to his house. Alex wrapped her arms around herself as the self-doubt ate away at her. Jamie moved numbly with only the paranoid thoughts running through his head. A blend of insecurity and guilt wafted through the chilly night air as they walked, with only the noises from nature and town filling their silence.

*Runs and hides*

Oh god, I am so nervous as to what your thoughts are on this chapter! I hope you enjoyed it!

Until next time, my lovely readers! xoxo