"Would you shag a man who only had one testicle?"

Keeley was sprawled across the deliciously comfortable couch in Rebecca's office. She examined her freshly done manicure as she waited for her friend's response.

"I don't see why not," Rebecca shrugged casually, not removing her eyes from the luminous screen of her laptop. "As it turns out, I've slept with men who ended up having no balls at all."

Keeley cackled delightfully at the quip, turning her head to share a smile with Rebecca. She could tell by the mischievous grin on Rebecca's fabulous lips that her friend was going to continue with another cheeky remark. Alas, Keeley never got to hear it.

Suddenly, the door to Rebecca's office busted open with impressive force and revealed a frazzled and positively fuming Ted Lasso.

"Rebecca," he puffed out in a heaving breath. "I need to talk to you."

The blonde's eyebrows had shot up over her reading glasses and her fingers froze over the keyboard. Keeley sat upright on the couch with dizzying speed.

"What's wrong, Ted?" Rebecca asked with strong concern.

His hands fidgeted with a large yellow envelope as he stalked forward to sit in the seat in front of her. A noticeable glisten of sweat had formed around his temples and his face was flushed with anger.

"Jesus, Ted." Keeley chimed in lightly, "I've never seen you angry like this before. It doesn't seem natural. It's like if the Queen were to make a sex tape."

The outrageous statement deflated Ted's anger slightly. "Oh, that would cause the whole world to stop. Everyone would watch that, just out of intense curiosity and—" He abruptly stood from his seat with a frustrated curse and began pacing. "Keeley, I appreciate you and I love you, but I really need to talk to Rebecca privately."

With a jerky nod and a quick grab of her handbag, Keeley exited the room. Rebecca silently braced herself behind her desk. She had an idea of what had caused Ted to act so bizarrely. She peered at the man who made her heartbeat significantly quicker and tried to hide her smile as she watched his helplessly disheveled form.

"Would you care for some tea, Ted?"

The teasing tone of her question had the corners of his mouth tipping up slightly and his shoulder lose some tension. With an almost defeated sigh, he plopped himself down on the couch in the same spot Keeley had previously been occupying. Rebecca watched his lowered head, fixed on the yellow envelope in his hands, and she was hit by a sudden pang of sympathy for her poor, confused man.

Rebecca stood from her desk and gracefully sat herself next to him and gently touched his wrist. "What's in the envelope, darling?"

Ted shook his head and grounded his jaw. Silently, he opened the envelope and slid the smooth paper of the photograph out and placed it on the coffee table in front of them. Rebecca's breath hitched anxiously as the image confirmed her suspicions.

"Who gave this to you?"

Again, Ted shook his head numbly. "It didn't say. All that came with it was this note."

Rebecca scoffed as she processed the two sentences on the piece of paper Ted pulled from his pocket. It had been crinkled severely, as if it had been clutched in a tight fist for a while. This note was written to spark drama.

"Whoever it was clearly wants to cause trouble," Rebecca tried to reason. "I'm sure Alexandra and Jamie can explain themselves."

Ted quirked his eyebrow sardonically. "I'm sure as hell they can, too. The question is why haven't they?"

She could feel the tension in his thigh pressed against hers. His whole body had gone rigid, and it broke her heart to see the hurt and disbelief in his normally warm brown eyes. Ted Lasso was a man who loved fiercely and trusted people to be as kind to him as he was to them. It devastated him when people let him down.

"Look at them, Rebecca." Ted whispered. "They've clearly been doing this for some time now, and right behind my back."

Rebecca couldn't resist the urge to run a comforting hand through his soft, brown hair. She smiled as she watched the age lines around his eyes soften. "I trusted him." Ted continued. "I brought him back because I knew he needed this team, and I didn't want him to be alone. Jamie is a lot of things, but he still managed to surprise me. How could he do this?"

"He's young," Rebecca replied after a moment of careful thinking. "Perhaps it happened for them just as quickly as it happened for us."

Ted rubbed angrily at his forehead. "But Lexie? I never thought I'd have to worry about her getting mixed up with a guy like Jamie."

"I never thought I would've gotten mixed up with a man like you, Ted Lasso." She attempted to pull a smile from his sternly set mouth. "But here we are."

"I'm serious, Rebecca." Ted stood and walked around the coffee table to look down onto the pitch from a nearby window. "How am I supposed to even look at him after this?"

"I am being serious, Ted." She spoke to his turned back. "Alexandra is a smart girl – a little naïve – but she's not stupid. If Jamie was using her, she wouldn't stand for it."

He continued to glare down onto the pitch, watching the athletes warm up for their practice. Roy, Beard, and Nate were running things in his absence. After he registered the photograph and the gears in his mind could move again, he'd bolted out of his office before Beard had time to react. Ted would have to think of an excuse for missing the beginning of practice, but he needed to talk to the one person who always grounded him.

His vision narrowed in on the subject at hand. He watched the star athlete complete a drill per Roy's orders. His usual confident demeanor had been dimming since the last game, but every time Ted saw Jamie's cocky smile peak out, he wanted to remove it with his fist. Disgust churned in his gut at how he was being played for a fool.

Rebecca slowly approached him from behind and grabbed his hand to lace it through her own. "Give them a chance to explain themselves, Ted. Perhaps they're afraid of what you'd think."

"How am I supposed to go down there and act like everything is peaches and cream?" He asked incredulously, glancing over to her for a moment before continuing his stare on the pitch.

Rebecca shrugged lightly. "Just please give them a chance to come to you. They both respect you deeply." He snorted satirically at the statement. "And they're young, darling. You remember what it's like, don't you? To be confused and scared of everything that might be worth something? Give them the chance to find their courage."

Jamie was going through the motions of training. His mind was focused on red hair and green eyes, as his reality was only showing glimpses of the green grass and football at his feet. He felt like a fucking bastard ever since the match against Liverpool. He'd let his team down and he disappointed Lexie for the second time all in the same day.

He'd spent the following days curled up in his king-sized bed at his always-empty townhouse. He only replied to texts from his teammates and mum, convincing them not to worry about him. His mum had called him that night, having watched the game on the telly, she wanted to check on him and make sure he was alright.

Jamie wasn't used to talking about his feelings. The only emotions he felt comfortable sharing were those of self-assurance and confidence. If his asshole of a father taught him anything, it was to never let people think you're weak. So, he reassured his mum that everything was okay, and he'd just been dealing with a hangover – which wasn't exactly a lie.

He dragged himself out of bed this morning to attend training. The first thing he did was apologize when he got to the locker room to find it already bustling with his teammates. They all assured him that it was fine, but he could tell their trust was already starting to crack again. The paranoia of losing everything was taking a toll and the one person he wanted to talk to about all of this was nowhere in sight.

Jamie had peeked into the coaching office as casually as he could muster and was disappointed to only find Coach Beard sitting at his desk. He released a breath as he realized he needed to talk to Lasso as well before the day was over.

Enjoy what you have with Alex, as fleeting as it may be. Just because it's not meant to last doesn't mean it isn't real.

The shockingly poetic words of Roy Kent had haunted him since that night. Jamie wanted Lexie more than he'd ever wanted a woman before. More importantly, he wanted to be deserving of her. He wouldn't be until he talked to Ted about how he felt.

The sharp whistle sliced through the spring air and all heads whipped to watch Coach Lasso strut onto the pitch. Everyone stopped their movements and waited patiently has their head coach approached.

"We were just doing a refresher of the upside-down taxi, Coach." Beard stated as Ted slid up next to him in the coaching line.

Ted nodded absently. "Run it again."

Jamie felt a chill run down his spine as Lasso's gaze connected with his.

"Oi, you heard him! Run it again!" Roy spoke gruffly, before side-eyeing Lasso and whispering something to him.

The slightly older man nodded tensely and allowed his lips to spread into a smile before replying to Roy, too quietly for Jamie to hear.

Jamie got into his position on the pitch and waited for the whistle to blow. Jan Maas kicked the ball into motion before giving it away to Obisanya, who then finished the play with a beautiful cross-kick to Jamie. He soared the ball through the net with ease.

Coach Lasso burst into an intensely animated act of clapping and hollered, "That-a-boy, Jamie! Oh man, that was something special, wasn't it?!"

He continued by waltzing over to the striker and clapping him a tad bit roughly on the back. Everyone looked to each other in confusion at Lasso's unusual show of validation and excitement. Jamie had tensed when Ted approached him so quickly but smiled genuinely, nonetheless. "Erm, thanks coach. But Sam made it easy for me."

Ted scoffed playfully, "Oh, don't try to be humble now. You wanted that goal, so you made it happen, right?"

Jamie nodded hesitantly and chuckled nervously, "I guess, yeah?"

Coach nodded back at him in what seemed like mocking encouragement. "And you don't stop until you get what you want. No matter what it costs, hm? That's what makes you such a great player, Jamie."

Jamie felt his heartrate quicken with every second that passed between them. Either Ted was on a new drug, or he knew about him and Lexie. His throat became impossibly tight, and his stomach was doing fucking acrobatics. He could barely breathe. Was he going to pass out?

There was another short silence before Beard cleared his throat, "Ted?"

"Hmm?" The other man tore his eyes away from Jamie's, his grip still tight on his shoulder as if he was trying to keep him from going anywhere.

"Maybe it's time for some cardio." Beard suggested, his eyes confused and nervous as if he was watching a car crash.

"That's a great idea, Coach Beard." Ted enthused after a moment of blank staring. "Ten laps around the pitch. Get after it, fellas!"

Jamie's gaze nervously shifted to Lasso as he started jogging away to join the rest of the team. Well, he had ten laps to decide what he was going to say in an attempt to keep his balls attached to his body.

"I feel like it wouldn't change the experience much, would it?" Alex asked genuinely. "I mean, it would all still operate the same?"

Keeley sipped at her drink before answering. "I've never shagged a man with only one testicle, but I imagine so. It would probably just feel a bit different, only having one ball slapping against you—"

The sudden luminating screen of Keeley's phone cut off the conversation and she nearly choked one her own spit. "Holy shit. Ted knows."

The clank of Alex's fork was sharp and sounded through the quiet café, gaining looks from the older couple sitting a few tables away. She and Keeley were getting lunch and catching up after not seeing one another for a few days. Alex had been enjoying a delicious scone before her world came crashing down.

"That explains why he was acting so bloody weird this morning." Keeley spoke, mostly to herself as she stared at the phone screen.

"What do you mean?" Alex sputtered nervously with an already hammering heart.

Keeley looked up from typing and gave her a sympathetic look. "According to Roy, Ted is acting similarly to a man who just found out his niece is hooking up with the star player of his football team."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Alex, don't panic!" Keeley blurted out in a panicked tone. "It'll be alright. We'll just go to Nelson Road and talk to him."

"And tell him what?" Alex whispered with exasperation, while trying to keep the nearby stares to a minimum. "I haven't even spoken to Jamie since the Liverpool game. What am I supposed to say is going on between us if I don't even know?"

Keeley paused calculatingly for a moment before conceding. "You're right." She slammed her small hand down onto the table. "Men are so bloody infuriating! Jamie is the one who started all of this and now he thinks he can sweep it under the rug?"

"To be fair, I kissed him first." Alex answered sheepishly.

There was a quiet moment between the two women. Alex blushed wildly as she felt Keeley's stare on her.

"Firstly, I am so fucking proud of you." Keeley took a moment to beam at her. "Secondly, that still doesn't excuse Jamie's behavior or Ted's. You are your own woman and are allowed to go after what you want. We are going to march down to Nelson Road Stadium and you are going to put the men in your life in their places."

They both stood abruptly from the table and gathered their things. As they walked through the various tables and headed for the exit, Keeley suddenly turned around and muttered, "Ooh, we can't forget those scones. We can eat them in the car while we rehearse what you're going to say."

Alex nodded in shameless agreement and headed back to the table. She quickly wrapped the fruity scones in a napkin and tucked them gently into her purse, shifting her eyes around her to see if anyone was watching. With a high head, she followed Keeley out of the café and prepared to face the music.

The light rumble of conversation filled the Richmond locker room after a surprisingly rigorous training day. Jamie could feel the soreness in his thighs as a reminder of the many laps he was forced to run in the past two hours. He was standing at his locker and pretending to fiddle with something in his bag, when really, he was just working up the courage to approach the lion's den.

Jamie hesitantly looked over his shoulder into the window of the coaching office and was met with Ted's intense gaze already staring at him. Fuck's sake, he definitely knows. He whipped his head back in front of him and tinkered with his bag for a moment more before he straightened his spine and took a deep breath in preparation.

Find your fucking balls and get in there.

The inner monologue in his head strangely resembled the voice of Roy Kent. Jamie would never admit to it, but the grumpy old twat inspired him to put one foot in front of the other and walk into Ted's office with false confidence.

He cleared his throat and knocked gently on the open door. Beard turned to acknowledge who had interrupted their silence. Without a word, he sent Ted a look and quietly left the room. For a moment, Jamie panicked at the lack of witnesses in the room, but he was already there and couldn't turn back now.

"Erm, Ted," Jamie started in an uncertain voice. "I think we should talk."

Ted had been holding a pen between his fingers and leaned back further in his seat to give Jamie a cool expression. "What would you like to discuss, Jamie?"

Jamie took a moment to look back at the locker room and take in all of his friends laughing and joking as they got ready to head out for the day. He closed the door, disconnecting him from his escape. Jamie swallowed hard, practicing in his head the best way to go about this without getting himself kicked off the team. He needed this team and he wanted Alex; he didn't know if it were possible to keep both, but he was going to try.

"Somethin' happened, and I've been wantin' to talk with you about it for a while." He looked up at Ted to see his gaze hadn't changed. "I need you to know that I never planned on any of it, but it just sort of happened and I know you're going to be angry with me. You might even kick me off the team, but I need to be honest with you…"

There'd been a slight shift of emotions in Ted's eyes, maybe sympathy? Whatever it was, it encouraged Jamie to blurt out, "Alexandra and I have… feelings for each other."

Ted looked down at his desk, his eyes locking onto a yellow envelope placed at the center. Slowly, he reached for it and pulled out a photograph. He twirled it around casually to show Jamie an image that instantly had heat rushing to his head. Oh, he was bloody fucking mad.

"How'd you get that?"

Ted shrugged and carelessly tossed the image at Jamie's feet. "I just know it wasn't from you. How long did you think you'd be able to keep this from me?"

Jamie had already began shaking his head in anger and disbelief. Who the fuck was spying on them? It was clearly taken at the hotel in Liverpool. No way were the paps allowed inside, so who was it? Someone who knew him, and that pissed him right the fuck off.

"It's not like that, Ted." He tried explaining. "We weren't trying to hide anything."

His coach stared at him with a quirked brow and silently called him out. He wasn't believing anything Jamie was saying. The panic was quickly rising and taking over the anger that was churning in his gut.

"Right," Jamie bravely edged a bit closer. "I was trying to hide it from you, but only because I was terrified of what you'd think. You have every right to be angry and feel disrespected. Lexie is—"

"Lexie?" Ted whispered in a harsh tone. "Do you even know her, Jamie? Do you understand who she is? What she means to me?"

Jamie began backing away until his knees hit the line of cabinets behind him, his hands raised defensively. "I do, Ted. Not as much as I should, because every time we start to get close, I push her away. I've been a dick to her – but not because of reasons you'd think. She's the sweetest person I've met who doesn't treat me like a brainless footballer. She wants to know me, and I want to know her."

Ted abruptly stood from his desk, causing Jamie to stumble over to the doorway that connected the coaching offices. His heart was beating fast, and his body had tensed to prepare for the blows to come at him.

"Jamie, I am hurt. I am disappointed." Ted spoke softly to him as he watched him with empathetic eyes. He tucked his hands into his pockets. "As much as I would like to knock your lights out for lying to me like this, I would never hurt you."

Jamie felt the breath he'd been holding exhale from his body. Truthfully, he would have rather had Ted Lasso beat him to a pulp than tell him he was hurt and disappointed by him again.

"Ted, I was tryin' really hard not to like her."

The older man did something Jamie wasn't expecting; he smiled. Granted, it was a small upward curve of his lips paired with a thoughtful look in his eyes.

"Yeah, she has a way of putting people under her spell, doesn't she?" Ted leaned back against his desk, "Ever since she was a little girl, Lexie's had this soft energy to her, and she doesn't even realize it. Her ability to make anyone feel important and special. It's a shame she doesn't see it for herself."

Jamie began cautiously nodding. "I feel like she understands me, and in the ways she doesn't – she at least tries to."

Ted was nodding in agreement, the small smile still in its place. Jamie felt encouraged by coach's change in demeanor. As long as he didn't end up walking out of here with another black eye and looking for a new football team, he'd call it a win.

He risked saying, "You know, she gets it from you."

Ted looked at him in puzzlement, "What do you mean?"

"Your ability to understand people and make them feel comfortable. You both have this weird nurturing, sometimes annoying, quality. It's nice, most of the time."

Coach chuckled softly, looking off to the side. "I think we taught each other a few things along the way."

Jamie nodded thoughtfully, "She's definitely taught me a few things."

Ted's head immediately jerked up at the statement and he straightened his posture, the stormy glower already coming back to his face.

Realizing what he'd said, Jamie instantly started back-tracking. "I meant, like, emotionally."

There was a slightly tense silence that followed, and the two men glanced at each other in uncertainty. The light murmur of the last remaining players in the locker room was the only sound between them.

Jamie found his voice again and asked, "Are we going to be alright then, coach?"

Ted opened his mouth to speak, however was interrupted by Roy Kent's booming voice in the other office.

"I think you should wait! Alex, they're still bloody talking!"

The joining door to the offices was roughly pulled open and in marched a determined-looking Alex, with Keeley sternly following behind.

"Shut up, Roy! She needs to do this." Keeley scolded, keeping Roy Kent at bay with a strong arm pressing against his chest. "We should give them privacy."

Keeley sent Alex an encouraging smile before practically shoving her boyfriend from the room and into the hallway.

All the while Roy was muttering, "I was giving them fucking privacy. Then you two came in guns fucking blazing!"

Alex positioned herself between Jamie and her uncle, with her hands on her hips looking ready to go to war.

Fucking hell, she's adorable.

"Okay," She breathed, turning to look directly at her uncle. "Before you start yelling, you need to know I was never trying to keep anything from you."

Ted opened his mouth to respond but was cut off by Alex waving her hand. "No, I still have more to say." She glanced behind her at Jamie before proceeding. "Jamie and I, well we haven't gone out or anything, but we've kissed." Ted and Jamie both cringed a bit at the statement, but Alex carried on. "And I definitely have feelings for him. He says he has feelings for me but was terrified of what you'd think. He truly respects you, Uncle Ted. And he'd never want to betray you, so please don't kick him off the team or hit him. Really, Jamie told me many times-"

"Lexie," Ted raised his voice a few octaves to get Alex's attention. "Lexie, I know."

"And truthfully, it's been me who's pushed him to try to make this work so if you're going to be ma-" She blinked abruptly, his words suddenly hitting her. "You know?"

Ted nodded. "I'm still hurt and upset that you two would keep this from me, but I understand." He looked at Jamie over Alex's shoulder. "You can't help who you have feelings for."

Alex fumbled with her words as she stared speechless at her uncle. "I was… I was expecting more of a fight."

Did she sound disappointed?

Ted snorted in amusement and took a step closer, capturing her upper arms in his hands. "Oh, I was fuming mad when I found out, believe me. Talking to Rebecca helped me see that maybe you were just trying to figure things out. I understand that all too well." He looked up at Jamie from the top of head. "And Jamie convinced me that he's being sincere about you. He's quite taken by you."

Alex's head whipped around to look at Jamie. He was sure his face was flushed a deep red and the stupid fucking butterflies came swirling around in his stomach. Her eyes pierced into him like a knife. The only thing that kept him from running out of the room was the adoration he saw in her eyes. So, I haven't fucked this up yet.

Ted quietly looked between the two of them with knowing eyes. "You will have to work to make it up to me. Rebuild some of the trust that was lost today. That doesn't mean I'm giving up on you." He made sure Jamie looked him in the eyes. "Both of you."

Jamie felt light-headed at the rush of relief that flooded him. The nauseous feeling he'd been dealing with since he stepped foot into Ted's office was going away. His eyes focused on the brilliant red hair before him.

"Do you think I could talk to Lexie for a moment alone, coach?" He bravely asked, interrupting the moment between them.

Ted and Alex shared a look with each other before he nodded and waltzed out of the room. The door had just barely closed behind him when Alex turned around and gave him a strongly raised brow.

"Well?" Her sudden straightforwardness shocked him. "I'm guessing you've made up your mind about me then?"

He fought the smile that was threatening to spread across his lips. Seeing her this way made him feel proud and also incredibly turned on. He regarded her with smirking eyes, which seemed to tick her off a bit more. Jamie couldn't help it. She looked like an angry kitten who'd been waiting impatiently for a treat.

The smirk in his eyes traveled down to his mouth before he asked her, "Will you go on a date with me?"

As always thank you for reading! Let me know your thoughts - I love hearing from you! :)