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How does the starboy handle being knocked off of his top spot? How does the notably sensitive striker cope with being pushed back into midfield, when he's spent his entire career playing as a striker?

Six weeks had passed since Zava's arrival at Nelson Road and Richmond were on an unprecedented win streak. With each match, Jamie continued to find himself frustrated by Zava's presence, from taking what could've been Jamie's first goal of the season as his own, to the weekly mediation sessions that overtook the locker room.

Jamie often found his way into Billie's office, and ever since Keeley had moved onto her own firm, there had been more space in the room. So Jamie started spending most of his down time in there with Billie, or even when she wasn't there. He'd gone to the effort of buying a small sofa (in a colour Billie approved of) and keeping a small set of drawers in the corner of the room where he stored his essentials.

On non match days, he'd most likely get ready for training in there with Billie, his absence from the locker room was rarely noted, with everyone being so incredibly wrapped up in their obsession with Zava.

Six wins in six weeks was an impressive achievement for any club, but for a team like Richmond, to be promoted from the championship to the Premier League, then finding themselves at the top end of the table, well that felt like a fairytale.

"You ever think your book would be a fucking fairytale?" Roy glanced at Trent as they wandered into the locker room, with Billie and the boys, off the back of yet another win, this time against Brentford, in an impressive West London Derby.

"It's fucking unbelievable, eh?" Billie grinned at the two men as the team jumped around in excitement.

"Yo, yo, yo!" Sam stood on the platform in the middle of the locker room, "Listen, tomorrow everybody is invited to the restaurant."

The team erupted in cheers of delight.

"Please, we're still a few weeks from officially opening, so please lower your expectations," Sam told the team, "But there's gonna be an open bar!"

The team began to cheer in anticipation of a well deserved night off, following their undoubted success.

"What do you think?" Billie waltzed down the stairs into Jamie's living room, wearing his grey blazer buttoned up with nothing under it, black suit trousers and her chunky black boots.

"Fuck," Jamie looked up from his phone, tossing it onto the sofa as he stared up at her in awe, Nelson laying beside him, his tail wagging eagerly, "You look fucking fit, babe."

"You think it's okay for tonight?" Billie asked, having only bought limited options, "I wasn't sure what to choose."

"You look fucking incredible, Bils," Jamie took her hands in his, pulling her towards him to stand between her legs, "That jacket looks so good on you."

"I thought you'd like it," Billie smiled as she leant down, placing a kiss to his lips, "You look fit too, Tartt."

He was wearing a denim shirt with 'ICON' printed across it, choosing to leave his hair parted and messy, which was how Billie liked it best. She sat across his lap, running her hand over his jaw as she admired the new earrings he'd acquired, she loved it, she loved studying his face.

"I love you, Jamie Tartt," Billie whispered, kissing him softly as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, "You are my most favourite person."

"Ditto," Jamie grinned, wrapping his arms around her torso.

He never felt safer than when he was with her, because loving Billie Kent was easy, it made sense, there was no judgment, and they understood each other completely. He sometimes still struggled to understand that anyone could love him like that, but it was Billie's words, affirmations and actions that reassured him.

"You are..." Jamie muttered as he trailed kisses along her jaw, "The most incredible..." He smiled against her skin, "Woman...I've ever met."

"Jamie," Billie exhaled as Jamie continued to pepper kisses down to her neck.

Jamie glanced to his right, greeted with the sight of Nelson staring back at them, "Bils, I can't concentrate when he's staring at me."

"Because you're kissing his favourite lady." Billie reminded him, running her hand through his hair.

"Bed, Nelson," Jamie pointed towards the door that led into the kitchen where his basket was, "Mum and Dad need some alone time."

"There's no way you just called us mum and dad," Billie laughed as the ever well behaved Nelson jumped off of the couch and hurried into the kitchen.

"Practising," Jamie muttered as he returned to kissing her neck.

"Don't let Nels hear you so that," Billie smiled, "He's my first born son."

"Our first born son," Jamie corrected her.

"God, I love you."

"Distract me," Jamie mumbled as he plyed heavy kisses to her neck, his hands wandering up her back, under the fabric of her jacket.

"We don't have long," Billie sighed, knowing that some of the boys were no doubt already at the opening of Sam's restaurant.

"Don't need long," Jamie smirked, as he kissed her neck, "I know what you like, don't I?"

"Likewise," Billie replied, grinding her hips against his as she hovered over his lap, his body tensing as she did.

"I love you," Jamie whispered as his lips collided with Billie's, neither of them caring for the state of her lipstick.

"You're it for me, Tartt," Billie grinned against his lips as his hands landed on her thighs, pulling her closer, until their chests were touching.

Jamie's hands wandered up to the buttons on Billie's jacket, and before he could even contemplate unbuttoning her jacket, Billie's phone rang, interrupting the lustful moment.

She leant across Jamie, picking it up from the sofa and answering the call, "Hello?"

"I'm outside," Her brother replied, reminding Billie that he'd offered to share a taxi with the pair, which was originally Billie's idea, not wanting her brother to feel awkward showing up alone to an event he once would've attended with Keeley on his arm.

"You're outside?" Billie gulped as Jamie continued to kiss her neck, "Okay, we're on our way, see you soon."

"What's that about?" Jamie muttered, toying with Billie's hair as she ended the phone call.

"Roy's outside," Billie sighed, glancing at the time on her phone before showing it to Jamie, "We lost track of time."

"You make it so easy," Jamie smirked, kissing her again.

"You do too," Billie smiled.

Billie and Jamie trailed behind Roy as they entered Sam's restaurant, which soon to be open to the public. The night's event was exclusively for the team and close friends of the players, sampling the menu ahead of its official opening.

Jamie had his arm wrapped around Billie's shoulder as they entered the restaurant, the pair still getting used to being publicly affectionate in front of the team.

"Billie, Jamie, and Roy!" Sam approached the trio with an eager smile, dressed in a well tailored suit, "Thank you so much for coming."

"Thank you for having us, Sammy," Billie smiled, wrapping him in a hug, "This is so cool, I'm so proud of you."

"Thank you, Billie," Sam replied graciously, "We're serving food all night, so help yourselves to drinks at the bar, and take a seat."

"Cheers, mate," Roy nodded, before Sam returned to the kitchen.

"Why don't you boys take a seat, I'll get us drinks," Billie told Roy and Jamie as she looked over at the bar where Keeley and Rebecca were standing, "Beers?"

"Yeah," The men nodded in unison as Billie made her way over to the bar.

"Ladies," Billie grinned as she approached them, "You both look phenomenal."

"As do you," Rebecca smiled as she greeted her with a kiss to each cheek, "It's wonderful to see you and Jamie so happy together."

"Rebecca's right," Keeley agreed, handing her a glass of prosecco, "You're gonna break the internet when you go public."

Rebecca sensed Billie's hesitation, watching as the young woman looked down at her glass, "That's what you want, isn't it?"

"Hmm?"

"To be in a public relationship," Rebecca replied.

"Eventually," Billie sighed, the thought having weighed heavy on her mind since she and Jamie got together, she knew what it meant to be in a public relationship with a footballer, she'd been there before. But Brad wasn't Jamie, and Jamie most definitely wasn't Brad, Jamie was one hundred times the man Brad ever was, "I just worry what people will say."

"You know none of that matters, babe," Keeley squeezed her hand, "What matters is that you love him, and he loves you, he'd bring you the fucking moon to see you smile."

"I love what we have, I'm just scared of what that sort of media attention will do," Billie told her two close friends.

"Your relationship is strong, deep down you know that," Rebecca reminded her, "None of these feelings are bad, they just mean that you care."

"Yeah," Billie sighed, looking over her shoulder and searching the room for Jamie and Roy, her brother was sitting with some of the players, while Jamie had taken a seat at a table on his own in the corner of the room. Billie picked up two bottles of beer along with her glass of prosecco, "I should probably hydrate my best boys."

"Alright, lovely."

Billie handed her brother his bottle before heading over to where Jamie was sitting on his own, sliding into the seat beside him, he seemed down, not his usual charismatic self, and it worried her, "You wanna talk about it?"

"Huh?"

"Whatever's on your mind," Billie replied, handing him a bottle of beer.

"It's nothing," Jamie shrugged it off as he took the beer bottle in his hand.

"Okay, well when you want to talk about it, I'll be there," Billie told him, taking his hand in hers, because she knew better than to attempt to pry the information out of him, he would tell her when he was ready.

"Cheers, Bils," He sighed, taking a sip of his beer.

"Colin!"

Billie looked across the room at the familiar voice, her eyebrows raising in intrigue as she watched Colin greet Alfie with a hug. She had no clue that Alfie was going to be there that evening, if she had known she would've offered for him to join her and the boys in their taxi. She knew that Alfie and Colin had become friends because of her, as Alfie had reminded her, they bonded on that group trip to Winter Wonderland before Jamie and Billie got together. They both often mentioned each other in passing, Alfie would mention a video that Colin had sent him, Colin would mention a song that Alfie had recommended.

"Did Colin tell you he invited Alf?" Billie nudged her boyfriend.

Jamie looked over his shoulder to where Alfie was now seated at the table with Colin, Isaac, Zoreaux and Dani, "No, he didn't say anything."

"You wanna join them?" Billie asked.

"I'm good, thanks," Jamie sighed.

"Alright," Billie replied, remaining seated beside him.

"Bils, don't let me stop you if you want to join them," Jamie told her, and Billie could tell that something was bothering him.

"J, what's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Jamie," Billie took his hands in hers, "I don't know what's going on, but when you decide whether you want to talk about it, I'm always going to be here to listen."

"I know," Jamie squeezed her hand, lifting it to his lips and placing a kiss against her skin, "Thank you."

"I love all of you, J," Billie assured him as she rested her head on his shoulder, his arm wrapping around her shoulder, "And that means we carry everything together."

"You're a diamond, Bils," Jamie whispered, kissing the top of her head.

"Well, if it isn't Beauty and The Stink."

Billie looked away from Jamie to see Sassy walking towards Rebecca and Keeley, having not noticed Billie tucked away in the corner beside Jamie.

"Get out! Sassy!" Keeley exclaimed as she wrapped the woman in a hug.

"Go on," Jamie nudged her with a half hearted smile, "See the girls."

"You gonna be okay?"

"Yeah, got me food, ain't I?" He gestured to the platter of food in front of them that neither of them had paid attention to since they'd arrived.

"Fine," Billie kissed him quickly before joining the three women at the bar, who's eyes were already on her.

"Well, I've clearly missed a very big chapter of the Billie Kent story," Sassy grinned as she wrapped Billie in a hug, "It's good to see you, Kent."

"You too, Sass," Billie smiled.

"So, you and Jamie?" Sassy nudged the young woman, handing her another glass of prosecco, "I want all the juicy details."

"How juicy?"

"Do you walk in a straight line the next morning?" Sassy smirked.

"Not at first," Billie replied as she sipped her prosecco with a smile.

"Oh, you're a lucky bitch," Sassy exclaimed, "And he treats you right?"

Billie glanced over her shoulder at Jamie who seemed like he wasn't really there, of course he was there physically, but mentally and emotionally he was elsewhere.

"He's the best man I've ever known, the greatest man I've ever loved," Billie smiled fondly, "I'm really fucking happy."

"Well, at least one of us is loved up," Sassy sighed.

"Hey, ladies!" Sam approached with his signature smile, "Welcome to Ola's, I'm so happy to see all of you."

"Thanks for having us, Sam," Rebecca smiled awkwardly, reminded of what she'd lost.

"No, thank you for coming," Sam insisted, "Please, make sure you enjoy yourselves, okay?"

"Absolutely!"

"Cheers!"

"Thank you," Sam nodded before leaving the women.

"You're such a twat," Sassy told her friend with complete honesty.

"You're gonna want tequila, boss," Billie smirked at Rebecca as they both polished off another glass of prosecco.

"Is Ted here?" Sassy questioned, glancing between the three women.

"Told you," Rebecca looked between Billie and Keeley, referencing a conversation the three women had that morning when Rebecca received a message to say Sassy would be attending.

"I like what I know," Sassy replied with a subtle smirk that suggested she'd be getting what she wanted.

Billie glanced over at Jamie to see that he had since been approached by Shandy, who was standing beside him, talking his ear off as he stared at his hands.

"Bils," Keeley nudged her, "You okay?"

"Hmm?" Billie looked at the three women who surrounded her, "Oh, I'm fine."

"So, tell me, what else happens in Billie-Jamie land?" Sassy asked, eager for some gossip that neither Keeley nor Rebecca could provide on their own lives.

"What do you want to know?" Billie asked, unsure where exactly to start.

"Does he prefer to give or receive?" Sassy smirked.

"Oh, he loves to give," Billie replied with ease, "In every sense of the word."

"Good girly," Sassy nudged her, "I bought your magazine, you didn't mention him in that."

"We're still doing the whole keeping it in our inner circle thing," Billie replied, remembering the part of the interview in which she was asked about her romantic life.

INTERVIEWER: YOU'RE A BEAUTIFUL, BUSY AND TALENTED WOMAN, IS THERE ANY ROOM FOR ANYONE SPECIAL IN YOUR LIFE?

BILLIE: My main priority at the moment is focusing on me and my work, that's what I want to share with the world. I've done the whole public relationship thing before, and it just puts any relationship in a pressure cooker of public speculation. I've learnt to protect what I have, all that there is to say is that I've never been happier than I am now.

"As long as you're happy and he treats you right," Sassy smiled fondly, "That's all that matters, young lady."

Billie looked over to the table where Jamie had been sat, to see that he was no longer there, neither was Shandy, who had instead approached Sam, showing him something on her phone.

"I'll be back in a moment," Billie told her friends before making her way across the restaurant towards the door, knowing Jamie, she knew where he'd be.

She headed outside, turning the corner to see him further down the side street, leaning against the side wall of Sam's restaurant, looking up at the night's sky.

"Hey," She smiled as she approached him.

"Hi," Jamie replied, letting his eyes flick to her, "You alright?"

"I could ask you the same question," Billie hummed as she stood beside him, "You don't seem yourself."

"Keeley's friend, Shandy was just telling me about this new Bantr promo thing they're doing, she tried chatting me up first, but I told her I wasn't single and I wasn't interested, and then she just started talking about this Bantr thing," Jamie explained what had just happened.

"What Bantr thing?" Billie frowned, having heard nothing from Keeley about any Bantr projects.

"They want to get all the single players in this video, but I told her that I wasn't going to do it," Jamie replied, "Because I'm not single."

"You can do it if you want to," Billie assured him, "If it helps keep speculation off us for a bit longer."

"Is that what you want?" Jamie frowned as he kept his eyes on her.

"I want us to be good, I want you to be happy," Billie replied, "And I don't want the media to make a mess of that."

"I don't want people to think I'm single, Bils," Jamie decided to be honest, because he liked the team knowing that he was with Billie, and he was ready for the world to know that he was in a relationship with Billie Kent, "When we win a match, I want people to know I'm going home to you."

"We can wait a little longer, J," Billie told him, "Keep us in our little bubble."

"It's been months, Bils, we've been together for months," Jamie replied with a frown, his insecurities and doubts worming their way into his subconscious, "Is this because you don't want people to know that we're together, Billie? Are you embarrassed to call me your boyfriend?"

Jamie's words stung, and Billie hated that he thought that, that he believed that she would think like that. She had never been ashamed of her relationship with Jamie, there was nothing to be ashamed of. Billie had never loved anyone in the way she loved Jamie, she just wasn't ready for external opinions on what they had.

Jamie's emotional scars might have been healed, but that didn't mean they didn't have a tendency to hurt every so often. The feelings of displacement within the team caused by Zava's presence were doing the one thing he needed them not to, they were feeding doubts into other areas of his life.

"That's not true," Billie insisted, "You know that."

"So, you don't think of me as a step down from Brad?" Jamie replied, his insecurities winning, "I know Chelsea have a better reputation than us, but-"

"Stop," Billie cut him off, as a lump formed in her throat, "None of that is true," She assured him, "I adore you, I love you with everything I am, everything I have."

It was true, every word she uttered was the truth.

"You once asked me what I loved most about you, and I refused to tell you," Billie replied, blinking to prevent her eyes from glossing over, "What do you think it is?"

"I don't know."

"The thing I love most about you is your heart," Billie assured him, "It's not your ability to score a goal, or your tattoos, or your hair, or your body, it's your heart, it's the way that being loved by you makes me feel, and the way you are as a person."

"So you ain't embarrassed by me?" Jamie frowned, relieved by her words.

"I've never been embarrassed by you, not now and not when we're eighty years old dancing to retro One Direction songs at our retirement home," Billie told him fondly, needing him to understand just how much he meant to her, "The only reason I'm not ready for us to be public is because I don't want it to ruin us, because loving you is better than any feeling."

"Nothing's going to ruin us, Bils," Jamie assured her, taking his turn to be the comforter, "We've been through too much to be ruined by the opinions of the media."

"I don't want to lose you to their opinions," Billie whispered, "They said some fucking horrible shit when I was with Brad."

"I'm in this for the long haul, Kent," Jamie smiled in reassurance, "You think that some tweets and tabloids could scare me away from you?"

"I don't know, could they?"

"Never in a million years," Jamie sighed as he wrapped his arms around her shoulders, holding her close to his chest, "We take this at your pace, okay?"

"Thank you," Billie whispered, "And it's up to you, whether or not you want to do the Bantr promo."

"Was this our first argument?" Jamie frowned as he swayed her side to side in his arms.

"I suppose so," Billie sighed, "Unless you count those disagreements we had back when we couldn't stand each other."

"It wasn't that I couldn't stand you, Kent," Jamie looked down at her with a fond grin, "It was that I couldn't stand that I fancied Roy Kent's little sister."

"I see," Billie smiled up at him, "Well, I suppose I couldn't stand thinking that a certain number nine was the fittest thing on that pitch."

Jamie and Billie had returned to their table in the corner of the restaurant, Jamie pulling Billie's chair close to his so that she could rest her head on his chest while he kept his arm around her shoulders. Jamie still seemed withdrawn, less so than before he and Billie had that chat outside, but he just appeared restless, choosing not to join his teammates.

"What the fuck do you want?" Jamie muttered and Billie looked up to see Roy joining them at their table, taking a seat on the other side of Jamie.

"You frowning while we're on a win streak, that's a bad look," Roy sighed as he glanced between Jamie and Billie.

"You frowned your whole career," Jamie was quick to point out, earning a proud smile from Billie.

"No, I never smiled, that's different," Roy corrected him.

Cheers erupted on the other side of the restaurant, Billie, Jamie and Roy each peered around the corner to be met with the sight of Zava greeting his teammates.

"For fuck sake," Jamie muttered, "There he is, God's gift to those who have everything."

"Best player on the team," Roy nodded, taking a swig of his beer.

"Fuck off."

"It's true," Roy replied, and Billie chose to stay quiet and let her brother do the talking, "It's true, you used to be the best, now you're not, it happens."

"You thought I was the best?" Jamie raised his eyebrows, choosing to hear his girlfriend's brother's words as a compliment of sorts.

"Yeah, I mean you still could be if you weren't such a pre-Madonna," Roy remarked.

"Did you just call me a pre-Madonna?" Jamie frowned.

"Yeah."

"It's prima donna," Jamie corrected him, "Who the fuck says 'pre-Madonna?' What the fuck does that even mean?"

"It means before Madonna, female vocalists didn't have to work that hard," Roy retorted.

"Oh boy," Billie exhaled, knowing that Jamie, a man who was raised by a strong woman, would have a lot to say on the matter.

"Are you mad?" Jamie quipped, "You never heard of Tina Turner? Fucking Stevie Nicks?"

"That's my boy," Billie smiled proudly, having made Jamie listen to Gold Dust Woman and Silver Springs on repeat some weeks ago.

"Point is, he's the best player on the team," Roy huffed at Jamie, "And right now, all you gotta do is try and keep up with him."

"Fuck that, I don't wanna just keep up with him," Jamie quipped, "I wanna be better than him."

"I could train you," Roy told him, earning looks of surprise from both Billie and Jamie, "But only if you fucking mean it."

"Yeah, I do mean it," Jamie nodded, delighted that his childhood idol and girlfriend's older brother was willing to coach him.

"Who would've thought it?" Billie grinned at them both, "My two best boys, getting along?"

Jamie picked up one of the meatballs from the platter in front of him with a fork, "When do we start then?"

Roy, who's reflexes remained sharp, tossed the fork from Jamie's hand, the meatball hitting the wall, "Right fucking now."

"Come on, man," One of Sam's chefs sighed as she laid eyes on the mess on the wall.

"So sorry, we'll take care of it," Roy assured her before she left them to it, he turned to Jamie as he stood up, "We start tomorrow, 4AM, clean that up."

Billie and Jamie shared a look of concern as Roy strolled away. Without a word, Jamie retrieved a napkin from the middle of the table and wiped up the mess on the wall.

"I can't believe you and my brother are going to be spending time together, and not just to appease me," Billie smiled fondly as she rested her head on Jamie's shoulder.

"Come here," Jamie pulled her onto his lap, allowing her to sit sideways (she was hardly going. to straddle him in the middle of a restaurant), "I love you, thanks for helping me not be so in me own head."

"Anytime, pretty boy," Billie grinned, running her hand through his hair, "I love you too."

Without a word, Jamie kissed her slowly, knowing that the only people in that restaurant were people they classed as their inner circle. It was a step closer to Jamie's ideal reality in which he could kiss Billie in a busy airport, or hold her hand walking down a busy Richmond street. He wanted the world to know the woman who helped him be the man he was.

Billie smiled against his lips, her arms wrapped around his shoulders, because she loved that man more than she had ever loved anyone. They understood each other, and he was willing to compromise on things that Brad never would've budged on, he was a man in the world where Brad was still a boy.

"Hello, lovebirds," Alfie grinned as he approached the table, taking Roy's seat, "How's things?"

"Good," Billie nodded, "I didn't know you were coming today."

"Colin mentioned it, asked if I wanted to come," Alfie explained, "And you know I never say no to a free bar."

"That is true," Billie smiled as she sipped her prosecco.

"Well, I just wanted to come over and say hi, or rather bye," Alfie explained, "Because we- I mean...I am going home."

"Right," Billie nodded slowly as she began to join the dots.

"Have a good night, mate," Jamie shook his hand before letting Alfie go.

"You wanna head home?" Billie asked, toying with Jamie's hair.

"Mmhmm," Jamie mumbled as he kissed her again, "Wanna cuddle you till we fall asleep."

"You're fucking cute," Billie grinned, knowing that she'd probably end up as big spoon until they fell asleep, when Jamie would take on the role.

billie_kent posted

liked by: jamie_tartt and 72,104 others

billie_kent: An evening at Ola's
📸 by jamie_tartt

COMMENTS:
colinhughes: my bestest mate <3

maddsgreen: you've trained him well

jamie_tartt: coming for your job, kent

alfiesykes98: it's giving ceo.

keeleyjones: fit.

author's note: jamie and billie's first argument being caused by caring so much about their relationship is so them.