Almost two weeks had passed since Billie said goodbye to Jamie, a goodbye that she still didn't know how to feel about. They'd texted occasionally, but it was normally about work, Jamie would text her about her recent social media photos for the club and Billie would text him when City won a match, which was a regular occurrence.

Billie hadn't told anyone at the club about her kiss with Jamie, she didn't really know how to, she also didn't think it was relevant. She considered telling Keeley, but she didn't see the point, Keeley had moved on, and besides, it was one kiss, they were hardly engaged.

But both Keeley and Rebecca could tell that Billie wasn't her same chipper self, not that they knew why. So the three women found themselves spending a lot of time together between work, eating lunch in Rebecca's office, gossiping in Rebecca's office, and drinking wine in Rebecca's office.

Alfie and Madison knew about the kiss, of course they knew. Madison could see it on Billie's face when she came home from work the day that Jamie had left, so like any good friends they continued to grill her about it until she gave in.

It was a Friday, not just any Friday, but the Friday when Richmond would travel up to Liverpool in the hope of breaking their sixty year long running loss streak against Everton. In an effort to cheer up their less than sunny friend, Rebecca and Keeley had declared it a girls' weekend, with the three women planning to stay together in Rebecca's suite.

"You stay out of trouble while you're up there, alright?" Alfie smiled as he handed Billie her suitcase from the boot of his car as she held onto her tote bag full of her work kit.

With Friday being his work from home day, Alfie had offered to drop Billie off at Richmond's training ground so that she didn't have to haul her bags across town.

"It's a match weekend, I'll be fine," Billie remarked, "It'll be the same as every away match, dinner, team movie night, bed by eleven."

"You know, Manchester is less than an hour from Liverpool by train," Alfie pursed his lips as he leant against the side of his car.

"I know." Billie nodded.

"So, would it hurt if you missed a movie night for the sake of visiting that footballing friend of yours?" Alfie replied, hoping that perhaps it would cheer his friend up to see the man she'd been missing.

"Marcus Rashford?"

"You know exactly who I'm talking about, Billie Kent," Alfie furrowed his eyebrows with a smile, "What's stopping you?"

"We've barely spoken since he left, I don't want to just invite myself to Manchester and make it weird," Billie sighed.

"Bils, he's at Man City, he's probably barely looking at his phone, Pep has them training like machines," Alfie reminded her, and she knew he was right, he was a sports journalist with inside knowledge of course.

"I just don't know if it's a good idea," Billie muttered.

"I know that you're worried that history will repeat itself, but this is something new, what's stopping you from just having some gold old-fashioned fun?" Alfie had always been good at pep talks, especially when Billie needed them most, even when he was at university in Edinburgh and she was in Manchester, he'd call her and talk her down or up, whatever she needed.

"So you think I should just turn up and surprise him?" Billie sighed.

"That's exactly what I think," Alfie smiled, "Who doesn't love surprises?"

"My brother."

"But I bet Mr Tartt loves them," Alfie grinned, "So tell your brother and the others that you're visiting uni friends and then hop on a train to Tartt-Town."

"You make this sound so fucking sleezy, Alf," Billie rolled her eyes with a smile as Keeley's car pulled into the car park, "Good job I love you."

"Right, I should be heading home, I've got a video interview with Ben Chilwell in forty minutes," Alfie smiled, wrapping his arms around his best friend, "Don't be good, do have fun, alright?"

"Yeah," Billie nodded as she held him tight, "Thank you."

"Hiya, Billie, Hi, Alfie," Keeley waved as she approached the pair, dressed perfectly for a girly weekend in Liverpool.

"Hi," Alfie smiled before climbing into his car.

"It's a work thing," Billie smiled at Keeley as Alfie slowly drove out of the car park, "You looking forward to the weekend?"

"Fuck yeah," Keeley grinned, linking her arm around Billie's as the pair walked into the clubhouse, "We're gonna get drunk, eat good food and it is an exclusive moping free zone."

"Feels like a personal attack," Billie smirked.

"Not at all," Keeley nudged her as they made their way towards the stairs that led up to Rebecca's office, "But if I see you looking at that girl's instagram once this weekend I'm throwing your phone out of the nearest window."

Keeley was referring to the girl who Brad had got pregnant, the girl who he had 'hard launched' his pregnancy and relationship with three days after Jamie had left. She didn't really know what to do or who to go to about it, Roy, her sister and her two closest friends shared the same opinion of the man, and as much she adored them all, that wasn't what she needed. But Keeley and Rebecca, they both offered her the advice that she needed.

"Alright," Billie sighed as she led Keeley up the stairs, "No doom scrolling."

"Good," Keeley smiled, "We'll be too busy with the sex fest I've planned for us."

"Huh?" Billie stopped on the stairs, turning to face Keeley.

"You, me and Rebecca, sex fest," Keeley replied with a smile, "Best way to get over someone is to-"

"Not sleep with your boss and new friend?" Billie frowned.

"Babe, I'm fucking with you," Keeley grinned, "But you are always my number one lady pool hall pass."

"I appreciate you," Billie laughed before continuing up the stairs towards Rebecca's office.

"Woo-hoo!" Keeley called out as the two girls entered Rebecca's office, "Girl's trip!"

"Liverpool, here we come," Rebecca grinned at the two young women.

"I just wanna say upfront that I'm really flattered you asked me to come this weekend," Keeley smiled.

"Oh, come on now," Rebecca smiled.

"But, hey, we're all single, I think you're both super hot," Keeley glanced at the two women and Billie quickly clocked onto what she was doing, "If I'm gonna dip my toe back in the lady pool, I can't think of two finer bodies of water to do it with than you."

"Sex fest." Billie nodded.

"No, Keeley, I think you're confused," Rebecca frowned.

"We were at first," Billie replied.

"Then I was like, come on, blow off some steam and have some wicked sex with your new friends," Keeley exclaimed.

Rebecca stared at the two girls in shock.

"We're fucking with you," Keeley grinned.

"Oh, I thought you were being serious," Rebecca gasped, "I mean, can you imagine?"

"Oh, I have," Keeley nodded with complete sincerity.

"Do-da, do-da, do do doo," Higgins hummed as he sauntered into Rebecca's office, wearing aviator sunglasses, "Looks like we've got two new passengers on today's flight."

"Oh, I'm going on the team bus," Billie told the group, "I can start brainstorming content with the boys that way."

"And, Keeley will be taking your seat on the jet, Higgins," Rebecca corrected.

"Oh," Higgins sighed.

"Sorry," Keeley muttered.

"I'm gonna go spend a penny before we take off," Keeley told the room before quickly leaving.

"You can join me on the bus, Higgins, the boys and I will be playing cluedo, Isaac's on a winning streak so Colin and I are teaming up to take him down," Billie explained, slowly reading the tense atmosphere in the room, "Anyway, I'm gonna pop downstairs and check in with Ted and Beard, see you later!"

"See you in Liverpool, Billie," Rebecca called out as Billie wheeled her suitcase out of the office.

Once Billie had made her way downstairs she beelined for the coaches' office where Ted was sitting staring at a brown envelope, "Morning," She smiled.

"Billie!" Ted exclaimed as she leant against the open doorway, "Can I just say you have got that model off duty look down to a tee, I'm getting notes of Kate Moss, Kendall Jenner, who's that girl who's married to Justin Bieber?"

"Hailey?"

"That's the one!" Ted clapped his hands together before pointing at her dramatically.

Billie appreciated Ted's compliments because she herself felt underdressed compared to the two women she had planned to spend the weekend with. She'd opted for a pair of blue baggy jeans, white tank top and leather bomber jacket, wearing an AFC Richmond baseball cap to complete the look.

"What time are we setting off?" Billie asked, glancing out into the locker room where the boys were waiting to leave as Beard concentrated on the whiteboard.

"Once Beard's debriefed the boys, we'll be ready to go," Ted told her, "You got any new songs on the bus playlist?"

After Billie had introduced Ted to Sam Fender's music he'd found himself asking the girl for more music recommendations as he rated her taste. The conversation then resulted in Billie taking charge of the team bus' playlist, taking requests from the boys.

"I've added some classics to educate the boys," Billie replied, "Killer Queen, Super Freak, Maneater."

"Nelly Furtado, a classic." Ted sighed as he stood up from his desk.

"Actually, I went with Daryl Hall and John Oates."

"You really are an old soul, huh?" Ted smiled before making his way into the locker room, "Alright, gentlemen, who's ready to show Everton what we got?"

"Woo!" Dani cheered as the rest of the team remained silent.

"Thank you, Dani," Ted nodded before turning to Beard and Billie and whispering, "Jeez Louise, why's everybody so down in the dumps? What happened? Did Beyoncé dump Jay-Z or something?"

"No, nothing like that," Beard assured him.

"Thank goodness, just saying it out loud made me immediately sad," Ted sighed, "Let me see what's going on here."

"Hey, guys, seriously, come on, what's up?" Ted turned to the team.

"Well, we're fine," Sam shrugged.

"Yeah, I'm alright," Isaac added.

"No you're not," Billie interjected, "You added The One That Got Away by Katy Perry to the team bus playlist."

"Great song, though," Isaac quipped.

"I know, but it's not the vibe we need, I swapped it out for Last Friday Night," Billie told him.

"We're in a shit fucking mood because we never fucking win at Everton and it sucks fucking shit," Roy exclaimed.

"Ah, come on, fellas," Ted sighed, "How long has it been since y'all won up at Everton?"

"Sixty years ago," Colin answered.

"Jesus Christ." Beard exhaled as he turned away from the whiteboard.

"Wow, that is a heck of a long time, okay," Ted sighed, "So we got that going on, and obviously were bummed out that O'Brien tore his butt."

"It's my upper hamstring, Coach," O'Brien was quick to reply.

"You tore your butt, son," Ted corrected him, "There's nothing to be ashamed of, okay? It happens, people tear their butts all the time in athletics, you're not alone man."

"It wasn't sport, coach," Billie quipped, "We had an after hours Just Dance tournament on Wednesday."

"Billie's right, Coach, we were dancing to Rasputin," Sam added, "It got very competitive."

"Well, Coach Beard has also torn his butt a few times," Ted reassured the group.

"Three times."

"Three times," Ted nodded, "Butt's an amazing muscle, God as my witness, your butt will heal, and Billie, next time you have one of these Just Dance tournaments, put Beard and I down for Kids In America."

"Got it, Coach," Billie saluted.

"The silver lining here, with O'Brien's tore butt, is that my man from Montreal is gonna be filling in as goalie," Ted told the group, "Give it up for Zorro."

"Oh, it's pronounced, Zoreaux," Zoreaux corrected him.

"I'm sorry, Zorro," Ted replied.

"Zoreaux."

"I don't know what I'm doing wrong here," Ted muttered.

"Roll the tongue," Billie whispered.

"Point is, gentlemen, unless one of y'all got a crystal ball, we don't know what's gonna happen tomorrow," Ted explained, "That's why we play the game."

"So let me hear it!" Ted exclaimed, "Richmond on three, one, two, three!"

"Richmond!" Dani exclaimed as the team stayed silent.

"Right, come on, let's go," Roy huffed, picking up his bag and leading the team out of the locker room.

Billie followed her brother out of the room, busing him with a grin, "You still playing as Miss Scarlett this round?"

"Billie, you told me I didn't have a choice," Roy huffed. 

"You love it really, spending all this time with your sister," Billie grinned, "Wouldn't have got me the job otherwise."

"I'm sleeping on the bus, give my spot to someone else," Roy sighed as he pushed through the doors out into the car park where two journalists were waiting for them.

"Roy, can we get a-"

"No." Roy grunted before speed walking towards the bus, disappearing inside.

"Billie Kent, can we get a comment from you about Jamie Tartt's departure?" The same journalist asked as Billie trailed towards the bus.

"I'm just staff," Billie told them.

"But you've been romantically linked to Jamie Tartt, yes?" He continued as Marcus, who she preferred, stood beside him.

Billie laughed to herself before looking up at the two men, knowing that the only 'proof' of anything between her and Jamie was that photo of them in his car at the traffic lights in Chelsea. She had been encouraged not to comment on it, and she knew that she shouldn't, but she was a Kent, if anything was going to get her in trouble it would be her words.

"Jamie Tartt was simply being a decent person and driving me to collect my stuff from that community penis that I call an ex's house," Billie sighed, "The team are extremely saddened by his departure, but it has nothing to do with me," She glanced between them both, "You can print that."

"Thanks for your time," Marcus called out as she made her way towards the bus. 

"We'll see you in Liverpool."

Liverpool was just as busy as Billie had expected. The team bus had weaved its way through the streets of Liverpool until arriving at the hotel. Billie had collected her room key from reception before making her way up to the suite to meet Keeley and Rebecca who had already been there for a couple of hours thanks to the speed of a flight to Liverpool from London.

"Hello, ladies!" Billie called out as she hauled her suitcase into the suite, laying eyes on Keeley who was staring at the TV, "Don't tell me you've found the porn channels?"

"The business centre is open twenty four hours a day," She heard Keeley's voice, except Keeley's mouth wasn't moving, so she moved to stand at her side, realising that Keeely was staring at herself on the TV.

"Ohhh," Billie sighed slowly.

"What was that about the business centre?" Rebecca asked as she entered the room, dressed in a hotel robe.

"Look," Billie gestured to the TV as the three women sat on the couch together.

"Oh my God," Rebecca sighed as the three women watched a video of Keeley reeling off various facts about Liverpool.

"I don't even remember doing this," Keeley muttered.

"Right, enough," Rebecca declared, taking the remote from Keeley and switching the TV off, "This weekend is moving forward, for all three of us, when that champagne arrives, we are going to get drunk, have a nice meal, and leave the past in the past, sound good?"

"Sounds fucking great," Keeley replied as Billie nodded.

"Oh, speak of the devil," Rebecca stood up from the sofa as there was a gentle knock at the door.

"Hello, Stinky," A voice came from the open door as Billie and Keeley stared at each other in confusion, a brunette woman strolling into the room as Rebecca held the door open, "Still giving you the big room even without old grey walnuts footing the bill, good, fuck Rupert!"

Billie and Keeley stared at the woman in awe.

"Ah, who's this then?" She asked, "Are these your concubines? Are they Russian?"

"A, I love you, B, who are you?" Keeley exclaimed as she and Billie stood up from the couch.

"Let me introduce Flo Collins, my best mate since we were little," Rebecca told the two girls, "Brilliant child psychologist and proud, newly single...mother to the most amazing twelve year old little girl called Nora, my goddaughter, both of whom I've completely neglected to speak to in the last six years."

"Oh, Jesus, Stinky," Flo sighed, "Remind me to bury you in the setlist for speeches at my funeral," She turned to Keeley and Billie, "I'm Flo, or you can call me Sassy, I don't care which."

"So, you heard about the divorce?" Sassy turned to Rebecca.

"Yeah, I bumped into Darren at a party, he told me right after he hit on me," Rebecca sighed.

"Hey, what's new?" Sassy replied, "Still, weird order for him to roll out that information."

"Doesn't have a distant relative called Brad, does he?" Billie smirked.

"I'll be sure to ask," Sassy nodded, "Right, what's the plan for tonight, then? Shall I call down, get myself a robe? Look what I've got," She pulled a champagne bottle out of her bag, "Stole it off a room service trolley."

"You're amazing!" Keeley exclaimed, "I'm Keeley by the way."

"I know who you are, honey," Sassy sighed as Keeley hugged her, "My ex used to masturbate to you like a maniac."

"I'm Billie, Roy Kent's sister, Brad Barker's ex-"

"But most importantly, our media producer," Rebecca added.

"She's right, your brother seems alright, but Brad Barker is a prick, and I'm sure that baby is going to be very, very ugly," Sassy assured her.

"Thank you," Billie smiled before bracing herself to pop the ballon, "I'm afraid I'm going to have to dip on tonight's part of the girls' weekend."

"What?" Keeley exclaimed, "Why?"

"My old uni friends are having a little get together thing, and I studied in Manchester, when they heard I'd been in Liverpool they told me to join them, said I could sleep on their sofa," Billie sighed, "My train leaves in half an hour."

Billie had thought about it for the first half of the drive to Manchester. She wanted to see Jamie, she really wanted to see Jamie, and as much as it felt strange to admit, she missed him. She didn't know for sure whether he'd even be at home, but she had checked on the bus and Man City didn't have any matches that weekend. She concluded that even if he wasn't home, it wouldn't be an entirely wasted trip as she could just visit her friends from university who still lived in the city.

"We can make tomorrow night even better though, right?" Billie assured the women, "And Sassy, you can have my robe, slippers, whatever, I'll be back before tomorrow's match."

"Yeah, you're definitely far too good for Bradley Barker," Sassy smiled.

"Well, go, have fun," Rebecca smiled as Keeley hugged Billie, "Be young!"

"Thank you," Billie replied as grabbed her tote bag which she had chucked a few essentials in after booking her train, "Be good."

"We won't!" Keeley called out as Billie blew them a kiss before slipping out of the room.

"She's going to Manchester to get laid, right?"

"Oh, definitely."

After an easy enough train journey to Manchester, Billie had booked herself a taxi, giving the driver the street name Jamie had scribbled on her hand when they said goodbye that morning two weeks prior. She didn't really know what to expect but as the driver pulled up outside one of many impressive houses, no doubt all owned by footballers.

She hadn't given the driver the exact house number as she didn't want it slipping into the hands of the press that she was visiting Jamie. Not because she was ashamed or anything like that, but because she didn't want them ruining what they had before it had even started.

"Thank you," She smiled at the driver, handing him some cash, "Keep the change."

"Have a nice day, love," He nodded as she made her way up the street towards Jamie's house.

She walked a little further until she reached his house, it was gated but the gates were open so she made her way up the driveway, her heavy bag weighing on her shoulder as she reached the front door. Without a thought she rang the doorbell, noticing that his car was parked on the driving, hoping that meant that he was home.

"Billie?" She looked up as the door opened to see Jamie staring at her in confusion, still wearing his Manchester City training kit.

"Hi." Billie grinned.

"What are you doing on my doorstep?" He asked, given that he had checked and Richmond didn't have a match against a Manchester team until their last match of the season at home.

"I came to cash in on my date," She smiled.

"Your date?" Jamie remarked.

"I spent twenty five grand on you Tartt, you think I don't want a date?" Billie smirked, folding her arms across her chest.

"Well, I suppose you better come in then," Jamie smiled, stepping aside to let her into his house, closing the door behind her, "I assume no one knows that you're here?"

"I told the girls I was visiting uni friends," Billie replied as she followed Jamie into the kitchen, which was just what she'd imagined, newly fitted slick cabinets with a big island in the middle, "Studying in Manchester worked out quite well, I suppose."

"I suppose it did," Jamie replied, leaning against the kitchen counter, not wanting to assume or overstep, "But surely you didn't come all the way from London to see me."

"I came all the way from Liverpool, we're playing Everton tomorrow," Billie smiled, abandoning her bag and sitting on the edge of the kitchen island, letting her legs swing freely, "Trust me, it was a tough decision, you or The Beatles walking tour."

"Tough decision, huh?" Jamie smirked, slowly stepping towards her, "What swayed it?"

"I can think of a few reasons," Billie smiled as she beckoned him towards her with her hand, allowing him to stand right in front of her.

He glanced at the cap that she was wearing, liking the look, but still wanting to see her face properly, "Take that off, I want to see you."

"Yes, boss," She smirked, removing the hat and placing it on his head backwards, "Looks good."

"Definitely looks better on you though," Jamie nodded.

"How long do you plan on small talking me, Tartt?" Billie quipped.

"Huh?"

"I didn't come here to have a conversation we could just have on the phone," She smirked, resting her hands on his shoulders and pulling him towards her as she kissed him slowly, just as she'd been waiting to since he left Manchester.

They were like two puzzle pieces, Jamie slotted between her legs as she sat on the kitchen counter, her hands cupping his cheeks as he held onto her waist.

"So, is this just a flying visit?" Jamie asked, given that it was already the evening, and if she was planning on going back to Liverpool that night he didn't want to waste the time he had with her.

"I told the girls I'd be sleeping on my uni friends' sofa," Billie replied between kisses, "You better have a nice guest room."

"Fuck off, you're not staying in my guest room," He mumbled against her lips with a smile before pulling away, "Unless you'd prefer to stay in the guest room, because that's completely cool."

"I'm not staying in your guest room, Tartt," She grinned against his lips.

Their kisses were a reminder of everything about him that she'd missed while he'd been gone. The way he said her name, the way he smiled when she'd put him in his place, the way her skin would ignite every time he touched it, accidental or not.

"I've missed you," Jamie sighed as he pulled away, still standing between her legs, "It's weird going to work and not seeing you every day."

"Ditto," Billie nodded.

"Ditto?" Jamie laughed, "Bloody, ditto?"

"I missed you too," Billie smiled, noticing that her hat had fallen off Jamie's head somewhere between their kisses, "If you'd told me two months ago that I'd be saying that now I'd have called you crazy."

"You had me hooked from that twenty five grand, Kent," Jamie grinned before kissing her gently.

"No wonder Brad was so jealous," Billie muttered as she leant back on her hands.

"I saw his post on Instagram," Jamie replied, "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No," Billie shook her head, "I want to stay in this bubble for as long as possible."

"Have you eaten?" Jamie asked as she slipped off her jacket, leaving her in just her jeans and white tank top.

"I had a Greggs bake on the train," Billie answered.

"We'll make a Northerner out of you in no time," Jamie smiled, "You want to order something?"

"Will you be eating a salad?" She asked.

"Probably."

"And if I order something like pizza, will you pick at that?"

"Probably."

Billie and Jamie sat on his large L-shaped sofa, having polished off their chosen meals. Jamie of course had eaten a high protein shaker salad while Billie had opted for a simple margarita pizza as she normally did, happily letting Jamie steal a couple of slices.

"What do you want to watch?" Jamie asked as he handed her one of his hoodies before slumping on the sofa beside her.

"You don't want to choose?" Billie asked as she slipped Jamie's hoodie on, appreciating the lingering smell of his aftershave.

"You're the one with a media degree, I trust your judgement," Jamie told her.

"Have you ever watched Dirty Dancing?" Billie asked.

"No."

"No?" Billie exclaimed, turning to see that Jamie was already smiling to himself, "Well then, we are getting you an education, Mr Tartt."

"Fine by me," Jamie smiled as he searched for the film on his TV, glancing at Billie as much as he could without making it obvious. He liked listening to her talk, hearing her talk about the things that she loved or the things that made her blood boil, he could sit like that for hours if she let him.

"You're going to love this," Billie assured him as the film started to play, "And Patrick Swayze, oh what a man."

"Is that right?" Jamie smirked as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her towards him, letting her head rest against his chest as he slowly traced his fingers up and down her arm.

It was like they were in a bubble of their own making, their phones abandoned in the kitchen while their attention remained on the film that Jamie had let Billie choose, not just because she was the one with the degree, but because it allowed him to learn more and more about her.

author's note: i love writing them so so much! hope you enjoyed the chapter! please vote and comment, it really helps writers! x