Chapter Text
Isaac took the loss hard, despite the goal they scored before the end of the match. Jamie didn’t mind, he knew they had come far in the last week, knew they were on the brink of something really great, but that’s not the way Isaac saw it. The way Isaac saw it, the team’s defeat was a bright, flashing neon sign pointed directly at him that says weak. He’s the leader on the pitch, the one tasked with keeping the team unity, holding it together in his big hands, and he’s never been trained in that. Everything he does was based on gut instinct, and he’s doing the best he can, but deep down inside, he’s afraid that the loss—that all the losses—were his fault. That he’s letting the side down.
Of course, he doesn’t say any of that. Instead, he brings all his energy and determination and leadership to Ola’s, the first one there and the last one to stop working. Like he’s the first one to training, the first on the bus, the first on the pitch. It’s a lot of pressure, a lot of stress that makes his shoulders slump and bows the back of his neck.
At the end of the night, after dinner, Isaac grasped Jamie’s hand, pulled him into a hug. “See you tomorrow, bruv.”
“I’ll drive you home.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah, come on.”
Isaac doesn’t live far. He walked to Ola’s, but Jamie was happy to drive him. He opened the passenger door, gestured him inside. Once they’re alone, he doesn’t try to hide his exhaustion. Not just from today, but from the entire past two months. He rubbed his eyes, slumped in his seat, let his head rest against the window.
“You need to get some rest, man.”
“Can’t sleep.”
“Why not? Too many video games?”
“No, bruv. No screen time after ten. You know that.”
“What is it?”
“I just can’t. I want to. But nothing helps.”
“You try warm milk?”
“I always drink tea before bed.”
Jamie looked over. “What tea are you drinking before bed?”
“English Breakfast.”
“That’s full of caffeine, bruv.”
“Yeah, but you need caffeine.”
“No, you don’t need caffeine. Especially not after ten o’clock at night.”
“You do need it, bruv. For your bones.”
“For your…” Jamie took a deep breath. “You need calcium for your bones. Warm milk, like I said man.”
“Oh.”
Jamie parked. “Come on, I’ll show you.”
Once inside Isaac’s flat, he tossed his bag and hat onto the coffee table and moved into the kitchen. He’d spent a lot of time in Isaac’s flat, had learned the nonsensical structure of his kitchen, like how the silverware was all in the cabinet above the stove and teacups lived in the cupboard where the pans should go.
“Go get ready for bed while I get this taken care of.”
“Can’t.”
“Why not.”
“Can’t brush my teeth and then drink warm milk, can I?”
“It won’t hurt this one time. Just go get ready for bed.”
Out of curiosity, Jamie searched until he found the stash of tea—naturally they are all dark teas full of caffeine. Not even one sleepy time herbal or something like that. He’d have to bring some over for him. And maybe some calcium supplements too since Isaac was apparently worried about that. He managed to find a sauce pan above the refrigerator and poured in enough milk for both of them.
“You staying tonight, bruv?” Isaac has changed into a Richmond T-shirt and a ratty pair of sweats. Ones he would never allow anybody else to ever see, but Jamie knew he kept them for sleeping because they were the first pair he got when he came to Richmond, and he was sentimental about them.
“For a little while.” Jamie carefully stirred the milk and figured he would have to bring Isaac tea just because he couldn’t trust Isaac to not let hot milk explode all over his kitchen. Jamie knew from experience that shit was awful.
“Want to watch a movie?”
“You said no screen time after ten.”
“Yeah, but, movies don’t count.”
Jamie almost asked why but decided to leave it. “Pretty sure they do. Just go lay down and get comfortable. This is almost ready.”
“Alright.”
He found biscuits in the freezer—which wasn’t really bad place for them—and a tray in the oven to carry everything to the bedroom on. Isaac was already in bed, as instructed, his pink and white striped silk sheets tucked around his legs. Jamie set the tray on the nightstand and nudged him over.
“Here, try this.”
“It tastes good. Like real milk.”
“It is real milk. I got it from your fridge.”
“Oh, I thought you said it was worm milk.”
For a moment, Jamie wasn’t sure what to say, but then Isaac smiled. “Ah, I got you, bruv.”
“You did get me. Here, have a biscuit.”
“See this is why I didn’t want to brush my teeth.”
“Your teeth will be fine.”
“Jamie—”
“Hmm?”
“You think we’re going to get relegated again?”
Jamie dipped his biscuit into his milk, swirled it around. “No.”
“You sure?”
“Yes.”
“I’m worried.”
“I know. ‘s why I’m here. But there’s nothing to worry about. You know why?”
“No. Why?”
“Because I’m here. Finish your milk.”
Isaac looked at him for a beat and then smiled. Despite his previous concern about biscuits before bed, he accepted a second one and swirled it in the milk before finishing it. Jamie took the cup from him, setting it aside with a yawn. Once his hands were free, Isaac stretched out on the bed, his eyes already heavy. He was going to be out in about thirty seconds. Jamie didn’t even have to turn off the light.
“Shove over.”
Isaac rolled over on his side, back to Jamie, and Jamie stretched out beside him, his arm over Isaac’s waist. Isaac always handed out the bear hugs, always was the big spoon when somebody wanted a cuddle. Jamie pulled him close to his chest, curving his legs into Isaac’s, his face not quite close enough to touch Isaac’s hair, but the smell of the hair oil he used filled Jamie’s nose. He rubbed a lazy circle over Isaac’s belly, soothing him.
“We’re going to win the next one,” Jamie murmured.
“Think so, bruv?”
“Know so. Close your eyes.”
Jamie lifted his head and double-checked, then nodded with approval. “Now, let me tell you a story about total football.” He didn’t know how much Isaac heard, or how meaningful it even was to him, but Jamie told him about what he learned from Pep, what he learned from Man City, why Man City beat them every time, why they were going to beat Man City next time. Told Isaac why he was a good captain, and why the team needed him. Told Isaac that he loved him after his breathing evened and he was pretty sure Isaac was dead to the world.
Jamie stayed there, holding him until the alarm on his watch went off, reminding him that he had to be home in an hour so he could be awake in two hours and be read to haul Roy’s ass all over the town. Why the fuck had ever thought it was a good idea to teach Roy how to ride a bike? And how long was Roy going to make him pay for that error in judgement? The rest of his life?
He extricated himself from Isaac, cleaned the cups and the saucepan, put everything back where Isaac liked it instead of where it should logically go, and slipped out. He chuckled to himself at the thought of Isaac being jacked up on caffeine every night for months. No wonder he was stressed out and tense all the fucking time. He definitely needed some herbal alternatives. Jamie would stop at the shops after dragging Roy through town so he could bring some to training. He’d get enough for the other lads too I in case Isaac had already shared his wisdom about the necessity of caffeine before bedtime.
##
“I told you, Jan, I’m not going to the fucking movies with you. Never again.”
“But Jamie, it’s Oppenheimer…”
“You think I’m taking you to see Oppenheimer? That thing is three hours long, man. Forget about it.”
And Jamie meant it, too, for about three seconds until he saw Jan’s sunny smile turn into a deep frown of disappointment. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to take Jan out. It was just that the guy always had something to say about what was happening on the screen, and then he’d need an explanation for what was happening while he was talking. Jamie didn’t even mind that so much, but Jan could not modulate his volume, so the whole fucking theater heard Jan’s side of the conversation they shouldn’t even be having. It was just too much.
“Look, why don’t we go out to a nice dinner, instead?”
Jan’s pout only deepened.
“Fine. Meet me at my place tonight at eight.” He was still not going to take Jan to the movie theater, but he’d fix it up so Jan wouldn’t even miss going out.
“Jamie? I can’t find my boots. Will you help me look?”
Jamie glanced over to Dani and saw his boots on his feet, but he appreciated that Dani was trying to be discreet after their talk about it the week before. “Sure, amigo. Where did you see them last?”
“The boot room.”
“Right. Let’s go have a look.”
Dani might have really wanted help looking for his boots. Jamie couldn’t be sure until the door was shut behind them and Dani immediately clasped the back of his neck. It didn’t even matter how many times they snuck off, Jamie always had the same thought as soon as their mouths touched—mmmm Dani kisses! He tasted like cinnamon mouthwash, and he was, without a doubt, the most enthusiastic kisser Jamie had ever met. Like, he didn’t just kiss with his mouth, he put his entire body into it, and all his ample energy.
Jamie backed him against the door so the weight of their bodies would hold it shut against possible intruders and buried his hand in Dani’s hair, flexing his fingers just enough to make Dani moan from the tension against his scalp. Jamie flexed again and was rewarded with a full body shimmy, and felt Dani’s excitement against his hip. How much time did they have before training? Just enough for a little snogging or maybe enough for a little more? Probably wouldn’t be a bad idea to try for a little more. That was only one thing Jamie enjoyed more than Dani’s mouth.
Jamie lifted his head and grinned. Dani immediately understood and started shaking his head. “No, no we don’t have time.”
“Oh, we have time.”
“Everybody will see if we’re late.”
“So?” Jamie sank to his knees, pulling Dani’s shorts down as he did. “Besides, we’re not going to be late.”
“But—” Whatever he was going to say was forgotten by the time Jamie had his mouth around Dani’s prick. Dani had a nice dick; long but not too long, thick but not too thick, a show-er not a grower, and he kept his situation nicely groomed. Jamie gripped him by both his hips and guided him forward, deeper into his mouth, until his nose was pressed against the base, and Dani was squirming and clutching at Jamie’s hair.
Jamie enjoyed a challenge, and a time constraint with Dani was a good one for two reasons. One, Dani could go for hours, if Jamie let him, and two, Jamie rather liked to let him go for hours. But he did have a pretty good knowledge of what made Dani tick, and it was fun to start at the moves that made Dani babble in nearly incomprehensible Spanish. He swallowed, his throat constricting around Dani’s head, and he jerked his hips so hard that Jamie knew he was close. He pulled on Dani’s hips, urging him to snap them again, letting him know he could control the tempo. It was like winding up a toy and turning it lose—Jamie didn’t have to do anything but keep his throat relaxed while Dani fucked his face.
He knew when Dani was about to nut when Dani tried to pull away from him, but Jamie tightened his grip, wouldn’t let him. Dani shouted his name—loud enough Jamie was certain everybody in the locker room heard him—his cock jerking against Jamie’s tongue. Jamie felt pretty chuffed—that had to be some kind of record for the two of them.
“Now let me, Jamie Tartt.”
“We don’t have time for that.”
“But look at you.”
Jamie looked down and yeah, he couldn’t go walking out of the boot room like that, even if everybody knew what they were doing in there anyway. “Not now. If we’re late, Roy will…” He trailed off, letting Dani imagine what might happen to Jamie if they were late.
“Tonight, then.”
“Jan’s coming over for movie night.”
“I can come over, too.”
Jamie thought it over as he pushed himself to his feet. “Tomorrow night, and we’ll do something more fun than watch a movie.”
“Oh, Jamie, look at you. Let me.”
Jamie caught his wrist before he could grab Jamie’s dick and completely distract him from his good intentions. “No, muchacho. This was just a quickie. You know, like I told you before. Just some fun.”
“But it was only fun for me.”
“No, it was fun for me too, and that’s why I’m like this. Go. I’ll be out in a minute.”
Dani looked at him suspiciously, like he wasn’t sure if Jamie was telling him the truth, but he didn’t offer another argument. Jamie closed his eyes, thought about Roy yelling at him for being late to training—realized that was not going to help anything and switched his thoughts to Jan getting them kicked out of the Top Gun movie because of his many, many complaints. That was a boner killer, which was exactly why Jamie didn’t want to take him to the movies again.
When he slipped back into the locker room, Roy looked at him like he knew exactly what Jamie was up to and he didn’t approve. Jamie had to look away before his shorts tented again.
##
Movie night went really well. They only made it through the first thirty minutes of the movie Jamie pirated, but that was fine. They could take the whole fucking month to watch the thing, if that’s how Jan wanted to watch it. Between the pillow-fort, the freshly made popcorn with spicy pickle salt, and the way Jamie let Jan sit on his cock for most of the night, he was sure that he’d convinced Jan a movie-night in was far, far superior to going out to the theater. When the alarm on Jamie’s phone chimed, Jan gave him a sweet kiss goodnight and excused himself without being told that Jamie needed to get ready for bed.
His phone chimed as he stepped out of the shower, an alert from Colin. Can I come over? Ice cream night. Jamie only debated with himself for a few seconds before sending the thumbs up. Yes, he needed to get some sleep, but what was he supposed to do? Leave Colin to wallow in misery by himself? He couldn’t do that.
Apparently Colin had been right outside his building when he sent the text—most likely because he knew Jamie wouldn’t tell him no—because he knocked on Jamie’s door almost immediately. Any thoughts Jamie had that they could make this quick were banished by the look of utter despair on Colin’s face.
“What happened?”
“He said he liked me, but he was looking for something more.” Colin’s voice broke a little on the last word, and Jamie had a feeling that wasn’t all Michael told him.
“Oh, babe, I’m sorry. Come on in.”
“It’s just that I really liked him, you know? I thought he was different. I thought he really liked me.”
“I’m sure he did really like you. Here, let’s get you some tea.”
“If he liked me, why wouldn’t he try to make it work?”
“Being with you isn’t like being with other lads, is it? I think you got to be a certain type to even want a footballer, you know?”
“So I’ll never find love.”
“That’s not what I said. Here, sit down.”
“Thanks. What’s with the pillow fort?”
“Movie night.”
“You convinced Jan to stay in?”
“Yes, thank god. You still take a little tea with your sugar?”
“Please. I just…why is it so difficult to make an actual connection with somebody?”
“I dunno, Col.”
“How do you do it?”
“How do I do what?”
“That? Make connections?”
Jamie paused his tea prep, looked over his shoulder, saw that Colin was looking at him with a serious expression. Like he really believed Jamie was just going through life, easily making connections with everybody he met. Like it didn’t take all his spare time, attention, and energy—and he didn’t have much to spare, with Roy constantly riding him. Well, not riding him. That was the problem, wasn’t it?
“You mean, with you lads? That’s different, innit?”
“No, I mean with…wait, are you dating anybody?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Do you think you could come over here and cry on my shoulder any time if I had a girlfriend?”
“Well, no. But don’t you want one?”
Jamie shrugged. “Don’t need one.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
Why were they delving into his private life? That was not what Jamie wanted or needed right now. He literally had his hands full every hour of every day, and he was fine with that. Better than fine, actually. He’d never been happier.
“I have everything I want.” Well, not everything. Everything but one thing. But he was certainly not going to talk to Colin about that. “Here. What ice cream did you bring?”
“Cornetto’s, mostly.”
“Pass one.”
“Which color?”
“Blue.” Jamie unwrapped it and took a small bite. He wasn’t really into ice cream the way Colin was. “So you going to take a break or jump back on that horse?”
“I don’t know. Probably wait. Maybe it’ll just be best to focus on football right now.”
“Yeah. Besides, when we win the whole fucking thing, you’ll definitely attract some interest. You’ll be fighting them with a stick.”
Colin tilted his head. “You think we’ll win the whole fucking thing?”
“Yeah, I do.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Don’t you?”
“I think we’ll do well to be middle of the table.”
“Fine, you’ll owe me a hundo at the end of the season. Then another hundo after you find the love of your life.”
Colin snorted. “You’re on.” He looked at the clock on the wall. “Oh shit, it’s late. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t worry ‘bout it.”
“But it’s past your bedtime.”
“Plenty of time to sleep when I’m dead.”
“And you’ll find out soon since Roy is going to kill you for not resting properly.”
“He might do that. Come on, let’s not let the pillow fort go to waste.”
Jamie got comfortable among the stacks of pillows—ones he did buy specifically for this purpose—and then held his hand out to Colin. Colin settled between his legs, back against Jamie’s chest, another ice cream cone and a fresh cup of herbal tea on hand. Jamie folded his arms around him, holding him there, his eyes heavy.
“Now tell me all the reasons why this guy’s a jerk.”
“He wasn’t a jerk. That’s the problem.”
“Uh, he dumped you. So he’s not only a jerk, he’s an idiot as well. Now start talking.” Normally by the time they got through this exercise, Colin didn’t even remember why he liked the latest ex-boyfriend. Jamie didn’t need to respond. Didn’t even really need to listen. Just needed to give Colin the space to work it out while he half-listened, half-dozed.
##
“Hey, Jamie, man, hold up.” Van Damme grabbed him by the shoulders and gave them a light squeeze.
“What’s up, bruv?”
“I know this is super short notice, but are you busy tonight?”
Jamie looked ahead to Dani, who spent the whole training touching him unnecessarily and winking when he thought nobody would notice. His flirtation style was as subtle as a sledgehammer and Jamie loved it. “Got some plans, why?”
“Oh, sorry. Don’t worry about it.”
“No, what’s up?”
“It’s just, I need to be fully moved out of my old flat by tonight. And I hired movers, but they just cancelled on me and I was just…hoping you could maybe come by for a few hours?”
Jamie didn’t believe for a second that Van Damme hired movers. What was far more likely was that he forgot completely that he was supposed to move out by the end of the month. Actually, Jamie would bet money he was supposed to be out by the end of last month, and now the landlords were threatening to trash all his shit. “Hey, Dani! You want to help Van Damme move tonight?”
Dani looked up and flashed a wide smile, like Jamie had just invited him to do literally anything else. “I would love to help, amigo.”
“Guess you get two for the price of one.”
“Thanks man, I’ll make it worth your while.”
“What is he going to make worth your while?” Roy asked from right behind him. Jamie jerked with surprise and turned around.
“Oh, just gonna help him move tonight.”
“Uh huh. How long is that going to take?”
“Dunno. But Dani’s gonna be there, too, so hopefully not too long.”
Roy narrowed his eyes—he clearly disapproved. “Don’t stay out too late.”
“I won’t, Coach.”
“You were dragging ass this morning.”
“Sorry, Coach.”
“Don’t apologize to me. I’m not the only who’s going to be all fucked up from all this training and no resting. You need to sleep, Jamie.”
Jamie swallowed, his throat tight at the sound of his name. He wasn’t TARTT! anymore, unless Roy was really, really angry. But it didn’t mean anything. Roy was just calling him by his first name like he didn’t hate him or something. He called other lads by their first names. Why shouldn’t he say Jamie instead of Tartt?
“I know, Coach.” He held up his wrist. “Got an alarm set to remind me to hit the sheets.”
Roy grunted then walked into his office. So that was good. That was a good exchange. A few more of those, and maybe they’d be friends?
“Coach is worried about you,” Dani said as Jamie walked over to him.
“Nah. It’s just not as much fun for him when I’m dead on my feet. Let’s go.”
“I think he likes you very much.”
“He definitely does not. You want to get a bite first?”
“I do. I am mucho, mucho hungry.”
“Me too, my man.”
They got fish and chips at Jamie’s favorite take-away and then promptly ruined it, letting it all get cold and soggy while they snogged in the car. He wanted to take Dani home and let him use that infinite energy on fucking Jamie into the mattress, but no, they had to go help Van Damme. Who fucking better make it worth Jamie’s while, because he was missing out on one of life’s greatest pleasures. They made out until Jamie’s phone chimed with a message asking when he’d be over.
“Okay, let’s go get this taken care of.” He nodded at the soggy bag of food. “We can go get more if you want it hot and fresh.”
“No, this is good,” Dani assured him, eating a cold chip with a smile. Jamie rolled his eyes but didn’t argue—he’d stop and get something decent on the way home.
Van Damme’s flat was too large for one person and full of shit that nobody needed. Jamie had hoped that it was all mostly moved and Van Damme just needed help with the big stuff, but it looked like hadn’t even started packing yet.
“You need to be out of here by tonight?”
“Yeah.”
“Is anybody else coming over to help?”
“Everybody else said they were busy.”
“Have you even got a truck?”
“No.”
“Fucking hell.”
“Do not worry, Jamie Tartt. If we work together, we can accomplish anything!”
“Thanks, Dani. But I’m not spending my whole night on this. Here.” It took four phone calls, one called-in favor, and a pretty big wad of cash to get it all sorted, but he did get it all squared away. “There. Why you moving anyway?”
“Well, this place doesn’t feel very Van Damme to me.”
“Where you going?”
“Upstairs.”
“Fucking hell…right. Okay. Well, I’ll cancel that truck. And then I’m going home. There’s like, six blokes on their way right now. They’ll get it all moved for you.”
Van Damme looked crestfallen. “Oh. I thought, maybe, you’d stay for awhile.”
“We can stay,” Dani said.
“Give me a call when it’s all done,” Jamie cut in quickly. They were not going to stay. “I’ll come over and see the new place.”
“Tonight?”
“Yeah.” Jamie slapped him on the back. “I’ll bring you a housewarming gift.”
“I think Van Damme wants to be alone with you,” Dani said once they returned to Jamie’s car.
“Yeah, I think you’re right. But I already had plans to be alone with you, so let’s get going.”
Dani’s enthusiasm, energy, and stamina were truly a magical combination. Four hours passed before Van Damme sent him a message about everything being done, and Jamie spent half that time face down on his bed getting fucked, and most of the rest of the time in the shower getting sucked off. Dani liked to tease him, when they had the time for it. Jamie wasn’t sure if Dani knew what edging was, but even if he didn’t know the word, he sure understood the concept.
He caught a quick nap after Dani left, too exhausted and useless to do anything else. He felt like he should be buying Dani flowers and diamonds or some shit like that. Van Damme’s message woke him up and he sent a quick, “Be right over.” He wasn’t going to blow Van Damme off, even if he was still tired enough to sleep.
His phone rang when he was still about ten minutes away and he answered without looking at the screen, “I’m almost there.”
“Almost where?”
Oh shit. “Oh, hi Coach. Um, nowhere, why?”
“Where the fuck you going, Tartt?”
Tartt. It was even worse than he feared. “Uh, over to Van Damme’s.”
“Why are you going there when it’s time for you to be in bed?”
“I got sidetracked earlier. But I’ll just make a quick stop and then right on home.”
“I’m going to fucking kill you during training. Just so you know.”
Jamie swallowed. “Understood, coach.”
“I’m not kidding.”
“I’m not laughing.”
“Keep this up and you’re going to get a curfew.” Beep, beep, beep.
He wouldn’t really give Jamie a curfew would he?
Jamie sighed. Of course he fucking would. Which would make his already complicated schedule that much more difficult. At least Van Damme wouldn’t take up three hours of his time, and maybe he would even back to his own bed by the time his bedtime alarm went off. That was doable. No reason on earth why he couldn’t accomplish that.
Except that once Van Damme had the two bottles of wine Jamie brought over from his last wine-tasting trip with Richard, he wanted Jamie to sit on his face. And what was Jamie supposed to do? Say no? He was riding Van Damme’s thick, eager tongue when his watch sounded its alarm and Jamie turned it off without slowing down. Ultimately, he made it home with thirty minutes to spare before the next alarm sounded, warning him it was time to get moving, get showered, get dressed, get ready to meet Roy.
Who was fucking furious when Jamie answered his door. Not that his face let on, but Jamie could feel the waves of wrath rolling off him.
“Morning, Coach.”
“Why the fuck are you just getting home?”
“Are you stalking me? Let’s go.”
“Get inside. We’re not going anywhere.”
“Coach—”
“I’m fucking serious. What do you think? You can just not sleep? Do you have any idea of how dangerous that is?”
“No, I know. I know I need to sleep, Coach.”
“Then what the fuck is going on with you?”
“I’ve just been…busy.”
“Busy? What could possibly be more important?”
“Taking care of the lads, you know.”
“The lads? Like, it’s critical you fuck around with Dani?”
“Um, yes. But not just that. Like, they all, you know, need something.”
“And you’re the only one who can give it to them?”
There wasn’t a good answer to that question. “Well, you know. I like to make people feel good.”
“How are you going to like it when I knock your fucking block off for being an idiot?”
“Probably not very much.”
Roy pinched the bridge of his nose. “Jamie, do you understand how fucking close you are to what we’ve been working for? Like, you’re there. Unless it blows up in your fucking face because you’re a fucking idiot.”
“I know, and that’s why I’ve been so busy. All the lads are on edge, they’re scared, you know, they don’t know how this is all going to work, they don’t know what we know. So I’ve just been trying to give them all a little extra time and attention.”
“Jamie, take your clothes off.”
“What?”
“Take. Your clothes. Off. Right now. All of it. Everything.”
This very much resembled a dream Jamie had just the week before. Could it be possible he was dreaming now? Very possible. Probable, even, because Jamie was ready to fucking drop he was so tired. Still, he couldn’t think of any reason why he shouldn’t do what Roy said, so he stripped off his workout kit and waited for the next command.
“Now, turn around and march back to your bedroom.”
“You joining me, Coach?” Jamie tried to make it sound like a joke.
“No, I’m going to fucking kill you. Go. Stop. Put on that stupid T-shirt so you don’t get cold.”
Jamie obediently stopped and put on his sleep shirt, and he didn’t need to be told a second time to drop onto the mattress.
“Now, close your fucking eyes and do not get the fuck out of that bed until I tell you to.”
“Coach—”
“Shut the fuck up. Close your eyes. And no more of this bullshit. You’re not the team’s fucking emotional support animal, Jamie. Or their boyfriend. Or whatever the fuck else you’ve got going on in your head. Jesus Christ.”
Maybe Dani had been right? Maybe Roy did like him? It seemed like this was not just about Jamie getting some sleep—even though he really did need to get some sleep. He cracked an eye and saw Roy staring at him from the door, arms crossed, brow furrowed.
“Close your fucking eyes, Tartt.”
Well, maybe he’d be able to think about this with a clear head when he woke up.