The Translator

Ch 54

'You okay? Jack?' asked Jay, after a few minutes of unusual silence. Normally when Jack got in the car he was full of beans but this time he seemed so flat, and his furrowed brows told her that his mind was clearly a million miles away.

She'd instantly known that something wasn't quite right from the moment she and Olly had pulled up round the back of his apartment block to pick him up and he'd all but jumped in her car before she'd put the handbrake on.

'You wha'? Yeah, fine, just tired. Pep worked us hard today, you know what he's like' he explained, but catching her expression he knew she didn't quite believe him. As she pulled up at traffic lights he leant over to reassure her with a lingering kiss on her cheek. The sensation of his stubble lightly brushing her face, and his hand squeezing her thigh firmly made her tingle inside.

Pulling back from their embrace as the traffic light turned green, Jack caught sight of Olly pulling a face in the rear view mirror that made him laugh and relax a bit more.

'Alright mate, how's it going?' Jack asked, turning to face him in the back. Truth be told, he was glad of the distraction. Even though he knew Jay wouldn't give up now she'd sensed that things weren't quite right with him, he also knew she wouldn't push the issue with Olly in the car.

The whole way home Jack and Olly chatted away like best mates. Jay and Olly were two of his most favourite people in Manchester and just what he needed to lift his mood. Jay listened in to their chattering with a smile. They were full of the transfer rumours for the forthcoming January break. This was even better than following Fabrizio Romano on Twitter with some of the news they were sharing. Although Jay nodded along and made the right noises, most of the names mentioned she didn't recognise, but there were also a few who were all too familiar from the piles of translations she'd been given by Roberto.

'What about Raul Martinez? Do you rate him?' Jack asked Olly. 'I hear Liverpool have been scouting him'

'Ahhh, the Argentinian! I know him!' Said Jay excitedly, finally able to join in with them. 'He had a record number of assists in the first half of this season and scored 8 in 6 games' she chipped in.

'Get you with them stats, you're like one of them books. What do you call it? A dictionary?' He said looking at her impressed.

'An encyclopaedia' she corrected, knowing fine well he was pulling her leg after a certain viral video. 'Nah, Pep had a load of files I had to translate about him'

'I never knew City were interested' shrugged Jack, now wondering how he'd fit into the team when he played the same position as he did, but who was he to question Pep's decisions. Every position needed a back up after all.

Finally, they made it through the traffic and back to Josh and Anna's house. Jack was beyond delighted to find a delicious homemade meal was waiting for them on the table.

'Thanks very much' said Jack, happily tucking in to the shepherds pie and vegetables that he'd piled onto his plate. 'My Mom used to make this for me all the time, I think cooking for myself is the worst part about leaving home' he laughed.

'Not sure you can call ready meals and pot noodles cooking really' teased Jay.

'Oi you, my scrambled eggs are decent too' Jack joked.

'Just get Jay to come round and cook for you, she's a decent chef' suggested Josh playfully.

'Might well do that' Jack nodded, smiling at Jay cheekily, giving her thigh another squeeze under the table. She nodded back happily. He could just imagine her pottering around in his kitchen, it would definitely make coming home a lot more appealing that it currently was. Except Jack knew that for as long as Tasha insisted on staying in the flat, that couldn't happen, and after earlier, he knew getting her out was going to be even more difficult than he'd imagined. He gave himself an internal shake, he just had to put her to the back of his mind for now. This was exactly where he wanted to be, and with who he wanted to be with.