Monday 12th July 2021
By the time Jack had eventually let Amy leave, there was no time to go home and change. His t-shirt and yesterday's shorts would just have to do for the day, it wasn't like she'd be keeping them on for long anyway, and at least she'd showered. The t-shirt smelled amazing though, just like he always did, even when he stepped of the pitch somehow. It wasn't even the scent of his aftershave, it was just the way he smelled naturally.
The taxi ride across London to the hotel where the photoshoot was took almost an hour, and for most of it Amy's mind was swimming with Jack and the things he'd said the night before. She was still in shock at how much he'd opened up about his feelings for her. He was normally so awkward when it came to talking about emotions, and in the past they'd argued about it, but the words had just seemed to flow freely from his mouth this time.
He'd seemed so different to how he was before, maybe he'd matured, after all a lot can happen in two years. She'd loved how sweet he had been, saying the things that she'd wanted to hear for a long time, so why did she now feel so unsettled. Surely she should be feeling elated or hopeful or even excited at the prospect of a reunion with the man who she'd always thought of as the love of her life.
The thing was, instead of flattered, she felt shellshocked. This wasn't something she'd ever expected to happen. After their split, she'd vowed never to see him again, and had stuck to that until this last week. All she'd really wanted, was to be there for Jack at Wembley and now she was going right back down the rabbit hole by agreeing to get to know him again. Maybe it was the speed of it all that was messing with her head. Up until yesterday she didn't know how Jack had felt about her after all this time, but now she most definitely did. All she needed to do now was work out how she felt.
Easy. No, easier said than done, because then there was Brad too.
Brad, who was rapidly becoming her unofficial work husband, was definitely working his way into her emotions. They seemed to have a real connection, she felt comfortable with him and they always had fun together. Dangerously however, there was also that spark between them. She paused to wonder what would have happened in the villa if there had been no cameras. Would she have taken the next step with him?
And what if there was no Jack? Would she?
Brad had made it crystal clear that he was interested in pursuing a relationship with her, but again there was something holding her back from him too. She now also had to apologise to him for standing him up the night before, and explain the photo that he would have inevitably seen splashed all over the place. The photo that was making everyone jump to conclusions about their reunion, when in reality all it was, was an accidental kiss in front of the cameras. Nothing had been decided properly yet.
*****
Feeling slightly more human after his fry up, Jack and the rest of the England team boarded the team bus again. Thankfully not to a game this time, because Jack honestly didn't think his legs had another one in them, but to a tv interview outside the BBC studios.
'So.....' said Phil excitedly. He'd been waiting for Amy to leave so he could ask.
'She's agreed to give me another chance' Jack said happily.
'So you're back together then?' Phil loved his gossip.
'Yes we are and I'm absolutely buzzing about it' Jack beamed widely. 'Honestly, I never thought it would ever even be a possibility. I swear yesterday was the best day of my life. Scored a goal, man of the match, won the Euro's and got my girl back. I could not be happier'
'Mate, I'm so pleased for the both of you. You know I was always a big fan of hers, and that curry she used to make was unreal. Just don't fuck it up this time' Chilly warned.
'I will be on best behaviour from here on in. I was even thinking about asking her to come to Mykonos with us, if that's alright with everyone' Jack looked around and everyone was nodding that it was okay.
'So long as you promise not to be locked in the hotel room doing the dirty all day' joked Declan.
'Not all day..... maybe just a bit of it' replied Jack with a wink. The thought of her body and her touch brought an even bigger smile to his face.
'So she literally just said "yeah let's get back together"' questioned Phil.
'Well she said she wants to take it slow, but she said she still loves me so I don't see it being that slow, if you know what I mean?' Jack explained. 'And, she's doing a lingerie shoot today and she said she'd send me pics. Does that sound slow to you?'
'No, it sounds unbelievable to me' joked Mason.
'Back off, she's taken' Jack smirked. It was the best feeling being able to say that again after all this time.
*****
Amy arrived at the lingerie shoot and looked at all the different looks that the stylist had laid out for her. They were all stunning, and the best part was she was allowed to keep them all once they were finished. She could hardly believe she was getting paid for this too. What wasn't to love about this lifestyle? It certainly eclipsed her £1 Primark knickers and living on Pot Noodles in her uni halls of residence, that's for sure.
She sipped on some bubbly as the hair and make up people got to work. It was only 11am, but a glass or two never harmed anyone, did it? By the end of her pampering, she had a 50's pin-up style look, with kiss curls, smoky eyes and dark red lips. She barely recognised herself in the mirror.
'Morning' called Brad, strolling in.
'Morning, you ready for this?' Amy asked, with a smirk.
'Let me think, you and me in a hotel room with you pretty much naked. I've had worse days that I can think of' he laughed.
'Same to be fair' she giggled. He clearly wasn't that pissed off at her judging by his good mood.
'I wasn't sure you'd still want to do this, now you're back with Jack' he quipped. There it was, there was the comment.
'We're not back together, I've agreed to go on dates with him and see if it goes anywhere, but that's all for now' she clarified. She had a feeling she was going to get tired of explaining that to people.
'So even though you stood me up for him last night and kissed him holding the trophy, I might still have a chance?' He asked hopefully.
'I'm not going to commit to anyone or anything until I'm sure. Now go and get ready, there's a lot of changes to get through'
'Good, because you know I don't give up easily' he said with a cheeky wink as he headed off to get changed.
Oh boy, thought Amy.
Whilst Brad was being styled Amy began to have some individual pictures taken. She was wearing a black satin and lace bra that literally only just covered her nipples, with matching French knickers and a short, dark red, satin robe. The make up artist had even had to put bronzer on her bum for the pictures, it was completely surreal.
'Can you take a pic of me on my phone?' Amy asked the make up artist. She lay back on the bed and did her best seductive pose, even if she did feel slightly ridiculous.
She looked at the picture, Jack would love it. She added the caption 'hope you approve x' and pressed send. She felt a bit weird about texting him the picture, it felt like she was getting a bit ahead of herself, but too late, it was done.
'Holy shit' said Brad walking out of the bathroom. 'How am I meant to pose with her looking that amazing and not get too excited, if you know what I mean' he asked, grabbing a cushion and jokingly put it in front of his crotch.
'I'm sure you'll manage' laughed the stylist. 'Just think of Maggie Thatcher naked on a cold day and that should help.
'Ewww' said Brad screwing his face up.
'Now if you'd just lie on top of Amy, please Brad' directed the photographer. Talk about straight in at the deep end.
The photographer had them in all kinds of poses, and it was pretty hot. It was the most bodily contact they'd shared and she definitely wasn't hating it.
*****
The BBC television centre had been surrounded by fans waiting to get a glimpse of the England team when they'd arrived. They'd signed as many autographs as they could but there were so many people there it was impossible to see them all. Jack was definitely the favourite, and as Amy had predicted, he was featured heavily in the interview, despite his hangover.
When he came off set he pulled out his phone to text Amy, but as promised, she'd sent him a preview from her lingerie shoot and it didn't disappoint.
'Holy shit' said Mason, looking over his shoulder.
'Keep your eyes to yourself' joked Jack.
'It's a bit late for that, there's other pictures on her insta story already and bloody hell' said Phil almost choking.
Obviously Jack knew that these pictures were for public viewing, but he was taken aback by how he felt seeing her share something so intimate online. Yes she'd been on tv for weeks in a bikini, but lingerie was different, especially when she looked so amazingly hot. At the same time however, it also reminded him of how lucky he was to have her back in his life.
Since the tournament was now over, they were moving out of St George's Park today, but the boys who's we're going to Mykonos had rented Air B&B apartments that they'd stay in until they left on Friday. Apart from moving his stuff to there from St George's Park, which he could do later, he didn't have much on for the rest of the day. So instead of boarding the bus back with the rest of the team, he jumped in a taxi and headed to where Amy's shoot was to surprise her.
He found his way up to the suite she was shooting in and saw that the room door was slightly ajar. No one was around to ask, so he walked in and followed the sound of voices and laughter coming the bedroom. He popped his head round the door to see what was going on, and saw her on her hands and knees on the bed in an extremely sexy pose. She was now wearing a dark teal green bra and thong. The reality was better than his imagination, but he soon lost the illusion when he saw what she was laughing at. Brad had just walked out of the en-suite in a thong.
'That looks painful' she said.
'Not as painful as your arse will be when I catch you with this' Brad said mischievously, picking up something that looked like a riding crop and chasing her across the room. All the while the photographer snapped away.
Jack coughed in the doorway, he could feel his blood start to boil. He'd promised to curb his jealousy, but walking in to find that was a bit more than he could handle.
'Jack' she said, stopping immediately. 'What are you doing here?' He could instantly tell she wasn't entirely happy to see him. This wasn't the reaction he was aiming for.
'I just came to see how you were getting on and bring you some lunch since you didn't eat breakfast this morning, but you're obviously busy, so I'll just catch you later' he put the little brown bag containing her favourite sandwich from Prêt down on the side, then turned to leave before he said something he'd regret. If he bit his tongue any further it might fall off.
'Give me a minute guys. Wait Jack' she called after him.
She took Jack into the empty living area of the suite.
'It's not what it looked like, we were just mucking around' she tried to explain.
'Why didn't you tell me Brad was in the shoot as well? Do you know how that felt for me to walk into' he asked, trying not to sound as jealous as he felt.
'But I didn't know you were coming'
'Still, I'd have seen the pictures eventually and it's not nice for any man to see their girlfriend like that with another man that they know wants her' he tried his best to explain calmly.
'Wait a minute, Jack, I'm not your girlfriend. We said we'd date and take it slow. I'm not ready to leap in headfirst like that' she wondered how he'd misunderstood what she'd meant.
Jack swallowed hard. This was the complete opposite from what he'd got from their conversation the night before.
'But you said you love me Amy, or did I imagine that?' it was aggravating Jack that she couldn't seem to understand why he was pissed off with her. He began to pace the floor restlessly.
'This is all happening so quickly, I just need some time to get my head around it all and you said you'd do anything, so give me that time, please Jack'
'So you want to keep your options open, have your cake and eat it basically? I mean why just have me when you can have Brad as well' Jack fumed.
'That's not fair Jack. I'm telling I don't know what I want, that's the problem. This is why I said we still need to talk properly. Now I need to go back in there and do what I'm being paid for' now she was the one trying to bite her tongue.
'How about dinner tonight then? We could start that talking?' He suggested.
'I'll let you know' she said turning away from him without even a hug or kiss goodbye.
'Aims, you look amazing' Jack said, but she was already gone and before he'd even left the suite he could hear their laughter again. It took everything he had not to run back in there and knock Brad out, and carry Amy out over his shoulder.
It was the quickest descent from cloud 9 known to man. On the way over to the hotel he'd been thinking about taking her on holiday and really making an effort and now she was pushing him away. To Jack it was simple, he loved her and the rest they could work out as they went along. Why couldn't she just be the same?
*****
Brad had watched the dynamics between Jack and Amy closely. It was clear to see that Jack was the one doing the chasing, but Amy was the one with the control. It was also clear to see that when she'd told him earlier that nothing had happened between her and Jack the night before, that she'd been telling the truth. That gave him hope, and now here she was back rolling around on a bed with him in very sexy lingerie, whilst Jack had stormed off. Trouble in paradise after less than 24 hours wasn't a good sign. For Jack at least. For Brad, it was a very, very good sign.
*****
'Okay you two, I'd like a picture of you both as if you were about to kiss each other' said the photographer.
'No problem' said Brad, except he really did go in for the kiss and for a moment Amy kissed him back, but as soon as she realised what she was doing she pushed him back.
'Look Brad, things are complicated enough at the moment, please don't do that and make it worse' she said firmly.
'I actually think we've got everything that we need now guys' said the photographer, clearly sensing the change of mood in the room.
'Do you want to go and get some food? I hear there's a great little sushi place around the corner, we could have a chat about what's going on' suggested Brad.
'What is it with men, food and talking today?' she snapped. Immediately she apologised, got dressed as fast as she could and made her excuses to leave. Right now she needed Laura, a duvet and some chocolate, nothing else would come close.
In the taxi back to the hotel, both Brad and Jack text Amy. Brad to say he hoped she felt better soon, and Jack apologising for being jealous. It wasn't that Amy wanted to lead them both on, she just genuinely didn't know what she wanted.
Brad and a new beginning or take a risk on Jack again.
If only the decision was as simple as it sounded.