YOU KNOW YOU'RE TALKING TO THE WRONG LASSO, JAMIE.

[ season 2 — episode 02 ]

DAISY LOVED THAT ROY CAME TO PICK HER UP and drive her to the training compound even though it was easily a walkable distance. He just wanted those extra few minutes with her, holding her hand over the center console while his other gripped the wheel.

"Told you he was gonna get kicked off," Roy told Daisy with a smug smile, talking about the last episode of Lust Conquers All, where Jamie was the loser of the night, not Danthony, as Daisy was hoping for.

"I guess that's what he gets for cheating on Amy after proposing," Daisy said with a small smile. God knows why Jamie chose to do the reality show, but it'd sure given her and Roy a lot of entertainment.

"They were never getting fucking married."

"Yeah, obviously," she laughed as he parked in front of the building. Then she leaned over and kissed Roy's cheek, earning a pleased grunt from him. "Thank ya for the ride, baby. Wouldn't wanna come in, would you?"

"No," he said stiffly, unwavering on his decision to avoid the Richmond team.

"Okay. What's on the Roy agenda today? In case I get some free time?"

"Nothing till the match later. I'm going to get the girls to run a four-four-two diamond formation 'cause that little Kokoruda girl is a fucking beast in defense," he told her, making her giggle. Then he looked over at her with a content smile. "Then I was going to cook you cordon bleu for dinner. Nigella says if you butterfly the chicken, it'll be more moist."

"Not you watching cooking shows now," Daisy said, grinning. But deep down, that worried her a little. Maybe Roy had a little too much free time. "And I hate I won't be able to make it to Phoebe's last match."

"She'll forgive you. Probably," Roy said, looking out the window. "Might not, actually."

It was then that they spotted Ted riding on the back of the lawnmower as the groundskeeper was mowing the practice pitch. He was laughing like he was on a carnival ride.

"What is Daddy doing?" Daisy asked, raising an eyebrow.

"He's probably homesick. Closest thing he can find to a Dodge Ram," he joked, making Daisy grin.

"We're a Honda family," she informed him before pecking his lips. "Good luck. Love you."

"You too," he said as she climbed out of his car.

Ted was getting off the lawnmower, so Daisy called out to her father. "Morning, Daddy."

"Hi, Darlin," he said, coming closer. Then he peered into the black car. "Uh-oh, is that big, bad Roy Kent in there?"

The car peeled out of the parking lot so fast that the tires squealed, making Daisy sigh. He was like a skittish animal, and Ted was always too overexcited and scared him off.

"He's, uh, in a rush," Daisy said, both knowing she was lying. "But looked like you were having fun. Might have to take a ride of my own."

"Oh, yeah. No, that's a blast. And it's good for my sciatica too. The vibrations really help out my butt."

"Ew."

Ted chuckled at her reaction before seeing Dr. Sharon ride up on her metallic bike, which he wasn't expecting. "Hey, look who's here. Huh, that's a cool bike."

As Dr. Sharon got off, she pulled some kind of lever, and they watched as the bike folded in on itself, able to be carried. Daisy's eyes went wide, never having seen something like that back home.

"Dang. That ain't a bike. It's a whole Autobot — at least, I hope. Don't need no Decepticons out here," Daisy muttered.

"Yeah, she really is more than meets the eye, ain't she," Ted said before calling out to her. "Hey, Doc... tor Sharon!"

Daisy just smiled and waved, having already heard him complain at length about the doctor not liking the nickname Doc.

"Good morning," she said before entering the building, not bothering with small talk. After all, it was quite cold outside.

"What's she doing back here, I wonder? Don't we have direct deposit?" Ted mused.

"Oh," she mumbled, avoiding eye contact. "Keeley told me — well, I thought Hig would've told you. He hired her for the season, I think."

It took Ted a moment to process it, and Daisy hated that she was the one to break the news to him given that he wasn't fond of therapy. Besides, his favorite part of coaching was getting to help the boys grow as people and help solve their issues. If Dr. Sharon hung around, that would get in the way of all that. No doubt, he was already feeling self-conscious and inadequate given that Higgins thought he wasn't all the team needed to stay in good shape mentally.

✵︎

Rather than accompany Ted to confront Higgins, where he'd no doubt forgive him for not telling him about the new hire, Daisy opted to meet Keeley in Rebecca's office. They were helping Keeley choose options for an upcoming photo shoot that was lined up with Dubai Air, their biggest sponsor.

In the middle of that, Higgins returned from the locker room and situated himself on Rebecca's couch because he'd given his office to Dr. Sharon.

"I really hope it's Sam," Daisy told Keeley, who was finishing up compiling the list of candidates that included Sam, Colin, Richard, and Zoreaux.

"They're all lovely options," Rebecca said. "Though it's likely they won't choose Colin since he's from somewhere so nearby. He's not exactly doing a lot of flying like the others."

"True," Keeley said while scribbling through Colin's name. She replaced him with Jan Maas. "And I will let you know what the people from Dubai Air say as soon as they get back to me."

Rebecca simply hummed, looking at her laptop.

"All right, you got any questions for me?" Keeley then asked.

"We still on for lunch?" Daisy asked her with a bright smile.

But then Keeley grimaced, giving her an answer. "I'm gonna pop over to Allora's and check on her. This flu is kicking her arse."

"I guess I can't be mad at you for being a loving girlfriend," she grumbled. "Becca, any questions?"

"Is it tacky to say I'm rich on an online dating profile?" she questioned, not at all concerned with the photo shoot either.

Keeley shrugged. "Only if you put the word 'filthy' in front of it."

Much to their amusement, Rebecca hit the backspace button six times with a sheepish expression on her face. Daisy just giggled and moved to sit on the couch. Just as she did, Higgins yet again knocked over some of his supplies, it landing in a mess on the rug.

"Sorry, sorry," he muttered as Daisy got down on the floor to help him pick everything up.

"Higgins, it's very kind that you gave your office to Sharon," Keeley praised before gathering her stuff to leave.

"Yes, it's very club-first mentality, Leslie," Rebecca said, sighing. "But you really should have an office, preferably your own."

"No, you're absolutely right," he agreed, waving goodbye to Keeley as she exited. "It's just very hard to kick an employee out of their workplace home."

"You sound like Daddy when he didn't want to bench Roy," Daisy told him, getting back on the couch.

"Oh, it's only temporary. What about, um... Caroline in ad sales?" Rebecca suggested.

"No," he denied. "She's going through a breakup. Plus, she's right next door to Laughing Liam. Lovely man, but..."

Higgins began to mock the poor man's obnoxious laugh, and Rebecca joined in. Though Daisy was amused, she crossed her arms, refusing to help them be bullies. "Ya'll are horrible," she said, not really upsetting them much considering she was failing to hide her grin. "But it kinda reminds me of that plastic Santa in the second Santa Claus movie."

"That's exactly it!" Rebecca laughed, realizing why it was so familiar. "Oh, it's been ages since I've watched those."

"Not me," she said, leaning back and letting out a dreamy sigh as Higgings fit all his stuff into a box to take out. "Nothing could keep me away from Bernard."

They were then joined by Ted, who stopped in front of Higgins, who got off the couch. He eyed the small fern in the box and smiled. "Hey, Higgins. Oh, who's your new friend here?" he asked while shaking a leaf like a hand. "Oh, hi, Robert. My name's Ted. Yep."

Higgins pulled out a piece of paper with a smile. "Hey, my name's Jimmy," he said, making Daisy chuckle.

But it went right over Ted's head, who was confused. "Jimmy Paper?" He took a second though and lit up. "Page! Oh, I goofed that. I'm sorry, that was a great one. Dang it."

"Bye, Higgy," Daisy said to the man as he left, and Ted brought the container of biscuits over to Rebecca, who was excited for them.

"Hey, boss. Here you go."

"Oh, thank you," she mumbled, immediately opening it. But she paused when she saw the top cookie had a bite taken out of it. "What's this?"

Ted let out a little grumble. "I tried to give your biscuits to Dr. Sharon."

Rebecca let out an offended scoff. "You did what?"

"Evidently, she doesn't eat sugar."

"What a fucking asshole."

"Yeah."

Daisy rolled her eyes and then got up, ready to head to work for a little while. Lessons started in three days, so they were checking inventory and stuff like that. "Lots of people don't eat sugar. I barely ate it when I was still dancing competitively."

"I don't trust people that don't like biscuits," Rebecca muttered while her mouth was already full. "Don't make me don't trust you, Daisy."

✵︎

Daisy was on her own for lunch, though not really. She ended up getting a few kebabs and dropping them off to Roy at the practice pitch the girls were at, warming up for the game. He even let her give a motivational Lasso speech, though it was followed up with his own that was full of swearing.

Now, Daisy was walking back to the studio, stopping in her favorite cafe for a coffee and blueberry croissant first. She got the same thing so much that she didn't even have to order any more. They knew her usual and started fixing it as soon as they saw her smiling face.

"There you go, Daze," Alex, the young high schooler behind the counter said while handing her the order.

"Thanks, bud," she said, smiling brightly. Then as she turned, she spotted a figure dressed in all black looming behind a shelf that sold reusable mugs. She nearly flinched before realizing it was Jamie, who was trying and failing to stay hidden. "Jamie?"

After a second, and feeling a little embarrassed at being caught, Jamie came out and faced her, taking his sunglasses off as he did. "Come out. I'm... I'm not stalking ya. I've been following you for a few blocks now, and I couldn't text you 'cause I deleted your number. So, I was in town, and I wanted to talk to you 'cause I left Man City to do this reality TV show thing, and I got kicked off of both. So now I don't know what I'm doing, but I just wanted to talk to someone about it 'cause... and whenever I think of talking, I think of you... So I've been following you for the last few blocks."

A smile slowly worked its way onto her face, forgetting how much she really liked being around Jamie when he was being himself and not an asshole.

"No, I'm lying," he said, making her raise an eyebrow. "I've been following you for your whole lunch — saw you talkin' to all those little girls. Hope they win. But I've just been trying to build up the courage to say hi. So... hi. Is that okay?"

"Yeah, Jamie, it's okay," Daisy told him. Then she nodded to a booth by the window. "Wanna sit and talk or walk?"

"I, uh, I think it'd be nice to just sit with you for a while," he murmured, the tips of his ears turning red. "You look good, by the way."

"So do you," she said, liking how he was growing his hair out. "And you've still got that tan from being on the beach all the time."

"It's a spray-on," he admitted, making her laugh. Fuck, he'd missed the sound of her laugh. But then he was reminded of how she'd been so loving with Roy when visiting him earlier. Jamie knew he didn't have a chance. Right now, at least.

"Well, it looks good," she said as they took a seat across from each other. She ended up pulling her croissant in half and offering him one of the halves. "I'm sorry that you got dropped from Man City. I know you got really great play time over there."

"It's me own fault, I guess," he mumbled, looking down. "Shouldn't have done that stupid show. Was a mistake."

"Why did you?" she questioned.

"To boost me brand," he shrugged. Daisy just gave him a pointed look, both knowing that he didn't care that much about his brand. He sighed heavily, and she thought it looked like the whole world was weighing down on his shoulders. "To piss off my dad."

"Then it wasn't a mistake," she declared, making him look up. "Fuck your dad, Jamie. After the way he treated you after the last match against Richmond? Fuck him."

"Sorry you had to see that," Jamie said, looking away again, feeling ashamed of it.

"Sorry I couldn't help," she mumbled, still wishing she'd have stepped in and stopped it even if it was useless.

"Look," he sighed. "Do you — I mean, do you think I could come back and play for Richmond? No one else will take me."

"You know you're talking to the wrong Lasso, Jamie," she replied, reaching across the table to hold his hands in hers. She hated how crushed he looked. "I don't know what he'll say, either. But he's gone have dinner at Mae's tonight."

He nodded and stared at their joined hands. Hers were cold, so he gently rubbed his thumb back and forth over her skin. "Will you be there with me?"

"Not tonight," she said, frowning. "I'm having dinner with Roy."

At the mention of Roy's name, Jamie dropped Daisy's hands, knowing he had no business holding them even if she initiated it. Daisy then cleared her throat and put her hands in her lap before continuing.

"Even if he does let you come back, you're not exactly gonna be welcomed with open arms. You were awful—"

"I know," he cut her off, running a hand through his hair. "I... the way I was, especially to Sam, it was fucked up."

"Yeah, it was," she agreed. Then she sighed, knowing that he didn't need to be reminded of every bad thing he'd ever done. She figured he was suffering enough right now. "Look, I'm glad you're back in Richmond, if I'm being honest. I've missed you."

"Have you?" he asked sarcastically while rolling his eyes, thinking she was lying for his benefit.

"Yes," Daisy insisted, a small smile on her face. "I never even got to thank you for my flowers."

Jamie tensed up. "How'd you know they were from me?"

"I didn't," she said, her grin growing. "I suspected, and you just confirmed."

He playfully scoffed and rolled his eyes. "You and your mind game shit. That's one of the only things I don't miss about you."

"Oh, really? What do you miss about me?" she asked teasingly.

Jamie's eyes scanned her form, and Daisy suddenly felt very warm despite the cold weather. "Trust me, love, your lunch break isn't long enough to get through that list."

When Jamie met her eyes, she swallowed thickly, knowing he was flirting with her, something she shouldn't put up with now that she was dating Roy — no matter how much she loved the pretty compliments coming from Jamie's lips.

"Jamie," she said in a warning tone.

He sighed and put his hands up innocently. "Sorry. You're with Grandad," he said. "I know I fucked things up between us when I left for Man City, but maybe we can at least be friends? You know, hang out and stuff?"

"Just friends sounds good to me."

✵︎

One of Roy's most prized possessions was the key to Daisy's apartment. The couple practically lived together, just in two different apartments. Every night was spent at one or the other, their personal belongings mixed in like it was their own place.

So, he was plenty comfortable enough letting himself inside with grocery bags full of ingredients, heading right for the kitchen, a little earlier than he expected to be there.

"Well, we lost," he said, speaking to Daisy without even seeing her. It was a small flat, after all, so she could hear him wherever she was. Roy also stopped to grab a beer from the fridge. Though Daisy didn't like them, she kept them stocked for him, and in turn, he kept tasty things like Smirnoff Ice on hand for her to drink. "Would have been closer, but one of the goals got disallowed because apparently nine-year-olds aren't allowed to do headers yet. Fucking brain development."

After he groaned, he expected Daisy to come to the referee's defense about the brain development, but she kept quiet. Knowing she was home because her keys were hanging by the door, he moved throughout the apartment to search for her.

"Daisy?" he called, going until he reached her room. And he was met with quite a fucking sight as he leaned against a nearby bookshelf to enjoy the show.

Daisy had her AirPods in, the reason she wasn't able to hear him from the kitchen. She was watching something on her laptop, which was next to her on the bed and angled just so that he couldn't see the screen. Of course, Roy didn't need to guess what she was watching given that one hand was buried between her legs, rubbing circles over her underwear. The other was underneath the large shirt she wore that clearly belonged to Roy, fingers pinching and rolling her nipple.

Roy took a long sip from his beer, drinking in the sight of her touching herself, toes curled and eyes trying to stay open to focus on the video. The sounds of her little moans and pants were driving him wild, though he knew he'd have to toy with her for a bit before getting what he really wanted from her.

"What you doing there?"

Daisy barely heard him and instantly slammed her laptop shut while sitting up, her headphones falling out. She looked at him in alarm, her face instantly heating up. "Jesus!"

"Don't call him here," Roy said with a smirk, coming closer. "Why'd you shut your laptop? Thought you were gonna break the screen."

"Um, I, uh, thought you were a robber and didn't want you to have access to my accounts," she lied poorly. Daisy cringed, knowing that wasn't believable at all.

"So you shut it even though you don't have a password on it?"

"Yeah."

His smirk only grew as he moved to pick up the laptop, making her tense. "Were you having a wank?"

"No," she mumbled, feeling incredibly embarrassed.

Rather than open it, he handed the device to her, wanting her to open it on her own terms — but he was going to see what that video was even if it killed him. "Show me."

"No," she chuckled awkwardly, knowing he'd think something was wrong with her. "That's okay."

"Babe, come on. Don't be embarrassed," he said gently while kneeling next to the bed. "Whatever it is, it's fine. I like watching couples have sex in the woods."

"You do?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "Why?"

"'Cause I could never be that free."

"Oh," she mumbled before frowning. "I had sex in the woods in eleventh grade. I got poison ivy. Wouldn't recommend."

Roy just laughed at the story and nodded to the laptop. "Come on, let me see," he said, sitting next to her on the bed. "I should know what gets you going."

"Don't laugh," she said. "Or get, like, mad."

The video had stopped at a rather incriminating part given who she'd seen earlier that day.

Daisy opened up her laptop and slid it back to Roy, keeping her head down. He watched in confusion as his fight with Jamie on the pitch played. It was followed by that one time they fought in the locker room, when he'd shoved Jamie up against a wall before someone pulled him off — O'Brien was the one to film that debacle and put it on the internet.

Roy paused the video and looked at her. "I'm sorry? You're jacking off to me and fucking Tartt going at it?"

"No!" she insisted as he stood. She sat up on her knees for more height. "I mean, it's at the Jamie part of the video, but - but..."

He looked back at the screen and read the title. "'Roy Kent — Toughest Moments'."

"It's... you being rougher on the pitch. A highlight reel, sort of," she mumbled, feeling a bit embarrassed. However, something about seeing him and Jamie fight in particular did something to her as well. She missed seeing that passion in both of them.

"Why the fuck are you getting off to me on film when you've got me right here?" he questioned, more perplexed than annoyed or anything.

"Because you're just so gentle all the time," she admitted, raising her voice a bit. "God, Roy, you used to be the scariest one on the pitch. It was freaking hot, all that passion and anger. I love how sweet and gentle you are with me, but sometimes, I want that passion even if it's not there anymore."

"I am passionate," he muttered, crossing his arms childishly.

"No, you aren't. Not since you retired," Daisy said. "It was so hot, and you haven't been like that since you left football."

"At my age with a fucked knee, I don't get to be a football player. That's how it works," he argued, getting more upset.

"I know that—"

"What? Want me to try the fucking stupid pundit gig just so you can be attracted to me?" he scoffed.

"I am attracted to you, you idiot!" she snapped. "I know it's fucking stupid and you don't want to do it, so I'm not pressing. But I wish you'd do something to be back around the game. You miss it, Roy. I know you do. You are just like Jamie."

Roy's eyes went wide and he nearly watched out. "I'm sorry, when did Jamie enter this relationship? See you wanking off with him on screen, now you're bringing him up in a fight about our fucking sex life?"

"This isn't about our sex life, Roy, and you know it," she scoffed. "But yeah, I saw him today. He wants to come back and play for Richmond. He's so lost, Roy. Just like you. But at least he's tryin' to find his way back."

"See? Pathetic," he said, rolling his eyes.

"No, it's not pathetic! It's brave," Daisy said, feeling a need to defend Jamie even though he wasn't there. And though Roy moved toward the door, she kept talking. "I get that you don't want to get hurt, so you're not gonna try. But if you don't, then I guess I'll just stay home and get off to videos of you and Jamie fighting."

Roy let out a loud groan before moving to face her. "Fine. I will try it once," he said, putting his hands on the bed and leaning in close. "But when it sucks and I hate it, I'm gonna hire a bunch of children to follow you around and scream 'Told you so, told you so' for centuries."

"I love children," she informed him, undeterred.

"And find a fucking video that doesn't have Jamie in it next time."

"That's a tall order. He really riles you up," she said before grabbing his jacket and pulling him down in a kiss.

Roy gently laid her back on the bed before breaking the kiss. "What'd you tell the prince prick of all pricks about going back to Richmond?"

"I told him he was talking to the wrong Lasso."

"Good girl," he nodded, happy with her response. "Now, what was that about wanting me to be fucking rougher with you?"

Daisy bit her lip and looked up at him lustfully. "It's not every time, but sometimes I don't wanna be able to dance the next day. I want bruises in the shape of your fingers. I want the Roy Kent that makes people cower on the pitch. You don't always have to be so gentle with me."

Roy let out a breathy, "Fuck," before leaning down to kiss her furiously. "I'm gonna fucking ruin you."

✵︎

Given that Roy thoroughly held up his end of the deal, Daisy couldn't be annoyed by the fact that every muscle in her body hurt the next day. She was sore in the best way possible, and every time she moved, she just remembered how she got in such a state as Roy used her the night before.

Daisy was very late to training despite promising to meet her father there early. And Roy just watched with a fucking smirk as she slowly walked into the building, a turtleneck covering up the marks on her neck.

Rather than stand on the side of the pitch, she opted to join Dr. Sharon in the seats where the wind wasn't as harsh. They were predicting that the first snowfall of winter would happen soon, and the practices were brutal.

"Good morning, Doctor Fieldstone," Daisy greeted as she sat next to her.

"Morning, Daisy," she said with a polite smile.

"You observing practice today?" she assumed. There was no other reason to be out in this weather.

"Yes," she said. "And I believe I've chosen an interesting day to do so."

With a confused frown, Daisy finally looked at the pitch, seeing that things were not normal. It seemed like everyone was angry, all of the players throwing curses at each other, pushing and shoving, making moves that would've gotten them yellow and red cards.

"I'll, um, I'll be right back," Daisy mumbled, getting right back up. Seeing the team being so aggressive without reason made no sense to her. "Something's wrong."

It didn't take long for Daisy to get out of the stands and go join her father on the sidelines, but by the time she'd made it, Sam was snapping at Ted, who was just trying to make suggestions on how he passed to Dani.

"You think you can do better? Come out here and do it then," Sam said, stopping Daisy in her tracks.

"Oi! Easy, bruv," Isaac said with a frown.

"No, no, no. That's okay. Sam's right," Ted told him, not wanting to invalidate whatever Sam was feeling. "There ain't nothing going on out here on this field that I can do better than any of y'all. Unless you break into a game of 'finish that Jimmy Buffett lyric'. Then I'll be changing your latitudes and attitudes left, right and center. You—"

Ted was cut off by Sam moving past him to head inside.

"Hey, Sam. He's just trying to help y'all," Daisy said, hugging her coat closer.

"Bullshit!" Sam snapped before storming off.

Daisy's mouth fell open as the players let out 'ooh's and 'woah's at his behavior. Then she was stomping after him, planning to get to the root of the problem. Her father was a step behind her, calling after him as they got inside.

"Hey. Sam! Slow down. Hey, you got something you wanna talk about?" he asked as they caught up with him.

"No," Sam denied stubbornly, stopping to face them.

"Really?" Daisy asked, crossing her arms. "Seems like you got something on your mind."

"Yeah," Ted agreed. "Something like, 'I'm angry about a mysterious thing so I'm gonna do some cussing at Daisy now.'"

Sam's shoulders sank. "I mean, I am angry."

"Oh," Ted said as if that was a revelation.

"And I did cuss, and every time I do, I regret it," Sam muttered.

"'Cause people say cuss words when they don't know the right ones to use to express themselves. Except Bernie Mac. He uses them like Van Gogh uses yellow. You know, effectively," he explained. "Come on, talk to me."

"I can't believe you're bringing Jamie back to the team."

At that, Daisy looked at her father, unable to believe Ted actually had let him back on. She figured that if Jamie went to the bar, he'd politely turn him down. But Ted looked just as confused as she was.

"What?" he asked.

"I saw the picture of you and him on Twitter." Then Sam cut his eyes toward Daisy. "And you on your little date. How could you do that to Roy?"

"What date?" she asked in alarm.

With a huff, Sam pulled out his phone and showed her a photo. It was taken through the cafe window, and they were holding hands over the table.

"It - it wasn't a date, Sam," she told him with a sigh. "He was upset about somethin'. And Roy knows I was with him. Just because it's on Twitter, don't mean it's true."

"Oh, Sam, she's right. Sam, there's a bunch of crazy stuff on Twitter. Heck, someone made an account for my mustache."

Sam shook his head. "Even if it wasn't a date, how many locker room punch-ups have we had since Jamie's been gone?"

"None."

"None," he repeated. "Have we won yet? No, but we will. I believe that. Don't you?" A proud smile worked its way onto Ted's face as he listened. "Just because Jamie can score goals doesn't mean he deserves to be here."

"No teammate has ever made me feel as bad about myself as Jamie did," he went on, looking at Daisy, who knew exactly how he felt about Jamie.

"Sam, I understand your anger towards him—"

"It's not him," he cut him off. "I'm mad at you. You didn't even talk to us about it."

"Honestly, Sam, I didn't think there was anything to talk about," Ted shrugged. "I told Jamie it wasn't gonna happen."

"Oh," Sam said, his face immediately falling. "Oh, now I feel awkward."

"I bet."

Sam groaned and then bent down, resting his forehead on Daisy's shoulder, who just smiled and rubbed his back. "Did everybody see me when I stomped off the pitch and..."

"No, no one saw that," Ted said sarcastically. "Yeah, man! Everyone saw that. Come on."

"Of course, they did. Coach, I'm so sorry," he said, standing straight once more. "You too, Daisy. I shouldn't have assumed you would do something like that."

"It's alright, Sam," she assured him.

"You are a leader on this team," Ted told him. "I want you to speak your mind."

"Thank you," Sam said with a relieved smile. "Uh, you know, my father says every time he sees you on TV, he's very happy that I am here. That I'm in safe hands with you."

Ted chuckled and nodded his head. "Well, that means a lot. I appreciate that."

"You know I still gotta make you run a bunch of laps, right?" Ted then asked him.

"I was hoping you would," Sam admitted with a grin.

"Okay. Get going."

"Thank you," he said before kissing the top of Daisy's head and running off. "I am sorry again, Daisy."

"You're fine," she called after him. Then Daisy leaned against Ted, her heart feeling a little heavier.

"Very well handled, Ted." Higgins startled both of the Lassos when he spoke up. They turned and saw him sitting on one of the weightlifting benches, using it as a desk. He'd been silently watching the whole thing.

"Gee..." Ted mumbled, caught off guard. "Thank you, Higgins."

After that, the pair headed after Sam. But before they got outside, Daisy grabbed her father's elbow, pulling him to a stop. She nervously looked out the window in the door at Sam, who joined the others, likely explaining what the pictures really were.

"What's up, Oopsie Daisy?" Ted asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You have to let Jamie back on the team," she said, her eyes watering a little bit.

"Where's this coming from?" he questioned. "Jamie told me you said it wasn't a good idea."

"Because his dad is a piece of shit, Daddy. And he don't have anyone in his corner. He's not like Sam or even me with a good father figure in his life. I know it'll cause a lot of issues, but Richmond needs him, and he needs Richmond even more. You know I'm right."

Ted stared at her for a moment, wriggling his mustache as he thought it over, knowing she was right, deep down. "You better be prepared to defuse a lot of bombs, Adanna."

"Calming angry footballers down is my specialty, it seems."

✵︎

Allora received a temporary invite to the weekly DK night at Daisy's apartment so that she could watch Roy's first attempt at being a pundit with Keeley and Daisy. While the couple was in the small kitchen and fixing snacks, Daisy was already seated on her floor, looking at the TV as she called to check on Roy, who was already getting ready backstage.

"Hey," he greeted instantly.

"Hi, baby," she said. "I wanted to see how it was going."

"Jamie Carragher sent me flowers," he told her, both knowing she didn't know who that was. "We fucking despised each other when we played, now he's sending me flowers. How the fuck does he know I love white orchids?"

"Maybe he's in love with you," she said teasingly. "Look, don't be nervous."

"I'm not nervous. There's nothing scary about this. There's no defense in TV."

"Well, what is it then?" she asked, able to tell that something had him unsettled. She wished she was with him and able to soothe whatever his worries were.

"It's just..." Roy paused to let out a sigh. "What if... What if everyone thinks I'm shit?"

Daisy actually scoffed, unable to believe he was asking that. "Since when do you care what people think? You're Roy freaking Kent."

He chuckled and nodded on the other end. Then an assistant stepped into the room to retrieve him. "Ready for you, Mr. Kent."

"I gotta go," he told her. "Thank you."

"Knock 'em dead."

Admittedly, Daisy had no clue who the other three men on the Soccer Saturday talk show were, though Allora said one was the previous Richmond coach before Ted was hired.

"What a match! Manchester United beat Chelsea one - nil in a result that drops Chelsea out of the European places and lands United in the top three, for now. Chris, was this a case where United won the match or that Chelsea lost it?"

The man who was evidently Chris appeared on screen, but Daisy didn't care. She just wanted to see Roy. "United just had that extra sharpness in the final third, but I thought both teams played really well."

"George?"

"That's the asshole your dad replaced," Allora said, leaning around Keeley to look at Daisy. "Always had the shortest fucking shorts on. My god, was it disgusting."

"Look," Keeley said, pointing at the screen. "You can see his underwear through his shorts under the table."

The girls snickered, not caring about whatever George was saying about it being an even battle on the pitch.

"Roy Kent, ex-Chelsea legend joins us."

"Welcome, Roy."

When the camera panned to Roy, Daisy's laughter was cut off. She sat up on her knees, looking at him with wide eyes. He'd gotten a haircut and shaved his beard, and a small part of her was mourning it. What was she supposed to run her hands through now?

"Those stupid stylists gave him a haircut," she grumbled, leaning back with a pout on her face. Her expression matched the sour one that Roy wore as he simply grunted.

"Right, what did you think? Did your former club play well?" the host asked him.

"No. I thought they played like shit," he answered honestly.

Daisy wasn't phased, but as his PR person, Keeley was appalled. Allora, of course, found it hilarious.

"The hairy man speaks the truth. It was a rubbish match," Allora agreed, shoving popcorn in her mouth.

"Uh, our apologies to the viewing audience. Roy Kent with some salty language. Would you care to elaborate, Roy?"

"All right. Chelsea was shit today." Daisy covered her mouth to keep from laughing as Keeley sighed, fearing the backlash. "They were shocking. Watching them, you'd never know they were playing at home. They were too timid. They were too respectful of United. They were lucky they didn't
lose by three or four or ten."

"That's harsh, Roy. United's been on a good run recently," Chris told him.

"Who gives a shit?" Allora asked as if they could hear her.

Okay, maybe Roy could hear her, because the next words from his mouth were, "Who gives a shit, Chris?"

Keeley was really losing it now, hiding her face in Allora's shoulder and covering her ears. "Tell me when the train wreck is over."

"It's not a train wreck," Daisy defended.

"That's no excuse to play like you're afraid of 'em. You could see it in their faces: abject terror. Like children waiting in line for the handsy Father Christmas. Have some fucking pride in your shirt or don't fucking wear it."

"Again, we apologize for almost every word Roy just said."

Daisy giggled and snuggled underneath her blanket to keep watching Roy as the audience in the studio laughed. They loved him. Maybe he wasn't the most charismatic man in the world, but he was still the most likable person at the table, plus he was honest.

"Kee," Allora smirked. "I dare you to check Twitter."

Taking a deep breath like she was doing some big and brave thing, Keeley got her phone and opened up the app. Right away, they all saw that Roy was trending already, tons of support coming in as well as people making GIFs and memes of him, which made Daisy so happy, especially when he'd been so worried about being bad at the job.

"Thank fuck this didn't blow up in my face," Keeley muttered, beginning to smile and relax.

"Would've been kinda funny if so given how hard you peer pressured Roy into this," Daisy told her.

"Which was pointless," Allora said. "It was Daze that seduced him into it."

"I didn't seduce him into it."

"Right, no, you got caught having a wank to him and Jamie fighting and had to try and make the argument about something else."

Daisy gasped and hit her with a pillow. "I was not doing that to Jamie too. And I told you that in confidence that you wouldn't make fun of me."

"Wouldn't be a very good friend if I didn't make fun of you."

✵︎

An hour later, Daisy was alone in her apartment and waiting for Roy to get back, still on Twitter. Sure, the internet loved him, but if Roy didn't like the job, she'd support him not returning.

But when she heard his heavy footsteps as he walked into her living room, she sat up and looked at him. "Hi," she greeted, being met with silence. He was still in his suit from the show. "How'd it go?"

More silence.

"C'mon, honey, say something. Was it really that bad? 'Cause I could've sworn you were having fun," she said, beginning to worry as he walked to stand in front of her. "You did so good. Oh, god, you really did hate it. I'm so sorry for pushing you."

"May I have your phone?" was all Roy asked, holding out his hand.

Daisy looked at him in confusion before handing it over, showing him all the tweets she'd liked.

"Roy, I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have let Keeley get in my head about it all. And I know it don't matter, but everyone loved you. But if Keeley tries to make you do it again, I'll, uh, I'll fight her or something."

"Here," Roy said after fiddling with her phone, handing it back. She didn't even look at it. "Felt good to be back around the game."

"Thank god," she sighed. Then she got confused as he kneeled in front of her. "What're you doing?"

"You helped me to help myself. Again. So I wanted to thank you properly," he told her with a sly smirk. "Hit play."

Finally, she looked down at her phone and was a little embarrassed to see the video she'd been watching the day before. As she did so, he reached for her AirPods and put them in for her.

"Roy," she murmured, biting her lip a little. "I'm still really sore. I don't think I'm up for a repeat of last night."

"I'll be gentle," he promised while pulling her legs forward. "And take my fucking time like I like this time around."

Daisy giggled as he moved down, beginning to kiss her thighs until he reached the hem of her shorts. He ran his warm hands down her sides before seeking out her covered core. Continuing to place gentle kisses to her inner thighs, his scruff scraping her skin, his fingers began to rub torturously slow lines up and down from her entrance to her clit, only applying the slightest bit of pressure.

The entire time, Daisy kept the video on a loop, a breathless and whining mess as he brought her to the edge of release and pulled back time and time again, torturing her. Roy's skilled tongue and rough fingers made her fall apart as her eyes stayed glued to the clip of him pushing Jamie up against the wall, unable to help but think of both of them that time around.

✵︎

Daisy was not outside for training given that it was actively snowing. No, she'd rather stay bundled up in a blanket on Rebecca's couch, watching as the three others in the room worked.

"The people at Dubai Air have asked specifically for Sam," Keeley revealed.

"Oh, that's great!" Daisy gushed, knowing he'd be so excited when he found out.

"Right!" Keeley agreed. "There's a photo shoot set up for Friday."

"Good for him! That young man deserves some recognition," Rebecca said, thinking very highly of the kind boy.

Then a knock on the door sounded, and since it was cracked, Dr. Sharon let herself inside the doorway. "Hello. Sorry to interrupt. I'm Sharon Fieldstone."

Rebecca instantly got up to shake her hand while Daisy shot her a smile. "Yes. Oh, it is lovely to meet you, Dr. Fieldstone."

"Please, call me Sharon," she said before looking to Keeley. "Hi."

"Hi!" Keeley said brightly while shaking her hand too. "Lovely to meet you."

"I just wanted to stop by and thank you for the lovely gift basket of bottled water," the doctor told Rebecca.

"Yes, well, Ted said you didn't eat sugar."

Daisy peered at the woman while Keeley spoke up. "So many other things don't have sugar in them."

"Yeah," Daisy said, getting off the couch. "You got sugar-free candy, fruit baskets, gift cards, flowers... uh... and..."

Daisy had trailed off, her eyes falling on the practice pitch. The windows were thin, so she could hear as voices began to rise outside. She went to the window.

"Daisy?" Rebecca asked, thinking her behavior was odd.

"Sorry, I was just, um... it's Jamie," she said, a smile working its way onto her face as she held the blanket around her shoulders tighter. The whole team was unhappy, but she wasn't. She was even fighting the urge to run down and greet him.

That smile was an early warning sign, one she didn't catch herself. But Rebecca and Keeley saw it clear as day, both concerned that Jamie's return could spell more trouble than Ted initially feared.