LILY AND JESS STARED AT ME IN obvious amusement as I finished up making my toast. I had just finished recounting the previous nights adventures, including Tartt's sudden burst of almost non-dickheady behavior and our almost maybe banter. I also went into heavy detail on Isaac's house and how he acted, making sure to mention how kind he had been with Colin for Lily.

If I was being honest, it still had yet to process with me that everything that happened had actually happened. The only evidence that it had actually transpired was how tired I was, since I didn't get home until well after three.

"I mean... did he look good?" Lily asked suddenly as I took a bite of my toast. Jess snickered slightly, but nodded.

"Who?" I asked, though I was 99% sure I knew full well who she meant. "Tartt?"

"Yes!" Lily and Jess exclaimed together. I rolled my eyes. Any guy I talked about more than once  seemed to be placed on a list of my potential future husbands. This time, though, it pissed me off more than it made me laugh.

"Ew," I said simply. The thought of Tartt like that was one I didn't even let cross my mind. The one interaction I'd had with him where he wasn't a complete douche didn't cancel out all the others where he was. "Don't even put that image in my head."

"Sabrina Lewis: Famed journalist, part time WAG," Jess waved her hand in front of her, strongly resembling  that one Spongebob meme. This time, Lily laughed.

I scrunched my nose up and took my last bit of toast. "Okay, seriously stop," I said, pointing at both of them to get my point across. "Just because he was, like, one percent less prick-ish last night does not undo the countless times I've wanted to bash my skull in while talking to him."

"You want to bash your skull in when you talk to anyone in general," Jess retorted, causing Lily to once again snort.

"Oh, go make out with Isaac," I said, making a face at the end. Not one of my best comebacks, but it would do.

I waved goodbye to my roommates and headed out to my car to drive to work. As soon as I opened the door I was met with the smell of alcohol, like somehow it had rubbed off from my chauffeur adventures last night. My nose crinkled at the smell and I reached into my glove compartment, praying for an old air freshener I had tucked in there and forgotten about. Unfortunately, I had no such luck.

As I pulled into a spot outside the shop, my phone buzzed. I flipped it over and saw two messages from Trent.

Trent Crimm

[8:05 AM]

Trent Crimm:
[attached link]

Link to a profile about the
new Richmond player, Dani
Rojas. I want you to do more
research on him.

I sighed slightly, but texted back a quick 'Okay, you got it' and hopped out of the car. A small
- no, extremely large, part of me longed for something more than just busy work research on new players. The thought of my article gnawed at my mind as proof that I could, that I should, do more. But, I was much too tired to do anything about it at that moment.

When I walked into the shop, I saw Colin waiting by the pick up area with three drinks instead of his typical one.

"Two down, eleven more, right?" He asked, handing me the drink carrier. "The barista knows your order by heart, by the way."

I settled the drink carrier in my hand and smirked at him slightly. "Nice try, but it's thirteen more."

Colin winced and took a sip from his tea as though he was concealing his shame. "I'm really sorry about last night. My tolerance is really bad. And Montlaur is really banned from driving services."

Many questions passed through my mind, including what the hell Montlaur did to get himself banned from all driving services. However, I instead just asked, "What were you doing that involved a ghost, you burning your keys, and Tartt vowing to not be a prick?"

Colin laughed but then grimaced and I could tell that his hangover definitely sucked. "Our treatment room is haunted, and we all had to give up something sentimental to... un-haunt it."

"And you gave up... your car keys?"

"Hindsight is 20/20 or whatever," he grumbled. "And, to answer your Jamie question," as he said this, he raised his eyebrows up and down suggestively. "He did some soul searching shit or whatever. Ted totally went at him before practice yesterday, must've left a big impact on him."

I thought over his words. Maybe Tartt wasn't trying to be an ass by asking for a ride the night before (or that morning). Maybe he just wanted to apologize.

Huh. Jamie Tartt, soul searcher. I almost scoffed at the notion.

"I resent that eyebrow movement," I said. "There is nothing happening between Tartt and I, and there never will be."

"Okay," He held his free arm up in surrender, but he still wore a smirk as if he knew more than I did. "Whatever you say, Sabrina."

"Fuck off, Hughes," I said, though my tone was light hearted. I did think it was a) strange and b) completely grosss that the idea of Tartt and I together was being continuously brought up this morning. Maybe Colin was still a little drunk.

We said our goodbyes and I headed off toward The Independents office. The smell of alcohol was slowly diminishing as the smell from my coffees filled the air of my car. As I drove, I couldn't help but continue to think about the previous night. A few times, I could almost feel the stare from Tartt burning into the back of my neck.

I got inside the office at 8:50 and hurried right to Trents office to hand him his drink. When I opened his door, he was standing reading something intently from his phone.

"Morning," I said, holding out the cup for him to take.

"New tip from an anonymous source in Manchester City," Trent said, his eyes just barely flickering up from his phone to register my presence. Quickly, and almost with a hint of humor he read out, "Negotiations are almost finalized to let Tartt's rent period end and for him to head back to Man City."

His face formed a small smile as my stomach dropped. There was no way Richmond could give up their last chance when they were already grasping  at straws. Trent slid his phone back into his pocket and took the drink from my hands. "Sabrina, I need you to get me that research as soon as possible.

A/N:
I am soooo sorry guys about the lack of updates. I came back from break and school immediately started kicking my ass again. Sorry for the short chapter, I promise the next will be longer!!!! Please remember to vote and comment if you enjoyed