Jamie and Jack rolled their towels out along the raised slope on the side of the pitch and lay down.

“Ah, that feels better,” said Jack, taking off her boots and socks.

Jamie watched as she stretched out her long brown legs into the sun. She’d lost a bit of weight over the last few months, which had made her more confident. Jamie liked that.

“Do you think I could be a foot model?” she asked, letting her leg rest across Jamie’s lap. “I mean, look at my feet, they’re still so pretty even though I play football the whole time. Go on, feel them,” she said, poking them towards Jamie’s face. “Go on – you know you want to!”

“Get off!” said Jamie, tickling the soles of her feet.

“Fine, have it your way,” said Jack, standing up.

Now she was strutting down the touchline as if she were a model on the catwalk. When she got to the goalpost, she looked back at Jamie over her shoulder and pouted her lips at him.

Jamie suddenly felt a burst of energy re-enter his body.

“Nice moves,” he said, starting to juggle the ball while still sitting on the ground. “But how are your reflexes?”

He leant on his hand and did a bicycle kick, volleying the ball towards Jack. She tried to save it but it hit her knee and bounced away.

For a second they let it roll away, keeping their eyes firmly fixed on one another. They both knew what was going to happen next; it was just a question of who was going to make the first move.

It was Jack.

She sprinted away.

“My ball!” she shouted.

Jamie caught up with her, pulling her back by her waist. “It’s mine!” he said.

Jack wriggled free and lunged forward to claw the ball into her clasp.

“Got it!” she said triumphantly. “Keeper wins again!”

“Not quite!” said Jamie, pulling her closer to him to grab the ball out of her hands.

But even now he had the ball, he still didn’t want to let her go.