“You realize how big this gamble is, right?” asked Jack, as Jamie inputted the security code to open the door to his new apartment. “I mean, let’s say you do get injured…”

“I had to find a way,” replied Jamie. “I couldn’t let this chance go. And anyway, what was the alternative? Go back to Hawkstone – after all the hype of me coming over here? I’d look like an idiot and Hawkstone would go bust. No way I’m letting that happen. Anyway, life doesn’t look too bad from here, does it?”

And with that, Jamie opened the door to a new level of luxury.

Jamie was taking over the apartment that had been made vacant when Ivan Viduka, Barça’s Croatian striker, had departed from the club to sign for Bayern Munich earlier this summer.

Overlooking the shimmering Barcelona coastline, it was the kind of home that you would normally see in the glossy magazines… And now it was Jamie’s. And Jack’s.

Jamie sprinted from room to room like an excited child. He flung open all the cupboards and switched on all the TVs at top volume.

Then he jumped on one of the huge double beds and stretched himself out as far as his body would go. There were only a couple of hours to settle in before he and Jack were expected back at the Nou Camp, as personal guests of the club president, to watch Barça’s first home game of the season against Valencia in the Spanish Super Cup.

But before any of that, there was something else that Jamie needed to do. If he could just pluck up the courage.

He strode out on to the balcony and put his arm around Jack’s shoulder. He looked into her dark brown eyes and tried to form the perfect sentence in his head.

Jamie opened his mouth but at first no words came out; nerves had stolen his speech. He took two deep breaths to steady himself and, as the scent of Jack’s hair filled his senses, he prepared to make his second huge gamble of the day.

“Jack,” he said. “I want us to… It’s never quite... Can we make it … proper between us out here? Will you be my girlfrien—”

Jamie’s voice trailed off and he took a step back.

Immediately, he knew that something wasn’t right. That Jack wasn’t happy.

Jamie had made a big mistake. He had assumed that Jack would be staying with him in Spain.

“If that’s what you were thinking, why didn’t you ask me?” demanded Jack. She was angry. She didn’t like people making decisions for her.

“I don’t know. Everything was happening so quickly… I’m asking you now…”

“Jamie, my job is to report on English football. How can I do that from Spain?” she asked, checkmating Jamie with one simple move.

“Can’t you report on Spanish football?”

“I don’t speak Spanish, Jamie! It’s all right for you. You score a goal and it means the same in any language. But I have to write about the goals and I need to do that in English.”

“But I’m earning enough that you don’t have to work,” said Jamie. “Just stay and … you can go shopping while I’m playing and then we can do stuff together after.”

Jack placed her hands on her hips and glared at Jamie. No words were required. She was not interested in shopping. She was an achiever. She had her own career. And she was brilliant at her job. Which were, of course, many of the reasons that Jamie liked and respected her so much in the first place.

“But if I’m here and you’re there,” he stuttered, “what about…?”

“Friends,” said Jack. “For now.”

So, it turned out that Jack and Jamie only had one evening together in Barcelona and, despite Jamie’s disappointment at what Jack had said, they still had a great night together. They spent it doing what they most enjoyed. It was what had brought them together in the first place and what would always keep them together.

Football.

SPANISH SUPER CUP FINAL SECOND LEG

 

Barcelona win the Spanish Super Cup 6-3 on aggregate

“That was unreal! I’ve never seen skills like that!” Jamie purred as he and Jack got into the limousine to drop Jack at the airport so she could catch her late-night flight back to England. They had watched Barça put in a spellbinding performance to win their first trophy of the season and it was still only August.

It was only as they pulled up to the airport terminal that Jamie started to get upset. True, Jack would always be there on the end of the phone, but that would be nowhere near the same as what he had hoped for when he had plucked up the guts to talk to her on the balcony.

“They were good,” smiled Jack, her elusive eyes refusing to reveal her own emotions. “But don’t hero-worship them too much! You’re training with them tomorrow. So now it’s time for them to see how good you are…”