#Brunch Richmond

[stenoodie]

Lunch at Roses Senso Café & Bites Restaurant

Roses Senso Café & Bites Restaurant. #brainandtongueomelette #sojuksausage #persianbreakfast

Roses Senso Café & Bites Restaurant located at 9218 Yonge St, Richmond Hill We had lunch at Roses Senso Café & Bites Restaurant located at the corner of Yonge Street and 16th in Richmond Hill (9218 Yonge St).  I had overheard about this restaurant from a fellow mom that it was good and since we were going to be in the area, I decided to try it out.  Continue reading Lunch at Roses Senso Café &…

[twinhickorytavern]

Late-rising millennials in Richmond who wanted to indulge in a wide variety of foods in a laid-back setting made brunch popular. Because of this, there is lots of best brunch in Richmond that offer the best brunch, and you may choose from a wide range of options at your convenience.

[ilovehugslikealotalot]

Nine-ing Armor

(not my gif)

sum: Rebecca meets her ‘Shite in Nine-ing Armor’

WARNING: Rupert doesn’t own West Ham, WestHamplayer!r, confessions, r is kinda like Jamie, gay panic, injuries, blood

(Revision & finish)

Rebecca didn’t see this coming, at all.

She sat in her office, barely getting work done due to a certain West Ham player in her mind. Ever since the clubs have agreed to have a women’s league, Rebecca was beyond ecstatic. Now, she just wanted it to go away, she wanted you to go away. Not because she didn’t like you, no, it was the complete opposite.

The way your legs were so perfectly muscular, your arms looked like you could sweep her of her feet even though you were shorter than her. She would’ve loved if your skilled hands just made their way down to her-

“Rebecca!” Keeley screeched, barging into the office with a big scowl, Rebecca jumped, snapping out of her thoughts, “Yes?”

“What the hell is this?!” The woman growled, stomping over to the other blonde desk in fury. Rebecca raised her brow, a signal for the woman to explain, Keeley let out another growl, placing her phone on Rebecca’s fancy glass desk.

It was a text.

Y/n 😉 Hey Keeley! I was wondering if you could tell Rebecca that ‘y/n’s sorry if she’s upset you in anyway’? I want her to know that I meant it but, she doesn’t have to reciprocate it. Thanks! Have a good day :) It was you. After a few weeks of going out, getting to know each other more, you finally caved. You told Rebecca your true feelings during brunch. You really thought she would feel the same after everything but, you thought wrong. Next thing you knew, she was sprinting out the door of the food establishment, leaving you enough to cover the bill. At least she had the decency to do that. She left you, in the middle of brunch, alone, looking ridiculous in the sundress you specifically wore to impress the older woman. You felt horrible. You should’ve just left it alone, how could a woman as fabulous and stunning as Rebecca Welton even consider wanting you? What could you offer her that she didn’t already have?

Rebecca’s face dropped. This could not be happening. She already made a complete fool of herself the first time she met you. Blabbering about anything just to get you to look at her. It wasn’t her fault, there was something about you that made her lose her confidence and melt like a puddle of ice.

Now, she’s made a fool of you. All because she can’t talk properly around you. After you’d confessed her feelings, Rebecca began panicking. She wasn’t ready, at least that’s what she told herself.

She couldn’t talk to you without breaking down, your presence was enough to make her want to tell you her darkest secrets.

Keeley frowned, rounding her best friend’s desk, she would knock some sense into the woman just like she had many times before. “Look, it’s clear you are madly in love with her, why can’t you just say that?” Keeley said, her hands placed on Rebecca’s shoulders. The older blonde shrugged, “Because I’ll hurt her Keeley, I know I will. It’s better that I do it now.” The club owner pushed away opening her laptop once more and typing, Keeley knew better than to meddle in this little affair but, she read the message out loud, hoping Rebecca would listen.

“You and her are worth the chance, you’ll never know if to don’t even try it with her. Screw the press, you said it yourself.” Without another word the younger woman left. Leaving a conflicted Rebecca alone in her self pity. She wondered if this is how you felt. Alone and betrayed.

It was hours until the game between West Ham and Richmond. Yet, Rebecca could feel her heart lurching. Even if the game hadn’t started yet, she knew that the West Ham women’s team was in the building. It made her overthinking every turn and step she took as she walked around. She didn’t know where she was going or what she was looking for, just mindlessly wandering. Maybe she even hoped to see you.

That was when she had stopped in front of the guest lockeroom that she had realized, she was drawn to you. Peeking through the window, she heard footsteps behind her. “Hello, Rebecca Welton is it? We met at the Club Conference a few weeks ago” A voice said, the blonde woman turned around to see the owner of West Ham, the better, new one. Rebecca smiled, “Ah, Diana! What a pleasure, I hope your team have brought their A game.”

The two engaged polite conversation, Rebecca found Diana way more pleasant than some of the owners. It was nice not being the only woman anymore. The lockeroom door burst open, and out came the women all energized. Rebecca didn’t care who won of lost tonight, she just needed to talk to you.

You exited the lockeroom with your team, they hyped you up as you unzipped your hoodie revealing the number 9, flaunting it around. The team sang the ‘We All Follow the West Ham’ chant with pride, Rebecca looked over at you. The twinkle in her eyes was noticeable, even Diana saw it. “You love her, don’t you…?” The woman said softly, crossing her arms as she winked at Rebecca. The blonde woman felt her voice would betray her, settling for a nod instead.

——

The game was exciting, in the first half the score was Richmond 1, West Ham 3. Every time someone would try to get passed you, the effortless moving of your feet managed to swipe the ball. You had this grin all game, it pissed Richmond off badly. Even the players who were benched. It was no surprise that fans had began to compare your mannerisms to Jaime.

The way you had provoked one of the players and acting like it wasn’t your fault, hands up in the air with this smirk.

It turned Rebecca on, especially when the Jumbotron would zoom into you. Man, you looked so good in your kit.

During halftime, no matter how much the Richmond coaches didn’t want to, they had to press that big red button they really didn’t want at first. Their biggest weapon was their player named, Maria Sheridan. The woman was a darn good player, as Lasso would put it.

She just had too much attitude, it would’ve been the best to bench her until she got her act right. That was when Roy realized her attitude combined with yours might make it easier to win.

“It looks like, for the first time in two games, Roy Kent has decided to sub in Sheridan” One of the announcers said in disbelief, the other smirked, “This is going to be one explosive end. We already know how Sheridan and Y/l/n get along.”

They were in fact correct, Maria had stopped you from making 2 goals now, it was ticking you off and everyone knew it.

“She’s really hot in that kit, Rebecca” Keeley nudged the other blonde woman on the arm, she just sighed, “She’s angry because of what happened, I mean look at her on that field!” Rebecca gestured to the Jumbotron that had caught you bending your water bottle in half as the refs called a time out.

You aggressively spat out the clear liquid, throwing the plastic bottle onto a chair. Sheridan was gonna pay, you wanted to get another goal, the score was now even. The team didn’t want to lose, not when they were all so close. The whistle let out its shrill cry and the pitch was back into action.

You were close, so close to the goal, that was when you heard the loud pounding of feet. You tired, even when your body ached, you still ran, just when she had tackled you to the ground, your skin sliding against the turf and your head slamming into her shoe, you had kicked it.

You whimpered as you lay on the ground, you could hear the gasps of the spectators then cheering. You would be embarrassed later, not knowing why they were cheering. The buzzer rang through the stadium as you grasped your shoulder. It hurt from catching you after the impact.

You didn’t realize the red substance oozing out of your head. You noticed Sheridan had gotten up and propped up your head, she was screaming something at you but you couldn’t make it out. It was so loud and…why were the lights so bright?

You could feel the rumbling of feet, you grasped your head wondering why it hurt so badly. You could feel the thick wet liquid on your palm…oh.

Now you smelt the irony substance, it was sickening, you hated blood.

The medical team had brought you to the infirmary, checking you over. By then you had a sense of what happened, hoping nothing was broken, if anything was, you didn’t feel it.

They gave you some pain medication, cleaned up the burn and the small gash on your head. There was a bruise on your shoulder where you had landed. Lucky you.

Maria walked in with an apologetic look, “I’m sorry, y’know for being like that on the field, you alright?” She asked, softly sitting down next to you as you caught your breath. “It was a footing accident and I’m sorry, if it make you feel any better you’ve ruined my new boots” she laughed softly. You shook your head, you knew it was, someone her level wouldn’t mess up that badly, not if she completely lost her brain. “I thought I should tell you, your girlfriend went complete psycho on me but, I deserve it.” You raised a brow, “What girlfriend?”

“Uh, Rebecca?”

Oh, right. Your cheeks heated up quickly, rivaling the color of dried blood on your hands. Noticing it, you got up to wash the blood off. Maria watched you, “She wants to see you, she’s out there having a mental breakdown, weeping about how she’s stupid for something. You want her to come in here?” The Richmond player would make a good friend, maybe some day the both of you could get passed your differences.

Nodding, you sent her a smile, “You’re not all bad, Sheridan.” The other woman smirked, “Don’t get all sappy on me, still have to beat you during the championships.” She left without another word, missing your shocked expression.

That means you had made it in…

You felt overly happy with yourself, scrubbing off the rest of the blood on your face. “Darling?” Rebecca called out, her voice was always like honey, softer than silk.

“Why’d you do it? Run out on me like that.” You asked, trying to get the blood from under your finger nails. You heard her sigh, “I was scared, I haven’t loved somebody this much since…I don’t even know how long.” She chuckled bitterly, coming up behind you she stopped a little bit out of arms reach. “I understand if you don’t want me but, I can’t promise you that I’ll stop loving you.”

With a shaky breath, you shut the water off turning to her, “I do want you, Rebecca. That’s what makes it so hard to be mad at you, just promise me something” You turned to her, not expecting the tears stains and smudged mascara. She really had been crying, her face was a little red too. “Don’t let the media define you, you’re worth more than all of the diamonds on this world and more…”

“I promise.” She sniffled, looking at you with hurt eyes, she’d struggled a lot in her life. You could tell from how she carries herself. “Then I forgive you, stupid idiot…” You smiled, walking up to her and smashing your lips onto hers.

“You’re a real shite, you know that?” Rebecca laughed, pulling you closer as she wiped the new formed tears, except now, they were happy tears.

———

This was in my drafts as well, I thought I’d release when I had time! This was one of my very first fics that I’ve written! I drafted it for revision and never released it, hope you like it!

Not proofread :)

[uneditedidiot]

this love is ours - jamie tartt x reader

jamie tartt x gn!reader

summary: after officially starting to date Jamie, the media figures out who you are. Judgment comes in from all places - news outlets, social media, family members - but Jamie puts all that doubt out of your mind. based off the song ours by taylor swift. features appearances from Keeley and Roy.

word count: 2.5k

Warnings: language, angst, fluff social media bullying & hate, reassurance and comfort from Jamie

A/N: This could technically be part two to gold rush but you don’t need to have read that one to understand what’s going on in this imagine. Hope you enjoy!

Seems like there's always someone who disapproves

They'll judge it like they know about me and you

And the verdict comes from those with nothing else to do

The jury's out, but my choice is you

Even on a beautiful Saturday afternoon out on the Richmond Green, you and Jamie somehow attracted the attention of a few invasive paparazzi.

“I thought the hat would be enough,” said Jamie, pulling the brim of his ‘icon’ hat further down his forehead.

The two of you walked off quickly down the path, keeping the photographers and their bright flashes at your backs.

You couldn’t help but giggle, tugging at his hand in yours. “Jamie, you wear that hat everywhere. People recognize it pretty easily.”

“I’m not the only person in the world with this hat.”

“Maybe not, but you made it popular.”

He sighed. “Yeah, you’re right.” He smiled at you. “Well now that we’ve left those annoying arseholes behind, what do you want for dinner?”

“Keeley invited us over for a couples night with her and Roy,” you reminded him. “Remember? We talked about it with Roy this morning after your training.”

“Nah, the granddad has a tendency to ramble on with ya about random stuff so I just thought ya were chattin’ with him.”

“Yeah, I was chatting with him about dinner with him and Keeley, which you agreed to, by the way, even in your post-workout haze.”

Jamie grumbled like a little kid. “Ugh, but I’d rather just stay home with you, get pizza or some takeout, and make out on the couch.”

You lifted your head up to his cheek to kiss it. “And we can do that – tomorrow night. Which is a night we didn’t agree to have dinner with Roy and Keeley.”

That seemed to satisfy him for the moment and the two of you made your way back home to your shared house.

“I’m going to go shower, babe!” he called as he headed upstairs.

“I’ll be here!” you called back.

You kicked off your shoes by the front mat and strode into the kitchen to grab some water. As you filled a glass from the filtered pitcher from the fridge, you scrolled through your instagram.

After making it official with Jamie, the two of you had decided to keep it quiet in terms of posting on social media. You’d told close friends and everyone at Richmond. Jamie’s mom and stepfather obviously knew, since it had been at their house that you’d made things official. But your family hadn’t taken it quite as well.

Being from the States, your family’s only impression of Jamie was the Richmond matches they streamed and his arc on Lust Conquers All, which hadn’t painted him in a flattering light. Of course, Jamie freely admitted that he was an all-out prick on the show and had publicly and privately apologized to those he had hurt while filming. But your family couldn’t exactly see past it. They were protective of you and worried about what Jamie might do in the relationship.

Thankfully, Ted and Beard, who knew your parents quite well, had reassured them that Jamie was not the person the media portrayed him as. This had seemed to quell their anxieties about their kid dating a superstar footballer with a notorious reputation for being a (as your mother so kindly put it) “man-whore.” But you, as well as everyone around you, knew that Jamie had changed.

Now the instagram comments you saw as you scrolled on your latest post of you and Jamie getting brunch together were of similar nature. 

There were a few comments from your friends at Richmond – Keeley had commented, “I love you both so much and you are too cute together!” Sam had said, “the queen and king of Richmond;” while Rebecca put it plainly, “you are the best people and these photos are my new favorite of you both.”

Despite the many loving and supportive comments from friends and now people who had deemed themselves ‘fans’ of you (which felt quite strange, as you were merely the head physical therapist for the team and didn’t do anything that warranted ‘fans’), there were a good handful that were not quite as kind.

One person had written, “Jamie’s back in his pretending to be monogamous era - wonder how long that will last.”

You shook your head. You knew who Jamie had become and this wasn’t a phase for him. You scrolled on.

Another comment caught your eye. “Ew who are they? Jamie is way out of their league.”

And then more continued to pop up.

“Fuck them.”

“Why do they even bother? Jamie is going to dump them in like a week bet.”

“What are they wearing?”

“Jamie and Keeley will forever be endgame.”

“I liked it better when he was with Keeley.”

“Whatever happened to celebrities dating out of their league? This person is clearly a big step down for him.”

It was a rabbit hole of discouragement and darkness. And even after you exited out of Instagram trying to shake off the hate, more seemed to appear as you opened twitter. You’d been tagged in numerous disgusting tweets from multiple accounts.

“Go die no one likes u.”

“Why is your face like that and why does Jamie like it.”

“I bet he thinks of Keeley when they fuck. Lol I would.”

“You’re literally nobody and the fact that Jamie Tartt of all people is dating you is really pathetic.”

You shook your head, exiting out of twitter with a huff. You tossed your phone on the other couch cushion. It was difficult seeing so many people who thought they had a right to comment on your relationship saying such things on the internet. You knew coming into this that dating Jamie would be difficult in terms of hate on social media, but your fears were resurfacing.

Jamie wouldn’t actually believe all that stuff said about you. You knew that. But what if other people you knew saw it and agreed with it? What if you had to start dealing with people in real life saying that? Were you not good enough to be dating someone like Jamie?

The self-doubt began to creep in, like a mist slowly dragging itself over a hill. Your thoughts began to spiral.

You recognized the anxiety beginning to escalate and decided to watch something to distract yourself. You turned on the TV and tried to tune out the online ruckus.

About a half-hour later, Jamie came barreling down the stairs.

“Babe, Keeley just texted - I think we’re late for dinner,” he said, rushing to put on his shoes.

“Shit!” you cried, slamming the TV power button and quickly going back over to do the same as Jamie.

You both grabbed what you needed and quite literally ran out the door to Jamie’s car which was right next to the gates of your home.

As you sprinted to the passenger side door, a white light suddenly blinded you from beside the front gates. 

It was like they appeared out of nowhere – two photographers with large lenses. And they were yelling your name.

“Hey, what’s it like to be with someone who clearly can’t commit?” one laughed.

“Getting tired of this one already, Tartt?” the other bellowed.

“Just fuck off!” exclaimed Jamie, waving his hand at them. “This is private property! Fuck off!”

You jumped into the car, shutting the door as fast as possible. You watched as Jamie flipped off the photographers, who took the last few pictures they wanted, and trudged away.

Jamie closed his door with more force than necessary and buckled his seatbelt. “Arseholes.” He turned to you, putting his hand on your leg gently. “Are ya okay?”

No. No, you weren’t okay. After reading through all those hateful comments and then being berated by paparazzi not just for pictures, but also with hurtful questions didn’t help your self-doubt. It seemed to be bubbling up from below into your heart.

But you didn’t want to ruin the mood more by admitting you were not okay, so all you could do was nod.

“Don’t let them get to you, alright? I love you and nothing’s gonna change that,” confirmed Jamie tenderly. His hand slid into yours.

Neither of you let go all the way to Keeley and Roy’s. 

“Heya!” greeted Keeley from the front door as you and Jamie exited the car.

You forced a smile. “Hi, Keeley.”

“How ya doing, Keeley?” grinned Jamie. He gave her a big hug, and then you gave her one, too.

“Just peachy,” she replied, holding the door open for the both of you. “Roy’s inside getting the chicken all prepped. I think he’s trying something fancy tonight - chicken cordon bleu!”

“That is fancy,” you agreed. “He’s really upping his chef skills.”

“I’m not buyin’ that,”Jamie joked. “He’s making beans on toast.”

“Have some faith,” you nudged him playfully.

“I’ll put my faith in nothing until that chicken cordon bleu is sitting on my dinner plate.”

“You two are so cute,” awed Keeley as the three of you made your way to the kitchen.

You swallowed the lump in your throat at the comment, feeling sweat on your palms.

“Ey, if it isn’t the granddad himself!” cheered Jamie. “Making us something fancy, are ya?”

Roy was bent over the kitchen counter, slamming a meat tenderizer into pieces of flattened chicken. He turned with a scowl on his face and gestured at the younger man with the meat tenderizer.

“I’ll be flattening more than this fucking chicken if you keep that up, Tartt,” he growled.

“Aw, I’m terrified,” mocked Jamie.

“Stop it, you two,” ordered Keely good-naturedly as she kissed his cheek. “No one is flattening anything else ‘round here — especially body parts. Right, Roy?”

“I certainly wouldn’t be happy about it and neither would they,” Jamie chuckled, nodding his head at you.

Your smile was tight. You tried to make things light hearted as you wrapped an arm around Jamie’s bicep. “Yep. That’d be…tragic.”

Jamie peered down at you with a questioning glance. He knew something was up, but didn’t want to push it in front of Roy and Keeley.

Keeley gave you both drinks and you all went to sit outside on the patio as Roy finished up cooking in the kitchen.

Jamie and Keeley launched into immediate conversation and you tried your best to keep up and add things in here and there, but you were unusually quiet. Your mind kept drifting back to what you’d read online and what the paparazzi had screamed at you.

It was an endless circle of disappointment in yourself, anxiety, and self-consciousness. This infinite loop of darkness continued to crowd your mind, taking up all the space inside. A storm seemed have come into your psyche and it was doing a number on you.

You felt your phone vibrate in your pocket as Jamie and Keeley chatted about the towels in the locker room at Nelson Road.

Puzzled, you checked your texts. It was from your mom with a link to an article from a tabloid website.

“This doesn’t seem like a good thing, honey. What are you doing with a celebrity like that?”

That was the message your own mother had sent you about Jamie. You internally groaned. Then you clicked on the article. The headline was atrocious: HOW LONG WILL TARTT’S NEWEST FLING REALLY LAST? The pictures associated with it were from that very day on Richmond Green with you and Jamie walking hand-in-hand, clearly trying to outrun whoever was taking the photos. And then the worse ones – the paparazzi from outside your house had sold the pictures to this tabloid. They were grainy and ill-lit and had been very obviously edited. They had added weird width to your arms and even your head. The caption was “Tartt’s Partner has Gained some Weight!”

That was it for you. The dam had broken. 

Tears were already spilling over by the time you’d suddenly stood from your chair and raced to the bathroom.

Both Jamie and Keeley called your name after you, and Roy had said it, surprised, from the kitchen as you rushed past.

You closed the door quietly, but didn’t have the willpower to sit anywhere else but on the floor next to the sink. You sobbed into your hands as silently as possible, but that didn’t work for long.

“Babe?” came Jamie’s voice through the door. “Babe, what’s going on? Talk to me.”

The desire to be alone was rapidly replaced by the need for Jamie.

You opened the door slowly, still seated by the sink. You kept your blood-shot gaze away from his for a moment as he stood there in silence. 

When you looked up a moment later, your heart broke at his worried expression. His hands were shaking slightly.

“I’m just…overwhelmed,” you admitted hoarsely.

Jamie got down on the floor next to you, patting the space between his legs and reaching for you. You shuffled over to sit in his lap, your legs swung over one of his, arms going around his body and face sliding to nestle in his neck.

His arms wound around you protectively, rubbing your back and rocking back and forth slightly.

“Why are ya feeling overwhelmed, love?” he wondered gently.

You inhaled shakily, your face still buried in him. “I just…I’ve been getting a lot of hate comments and mean tweets lately. And then those paparazzi incidents today were awful and then my mom just texted me saying things like ‘why are you with him’ and ‘you shouldn’t be with someone like that.’ Then there was a link to this article that had pictures from today and they’d edited me to look horrible.”

Jamie sighed, his voice soft. “I’m so sorry, love. I’m truly so sorry. People are arseholes.”

“Why do they hate me so much?”

“They hate what they don’t have. They see us happy and they’re miserable, so they want to make us miserable. People throw rocks at things that shine.”

You moved your head off his neck so you could look him in the face. You smiled through your tears. “Did you just quote Taylor Swift at me?”

“I did,” he smiled. “But I’m not kidding. Media is fucked up. People on the internet are fucked up. They’re bored and feel the need to stick their stupid opinions where they’re not wanted.”

“It’s just so frustrating.”

“I know. But what matters is you and me. That’s it.”

“You’re right. You and me. That’s it.”

Jamie smirked mischievously. “Besides, they’re probably jealous you get to sleep with a hot footballer and they don’t.”

You laughed. “Jamie, I don’t know how to tell you this, but I’m not sleeping with Roy.”

Jamie laughed in return. “Oi! Ya don’t need to be an arsehole about it.”

You gazed happily at him. “I love you.”

“I love you, too. And I promise, forget all that shit. If you’re ever feeling this way again, just talk to me. I’ll make sure to let you know that all I need is you and you alone. This love is ours. They don’t know what they’re talking about.”

You pressed your lips to his for a sweet kiss, feeling much more reassured.

“Now come on,” Jamie encouraged when he pulled away, “I’ve gotta see if Roy actually can cook.”

“I think he can, Jamie.”

“We’ll just see about that, won’t we?”

[onceuponaoneshotfanfic]

Paris (Superstar Chapter 5)

I'm so in love that I might stop breathing

Drew a map on your bedroom ceiling

No, I didn't see the news

'Cause we were somewhere else

Privacy sign on the door

And on my page and on the whole world

Romance is not dead if you keep it just yours

Roy and the Reader continue to see each other in secret while the AFC Richmond goes on a road trip.

Roy Kent x Reader

6.2k words

Warnings: Language, suggestive references, mentions of adults drinking adult drinks, Roy Kent showing lots of green flags, fluff because boy did I need it after the last couple chapters

~

“Don’t fucking go,” Roy grumbled, grabbing a fistful of the too-big Richmond shirt I wore and pulling me back towards him.

“Just getting some water,” I murmured, trying to wiggle out of his grasp.

Moonlight made his skin glow pale as he started to sit up, groaning quietly. “Lemme get it for you.”

I pushed his chest back down, my fingertips brushing against thick hair. “I’ll be right back,” I huffed with a giggle. I pressed a hard, sloppy kiss to his lips before climbing out of his bed, tugging at the hem of the shirt he’d given me to wear in place of proper pyjamas.

Despite my drowsiness, I practically skipped down the stairs, my heart full of something I wasn’t quite ready to name yet. After we’d had a good talk about everything that happened at the fundraiser and what we wanted out of our newly established relationship, Roy had pulled out a homemade chocolate dessert to share, and things had escalated in ways that made me blush to think about.

A mumbled love song lingered on my lips as I opened and closed cupboards to find a cup I could use, straining to see in the dark. The glowing green numbers on the stove read 3:56. Perfect. That was plenty of time before I had to head home and get ready for brunch with Keeley and Rebecca. I could go back to bed and cuddle and maybe even wake up Roy for another round-

“Good mornin’.”

“Fuck!” I shrieked, trying to pull down Roy’s shirt to cover my lower half as a bright light shone on me. I squinted at the figure across the kitchen. “Jamie?!”

Jamie Tartt stood there, dressed for a run and wearing a shining light on his head. “Er, is Roy home?” Even in the dark, I could see him trying to avert his eyes from my figure. “We’re supposed to go for a run. I let myself in, sometimes he forgets to lock his side door…”

My entire body burned with embarrassment. “I, um, I-” I tried desperately to think of a reason, some excuse, to explain why I was half naked in Roy Kent’s kitchen, but nothing came to me.

“Oi! Tartt!” Roy stormed down the stairs, still in the sweatpants he’d worn to bed. “The fuck d’you think you’re doing here?” he bellowed as he flipped on the kitchen light. “I fucking texted you to run on your own today.”

Jamie’s mouth formed a perfect O as Roy towered over him. “Shit, I lost my phone at the party on Friday. Think one of the papps nicked it. Keeley’s picking me up a new one today after brunch.” He shrugged. “Sorry, Coach.”

Roy’s face and whole chest were red with rage. “Well now you fucking know. So get the fuck out.” His eyes landed on me as I tried to strategically hide myself behind the kitchen island. He glared back at Jamie. “And don’t fucking tell anyone about this. Or I’ll slice your prick off, have it properly taxidermized, and give it to Keeley as a fucking Christmas gift.”

“We’re just trying to keep things private for a bit,” I clarified to Jamie, who still looked confused. “This… thing is still new, and we’d just like to not tell everyone at work yet.”

Jamie nodded, blinking a few times. “Nah, I geddit. Don’t need the other gaffers and the guys givin’ you shit.” He gave a small salute to Roy. “See you Monday, Coach.” Then he shot finger-guns at me. “And you have fun with Keeley later, yeah? I promise I won’t tell her about-” He pointed back and forth between Roy and me. “-this thing.”

Roy shadowed Jamie all the way from the kitchen to the front door, slamming it shut behind the player. When he came back into the kitchen, his face instantly softened. “Sorry ’bout that,” he grumbled, rubbing his tired eyes. “Fuckin’ Jamie Tartt, losing his fucking-”

I approached Roy and wrapped my arms around his middle, blushing at the feeling of his bare skin. “Don’t worry about it,” I assured him. “I highly doubt Jamie’ll tell anyone. That threat of yours was painfully vivid.”

Roy’s body relaxed against mine as he wrapped an arm lazily around my shoulders, pulling me close so he could plant a kiss on the top of my head. “I know a real good taxidermist, too,” he grunted.

“Lovely,” I snorted, lifting my head to look up at Roy’s face. We exchanged sleepy smiles. “Hi,” I hummed.

“Hi,” he whispered. He bent his head towards me, touching his lips to mine so softly I could barely feel them. “Wanna go back to bed? Get a bit more sleep before you gotta head home?”

My cheeks warmed as I gazed back up at him, my heart purring. “I wanna go to back to bed,” I began slowly. “But… I don’t want to sleep.”

Roy’s eyebrows flew up. “In that case-” He lifted me and threw me over his shoulder, giving me a light smack on my butt as he carried me back upstairs, my squeals of laughter echoing throughout the house.

~

It took all my strength to pry Roy’s muscular arms off me later that morning. He proposed that I cancel on Keeley and made several other suggestions about how I could spend my time, all of which had me red in the face and rolling my eyes as I gathered my clothes off his bedroom floor.

Roy Kent is absolutely smitten with me, I hummed to myself as I drove to brunch, my mobile vibrating to let me know that Roy Kent⚽ was texting me for the dozenth time since I’d left his house that morning, asking me to change my mind and come back. After finding a parking, I silenced my text notifications, not wanting to give either of my friends an opening to ask why in the world my officemate was texting me so obsessively on my day off.

Heading into brunch. Call you after I typed as I walked towards the restaurant, not bothering to hide the wide grin on my face.

“Ooh, is someone sending you a dirty picture?” I jumped as Keeley hooked her arm through mine. “Is it Roy?”

I quickly stuffed my phone into my purse, hoping she hadn’t seen the number of heart-emojis on the screen. “Ha. Hello to you too, Keeley.”

Keeley kissed my cheek as we entered the restaurant. “Come on, I need all the details,” she demanded. “Please, I’m dying!”

We quickly found Rebecca and settled in with drinks and food. The conversation almost immediately turned to Rebecca’s party, which she declared a success.

“Oh, but what about…” Keeley nodded to me. “You know…”

Rebecca raised her eyebrows as she swallowed the champagne she’d been drinking. “What? Did I miss something?”

Before I could explain in a way that didn’t worry my boss, Keeley leaned forward. “Okay, Roy thought that Richard had done something, you know, unseemly to this one.” She waggled her eyebrows and nodded towards me. “So, Roy tried to actually murder Richard, and Jamie and I took them to a side room so they wouldn’t cause a scene- yes, I know, I’m a great PR person, you’re very welcome- and these two-” Another nod towards me. “-had some weird, very sexy energy between them. Then they were alone in that room for a while and when they came out Roy actually danced. Twice.” Keeley smirked at me. “Let me repeat, Roy Kent danced.”

Rebecca’s eyebrows flew higher and higher with each word out of Keeley’s mouth. She gawked at me. “Holy shit, are you and Roy shagging?” she gasped.

“I mean this with all due respect because you’re my boss, but sod off, Rebecca,” I grumbled. “Keeley’s exaggerating. There was a misunderstanding with Richard, Roy was a tad drunk and got carried away trying to be protective, we calmed him down, and he was a perfect gentleman to me, his friend.” Girlfriend, girlfriend, girlfriend.

“Don’t listen to her Rebecca,” Keeley teased. “She’s completely in love with Roy and he’s just as smitten. In fact, Jamie was telling me-”

Fuck, fuck, fuck. “What did Jamie say?” I tried to keep my voice even and my face uninterested; deep down, I knew I was failing. There is no way Jamie would tell her. No fucking way.

Keeley smiled; she knew she was winning this game. “Just that you and Roy are always holed up in your office together. He brings you lunch all the time. Sometimes gives you a ride home from work. And Jamie swears that Roy’s been less brutal during their training since the day you started at Richmond.”

Rebecca nodded. “I can’t help but notice that you two are practically attached at the hip at work,” she added sheepishly.

“Well, yeah, Roy says I give him a break from having to talk to Ted and Beard all day.” They didn’t need to know that he’d mumbled that while half-asleep in bed that morning.

Keeley was now completely smug. “The man’s in love with you,” she declared with finality.

I rolled my eyes. “It’s called friendship, Jones. Try it sometime.”

“It’s called romance, babe. And you and Roy Kent should try it sometime.”

~

“How about Much Ado About Nothing? With Emma Thompson?”

“Fuck no!” bellowed Roy from the couch as I walked back into his living room, carrying a beer for each of us.

I rolled my eyes. “Come on Roy, a little Shakespeare won’t kill you.”

He sat up, baring his teeth at me. “I fucking hate Kenneth Branagh,” he growled, accepting the beer I handed him. “With his fucking around on Emma Thompson. What a prick. The woman’s a treasure.”

“Oh.” I stared at him for a moment, ever amazed at the things that flew out of his mouth. “So, do you hate Helena Bonham Carter as well then?”

Roy shook his head, making room for me on the couch. “Nah. Emma Thompson and her made up. No bad blood there.” He took a sip of his beer. “But fuck Branagh.”

“But Emma’s in Much Ado,” I pointed out as I plopped down. “And Keanu Reeves. You can’t let Branagh ruin it.” Roy rolled his eyes. “How about this,” I offered. “Emma Thompson double feature. Much Ado About Nothing, followed by Sense and Sensibility. That way you get to see her win an Oscar and meet the love of her life Greg Wise.”

“Hmmf.” Roy narrowed his eyes at me, debating my proposal. Finally, he settled into the couch, wrapping an arm lazily around my waist to pull me back with him. “Alright. I could go for some Jane Austen. On with the fucking Branagh movie then.”

Satisfied, I grabbed the remote to Roy’s massive television and found the movie. As soon as Emma Thompson appeared in the opening scene, I laid down my beer picked up my work laptop from the coffee table and opened it. Roy groaned louder than usual beside me.

“Fuck, are you really doing work right now?”

“Sorry, someone’s got to double check the reservations for the Paris game.” AFC Richmond would be playing in an exhibition against a French club team, and Rebecca had tasked me with making sure the lodging was all arranged. I suspected it was mostly because I had casually mentioned taking one French class in school, but it was nice to have responsibilities besides editing the grammar on Coach Lasso’s tweets and returning Coach Beard’s library books.

There was a small pressure on my shoulder. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Roy leaning on me, his eyes skimming the room arrangements spreadsheet on my screen. “Oi, I think there’s been a mistake,” he hummed. “You’re in room 218, and I’m in room 222. Shouldn’t I be in 218 too? Would help save a few pounds.” He raised an eyebrow at me, not bothering to hide the grin on his face.

Unable to resist, I planted a kiss on his scruff. “Or, I could let the club pay for the rooms, and if you want to see me, you can put in the effort of sneaking down the hall like a gentleman.” I raised an eyebrow at him. “Unless you want to announce to the whole club that we’re dating, and Ted can spend the whole trip calling us his OTP and making comments about being in the City of Love.”

Roy was clearly weighing his options as he stared at me. Finally, with a sigh of defeat, he put his beer on an end table leaned back onto the cushions. “Fine. Just make sure you slip me a key to your room. I’m not going to be standing in a hotel hallway knocking like some fuckin’ creep.”

I rolled my eyes. “Sure.” I made myself a note to ask for two keys for every room; less suspicious than just asking for myself. “Any other requests?” I asked dryly.

“Hmm.” Roy feigned thinking. “Throwing Jamie Tartt off the top of the Eiffel Tower might be a fun team-building activity. Montlaur too while we’re at it.”

“Thought you were over that,” I hummed, checking my confirmation email from the hotel and using Google Translate to make sure I didn’t misunderstand anything.

Roy shrugged, his hand lightly grazing my hip. “Still don’t like the way that prick looks at you.”

I snorted as I sent Rebecca the confirmation email and room assignments for her approval. “And what way would that be?”

“The way I look at you.”

Email sent, I closed my laptop and returned it to the coffee table. “Roy,” I said slowly, straddling his lap and taking his face in my hands. “No one has ever looked at me the way you do.” I kissed his neck tenderly. “Besides, why would you want to waste your time in Paris on Jamie and Montlaur? Wouldn’t you rather be with me?”

“So, you’re saying we can skip going to fucking Paris and just spend the weekend here?” His nose nudged my cheek. “I’ll even let you put on more Kenneth Branagh movies.”

“Oh, hell no,” I scoffed, sliding off his lap and leaning back to watch the movie that had gone ignored during our conversation. “You are not talking me out of a free trip to Paris.”

~

“Alright, so I’ve got some Albert Camus for Beard, sudoku for Ted, and a sleep mask for Roy.” The coaches held their hands out for their requested road trip items. I held tight to the hardcover copy of The Stranger that Beard reached for. “No writing in the margins,” I ordered. “Library says you can’t do that anymore.”

He rolled his eyes and took the book. “Fine.”

Ted smiled as I handed him the book of sudoku puzzles I’d picked up on my way to work. “Thank you so much,” he gushed. “This is real sweet of you to get these little presents for us. We might have to start callin’ you Willy Wonka.”

I shrugged. “Honestly, no problem, Coach. We’ve got a long trip ahead, might as well enjoy it.” I just don’t want to play “I spy” all the way to Paris. I turned to Roy. “And sleep mask, as requested.”

His eyes narrowed as he took the sleep mask out of my hands. “It’s pink,” he grumbled.

“Goes well with your eyes,” I answered cooly.

Roy glanced around, making sure the other coaches were out of earshot. “Is this from your fucking nightstand?” he hissed, biting back a laugh.

I shrugged, now completely grinning. “Yeah, I was hoping you’d recognize it.” I playfully batted my eyelashes at Roy. “You’re gonna wear it on the bus, right?”

The man was seriously fighting a smile. “Maybe,” he growled quietly.

Before I could make another flirty comment, Ted came back, rubbing his hands together happily. “Alright ya’ll, should we get these puppies onboard this puppy?”

Roy sighed and turned around, glaring at the players who were milling around the parking lot while Will finished loading their luxury-brand luggage onto the team bus. “Whistle!” he shouted, getting their attention. “Oi! Get your asses onboard now, or else you can fucking walk to France!”

When the Paris exhibition game was first announced, Rebecca had planned on everyone just flying; it was the team, particularly Sam and Jamie, who insisted that a six-hour drive would be fun. Part of me was not looking forward to six hours on the road, but knowing I’d spend those six hours next to Roy made it bearable.

I nudged Roy as we watched the team load onto the bus. “Sit with me?” I whispered.

“Like you even have to fucking ask,” he muttered out of the corner of his mouth, gesturing for me to climb aboard.

An hour later, we were on the road, and the boys had finally gotten sick of singing “Richmond Til We Die”, much to Roy’s relief. Now they were all having their own conversations, or listening to music, or watching movies on their phones. The quiet time meant that the coaches and I could finally chat at the table at the back of the bus. As usual, Roy sat next to me and spread himself out a little bit, his thigh pressed against mine and our arms brushing; he often did this “manspreading” at meetings as a way to have physical contact without drawing suspicion.

“Alright, so lay that schedule on us,” Ted was saying as he tossed a handful of the trail mix I’d packed for him into his mouth. “What’s on the itinerary, Ben and Jerry?”

Unable to resist cracking a grin at his little rhyme, I opened the document on my tablet. “So, once we arrive, we’ll have a team meeting to go over strategy with the boys, followed by team dinner at a local restaurant, Rebecca and Higgins’ll join us for that, and then movie night.” A shiver went down my spine as I fent Roy’s knuckle graze my arm. “It’s all arranged with the hotel. Then tomorrow, team breakfast at the hotel and head to the stadium for the game. And after the game everyone’s on their own until we meet at ten the next morning to come back to Richmond.”

Ted smiled. “And the movie is set to go?” Despite the publicity surrounding the exhibition game, the man absolutely knew what his priorities were.

We quickly finished confirming the team’s plans for the trip, with Ted making a few jokes about eating fries and frog legs and toast. The entire time, Roy strategically pressed himself close to me, making me want to finish our meeting so he and I could retreat to our usual seats together, where we could stealthily hold hands between our seats. Instead of dismissing us, though, Ted announced that he had one more topic to chat about; Roy groaned loudly, but a sharp look from me shut him up.

Beard cleared his throat. “So, we’re currently looking very seriously at this Spanish player, Dario Vargas. Skilled striker. Would be a great asset to us.”

“And he’s actually going to be in Paris at the same time as us,” Ted explained. He turned to me. “D’you think you could find a good place for me and Rebecca to have dinner with him tomorrow after the game? We’re hopin’ to wine and dine ’im and reel in the big fish before we head home.”

“Sure, Ted,” I assured him, starting a search on my tablet. “Dario Vargas….” I cocked my head at the men. “Why do I know that name?”

Coach Beard sat up a little. “Well, he’s been a pretty big name on a couple of Italian and French teams in the last few years. So maybe you’ve seen his name on a sports network or something?”

No, that wasn’t it. This guy’s name was so familiar, but I didn’t associate it with football. For some reason, his name made knots begin to appear in my stomach, and I didn’t like it.

“Hmm, maybe,” I agreed, wanting to end the meeting already. “Anything else?” Roy growled beside me.

Ted shook his head, all smiles. “Nope. We’re all set, Mookie Betts.” He nodded to Roy. “You can go take a nap now.”

“Fuckin’ finally,” he grumbled, jumping up. Internally, I rolled my eyes at his dramatics.

About fifteen minutes later, I had Ted’s reservation settled and could put my work away. With a sigh, I collapsed in my seat next to Roy, who was indeed wearing my sleep mask. I pulled out my phone, quickly typing a text complaining to Keeley about her decision to stay home from the trip.

A hand brushed against my thigh. When I glanced up, Roy had lifted my sleep mask slightly and was staring at me from under it. “Oi, what fucking movie are you making us watch tonight?”

“Bridget Jones’s Diary,” I answered as my mobile vibrated, letting me know Keeley had sent me a reply. “It’s one of my favorites.”

The sleep mask was now entirely lifted and resting on top of Roy’s head. “Because you fancy that wanker Hugh Grant?”

A snort flew out of my mouth. “Colin Firth, actually.” I glanced at the words on my screen; Keeley was suggesting that I ask Roy about his baguette. In return, I sent her several middle finger emojis.

“You like that whole Mr. Darcy shit?”

I rolled my eyes; Roy was talking as if he hadn’t just been completely invested as he watched the five-hour miniseries of Pride and Prejudice with me a couple days ago. “Yes, I like that whole Mr. Darcy shit. Have you seen Pemberly?”

“No wonder you like my house,” he muttered, grinning. His eyes flickered to my phone. “Why’s Keeley sending you so many eggplant emojis?”

~

“No, I like you very much. Just as you are,” Colin Firth said to Renee Zellweger onscreen.

In the back row of the hotel conference room turned private theater, I let out a breathy sigh. Roy eyed me carefully, the lights from the screen playing on his face.

“You like this?” he whispered, barely audible.

I nodded. “I like anything Colin Firth says,” I answered.

He narrowed his eyes at me. “And the grand gesture shit?”

“Obsessed,” I replied, grinning.

“Good to know,” he muttered, slumping in his seat a bit, his knee knocking into mine. He leaned over once more. “What’re you doing after this?”

I craned my neck to make sure everyone was preoccupied by whatever antics Bridget Jones was getting herself into. “Going to bed, probably. Yourself?”

A smirk graced the face I always found myself thinking about. “Probably going to your bed.”

Sure enough, I woke up the next morning curled up in Roy’s arms. It had quickly become my favorite way to start my day: turning around and seeing that bearded face still half asleep, tracing shapes on his arm as he squeezed me a bit tighter to himself, and murmuring sweet nothings back and forth before starting our day.

The light coming through the space in the curtains told me that we didn’t have much time before Roy had to sneak back to his own room before the team started milling around the halls and heading to breakfast. And my mobile ringing on the nightstand told me that I wouldn’t even get to enjoy the time we did have.

“Hello?” I grumbled into the phone, giving a small stretch as Roy stirred beside me.

“Good morning, darling!”

The sound of my mother’s voice had me scrambling to sit up and cover myself with the blankets, as if she could see the way I had turned Roy’s black shirt into pyjamas. “Morning Mum,” I blurted out. “What’s up?”

“I’m sorry it’s so early, I just wanted to catch you before you get busy. How’s Paris?” Her voice was nonchalant, oblivious to the scene on my end of the call.

I cleared my throat as Roy began to wake up, squinting up at me with a scowl on his face. “It’s great, Mum,” I answered, raising my eyebrows at Roy, who nodded in understanding. “Text me what you want me to bring you as a little souvenir, yeah?”

“Sure, love.” In the background, I could hear dishes clanging; she was probably getting breakfast ready.

“So, everything’s good? The team’s treating you well?”

My hand rested on Roy’s arm as I completely sat up and leaned against the headboard. “Yeah, they’re great. They’re basically big kids, really.”

“And the gaffers?”

Roy turned over to wrap his arm around my waist, gazing up at me with a sleepy grin. “Very nice,” I assured her.

“And how’s Roy?”

I nearly choked. “Roy?” I repeated, shoving his arm off me.

She chuckled into the phone. “Yes, Roy. You know, tall, brooding, handsome, football star. Photos of him all over your walls since his Chelsea days. Disappeared upstairs with you at Dad’s birthday dinner. That Roy.”

Roy tapped my shoulder, tiredness all over his face. “Can you ask your mum when I can come over for dinner again? That was some of the best fucking pasta I’ve ever had.”

There was a long silence on the other end of the line while I swallowed hard. There was no way my mother didn’t hear Roy. And she was definitely capable of recognizing that it was way too early for me to have company. Finally, whisper came from her end: “Is that Roy?”

The options weighed in my head. Flat-out lying and telling my mum that she was crazy, that she’d just heard the television, no way was Roy Kent in my hotel room, was probably not an option. She’d had dinner with the guy; she knew his voice. There was always telling her that the team was getting together for an early-morning breakfast, but the room was too silent to believe twenty-something football players were horsing around a hotel dining room.

That only left me with one choice: the truth.

“Yeah, Mum, that’s Roy,” I admitted, biting my lip.

To my surprise, she laughed. “Well, I’ll be! I was wondering what happened after Dad’s dinner. You hadn’t mentioned any other fellas in a while.” She paused thoughtfully. “Does he treat you well?”

Her voice was softer than I’d ever heard. “I’m so glad, darling. When you’re back from Paris, we’ll have the two of you over for dinner. No birthdays this time.”

My gaze fell to Roy, who was watching me curiously, eyebrows raised. His eyes were full of the adoration I had quickly gotten used to as his fingers traced circles on my hip. “Really well,” I promised my mum, smiling down at Roy. “The best, actually.”

Relief and joy filled my chest. “That would be great, Mum. Roy’d love that. He still asks about that pasta you made for Dad’s birthday.” Roy smiled at the mention of the food he’d been bothering me about since the dinner in question. “Listen, I gotta go, we’ve got some team things to do before the game. But I’ll send you and Dad pictures, and I’ll call you when I’m back in town, alright?”

We said our goodbyes and hung up. When I placed my phone back on the nightstand, Roy was sitting up, watching me carefully.

“You told your mum about us,” he observed quietly. The look in his eyes was unreadable.

I pulled my knees to my chest, nodding. “Hope that’s okay,” I murmured. “I… I hadn’t planned on telling my folks yet. But I know they won’t tell anyone til we tell them we’re ready.”

To my surprise, Roy leaned over and planted a kiss on my cheek. “Of course it’s okay. Just promise me one thing.”

I leaned my head against his, nodding earnestly. “Anything.”

“Get me that damn pasta recipe.”

~

The game went magnificently. The French club had a stellar reputation, but the Greyhounds were up to the challenge. Two remarkable assists from Jamie, incredible goals each from Sam and Colin, and an unbelievable penalty kick from Dani led to a Richmond victory.

Back at the hotel lobby, the boys made plans to go out on the town to celebrate, with Richard taking the reigns thanks to his own experiences in the city. Ted and Rebecca bowed out to go to the dinner reservations I’d made for them and the player they were trying to court, and Beard had already left to meet his girlfriend who had made the last-minute decision to fly in that afternoon to spend the evening together.

That just left me and Roy.

“You didn’t want to go out with them, did you?” he asked quietly as we watched the guys debate where to start their night.

I shrugged. “They invited me,” I admitted. “But someone had given me instructions to pack that red dress I’d worn to the charity ball, so I was hoping I had plans tonight already.”

Sneaking another glance at the team, who slowly made their way back up to their rooms to change into their clubbing outfits, Roy slipped me a piece of paper, scrawled on in his sloppy handwriting. “Go outside at eight. There’ll be a car waiting for you. Give the driver this address.” He paused, his eyes flickering to my mouth for a brief moment. “Wear the red dress,” he added.

“Aye, aye Coach,” I agreed, shooting him a puzzled grin. With a short growl, Roy turned and walked out of the lobby, leaving me with the paper in my hands and several questions in my head.

At eight on the dot, I made my way down from my room to the lobby. With the red dress and heels on, as well as the inordinate amount of time I’d spent on my hair and makeup, and a night in Paris ahead of me, I felt a bit like a movie star. A few of the guys were lingering in the lobby, waiting for the group to assemble. They waved when they saw me and called out compliments; I even heard a joking wolf-whistle from Colin.

“Thanks guys!” I called out as I approached them. “You guys going to get into some trouble?”

“You comin’ out with us?” Isaac asked, gesturing to the group. “Richard’s got a great night planned for us. We’ll all take turns dancing with you and you won’t have to buy a single drink, it’s all on us.”

Dani winked. “Unless you ditch us for a French guy and we don’t see you until mañana.”

“I don’t think Roy would like that very much,” Richard chirped, cackling to himself.

The guys all turned and glared at him, hissing at him to shut up and reminding him that we all agreed not to tease her and giving him a warning that Roy’s going to kill you.

I cleared my throat, hoping they’d assume the blush on my cheeks was just makeup. “Um, I’m sorry, what’s happening?”

The guys all looked at each other helplessly before Colin finally spoke up. “We just all noticed there’s a bit of… tension between you and Roy? The good kind,” he added quickly. “We all totally ship it.” There was a murmur of agreement among the team.

Jamie cleared his throat. “Come on guys, leave ’er alone. They’re friends. Roy’d murder all of ya if he heard the way you’re talking.” He smiled at me. “You, go. Have a good night, whatever you end up doin’.” The wink Jamie shot me had me wondering if he knew what awaited me once I walked out of the hotel.

After wishing each other good evenings, I left the team and headed outside. Indeed, there was a black car waiting for me with a driver, uniform and hat and all. He nodded at me as I approached.

“Mr. Kent’s friend?” he asked, smiling.

“Um, yes,” I confirmed, pulling the piece of paper out of my clutch. “He said to give you this.”

The driver took the paper and opened the door for me. “If you’re ready.”

I gazed out the window as we drove, glancing down at my mobile every few minutes. I had sent Roy a text when I got in the car to let him know I was on my way, and all I got was a thumbs-up emoji. While part of me was enjoying the mystery of it all, I couldn't help but feel nervous. Where was he taking me? Some small café on the outskirts of the city where no one would notice us? Another hotel, where we could actually share a room? Wherever it was, it would probably be somewhere dark and quiet where we could hide in a corner.

Instead, we slowly pulled into a parking structure. Fuck, maybe Will was right when he told me he thinks Roy might be a serial killer.

The driver parked and turned to me. “We’re here,” he announced, although I couldn’t figure out where “here” was.

“Er, thanks,” I mumbled as I opened the car door. “Will you wait here or…?”

“’m not going to kill you,” a familiar growl called out.

There was Roy, hands in his pockets, standing under the light of the parking structure. He wore the same black suit he’d worn at the gala; if he was a serial killer, he was the most attractive one in history. He smiled and waved me over.

Click, click, click went my heels on the sidewalk as I approached him. He reached out and took my hand before planting a firm kiss on my lips.

“Roy, where are we-”

“Just watch,” he chuckled as he led the way. The street was shockingly empty, considering this was Paris of all places.

Before I could ask Roy any more questions, we turned a corner and my heart jumped into my throat. “Roy, is that-”

“Yeah, that’s the fucking Louvre.”

I stopped dead in my tracks. “What’re we doing at the Louvre?” I asked incredulously.

Roy rolled his eyes and tugged me onwards towards the lit-up pyramid. “Stealing the Mona Lisa.”

“Roy.”

A smile graced his face. “Having dinner. Happy?”

I shook my head, my mind spinning. “How… I mean what… Holy shit…”

“Sometimes being a retired footballer comes in handy,” he joked. “I called a guy, wrote a check, and they closed the most famous museum in the world for us.” He shrugged. “No big deal.” The sparkle in his eye told me that no, he wanted me to think that this was a big deal.

Which it absolutely fucking was.

We made our way into the museum, with the security guard tipping his hat to us and greeting “Mr. Kent”. Our steps echoed on the marble floor as we walked from room to room, Roy never letting to of my hand. He pointed out a few paintings as we walked, softly sharing the names of artists he particularly liked.

Roy Kent likes art, I thought to myself. Every new thing I learned about the man made my heart fall a little bit further in… No, don’t say that yet, I scolded myself, trying to focus on the name Roy was whispering to me now.

We finally arrived in the room that held the most recognizable painting in history: the Mona Lisa. But my eyes were drawn away from her and to the table that had been set up and the waiter who stood beside it. I looked at Roy.

“We’re having dinner with the Mona Lisa?” I hissed.

He shrugged and led me to the table, pulling my chair out for me. “Hope that’s okay.”

It was more than okay. It was the most romantic thing I’d ever heard of, probably the most grand gesture I’d ever seen.

“When’d you set this up?” I asked as the waiter poured two glasses of champagne.

Roy cleared his throat and bobbed his head a bit, a nervous habit I now knew well. “Late last night,” he mumbled.

I narrowed my eyes at him, a smirk on my lips. “Before or after Bridget Jones?”

“After,” he growled, pink tinting his cheeks. “Satisfied?”

My smile grew. “So, after we watched Bridget Jones and you asked me what I thought of grand gestures, you went and planned the grandest gesture of all time?”

A laugh escaped his lips. “I take it this is more impressive than Pemberly?”

“Much more impressive,” I confirmed, taking a sip of champagne. “Thank you, Roy.”

He leaned forward and laid a hand on top of mine. “Well, I figured we should celebrate.”

Now it was my turn to blush. “What’re we celebrating? Not today’s win, I assume.”

“Fuck no.” He took a deep breath and gave my hand a squeeze. “I just figured that the longest relationship I’ve ever been in is worth celebrating.”

Numbers flew in my head as I quickly did the math. “But Roy, we’ve only been-”

He shook his head. “It has been four months and six days since your dad’s birthday. I know it’s not the official day we got together or anything, but I figured it's…” He shrugged, trailing off. His eyes were begging me not to laugh at him or tell him he was wrong.

As if I could.

“Something worth celebrating,” I repeated, lifting my champagne.

Roy smiled and lifted his own glass, tapping it to mine with a clink. “To really fucking liking each other.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “To really fucking liking each other.”

[spidermaninlove]

Tomdaya Timeline vol. 5

Links to vol. 1, vol. 2, vol. 3, vol. 4, and vol. 6

November 6, 2022

Tom and Z visited Petra.  link link2

December 7, 2022

Tom allegedly spotted at In-N-Out in Northridge.  

December 9 and 11, 2022

Multiple sightings of Tom and Z together in California. 

December 11, 2022

Tom and Z attended RDJ’s Netflix documentary, “Sr”, screening event in LA.  link  Tom and Z spotted at the Sunset Tower Hotel attending RDJ’s after-party.  link2  

Z and Tom got their nails done by her manicurist.  link3

December 14, 2022

Tom with Z at her former school, Oakland School of the Arts (OSA), for an impromptu master class.  link link2 link3 link4 link5 link6 link7 link8 link9 link10 link11 link12 link13 link14 link15 link16 link17 link18 link19 link20 link21 link22 link23 link24

They were also spotted at Batch & Brine in Lafayette, CA.  link link2 link3

December 15, 2022

Tom and Z at the Academy of Sciences in San Francisco.  link link2 link3 link4 link5

Tom allegedly called Z his butterfly.  link

December 16, 2022

Tom and Z in San Francisco.  link  While there, they visited the Golden Gate Bridge.  link2

They were also spotted eating ice cream in Sausalito.  link

December 18, 2022

Tom and Z allegedly paid for customers in line behind them at Starbucks.  link

December 30, 2022

Tom spotted at Heathrow (below) and arriving at LAX (link).

January 2023 Month-Long Caribbean TomdayaMoon

Alleged Tomdaya Caribbean destinations include Turks and Caicos, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, St Lucia (confirmed -- see photo below), and Antigua and Barbuda.  link

Tom and Z in St. Lucia

January 1 - 2, 2023

Tom and Z were allegedly spotted on a flight from LAX to MIA (Miami).  link

Tom and Z allegedly spotted having brunch on Brickell Key (Miami).  link

January 3, 2023

Tom and Z allegedly spotted at the Amanyara Resort on Turks and Caicos.  link

January 4, 2023

Z posted the story below from the Caribbean.

Somewhere in the Caribbean

January 5, 2023

Tom and Z spotted at the beach in the Caribbean.  link link2

January 11, 2023

Tom and Z allegedly spotted in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.  link

January 22, 2023

According to a credible source, he met Tom and Z on a boat in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.  link

January 23, 2023

Tom and Z were spotted hiking in St. Lucia.  link link2

February 1, 2023

An airport employee allegedly met Tom and Z in Antigua and Barbuda.  link  

February 2-4, 2023

After a month-long baecation, Z returned to LA and Tom returned to London.  link

Monaco

February 2023

Z was papped working in Menton, France on February 14, and photographed with a fan in Monaco on February 15.  Tom and Z were spotted at the airport together in Nice, France on February 15.  link link2  They were both spotted dining together in Monte-Carlo, Monaco.  link3

London

March 2023

Tom and Z out and about in Kingston.  link

March 8, 2023

Tom and Z spotted buying hot beverages while on a “family walk” in Richmond Park.  link  Dom confirmed the “family walk”  link2 , and Tessa and Noon accompanied them.  link3

March 11, 2023

Tom and Z were spotted holding hands while walking in Richmond.  link  They were also spotted having lunch while they were there.  link2

March 11, 2023

Tom and Z were spotted at Chiltern Firehouse in London.  link

March 12, 2023

Tom and Z spotted at Richmond Park again today along with Tom’s parents, and their dogs Tessa and Noon.  link link2 link3 link4

Z spotted watching Tom play padel.  link

March 15, 2023

Tom and Z photographed grocery shopping at Waitrose.  link link2 link3

March 18, 2023

A London-based manicurist made a housecall to do Z’s nails.  In the manicurist’s Instagram stories, Z is wearing a TH, ZH, or T/Z H/C signet ring and the Loewe shirt Tom wore to the Louvre.  link

March 21, 2023

Tom and Z spotted grabbing coffee. link

Tom and Z along with Tuwaine and Noon were photographed taking a walk.  link link2 link3

March 25-26, 2023

Tom and Z spotted shopping at John Lewis & Partners.  link

March 27, 2023

Tom and Z dined at Jamavar, a Michelin Star restaurant link and they were spotted out and about on New Bond Street in London.  link2

March 28, 2023

Tom and Z were shopping for antiques, and then spotted at a play and cuddling at a nearby bar/restaurant.  link link2 link3 link4 link5

Mumbai

Tom and Z in Mumbai.  link

March 31, 2023

Tom and Zendaya arrive in Mumbai for the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre (NMACC) grand opening.  link link2 link3

April 1, 2023

Tom and Z yachting in Mumbai. link link2 link3 link4 link5 link6 link7

TZ sightseeing in Mumbai.  link

Zendaya and Tom at the NMACC.  link link2 link3 link4 link5 link6 link7 link8

TZ leaving the NMACC.  link link2

April 2, 2023

Tom and Z spotted arriving at their hotel in Mumbia after brunch with the Ambanis.  link

TZ spotted leaving their hotel in Mumbia.  link

Tom and Z were holding hands while arriving at the NMACC.  link

TZ at the NMACC and out and about in Mumbai.  link link2 link3 link4 link5 link6

Tom and Z sighting at the Mumbai airport.  link

April 3, 2023

Tom and Z departed Mumbai.  link

Noon stayed with Tom’s parents while TZ were in Mumbai.  link

London

April 7, 2023

Tom and Z spotted walking in Richmond Park.  link

Zendaya and Tom explored Hampton Court Palace after hours today.  link link2 link3

Hampton Court Palace

April 9, 2023

Tom picked up a chocolate hazelnut frappe for Z on his way home from golfing.  link

April 13, 2023

Tom and Z spotted at Windsor Castle.  link

April 14, 2023

TZ spotted by a fan in Kingston.  link

April 15, 2023

Tom and Z were spotted by a fans in Kingston.  link link2 link3 link4 link5 link6

April 17, 2023

TZ were spotted getting coffee this morning.  link

Las Vegas

Tom and Z in Las Vegas

April 26, 2023

Zendaya and Tom at an Usher concert in Las Vegas.  link link2 link3 link4 link5 link6 link7 link8 (Tom wraps his arms around Z) link9 link10 link11 link12 link13 link14 link15 (Tom holding Z from behind while dancing together) link16 link17 link18 link19 link20 link21 link22

Z posted a story ft. Tom at the Usher concert in Las Vegas.  link 

May 1, 2023

Tom and Z at a Thai restaurant in Malibu.  link link2 link3 link4 link5

May 4, 2023

Zendaya and Tom in San Francisco at the Golden State Warriors game.  link link2 link3 link4 link5 link6 link7 link8 link9 link10 (holding hands) link11 link12 link13 (Z shielding Tom from the camera) link14 link15 link16 (Tom caressing Z’s arm) link17 link18 link19 link20 link21 link22 link23 link24

May 5 or 6, 2023

TZ returned to London.  link

May 13, 2023

Tom and Z allegedly saw Guardians of the Galazy Vol. 3 at a Kingston cinema.  link

May 13 or 14, 2023

TZ spotted in Notting Hill.  link

Venice

May 15, 2023

Tom with Z in Venice.  link link2

Tom and Z were spotted hugging and kissing, on a boat, and with Noon in Venice and nearby Murano.  link link2 link3 link4 link5 link6 link7 link8 link9 link10

May 16, 2023

Tom and Z allegedly spotted having lunch in Venice at the Gritti Palace Hotel.  link 

TZ photographed leaving The Gritti Palace Hotel in Venice.  link

TZ out and about in Venice.  link link2 link3 link4

May 17, 2023

Tom and Z departed Venice.  link link2 link3 link4

May 31, 2023

During an interview, Tom called Z a saint for putting up with his hair while he was filming TCR.  link

According to Sunrise, Tom wants to spend a bit more time away from the spotlight with his mate and his girlfriend, Zendaya. link

June 2023

Tom liked a Most Beautiful Woman in the World fan post of Z.  link

June 1, 2023, Tom’s birthday and TCR red carpet premiere

TZ shared some Caribbean vacation (tomdayamoon) memories on Instagram.  link link2 link3

Z liked and commented on a video Nikki shared of baby Tom.  link

Z also posted the poster for TCR to her story.  link

During a TCR interview, the interviewer asked Tom, “What is the most important experience in your life that has shaped you into the person you are today, if you could say one?”  Tom responded, “I think the most important experience I would like to keep private because it has to do with someone very special.”  link

June 4, 2023

While answering BuzzFeed’s 30 questions, Tom said, “I’m locked up, so I’m happy and in love.”  link  During the interview, he also mentioned Z was his childhood crush, and that “they” want to go back to his dream vacation spot -- a beach location they visited this year.  link2

During Tom’s UNILAD interview, he confirmed tomdaya 1.0.  link

June 8, 2023

During a podcast, Tom mentioned he’s lucky he has Z in his life.  link

June 9, 2023

Z reposted Tom’s TCR post to her story.  link

June 14, 2023

Tom and Z attended her Challengers costar’s play in London, and exited the theater holding hands.  link link2

June 16, 2023

Tom and Z photographed on an intimate walk in a London park.  link link2 link3 link4 link5

June 24, 2023

TZ spotted at a local golf resort.  link link2

Z had her nails manicured at Tom’s house.  link

June 27, 2023

Zendaya and Tom at the Beyonce Renaissance World Tour in Warsaw, Poland.  Tom is wearing Z’s leather jacket.  

link link2 link3 link4 link5 link6 link7 link8 link9 link10 link11 link12 link13 link14 link15 link16 link17 link18 link19 link20 link21 link22 link23 link24 link25 link26 link27 link28

TZ serenading each other to Love On Top at Beyonce’s concert.  link link2 link3 link4  

TZ lovingly looking into one another’s eyes and Z caressing Tom’s face during Beyonce’s Love on Top performance.  link

June 28, 2023

TZ returned to London.  link

[welcometololaland]

Hi Lola!! I’ve got my nice ask week question for you 💗

Since we are like the brunch capital here in Melbourne, my question for you is what are your favourite things to order from a cafe? A certain beverage? A particular dessert? Are you more likely to go sweet or savoury? Do you prefer to sit inside or outside, or take to go? Do you have a regular place you like to go or you like to change it up since we practically have one in every corner of the city? 🥐🍳🥑🥞☕️🥤

hello d! apologies for how late this is <3

i'm a basic-ass bitch so my favourite brunch food is smashed avocado on sourdough. i mean, if you can get REALLY good sourdough, it makes all the difference. hot tip to everyone, if you're ever in melbourne, it is mandatory that you hit me up for bread recommendations.

i'm more of a savoury gal, but i do love the odd sweet treat. weak for a good gelati/sorbet/ice cream in summer. and i will always choose outside if the weather is nice!

as for places, when @rmd-writes was here, we went to two birds in south yarra for brunch so we could pretend to be range rover mums. we didn't wear black puffer vests or walk the tan after though, so i think we failed in our quest. i usually frequent any brunch location in the south/south-east, unless i'm doing a bottomless brunch in which case richmond/inner north is the best ;)

please share your own recommendations!!!

[stenoodie]

Brunch at Markham Station Restaurant Richmond Hill

Brunch at Markham Station Restaurant Richmond Hill. #macandcheesewedges #stationclub #amazingservice

Markham Station Restaurant located at 10870 Yonge Street, Unit C-4 in Richmond Hill A couple of weekends ago, we visited Markham Station Restaurant at 10870 Yonge Street, unit C-4 in Richmond Hill.  Everybody knows about the 24-hour breakfast spot in Scarborough, but did you know that they have a second location in Richmond Hill?  This location is also open 24 hours and serves the same affordable…

[royjamierot]

Not trans headcanon, but you think about how Keeley was Roy's only serious relationship? Like a man a good looking as him and a rich as him and he is still single in his mid 30's?

How the happiest he seems is drinking rosé and watching shit tv with his girls? Having brunch with drag queens?

Roy, someone might thing you're a bit light in the boots if you know what I mean.

it seems like everyone outside of richmond really doesn't know who he is because if they did there would be wayyy more speculations... i mean i feel like he was probably photographed with a lot of women but like just one picture of him in that gay bar would put a lot of things into a new perspective

[daydreamgoddess14]

Life After Richmond pt. 3

MASTERLIST

A Jason Sudeikis multi-chapter RPF w/a reader insert OFC. No use of y/n l/n.

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

The first few weeks with Brett and Jason in London had flown by. They had scheduled calls 3 times a week, but in reality she spoke to at least one of them every day. More often than not, it was Jason calling at stupidly late UK times, and messages were exchanged back and forth constantly, seemingly getting flirtier with each exchange. Callie zipped from her bathroom to her bedroom half dressed and getting ready when her watch buzzed with an incoming video call. She hit answer and the video screen on her open laptop came alive. Her apartment was so small that it could nearly all be seen from her desk. 

"Callie?" Jason's voice came through the speaker, he'd just seen her flit past the screen as it loaded. 

"Sorry, hang on a sec." She came back into view whilst putting in earrings. She was wearing a sequined skirt with a tucked in, thin strap cami top and a pair of heels tucked into her elbow as she fought with the earrings. She dropped the shoes into her desk chair. 

"Jesus, you look beautiful." She stopped with her hands midway to her ear. 

"Thank you." She mumbled shyly, moving her shoes to the floor so she could put them on. She dropped into her chair. "I've got a date." Jason was caught off guard.

"That... that's great. Are you going anywhere nice?"

"Some restaurant in lower Manhattan." the conversation felt suddenly stilted. "It's our third date." Jason's eyebrows raised. "I know, I know what that usually implies. I know it's 'significant'," She rushed out with air quotes, "but that's not going to happen. I'm not ready for that. I don't think I'm ready for that. Despite what Laura keeps saying."

"You're rambling."

"I know. What did you need?"

"It can wait, I'll speak to you tomorrow. Just some ideas to run past you."

"I'll be home later, I'll call you?"

"You might not be home later." He teased gently, his trademark humour doing a great job of hiding his disappointment. 

"I will absolutely be home later. And I will be alone. And I am going to call you."

"If you say so. Have a great time. Don't do anything I wouldn't do." Callie raised her eyebrows and shook her head. 

"Goodbye Daniel." She said sternly, she heard his laugh as she shut her laptop lid firmly. On her way to the restaurant, her phone lit up with a message. 

'You really do look gorgeous. Remind me to take you out next time I see you. I want the full 'Callie on a date' experience.' 

She smiled to herself, 'Date Callie is very out of practice, you might regret that.'

'Doubt it, maybe you just need a good coach.' 

Callie snorted a laugh.'I should take you up on that, I could go far with the right coaching.' 

She fired off the message and hid her phone in her bag. Flirting with someone else - her boss, one of her closest friends, while en route to a date. She was losing the plot. 

The date was fine, the guy was fine, everything was fine. But Callie's stomach churned with stress. Her dating life and whatever she had with Jason hadn't combined before and it made her feel uneasy, like she'd been hiding it from him. Her date was sweet and gracious, they had an easy rapport but it still didn't feel anywhere close to as intimate or intense as whatever her relationship with Jason was, and he certainly didn’t make her laugh as much. The date came to a natural end, and as she'd expected, Callie went home alone. Her head felt foggy with tension and though she wanted to hear his voice, she didn't call Jason. He needed to put distance between this stupidly overpowering crush. She went to bed, tossing and turning all night, and slept late the following morning. She hadn't missed any calls from Jason but he had sent a couple of messages, so she called Laura for moral support. 

"I have three different brunch options for you - including French toast. And I have a cappuccino from that place you love." Laura laid out the food in the kitchen and bundled Callie onto the sofa. "Eat, and speak." So Callie did, and Laura listened. She talked about her conversation with Jason, the messages exchanged immediately afterwards and the date. Laura eyed Callie's suitcase in the corner of the room, packed and ready for her London trip less than a week away. "Sounds like it's a good time for you to see him again. Maybe that'll help."

"Maybe the trip is the worst idea at the worst time?"

"It wasn't when you booked it."

"No, but my crush on Jason was more manageable back then. Right now, I feel like it's spiraling." Laura looked thoughtful.

“What’s he texting you?” Callie picked up her phone, three messages, she read each of them aloud..

‘Hope you got back ok & had a good night.’

‘I missed hearing your voice tonight.’

‘Sorry, ignore that. I shouldn’t have said that, it wasn’t fair. I really do hope you had a good night.’

“Oof. Remember when I said he’d got it as bad as you? I didn’t make that shit up, babe.”

‘Laur, I am in no fit state of mind to be wondering what he thinks of me. We’ve met in person twice. Twice.”

“So? Just because you’re physically apart doesn’t mean you don’t have a connection. And you clearly do! You’ve talked constantly for the best part of 8 months. That is longer than a lot of relationships!” Callie stayed silent. “Sometimes you need to just get out of your own head.” Laura left Callie on the sofa and went back to the office with a promise of getting breakfast before she left for London. 

After another day of keeping herself to herself, Callie felt ready for the next of her weekly calls with Jason and Brett. She hadn't spoken to either of them for a couple of days and hadn’t responded to Jason’s messages. It was early morning for her, still in shorts and a sleep t-shirt with her hair somewhat tamed into a bun. She connected the call and set about making a cup of tea while she waited. She stretched her arms up as high as she could and shook out her shoulders, singing softly as the kettle boiled. "Carve your name into my bedpost, cos I don't want you like a best friend. Only brought this dress so you could take it off, take it off" through the Taylor Swift karaoke and the noise of the kettle, she hadn't heard the ping of Jason joining the call. He watched her silently, her t-shirt riding up to expose her soft stomach as she stretched her arms up, the giant yawn when she’d stopped singing. 

"Good morning." his low voice rumbled through the speaker. Callie nearly threw the milk across the room. 

"Fucking shit, you scared me!"

"Sorry sweetheart. Is this some weird game you play? Try and render me speechless as soon as I join a call?"

"Not at all. If I wanted to go there, there are far worse things I could be doing than making a cup of tea in my pajamas." Callie pointed out, hiding her embarrassment behind her cup and her bare legs under the desk.

"Oh I bet. How was your date?"

"It was OK. Sorry I didn't call, I just needed a couple of days off." 

"Think you’ll see him again?" Jason asked as Brett settled down next to him on the screen, sharing their workspace. 

"Not sure yet, I haven't really thought about it." Jason hid a smile behind his hand, and Brett took over by launching into their notes from the last meeting. A couple of hours later, they'd all figured out the next few days' activities.

"Are you flying into Heathrow?" Brett asked. 

"Yeah, Apple Dan has arranged a car for me. I'm staying with Beth. I'll be in London for about a week, and then I'm tagging on a quick visit to mum before I come back."

"You can use my place as a base for work if you want?" Jason offered. 

"I could do - I don't fancy trekking across to Richmond everyday though. My current commute is about 10 steps." 

"Up to you, we've managed to get a few days off for us to spend together working at Jason's anyway." Callie nodded,

"That's good, I'm not coming all that way to not see you. The more time we can spend together, the better."

"Agreed. Hang out on set as well, Jason is usually pretty busy but I have downtime between scenes. I'm sure I'll speak to you before then, but safe flight. See you in a few days."

"Bye guys" Callie waved and hung up the call. A message pinged on her phone almost immediately. 

'Is it wrong that I feel privileged to have seen those pajamas before your date?' 

She smirked, thinking of a reply, 'Very few people have seen my PJs. You are certainly in the minority.'

'.... wait, is that because you don't usually wear them?'

'Some things you may never find out the answer to.'

'May never. So there's still a chance.' 

By this point, Callie had showered, changed and was on her way to a last breakfast with Laura before her trip. 

"Oh my god, are you two flirting again?! Do you ever stop? Pause to sleep, eat?"

"Oh hush you. We're just fooling around."

"Umm no, fooling around is entirely different and would involve orgasms. And I don't like to jump to conclusions, but I feel like they'd be plentiful if you were actually fooling around with Jason. Plentiful." Callie had put down her phone on the table in order to watch Laura dive into her rant with a small smile. 

"You really have thought this through."

"Please, like you haven't. You've been single for like 10 months. You and dickhead didn't exactly have a riveting sex life - he must have been exhausted after screwing the neighbour - so it's got to be at least 12 months. You're seriously telling me that after 12 long months - one whole year - with that man calling you every single day, that you haven't thought about what might happen? The how, when, where? All the things he'd do? All the things you want him to do?" Callie flushed pink. 

"It might have crossed my mind a few times."

"You have two guys who appear ready to help you out of your slump. I know which one I'd go for."

"It's not just sex, Laur."

"I know it's not. I know you're not going to just jump into bed with the first man who's nice to you. Otherwise you'd have done it already. I know you don't want to choose wrong. I know you're worried about power dynamics, the fact that Jason's mustachioed face is literally everywhere at the moment. But those things don't necessarily make a bad decision either."

"What about his kids? His ex?" Callie wondered aloud. 

"I mean, I'd start with a date first, and the sex - please don't forget the sex. But yeah, sure, those are things to think about in the long term. You both have every chance to try things out before you have to start thinking about long-term stuff. And the good news is, if you do both want to start thinking about long-term serious stuff, then guess what? You have each other to discuss it with! It's not like he'd just hold up his hands and tell you to get on with it." Callie hummed, eyes down on the menu. 

"I feel like we've talked enough about my lack of sex life. Let's eat."

"If you say so. Just don't throw away an opportunity before you've had a chance to really know what you're throwing away."

"Thanks Laur."

"I'm here all week." She winked. “And I want a fucking war and peace update when you get back!”

[lilacmermaid25]

Ted Lasso Prompt:  Rebecca starts hosting a New Year’s Day brunch for the extended Richmond family. She likes the idea of starting of the new year fresh, and it has the added benefit of ensuring that none of the players indulge too much on New Year’s Eve.

[andylynes-blog]

Greekish: Everyday Recipes with Greek Roots by Georgina Hayden - Cookbook Review

reviewed by Sophie Knox Richmond Who is Georgina Hayden? Georgina Hayden is a food writer and stylist from North London who regularly writes for publications such as The Telegraph, delicious magazine and Observer Food Monthly. She is also a regular on Channel 4’s Sunday Brunch and BBC1’s Saturday Kitchen. Hayden developed a love of food, cooking and storytelling through recipes whilst growing up…

[inboundremblog]

Top 5 Things to Do in Richardson, Texas

Credit: Image by Vika Strawberrika | Unsplash

Must Try Things to Do in Richardson

Richardson is a fast-growing suburb of Dallas, Texas, famous for its diverse cultural backgrounds, rapidly growing technology strongholds, and proactive community. Whether a local or a tourist, you will stay energized in Richardson and have something to do. So, if you're interested, here are the top five things to do in Richardson:

1. Discover the Beauty of the Richardson Nature Preserve

Things to do in Richardson: Richmond Nature's Preserve is entirely off the radar and provides a natural oasis from the busy world. It is on 100 acres and has several species of plants and animals.

Tourists can stroll somewhat developed hiking/biking pathways that pass through heavily wooded timber and meadowlands. Bird enthusiasts will particularly relish the place as the preserve offers a spot to capture a glimpse at native and migratory birds.

Educational Programs and Events

Several instructional and related activities are also conducted at the preserve at different times of the year. Such programs aim to acquaint visitors with the local environment and the initiatives undertaken to conserve the ecosystem and its constituents. Interactive sessions such as workshops and group guided tours are ideal for children and adults.

Ideal for Picnics and Relaxation

Due to its natural beauty and surrounding environment, the Richardson Nature Preserve is one of the best places to picnic. Two barbecue pits, a couple of benches, and table settings have been provided, and families and groups can choose to have picnics in the designated areas.

The pond and giant trees in the compound are handy when one wants to take a break from the world and breathe fresh air.

2. Experience the Cultural Richness at the Charles W. Eisemann Center for Performing Arts

World-Class Performances

The Charles W. Eisemann Center for Performing Arts is a Richardson production house that occasionally presents various performances.

This art center features multiple performances, such as Broadway musicals, ballet, concerts, and theatrical performances, in a more personal atmosphere. The facility's infrastructure is one of the most technologically advanced, guaranteeing the best view for all guests.

Art Exhibitions and Events

Along with performances, the Eisemann Center displays artworks by local, national, and international artists in visual arts exhibitions. These exhibitions allow artistic creativity and enable art lovers to view different creations.

The Center also hosts special events such as lectures, workshops, and community meetings, which help iCenter a rich civil society culture.

Educational Outreach

The Eisemann Center offers many educational programs and ensures its involvement in community-related activities. Schools and local organizations collaborate with the Center to promote education programs and strategies to develop young artists and artists' appreciation.

These include master classes, art residencies, and inventive workshops through which the next generations of artists and performers can be developed and nourished.

3. Delight in Retail Therapy and Dining at CityLine

Shopping and Entertainment

CityLine offers a smooth progression of development configurations that continue to create a destination for shopping, dining & entertainment in Richardson. The general outlook of CityLine screams modernity through its built-up environment, which is pretty accessible on foot.

Culinary Delights

Gourmands will especially be thrilled with CityLine's culinary culture. It has various restaurants, cafes, and bars, which means there are varieties of foods from different countries in the particular development.

What's more? CityLine covers you for a less formal brunch, dinner, casual meal, or fancy dining. These include sushi, grill, Italian restaurants, desserts, Tex-Mex, Rocky, and Burger Palace.

Events and Festivals

With some extraordinary facilities like a complex, food court, and amusement park aside, CityLine has an ever-joyous vibe with many events and festivals held throughout the year.

Be it live concerts held in the urban outdoors, farmers' markets, holiday events, festivals, or art fests, there is always something going on at CityLine.

Such occasions are perfect for social interactions with residents, getting acquainted with the performances of actors and singers, and tasting the works of local masters of arts and producers.

4. Engage in Interactive Learning at the Sci-Tech Discovery Center

Hands-On Exhibits

The Sci-Tech Discovery Center is an entertainment option for families because it involves or is mainly focused on technology, science, and fun. This will let family members learn numerous things they did not know before.

Based in Frisco, next to Plano, this Center offers practical physical activities for students in S.T.E.M. subjects. Reasonably expected, the exhibits dealt with subjects like Robotics and automation, Space Exploration and Research, Environment and Oceans, and many more.

Educational Workshops and Camps

Besides the standard installations and displays, the Sci-Tech Discovery Center has several educational workshops and children's camps. Summer camps and programs, after-school programs, and seasonal and holiday programs and workshops allow the kids to engage in more intensive study of S.T.E.M. fields and subjects they choose.

Special Events and Guest Speakers

The Center invites distinguished guests, speakers, and individuals from different professions to talk to the students. These events must entail individual and group learning on astronomy, wildlife, and technological studies, especially for children and young people. The public can also do demonstrations, watch presentations, and discuss with others in the Center.

5. Enjoy Recreational Activities at Breckinridge Park

Expansive Green Spaces

Breckinridge Park is by far the largest park in Richardson, encompassing 400-plus acres of park, open space area, game fields, and recreational facilities. It has multiple certified trails for walking, jogging, or biking; the park enables any visitor to get a glimpse of its beauty to do so.

The park has space for each of them, a lawn to lay, a picnic area for those who want to take some snacks and food, and a playground for kids.

Sports and Fitness Facilities

The well-maintained fields and courts are noticeable and provide adequate space for recreational and sports activities. Besides, open spaces, benches, and stations in the park are perfect places for outdoor exercising, yoga, and keeping fit.

Community Events and Festivals

It is also used for various functions throughout the year, including carnivals such as the Breckenridge Festival, vital, which is held locally.

Another use of Richardson Park is the annual festivals, including the Richardson Wildflower Festival and July Fourth celebrations, where people enjoy structures, live music, food, and other activities for families to engage in. These festivals bring people joy and unite society to celebrate those who are positive.

Get an insider's look at what living in this city is like by checking out our website at https://richardsontxrealestate.com/richardson-tx-things-to-do/.

[samkkshopping]

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Features: 🌸 Gorgeous Brazilian Sand Beige color that screams elegance. 🌟 Intricately embellished with delicate cutdana detailing for a touch of glamour. 👗 Flowy palazzo pants for a breezy and relaxed vibe. 💃 Versatile design, perfect for brunch dates, beach strolls, or evening soirees. 🎉 Available in a range of sizes to flatter every body type!

Get ready to turn heads and make a statement wherever you go! 💖

World Wide Free Shipping From Samyakk.com🛒💃 ______ ______ Name: Samyakk Clothing Email: Esales@samyakk.com PH: 7829928490 Website: https://www.samyakk.com/ Product Link: https://rb.gy/vmflr7 ______ ______ Store Address: Samyakk No.24, D’Souza Circle, Richmond Rd, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560047 ______ ______

#FashionGoals #PalazzoPerfection #BrazilianChic

[onlinetranslpro]

The Story Café started with an idea that “there is a story in everything.” We love coffee, music, food, and anything that can create or bring back a story such as an antique, vintage camera or a memorable music record. So in 2018, we began to think of an idea which would combine all the elements of things we loves into one restaurant.

[stenoodie]

Brunch at Glass Kitchen in Thornhill

Brunch at Glass Kitchen in Thornhill. #crazywavygravy #locomoco #newbrunchspot

Glass Kitchen located at 505 Hwy 7, unit 98 and 99 in Thornhill I didn’t know about this new brunch spot called “Glass Kitchen” at the Commerce Gate plaza in Richmond Hill/Thornhill until my friends suggested it for our brunch location.  This restaurant is headed by an award-winning Canadian chef named Keith Pears and Continue reading Untitled