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Ted should really learn to keep his mouth shut. One minute, he’s joking about finding his soulmate on Bantr, and the next, he’s had a steady text only relationship for a couple weeks now. At first, he only downloaded the app to maybe find a friend who was not employed by AFC Richmond. Are his friends great? Yes, they sure are! Do they have their own lives, which leaves Ted a little lonely in between training and games? Unfortunately, also yes. And while it’s probably not his soulmate and still very much a big ol’ question mark in the relationship column, it’s not nothing, and Ted has no idea how to bring it up to the guys that A) he downloaded the app in the first place and B) he’s considering actually meeting up with the guy he matched with.
And, oh yeah, how to tell them it’s a guy.
Of course, Coach Beard knows Ted’s always rooted for both teams; you can only make out with your college roommate so many times before you have to sit down and have a serious talk about it. But if British football is anything like American football, he’s not sure how the rest of the Diamond Dogs will take it.
Ted is pretty sure Coach Beard knows something’s up. Ted has walked into walls, doors—and, on one occasion, Coach Beard himself—too many times to count in the past week. He’s been distracted and really needs to get his head in the game for their upcoming match but, between keeping Bantr a secret from the guys, keeping his identity secret from his match, and still trying to figure out the offside rule, there’s a lot going on in his head.
It’s only after Keeley’s constant insistence to download the app that he breaks down and tells her (and, in turn, Beard, Nate, and Higgins) that he’s had the app for weeks.
Keeley offers Ted a smile and a little ‘Good for you’ before strutting out of the office. And then the wolves descend—well, in this case, the Diamond Dogs.
Nate and Higgins fire off question after question that make Ted feel like he should be in the press room, while Beard just gives him a knowing look.
“Alright, alright settle down,” Ted finally interrupts the chaos. “I matched with someone a few weeks ago, we’ve been chatting ever since.”
He fields a few more questions but then Nate asks, “What’s her name?”
“Well, uh, we haven’t exactly exchanged names yet, and it’s a he.” Ted braces for impact, but it turns out he didn’t need to worry, at least in this room. Beard gives him a silent thumbs up, while Nate and Higgins carry on with their questions as if Ted didn’t just drop a bomb on them. He feels like he can finally take a breath and relax a little.
It’s hard to both be himself and try not to let on to the fact that he’s Ted Lasso. Being somewhat of a celebrity (at least around Richmond) isn’t a bad thing but he’d really like for a future suitor to like him for him and not because he’s Ted Lasso.
When they eventually try to meet up, disaster strikes and doesn’t stop. First, TCTI2018’s daughter gets sick and they have to postpone. Second, Beard and Jane breakup for the nth time and the Diamond Dogs are called to the Crown and Anchor for an emergency session. After that, it seems like when they can finally find time in their busy schedules one of them finds some reason to cancel.
Ted is starting to think that maybe TCTI2018 doesn’t actually want to meet up, but he’s not the only one canceling, so maybe he’s just as nervous as Ted is. Which is a lot, for that matter. He hasn’t dated in over twenty years (since marrying Michelle), and hasn’t dated a guy in even longer. His only solace is the fact that TCTI is also a divorcee and probably hasn’t dated in a while either.
In the end, it’s TCTI that makes the first move.
It’s only later, once Ted is in bed and about to go to sleep, that it hits him. He’s never told TCTI which team he coaches, let alone his name. Ted tosses and turns all night, wracking his brain trying to think of who TCTI could be. He honestly hasn’t been trying to figure out his identity this whole time, liking the mystery and intrigue of it all, but now that he knows he’s been found out, it’s all he can think of. He has a few guesses, but he doesn’t want to assume or get his hopes up.
Thankfully, their next game is only two days away. TCTI has been very tight-lipped about revealing his identity, preferring to tell him in person, which worries Ted a bit, but knowing that he is also a recognized figure (it was the first thing they talked about, after all, and why they had decided not to share names right away), he understands.
They win the game, which is amazing, not just because that means they are one step closer to promotion, but because Ted didn’t think he’d handle the date well after a loss. He just needs to make it through talking to the press, give the boys a quick speech, and then he will finally be on his way.
Ted should have known that the press would be crazy today—well, most of the press. Everyone’s got questions for him but Trent Crimm, The Independent, who is oddly quiet. At first, Ted thought that he wasn’t there until he shifted into Ted’s view. And is he dressed up a bit more than usual? He looks good—not that he normally doesn’t, but there’s just something about him tonight.
Ted catches Trent’s eye towards the end of the presser, causing a small smile to creep onto Trent’s face which absolutely does not give Ted butterflies. It’s just the adrenaline from the game and pre-date nerves. It has nothing to do with the fact that Trent is an attractive man who may have popped into Ted’s fantasies when thinking about who TCTI could possibly be. Ted shakes the thought from his head, wills his stomach to settle down, and finishes the press conference.
When Ted finally makes it out to the lot to get a car, he’s surprised to find a familiar figure waiting for him.
“Didn’t want to ask your question in front of everybody else?”
“I didn’t think ‘Your place or mine after dinner?’ was appropriate for the post match presser.”
“How’d you figure out it was me?”
“It was fairly obvious. How many American football managers do you think there are?”
“I don’t believe I ever said I was an American.”
“It was implied.”
And finally Trent’s lips are on his, and although the butterflies have settled in his stomach, Ted’s heart is now racing with the promise of the future.