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“No, that’s it. Rory. Okay, bye Mr.—um, Archie.” He turns around and walks straight into the trolley with a crash.
“Shit, are you okay?”
He waves me off. “I’m great. The best even.” His blush darkens. He grabs his trolley and rushes off.
I turn back to my cubby to put my footy boots on and notice Tom giving me a hard stare.
“What?”
Other than an eye roll, he ignores me and leaves.
I’ll just have to win him ‘round on the pitch.
When we get out there we do some team drills for about an hour before Vinnie makes us break up and train in our positions.
Mentor time, bitches.
“Looks like it’s just me and you, mate,” I say with a grin. “Lay it on me.”
I swear for a split second he actually looks at my mouth before his ever present scowl is back. Or maybe it’s just wishful thinking. I’ve had so many fantasies over the years involving this man it’s possible the edges of my reality are starting to blur.
“What I want is for you to shut up and learn, and then hopefully you won’t end up on one of those transfer flop lists. I don’t want the mediocrity of Lancaster United to follow you here and infect the team I love. So how about we run some drills, yeah?”
Fuck me. He’s hot even when he’s being a knobhead.
Chapter five
Tom
“Wow.You’reaproperarsehole, aren’t you?” Archie says, brows raised in curiosity, as though more fascinated than offended by the concept of me being a dick to him. “No wonder I always had such a big crush on you. That’s my biggest weakness, you know. Falling for arseholes.”
“Umm…”
He offers a sly grin. “Sorry. That’s my other weakness—making people uncomfortable.”
“That seems more like it’d be a strength,” I comment.
His grin spreads across his entire face and he dashes off after the ball, calling over his shoulder, “You only think that ‘cause you’re such an arsehole.”
I’m distracted for a moment because of that fucking smile, and that pisses me the hell off. I hate that I keep noticing it. Or the ridiculously long eyelashes that frame his hazel eyes. Or the way his muscles flex every time he reaches up to swipe his dark hair out of his eyes. Which is a lot. I don’t know why he doesn’t just cut it if it bothers him so much. It’s one of those stupid styles that’s short on the sides and long on the top, which is completely impractical for football. At least I can keep my hair out of my face with a band.
Determined not to let him distract me again, I chase after him at full pelt, wondering for the millionth time how the fuck I got stuck training with the bloody Energizer bunny. An incredibly attractive Energizer bunny.
Bloody hell.
We run through some drills for the next hour or so, and I can reluctantly admit that this bloke has some serious skills. He was wasted at Lancaster United, where he was used as a backup forward. Vinnie is right; with Andre so bloody injury prone, Archie will definitely be getting a lot of game time, and I have no doubt he’ll get himself into the mix for a starting spot soon enough. I just hope it’s not my position he moves in on.
“Yeah, you really shouldn’t do that,” Archie says, as I lift the hem of my training shirt to swipe some of the sweat from my face. “Unless you want me ogling your abs.”
I lower my shirt and hit him with an arched brow.
He holds his hands up. “Sorry. Word vomit. I told you—awkwardness is my superpower.”
I can’t help letting out a soft chuckle. This kid’s got balls, I’ll give him that. There’s no doubt in my mind that he’s just messing with me to get a reaction, but I’m not going to give him the satisfaction. Besides, my ego doesn’t seem to mind too much whether his words are all bollocks or not. “Save it for the field.”
His expression morphs into a mask of confusion. “Huh?”
I sigh. “Look. You’re going to have to put up with blokes making all sorts of comments about you when the ref’s not in earshot. Sorry, but that’s just reality.”
