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“Hi.” With a tender affection in such stark contrast to his previous behavior on the pitch, Johnny pressed his forehead to mine and nuzzled. It was such a primal, male move that I could do nothing but stand there and reciprocate the dominant petting. Exhaling a heavy breath, he pressed a kiss to my nose and brushed my cheek with his thumb. “Your cheeks are all rosy.”

“And you’re all grassy,” I whispered, plucking a few blades from his hair. “How are you feeling?”

“I feel good, Shan,” he replied, eyes bright and full of excitement. “How was I looking out there?”

“Like a big bright shining star,” I told him proudly. “You were the best one out there by a mile.”

Smirking, he leaned forward and kissed my cheek. It was a soft, sweet act of affection and more intimate than if he had stuck his tongue down my throat. “Come on—” Hooking me under my arms, Johnny helped me over the barrier before reaching for my hand. “I just need to change and we can get out of here.”

“I thought you had the gym?” I asked, falling into step beside him. “I was going to go home with Claire.”

“I’ve already been,” he explained, hooking an arm around my waist to lift me over a giant puddle of mud.

My brow furrowed. “But it’s only half three.”

“The early bird catches the worm, Shan,” he shot back. “I’ve been up since five.”

Whoa.

“And they say chivalry is dead,” Johnny said in an amused tone of voice, eyes locked on Gibsie who had won the scuffle with Claire and was currently sitting on top of her, banging his fists against his chest in victory. They were both caked in mud and Claire’s lovely white coat was brown to match her now muddy-brown hair. “Gibs, get off her, ya eejit.”

“There’s nothing chivalrous about him, Johnny,” Claire growled before popping Gibsie in the stomach with her fists. “Take that, you big donkey!”

Rolling onto his back in dramatic fashion, Gibsie clutched his stomach and writhed on the grass, laughing his arse off. “Donkey.”

Claire took that as her opportunity to counterattack. Ignoring all of the other boys who were wolf whistling and calling out suggestive comments as they left the pitch, Claire scrambled onto her hands and knees and lunged for Gibsie. “Keep laughing,” she growled as she straddled his chest. “But you’re going down.”

“On you?” he shot back, waggling his brows. “Yes, please.”

“Gerard!”

“Claire,” he purred. “Ag—”

She slapped a hand over his mouth. “Don’t youdarefinish that sentence,” she hissed, leaning close to his face. “And stop licking my hand.”

“You…ant…e…oo…ick…your.…ussy…stead…” Gibsie replied, but his response was muffled by the hand Claire had over his mouth. “Mmmmm—”

“Stop!” she giggled, wiggling around when his hands shot up to tickle her sides. “Gerard, I can’t—”

“Claire!” Hughie barked, jogging toward us with Feely in tow. “What the hell are you doing?” Narrowing his eyes, he snarled, “Get off my sister, fucker!”

“Oh great, the life and soul of the party is here,” Claire groaned, dropping her hand from Gibsie’s mouth. “I’m just killing your friend, Hugh. Relax.”

“And your sister’s on top ofme,” Gibsie added with a wolfish grin.

Hughie’s face turned a dark shade of purple. “Gibs, I swear to god, if you don’t leave her alone, I’m going to hurt you.” He took a menacing step toward them. “I’m not kidding around anymore—”

“Okay,” Feely interjected calmly as he stepped in front of Hughie. “They’re only messing around, lad. Just relax.”

“She’smessing around,” Hughie spluttered, eyeballing Gibsie. “He’sgot an ulterior motive.”

Johnny groaned beside me. “This is going to end in tears,” he announced, rubbing his jaw.

“What?” I frowned up at him. “Claire and Gibs?”

Johnny nodded. “I can see it coming a mile off.”

“Calm down, Hughie,” Claire huffed, climbing to her feet. “You’re making a big deal out of nothing.” Purposefully stepping on Gibsie’s stomach as she went, she stalked off in the direction of the car park. “Like always!”

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