“Oh, shut it. You barely had anything to do today, you glorified statue,” Finn says with a snort.
“Yeah.” I grin. “I did all the work for you.”
Archie breaks into a laugh. “Sure, sure. Let’s just remove me from the cage, then, shall we? We’ll see how that goes.”
“Callum’s got a point,” Finn continues. “Did you even touch the ball tonight?”
Archie flips him the bird.
I lift my glass. “Hey, don’t act like I didn’t do your job too.” I nod at Finn. “And yours,” I add to Wade. “Who scored tonight?”
They both burst out laughing.
“Right, sure,” Finn says. “This lad is delusional. One man team, eh?”
“Maybe. But whokickedthat corner?” Wade counters, giving me a pointed look. “I’ll give you this, though—you had a great game. Where did that fire come from?”
I shrug. “It’s nothing special. I always play like that.”
Another fit of chuckles and more teasing are thrown my way, but I’m more focused on Millie and the melodic sound of her addictive laughter. Having her so close during the gamedidfire me up. It’s as though I could feel her energy, her excitement. I wanted to give her a good show.
“By the way,” she says to the group, breaking me out of my thoughts. “Do you guys understand François’s speeches? I mean, his analogy was a little hard to follow, right?”
“Oh, no,” Finn says. “We really don’t. Sometimes the drawings help.”
Cameron winces. “Or make it worse.”
Archie nearly chokes. “Remember when he drew a horse, and we all thought it was a dog? He had to erase it and start over.”
“Or the croissant one,” Cameron blurts out.
Laughter bubbles up again, the kind of side-gripping, breathless laughter that fills the room. Finn’s actually crying, thumping a hand on the table. “That was the best one. I wish you could’ve filmed it, Millie. I’d pay to play that back—”
Three loud knocks on the door interrupt him.
“Did Fallon decide to show?” Cameron asks, standing up. “Um, I’ll get it.”
But he’s back seconds later, a strange look on his face as he walks up to Archie. “It’s your neighbour.”
Archie’s smile falls. “Brilliant.” He pushes off the armrest. “I’ll be right back. Wish me luck.”
“Oh, boy.” Finn winces. “Here we go again.”
I frown. “What’s going on? Who’s his neighbour?”
“Some doctor chick,” Finn says, flopping back into his seat. “She’s insufferable. Always complaining about the noise, the bins being left open, Archie using the gym.”
“You’ve really never heard Archie go on about her?” Cameron asks, surprised.
I shrug. “He says a lot of things. Can’t listen to all of it.”
“Well, it iskind of late,” Millie says, checking her phone. “Maybe we should quiet down.”
Cameron shakes his head. “These flats have triple-insulated walls. No way she actually heard us. Besides, it’s like this after every match. Even the afternoon games.”
“Maybe she just has to wake up early,” Roxy chimes in. “I’ve said it before. If she’s a doctor, her schedule is different than most.”
“Yeah, but we’re not exactly throwing a rave here,” Finn says, rubbing the back of his buzz cut. “We’re just talking. Laughing a bit.”
