Page 158 of Fighting Chance

I clear my throat, nodding. “Yep, all good.”

“You sure? Because Irving has been boasting about how Layla was looking at him at the recent home?—”

“The fuck he has,” I growls.

Irving pales as my upper lip curls back. He raises his hands in surrender. “What the fuck did I do now?”

“You talking about Layla?”

His jaw drops, eyes darting around the locker room. “Who the fuck is lying to Ashford?”

Grayson throws his head back on a laugh, the sound making my anger dissolve.

“Fucking Crawford,” I mutter to myself. Rising, I knock my shoulder with his and grab my towel to dry my hair from the shower I took after practice. “Don’t go stirring shit up, man.”

Grayson doubles over. “Fucking priceless.”

Johnson strolls into the locker room, his lips twitching. “We messing with Irving again?”

O’Connor chuckles. “Ashford and Irving.”

“Two for one, fucking love it.”

Irving flops down onto the bench, pouting. “Why do I always get messed with?”

Johnson reaches over, messing up his blond hair. “Because you’re so fucking easy to mess with.”

“Don’t put your oily fingers through my hair. I just fucking washed it.”

Johnson deadpans. “Case in point, Irving, case in point.”

Valenti’s lip twitches across from me, his shoulders shaking on a silent laugh as his best friends boisterous one makes up for his silence.

Grayson claps his hands together, making us fall silent. Looking around, I note it’s just myself, Grayson, Irving, Johnson, Lewis, O’Connor, Valenti, and Ellington. Was I zoned out when he asked us to stay behind?

What the hell is the time? I really need to stop fantasizing about Layla in the locker room.

“Boys’ night, and before some of you complain, it’s mandatory for you lot.”

“What about the rest of the team?” Irving pipes up. “It will hurt their feelings, Cap. No one likes to be excluded.”

Johnson reaches over and claps Irving on the back of the head before nodding in Grayson’s direction. “Sorted. Go on, Cap.”

I snort, the boys also struggling to not laugh as Irving shoots daggers in Johnson’s direction. Grayson just sighs before going on.

“This one is just close family because”—he turns to me then—“Emmy will be joining us.”

My brow arches. “She will?”

“Yep.”

“Hate to break it to you, Cap, but that’s not a boys’ night then.”

Now I’m the one glaring at Irving.

He blows out a breath before muttering, “I’m going to shut up now.”

“Music to my ears.”