"C'mon, Kinsley. You're almost there," Liam urged me on. I took a deep breath and kept climbing. I was almost to the top when my foot missed the bottom rung of the rope that I was aiming for. My foot met empty air, and I kicked out, trying to stabilize my weight, but I wasn't quick enough. My right arm slipped from where I was holding the rope above my head.
I gasped.
"Kinsley!" Becca yelled from the ground just as my heart kicked into overdrive.
Holy shit.
"Kinsley, reach up. Give me your arm, you're okay." Liam was soothing me even before he'd caught me. I used my core muscles to stretch my right arm to where his hands were reaching toward me. He scooped me up like he was pulling a little kid out of a pool. One moment I was hanging there, feeling my body freeze in panic, and the next I was standing beside him on the plank of wood, breathing quick, shallow breaths.
"Holy shit," I laughed, resting my hands on my head and bending forward. I knew I was fine. I knew I would have been fine even if Liam hadn't helped me, but I still couldn't calm down.
Then Liam made it worse, ten trillion times worse, when his strong hand came to rest on my lower back. HELLO WARM AND FUZZIES. My heart completely stopped—
as in took a vacation from my body— and then it kicked into overdrive.
"You’re okay, Kinsley,” he soothed. “You wouldn't have fallen. I wouldn't have let you fall," he said, soothing his hand back and forth along my back.
I was being slightly dramatic, but heights were not my forte. Plus, his hand felt so damn good— warm and possessive— running along my spine like he did it every day.
“Yeah, because then the team would have been out a midfielder,” I joked.
His fingers pressed into the small of my back as he murmured, “That’s not the reason.”
Wait, what?
"Kinsley, are you okay?” Becca yelled up to me. “Jesus, don't scare me like that again! You were about to slip and splatter your brains all over me! Not cute.”
I smiled. "I'm fine. Now c'mon and please take your freaking time.”
The moment Becca spoke, Liam’s hand retracted from my back as if he was awakening to the fact that he was touching me almost inappropriately. No, it was inappropriate. His hand had been resting just two inches above my shorts. Which is about five inches above my vagina. So… yeah, he was basically touching my vagina.
He took a small step away from me and then we watched Becca climb up the rope so slowly that at certain points I wasn’t sure she was actually alive anymore. When she finally reached the top, I pulled her into a tight hug and we both started laughing hysterically. Exhaustion and adrenaline were a heady mixture.
"Are you guys good?" Liam asked, eyeing the two of us with a serious gaze. I dampened my lips and nodded, trying to repress the memory of his hand caressing my back.
He’s my coach. My off-limits coach. He’s like chocolate and I’m like pickles. They shouldn’t be mixed…
Unless… chocolate-covered pickles?
No.
They shouldn’t be mixed. Damnit.
"Kinsley?" Becca asked, drawing me out of my musings. I'd been staring at Liam the whole time, and I felt a blush creep across my cheeks.
"Yup. Good to go. Let's freaking finish this thing."
Chapter Eight
After the obstacle course from hell, there was still some time to head to the beach before the party that night. The weather was just turning warm enough for bikinis, but not warm enough to actually brave the frigid Pacific Ocean. The rookies and I were perfectly content to work on our tans and nap in the sun.
The afternoon zipped by, and before I knew it I was sitting on Becca’s bed, waiting for her to finish getting ready.
"What about this?" she said, throwing a dress out of her closet.
"That'd be cute with your blonde hair," I answered halfheartedly. This process was taking way too long, and Becca would look good in any of the three dozen dresses now littering the center of her room. I was tempted to lay on them like a pile of leaves, but I was supposed to be focused on helping her find an outfit.
"C'mon, you said that for the last ten!"
I sighed and pushed off the bed. “Exactly! The last TEN. How many compliments do you think my brain can generate? I’m not that creative!” I defended before hopping off the bed and grabbing a form-fitting white dress. “But, seriously, wear this one. It'll show off your tan from the beach." I held it up to her and she eyed it like she wasn't yet convinced.
"You have three minutes before I drag you out of here in your underwear," I threatened, but I couldn't keep a straight face when she started doing a little jig.
"Fine with me," she shrugged, continuing her dance around the room before eventually reaching forward to grab the dress.
While she slipped it on and found a pair of matching shoes, I inspected my outfit in her mirror. I was wearing a light blue cotton dress that was tight around my chest and way too short. I'd thrown on a pair of white converse along with my eclectic mix of bracelets. I'd left my long brown hair down and I'd used styling spray to give it a bit of volume. My light tan from the beach set off my aqua eyes, and I hadn't needed any makeup beyond a little mascara. It took me nineteen years to become equal parts lazy and stylish.
"All right, let's go! You're driving!" Becca declared as she slipped on strappy brown sandals. I could have argued that we should take a cab, but I didn't really mind not drinking. I'd have a beer or something when we first got there and then take it easy the rest of the night. Last week’s hangover was still fresh in my mind.
“Bye Emily, my sweet Minnesota gemstone,” I called out as we passed her room. For once she was putting away her computer in an effort to hump the real thing. Her boyfriend, David, had arrived last night and they hadn’t left the room other than to replenish their liquids.
Becca pressed her hand against Emily’s door and shouted, “Tell slutty David that he better wine and dine you after all this Skype sex you’ve been giving him!”
“GUYS! HE CAN HEAR YOU!” she yelled before something thudded against her door.
We giggled all the way to my car.
"Did you steal that dress from a small baby?" Becca asked as we hopped in and I turned the key in the ignition.
"What?! It's not that short," I argued.
Becca pinched my arm. "I mean… it could fit my big toe, but yeah, it's really cute. Just don't bend over or sit down at the party."
"I thought you wanted me to show off my Brazilian?"
"Touché," Becca laughed. "You look good... I bet Liam will love the dress."
I turned the music up to drown out anymore of her conversation. Her casual hints about Liam were getting more and more constant, and I knew she was trying to eventually wear me down so I'd tell her how I felt.
My plan was to avoid that conversation for as long as I could.
We parked a few houses down and linked arms to head inside. The house was supposed to be less crowded than it was for the previous party. Most of the underclassmen girls were staying in or heading to parties around the ULA campus. Becca and I got invited through my old club soccer friends… and Josh. Blech.
There was music blaring from an invisible sound system, and the second we walked in, I relaxed. I didn't immediately see Josh or Liam, so for now I could pretend like they didn't exist.
"Kinsley!"
I turned toward my name and saw the group of soccer girls that had invited me.
"Hey everyone! This is Becca," I introduced her, and then we stayed in their group for a while, catching up and chatting about practices. A few of them were playing soccer for colleges around the area, so we’d play them sometime this season.
"I need a drink," Becca whispered in my ear.
"I'll come with you," I said to her, and then turned to the group. "We'll be back in a little bit, we're going to go find drinks!"
I let Becca lead me through the crowd as I kept my eyes peeled for Liam or Josh. We hadn’t found either of them by the t
ime we reached the backyard, but I was too distracted by the fact that it looked like an adult Disneyland back there. In the center there was a giant pool with couples floating around and a group playing volleyball. To the left of the pool there were half a dozen tables set up for king’s cup and beer pong, but the games hadn’t started to pick up yet.
We wandered around until we found the keg station. There was a guy manning it that smiled wide as soon as we strolled up.
"Ladies," he said, pulling out two red cups for us.
"Just a little bit for me," I motioned with my pointer finger and thumb.
"Aww, that's no fun," he pouted and started to fill my cup.
"I'm driving," I shrugged.
"Is this your job for the entire night?" Becca asked.
He shot her a confident smile. "I get a break in a little bit. Do you two want to play beer pong?"
I wanted to say no, but I could tell Becca was interested in the guy. "Sure, why not," I shrugged, giving Becca a knowing glance.
"Awesome. I'll meet you two over there. I'm Jace by the way," he said before filling Becca's cup.
We introduced ourselves and his eyes lit up.
"From the ULA soccer team?" he asked, and I could see Becca blushing.
"Yeah, we're freshmen on the team," I mentioned.
He looked a bit baffled. "Does Liam know you guys are here?"
His question annoyed me. What did it matter? We were allowed to go to parties. He didn't own the place. "I haven't seen him yet, so probably not," I answered with confidence. "We'll be over by the beer pong tables."
He walked away to help more people and I tugged Becca's hand, accidentally sloshing some of her beer onto the front of her dress.
“Oh, oops!”
“Kinsley!” Becca cried, looking down at the spill. “This is a freaking white dress and now you can completely see my boob!”
I tried not to laugh. “Becca! Why aren’t you wearing a bra!?”
“I took it off! This dress doesn’t need one!” I didn’t want to make her feel more self-conscious, but yeah, her boob was on full display. Oh god, people were doing double takes as they walked by. I tried to fan it with my hand, but that only made it worse.
“Welp, now everyone can also see my nipple!” she cried, loudly enough that the people around us peered over to check for themselves.
“Okay, this is okay.” I unzipped my purse and dug around inside until I found a leftover bib from a lobster restaurant I’d gone to last summer. Yes, sue me. I don’t clean out my purse. What, are you so perfect?
“Here,” I said, tearing the package open and handing it to her.
“Why the hell do you have this?” she asked, already tying it around her neck. The front said, “Wait until you taste my crustaceans…”
“I think it looks like—like a trendy necklace or something,” I said.
She glared up at me with her hands lying limply by her sides, and then I couldn’t hold back the laughter any longer… she just looked so pitiful.
“You know, I actually thought Jace was cute!”
I glanced behind her to check him out. Meh, he was decent. Oh no, why was he heading our way? Was his shift already up?
“Ah! Just wear the bib and say that you—”
“Hey ladies, this is Paul, he’s going to be my beer pong partner…” His voice started to fade out at the end as Becca turned around and he got an eyeful of her bib.
“What’s with the lobster thing?”
Becca’s smile was pulled across her face so awkwardly that it made me squirm. “Oh, hah! This is my beer pong bib! Everyone wears them down in Texas.”
Paul eyed her wearily. “Seriously?”
She gave a strained laugh. “Yeah, BIG trend down there.”
I cringed as each team took their positions on opposite sides of the table. The guys generously allowed us to take the first shot, but it didn’t matter. We were about to get our asses handed to us. I was coordinated with my feet, but somehow I’d never fully mastered hand-eye coordination.
“Just to let you know, you guys are seriously going down,” Becca taunted.
I groaned. "Becca, you'll have to drink all of our beer or I won’t be able to drive us home."
She eyed the half-full cups on the table. “But, that's a ton of beer."
I winked. "Well we'll have to win so that you aren't completely shitfaced after this game."
"All right, you go first," she motioned, and I turned to prep for my shot. The ping pong ball left my hand and sailed over the table and straight into Paul's chest, right smack dab in the center of his Beers, Guns & Women shirt. Lovely. How had I missed that little gem before? Oh right, Becca’s boob debacle.
"Sorry!" I laughed, covering my mouth and internally cringing.
"I thought you said ‘we were going down’?" Jace laughed, taking his turn and sinking his ping pong ball in the first cup. Becca gave me the stink eye and reached forward to down the first cup of beer.
That's how the game went. Becca and I would sink a ball every now and then, but the boys beat us hands down, and Becca was on her way to being plastered by the time the game ended.
"I wish I could say you guys were good competition, but that was pitiful," Jace laughed, eyeing Becca with interest.
"We should have upped the ante!" Becca exclaimed. "Next round, winner takes all. You guys can have Kinsley's car and my virg—."
"Woah, hold on,” I said, clasping my hand over her mouth. “Let's not put my car up for collateral just yet," I laughed, letting my hand slide away only after I was confident she could contain her word vomit.
"Hey, Sofie! Look who's here," Tara's voice rang out behind me.
Becca and I spun around to find the seniors in a line facing us with their arms crossed. I had to blink to make sure I wasn’t just making the situation more comical in my head. Who actually lines up like that in real life? Had they coordinated their “mean girl” poses before this moment or was this just all impromptu? “No, damnit, Sofie. You can’t cross your arms, I’m crossing my arms!”
"Whattup, ladies!" Becca broke the tension with her tipsiness, and I couldn't help but laugh.
"Yikes, Becca. Drunk already? Sheesh." Tara rolled her eyes and I wanted to defend my friend. “And what’s with the bib?”
"She's just being funny. She's not drunk." Sure, Becca was tipsy, but Tara was just trying to embarrass her in front of Paul and Jace.
"You know, Becca, drinking problems usually start in college," Tara said with a piteous look. "You should be extra careful. You don't want to get fat from all that alcohol."
Becca stepped forward, and I put my hand up to grab her arm. "We'll be sure to remember that, Tara," I answered with a fake smile, trying to salvage the moment even though I wanted nothing more than to stoop to her level.
"We'll see you guys later," I finished before anyone else could get a word in. I pulled Becca away from the beer pong tables and prayed that the guys would follow after us. I didn't want the seniors to ruin Becca's chance with Jace. He’d been more than interested before they showed up, bib and all. Oh, that reminds me.
I reached over and pulled up the bib. “All right, you’re all dry now. You can take the bib off.”
She tore the plastic from around her neck and dropped it in a trash can. We were almost inside when I turned to check if Paul and Jace were following us. Nope. Tara and Sofie had already started chatting them up. What the hell?
"I seriously hate those two. They're not nice girls, Kinsley," Becca huffed, pulling open the back door.
"I know, they're bitches. Don't let them bother you. Let's go to the bathroom really quick and freshen up.” I threw an arm around her shoulder and gave her a side hug.
We pushed our way to the bathroom, and by the time we got there, Becca was hopping back and forth on her toes because she had to pee so badly. I let her go first, and she swore she’d wait for me outside after she finished. I was inside the bathroom for two minutes tops, but by the time I came
out, she was gone.
"Damnit, Becca," I groaned, pushing my way through bodies, trying to spy her blonde hair. The party was starting to fill with people, much more so than when we first arrived. I had a slight panic attack thinking that she could have been shoved into one of the bedrooms, Taken-style, but then when I got to the living room I spied her talking with Jace in the far corner. Take that, Tara.
I stood there watching them for a second, trying to assess how drunk Becca was. I’d say she was about a five on the I-might-throw-up-on-your-shoes scale. Watch out, Jace. I shoved over to the side against the wall and looked around for the club soccer girls from earlier, but of course now that I was desperate, I couldn’t find them. So I did what any self-respecting person would do, I leaned my shoulder against the wall, pretending to check my phone. The music was loud and there were enough people around me that it sort of looked like I belonged. Says the lonely girl to herself.
I thought about wandering back out toward the beer pong tables, but then I felt a warm hand hit the small of my back in a way that made my breathing hitch. I turned to look over my shoulder and found Liam standing behind me wearing a confused scowl.
My heart screeched to a stop and my loins jumped for joy.
I assumed he wouldn’t be at the party since I hadn’t seen him earlier. But now he was standing right in front of me, in all of his glory, and I could smell his cologne and yes, his hand was still on my back so that he was basically holding me against him.
He bent down so I could hear him over the music. "What are you doing here?" he asked with a hard tone.
Okay. Not the best first line. Something like, you look beautiful, have my babies would have been a little bit better.
I crossed my arms over my chest. "I was invited."
He stood back up to his full height and nodded as his eyes roamed the room behind me. What was he looking for?
Liam was intimidating. He captivated a room simply with his presence, and had he not chosen a career in soccer, I could have seen him in a suit and tie, commanding a corporation. His air of confidence was absolute and nonnegotiable.