Page 26 of Scoring Chances
He looks over at me and smirks. “Seriously?”
I nod and say with a grin. “You’re kinda cringe, team captain.”
“Dammit,” he mutters to himself. “And here I thought I was pretty cool.”
I take another sip of my drink. “Well then, that was your first mistake,” I say over the rim of my glass.
He taps the bottom of my glass, playfully, making some of the contents spill out. “Hey!”
“Come out with me. Let’s go dancing.”
As if Lillian heard his suggestion through invisible radio waves, my phone rings again.
How is it possible that in a matter of days, I go from barely being noticed to having multiple people fight for my time in just one night?
“I should answer this,” I say, handing him my drink and slinking into a corner.
“Hey, Lillian,” I try to cover my ears to hear her above the music.
She gasps, “You’re out without me, aren’t you?”
“Not exactly.”
“Not exactly? You ignore me all day. You don’t answer my calls. I can hear the sound of people having a good time. Are you with a guy?”
Keelan’s boisterous laugh breaks through the barrier I’m trying to form with my hands over the speaker.
“Not exactly,” I say again.
“Cassidy Jones… who even are you right now?”
I look down at my dress and heels and run my fingers over the lovebird necklace Joshua bought for me. “Honestly, I don’t even know.”
“Well, where are you? I’m coming.”
“I’m at a baby shower. For one of the Heatwave players and his fiancee.”
She pauses. “Seriously?”
“Yes, seriously.”
“Oh,” she says. “Well, meet me when it’s over. I need you, Sid. You’re bailing on girl’s night again and I’m beginning to think you’re making it a habit on purpose.”
My heart breaks for her. I know she’s lonely. But I really don’t feel comfortable going anywhere else tonight. There’s a seat in the media room with my name on it—and it's calling out to me.
“Another time, Lillian. I promise. It’s just been a long week.”
She huffs. “Fine, rain check. But no more ignoring me! Or I'll revoke your BFF card.”
We assure her we're still friends and hang up. Keelan walks up to me.
“Ready to go?”
I put a hand up. “Actually," I sigh. "I think I’ll just head back to the house.”
“But… you have the night off. Might as well take advantage.”
“I really just want to get out of these heels.”