Dangerous Play

26 » seeing straight red

I grinned as the referee gave three blasts of his whistle, signaling the end of another hard-fought game. The other team had gotten the jump on us by scoring two goals early on, but we quickly remedied that and ended the game with a lovely score of 3-2. A narrow win, but I had scored one goal and assisted another, so I personally was feeling pretty damn good.

Coach Walker wasn't thrilled with our performance, but even he couldn't argue with the results. Within a few minutes, he'd wrapped up his end-of-game review and let us all go with a reminder to keep working hard for our biggest tournament of the season, which was coming up in a few weeks.

I shoved my shin guards and cleats into my soccer backpack, which smelled about as pleasant as one would expect from a bag constantly stuffed with sweaty gear. My nose wrinkled. I made a mental note to run this bag through the wash tomorrow.

Felicity winced as she tugged her right cleat off her foot. "I think I twisted something stopping that last shot on goal." She rotated her ankle gingerly. In the last 30 seconds of the game, one of the other team's forwards had intercepted the ball and sprinted down the field on a breakaway. By some miracle, Felicity had caught up to her and planted her foot in front of the ball right as the other girl took the shot, sending her shot wide and maintaining our victory.

"RICE it," I suggested as I stood and slung the bag over my shoulders. "You're gonna want to be able to walk in heels for homecoming next week."

Felicity's eyes widened comically as the realization struck. "Shit, you're right!" She glanced around at our teammates. "Does anyone have an ice pack I can borrow?"

"I meant when you get home, genius. Unless you're planning to take a nap right on the field, in which case, go ahead."

Felicity glared at me. "I take you shopping, and this is the thanks I get?"

"You were the one who did all the shopping!" I protested.

Chanel glanced over just then, having overheard our conversation. "By the way, Abby, did that dress end up working out?"

I had stopped by Chanel's house yesterday—an honest-to-god mansion nearly half an hour away, in a less populated area of Kansas—to pick up a dress for next week's gala. The dress in question was made of a silky emerald green satin material, the perfect blend of sophisticated and sexy. It was also by far the most expensive piece of clothing I'd ever touched. I was almost afraid to so much as breathe on it, much less actually wear it.

I could hardly say that to Chanel, though, and it really was flattering in all the right places. "Yes, it's perfect. Thanks so much for letting me borrow it!"

She waved me off. "Honestly, you can keep it. It would just sit in my closet collecting dust, like everything else my dad sends." She rolled her eyes. "He seems to think that sending me nice clothes will make me suddenly want to stop playing soccer and model for his brand. Anyway, I'm glad someone's getting use out of that dress. It is a gorgeous piece, isn't it?" Before I could respond, her smile turned a little wicked. "Kieran isn't going to be able to keep his eyes off you."

"Or his hands," Felicity suggested.

My cheeks flushed bright red, and the two of them shared a laugh. "That's enough," I grumbled. "We're not talking about my love life."

"You're such a wet blanket," Felicity said. I stuck my tongue out at her.

Chanel just gave me another smile, this one genuine. "Seriously, though, I've known Kieran since we were kids, and you guys are great together." She winked as she headed for the parking lot. "Send me lots of pictures of you in that dress!"