Dangerous Play

19 » recipe for disaster

I smoothed down the material of the blue dress I wore, looking myself over in the mirror. "Does this look okay?"

Rose glanced up from where she was lounging on my bed. "You look stunning, Abby. Kieran isn't gonna know what hit him."

I sat down beside her and groaned. I was so tempted to blurt out the truth, that Kieran and I weren't actually dating, though those lines seemed to blur a little more every day. As far as she knew, I was going out to dinner with Kieran and his mother to celebrate the UNC offer and to meet Mercedes Valencia officially as Kieran's girlfriend. I mean, I had no idea how to act. When I agreed to this whole fake dating thing, I hadn't really factored in meeting the parents—obviously mine would find out, but Mercedes Valencia was in another league.

"Why didn't you invite Felicity to get her opinion?" Rose asked. "You know she has a much better eye for fashion than I do."

Felicity did enjoy dolling people up, but... "She said she was busy. I think she's still upset about this weekend." UCLA hadn't outright rejected her after our game, but they hadn't offered her a position yet either. I didn't blame her for being upset; I would have been crushed if I were in that situation.

"Well, from my layman's opinion on evening-wear, you look fantastic. Where are you guys going, again?"

"Bluestem. One of my parent's competitors, but this wasn't exactly my idea." My phone buzzed from its spot on the vanity, and I glanced at the screen. "Kieran's on his way."

"That sounds like my cue to go." Rose pulled herself off the bed, groaning. "Ugh, practice has been kicking my ass this week."

I stood and felt a twinge of protest in my left calf. "Same. Coach was pissed about that game." Our dear coach had been drilling us nonstop all week, and our bodies were paying the price for it dearly.

We headed downstairs, and I waved at Rose as she got in her car and drove off. Tempted as I was to flop on the couch, I didn't want to risk wrinkling my dress, so I sat on the stairs and pulled on a ridiculously tall pair of heels instead.

Footsteps sounded above me. Finn peered over the railing, raising his eyebrows at my attire. "What are you all dressed up for?"

"Dinner with Kieran and his mother." I checked my makeup with my phone camera. "We're going to Bluestem."

"Meeting the parents already?" He bounded down the stairs and took a seat next to me. "Sounds like it's getting pretty serious."

I glanced at him, suspicious of where he was going with that comment. "I guess it is." Truth be told, I really wasn't sure how to feel about this dinner. Lying to our classmates was one thing, but to keep up the act in front of Mercedes Valencia?

Finn let out a breath. "I know I didn't react well to you and Kieran dating at first—" I snorted, and he glared at me before continuing "—but he's been happier lately. I haven't seen him like this since before all the Marissa drama."

Finn could be kind of oblivious sometimes, but that was a surprisingly astute observation. This was also his way of silently giving us the okay; not that I needed his approval to do things, but I appreciated it nonetheless.

"And you've been less angry lately, so I guess that's good too."

I shoved him in mock outrage. "Shut up, you jerk." He snickered, swatting my hands away.

"Look, just be careful, okay? I don't want to see either of you get hurt. And I don't want to have to pick sides, because that will be an all-around awkward situation."

I was still thinking over Finn's words when Kieran showed up a few minutes later in a striking tuxedo that emphasized his broad shoulders. He walked up the driveway to our front door, holding a container of something that I couldn't quite make out. I stood and opened the door to let him in.