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“Really? Do you think I was born yesterday, young lady?”
She comes closer and opens the burgundy letterman jacket Cole had lent me, opening it to the simple dark blue bralette I’m wearing underneath.
“I’m talking about this.”
It’s not like we can see my nipples or anything, it’s a long bralette and it stops an inch above my belly button. I feel sexy in it, and I’m not planning on taking off the letterman jacket. It’s a sexy peak, nothing more, nothing less.
“I’m not going to take the jacket off,” I justify myself.
“’Me,” she sighs. “Why are you changing yourself? You’re perfect the way you are. I know breakups are hard, but it wasn’t you, it was him.”
“What the fuck, Mom,” I rage. “Why would you even bring this up? Maybe this is me being a little more myself, maybe I’m sick of the goody-two-shoes persona.”
“Oh, okay. So you swear now? You do know I can still forbid you from going to this party, right?”
That calms me down straight away. My mother is a lovely woman, but she never lets anyone walk all over her.
When she sees I have nothing to reply, she insists, “You know your dad hated swearing.”
Guilt gnaws at my insides. I wonder what my dad would have thought of all this. I had never dated, never attracted the interest of boys before. Would he have been the kind to be over-protective? To scare boys away with his sheriff badge? Or would he have had a conversation about contraception with me? What about Aaron?
My throat constricts and my mom must notice I’m upset. “Go have fun. Just…be careful. Promise?”
“I promise,” I smile.
Cole comes to get me at the front door. He’s a gentleman like that. He promises my mom he won’t drink and will bring me back home, and we both leave in an Uber. He lied to her about the drinking, but I know he’ll bring me back home. Cole’s parents don’t let him borrow their car and he hasn’t got his own. It’s not that they can’t afford one, but they’re strict like that. He has to bargain every party, every date, everything outside of homework and lacrosse.
We walk into Luke’s mansion and bump straight into Ella, his younger sister. She’s put her beautiful bright blond hair into a tight ponytail and is wearing a tight, leather, burgundy dress.
“Cole!” she exclaims.
I can see she’s already way past drunk. She jumps into his arms, and he hugs her only briefly, probably feeling awkward in front of me. I feel slightly guilty. Am I just using him to make Jake jealous?
We walk further into the house. Both the women’s and men’s teams are dressed in burgundy and dark blue only. The cheerleaders have taken over the open bar and the DJ booth, making TikTok videos and adding to their Instagram stories.
“What do you want to drink?” Cole asks as he wraps an arm around my shoulders.
“I’ll stick to soda for now.” After the drunken horror of last Friday, I would rather keep a clear mind tonight.
“Soda it is.” He turns to go to the bar, but I grab his hand.
“Wait,” I say in a panic. “Don’t leave me alone.”
Being surrounded by all those popular kids, seeing Camila dressed sexy in Stoneview’s team colors even though she doesn’t play nor cheers, makes me feel uncomfortable. Without Emily’s popularity backing me up, without alcohol bringing out my confidence, I’m still just Goody. The girl who doesn’t belong here.
He laughs and brings me closer to him. “Let’s get our drinks together.”
We hover around the bar for as long as Cole’s teammates come and chat with us. Every now and then, one of them gets surprised that I’m the captain of the women’s team. ‘But we never saw you at pre-season parties…’
“Why have I never been invited to pre-season parties before?” I ask Cole once his friend has left us.
He chuckles and puts both the palm of his hands on my cheeks. “Do you want the truth, or should I give you a nice little lie?”
I fake pout, but I ask for the truth anyway. “You can’t lie to me. Come on, I won’t get upset.”
“You were a little too stuck up for pre-season parties. You probably would have shut it down, screamed at your girls that they shouldn’t be drinking so close to the tournament, and made their life hell at the next practice.”
He lets go of my face and I can’t help a laugh. “You’re so mean,” I exclaim as I slap his chest. “That’s so not true.”
