I peered over at Emily and closed one eye so that I would only see one of her. She was pretty with medium-length red hair that was light enough to where I felt like calling her Peach for the rest of the night.
“Em, you're so pretty. Have I told you that you’re so pretty? Cause you’re so pretty.”
She blushed and I made a mental note to get the girl some confidence. Lord knows I had enough for the two of us combined. You'd think having been cheated on twice would ruin that, but it would take a lot more than two dumb guys to undo the amount of leery gazes and unsolicited charm that had been laid on me my whole life.
I took Emily's hand and pulled her to the restroom down the hall. We were about to leave for a house party and I wanted to make sure I hadn't boozed off all of my makeup. Thankfully it wasn't hard to keep on mascara and lip gloss.
“Do you think this is a smart idea? Going to this party before our first practice?” Emily asked, eyeing me in the spotless mirror.
I puckered my lips and wagged my finger like I was about to set her straight. “We'll be fine, and who cares? It's my BIRTHDAY!” I squealed so loudly that Emily scrunched her nose in distaste. God, we were so different. I wondered if our budding friendship would last the summer. She was a small town girl from the Midwest whereas I was born and raised in the LA soccer world.
“Okay. We'll go and have fun and get back in time to get some sleep before practice,” Emily said, nodding her head in agreement. I was already corrupting the girl.
“How do you look that good after five shots? Seriously?” Emily asked.
I glanced away from her to eye my appearance. Everything was just as it should have been: heart shaped face, small nose, plump lips, tan skin, and bright blue eyes that looked almost fake against my long mane of dark brown hair.
I was about average height and in great shape from soccer. I had lean, toned arms and legs like a cross-country runner.
“Are you kidding? I'd kill for those little freckles. You look like Little Bo Peep!” I laughed, grabbing her hand and forcing her to spin around in a circle like a prima ballerina. How drunk was I at this point?
Emily laughed and spun around, stumbling over her feet and making me laugh even harder. “What do freckles have to do with Little Bo Peep?”
A thunderous knock sounded at the door before I could answer.
“Let's go rookies! If we don't leave now there won't be any good alcohol left at the party!”
My ears perked up at that. The party was where I needed to be. It was my last hope of having a good birthday. So far it had been a bit depressing. I'd dumped my cheating boyfriend two weeks prior, my parents had ditched me for snow and the Aspen Country Club, and all of my high school friends had moved away for college. I'd bought myself a piece of Italian cream cake and eaten it alone in a cafe, people watching and feeling extremely lonely.
This party was my silver-lining, and I needed to make sure I made the most of it.
“Lead the way, Bo Peep!” I winked and locked elbows with Emily before we left the bathroom.
We walked back into the living room and I surveyed the group of girls that would form my soccer team for the next four years. Most of them I'd met when I was being recruited. They all seemed nice enough and I knew I'd get to know them a lot better once we started training.
The seniors were the only girls that seemed like they might want to cause problems. Tara was the captain of the team and everything about her cried out tyrannical tendencies. Her fellow seniors followed her around like little minions, except less cute. Hopefully I'd end up on Tara's good side, but past experience told me that was less than likely. I was heavily recruited for the team and had been voted rookie of the year by several soccer magazines prior to my signing on at ULA, which is why her radar was already locked onto me. I was a threat to her well-oiled system, which was made perfectly clear when she'd snubbed me at tryouts in front of everyone a few months prior.
Whatever. If I could survive her, then I'd be fine. I just had to do my job and play excellent soccer, that way she wouldn't have anything to complain about.
“Kinsley, Emily, wait for me!” Becca yelled as we pushed our way through the front door. Becca was another rookie on the team. She’d moved into the Rookie house the day before and we'd hardly had any time to hangout, but I could already tell our personalities would blend well together. She was gorgeous; she was only a few inches shorter than me with hazel eyes and bright blonde hair.
I spun around to wait for her as she ran over from the Underclassmen house that was right next door to the Upperclassmen house. We called them the Vet and Rookie houses for short.
“I thought you were ditching us,” I said, reaching out to wrap my arm around her shoulder.
“Nope. I had to run over to the Rookie house to grab something.” She patted her purse with a proud grin.
“Ahhh,” I nodded as we reached the SUV.
The plan was to cram into a single vehicle so that only one person had to be the designated driver. It wasn't the safest form of transportation, but it’d have to work.
“Emily, keep your hands where I can see them,” I joked as I laid across the laps of the three girls in the middle row.
“Ew, Kinsley!” Emily protested, and the entire car cracked up. Just to calm her nerves, I reached down and pulled the hem of my tight dress down so that it covered everything.
“Are you having a good birthday so far, Kinsley?” Tara asked from the passenger seat. Funny how we were piled in the back like sardines, yet somehow she managed to get the front seat all to herself.
“Yeah. It's been really great,” I lied, tacking on a smile to prove how much I was willing to play the game. I really didn't want to be on her bad side.
“Oh really? Sofie saw you eating a piece of cake all by yourself in that cafe near campus.” She shot me a piteous look complete with sad eyes and a small frown. I didn't even glance toward Sofie, the designated driver and co-captain of our team.
“Oh weird...I was there with Leonardo DiCaprio. He must have been in the bathroom when Sofie was spying on me,” I quipped, making everyone in the SUV laugh, except, of course, Sofie and Tara. I knew the “spying on me” comment was a tad aggressive, but what kind of bully picks on someone on their birthday?
“Spying on you? We have better things to do, Bryant,” she scoffed, and then turned back toward the front window. I didn't mind when teammates called me by my last name but with her, it was almost a little dig, like calling someone “kid” when you're the same age as they are.
“We'll sing you happy birthday when we get to the party!” Becca suggested as she supported the middle of my body on top of her lap. Everyone agreed and promised to sing as soon as we arrived. Their support felt good in that moment and I let Tara's comments roll off my back. It was too early in the season to have an enemy like her.
A popular club mix came on the radio and Tara reached forward to turn it on full blast so that everyone started dancing. Becca gyrated her hips beneath me, making my body bounce up and down. In my inebriated state I couldn't keep my balance. One quite aggressive dance move knocked me forward so that my cheek collided with the middle console.
“Jesus, Becca—your hips should have their own warning label,” I laughed, holding my hand to my cheek. I could already feel a bruise forming.