Page 69 of The Fake
He gives me a wry smile. “Okay, can we stop having a heart to heart now and play some 2K20?”
“Whatever you want, Couch Dubya.”
23
Chloe
Our team dinneris at an Italian place with a large outdoor seating area and views of the mountains. We have the entire patio, and they’ve pulled the tables together into one long table for us.
Coach gave us a two-drink max, but Emily waves me over to the opposite side of the patio where a firepit is lit. It’s unseasonably cool tonight so I’m thankful for the warmth.
“Shots?”
“What?”
“At the bar. Come on, Coach is so busy talking she’ll never notice.”
I look through the open French doors to the restaurant. She’s right. With the angle of the bar, it’s unlikely she’ll see us.
Emily smiles, clearly seeing my hesitation waver, and grabs my hand. We shuffle quickly to the corner of the bar and erupt into giggles.
“Think she saw us?” I ask.
“Nah. We’re good.”
The bartender eyes us as he sets a martini down in front of the guy beside us. “What can I get you?”
“Two shots of Fireball.”
We have to flash our IDs before he goes off to get our drinks, but when he’s gone, I turn to her. “Fireball? Are you trying to get me drunk?”
“Definitely,” she says through a smile. “There’s a party at Mallory’s tonight.”
“Oh, I dunno. I don’t really know Mallory.”
She rolls her eyes. “No excuses. Everyone on the team is going and that includes you.”
Our shots come, and I clink my glass to hers. It does include me, and Camila was right. I need to start acting like I belong.
The dinner takes a long time—the restaurant clearly not expecting a team of girls to order as much food as we do. By the time we eat, the two glasses of wine combined with the three shots Emily and I snuck off to take at the bar have already hit me hard.
After, we pile into Bri’s SUV. She didn’t drink tonight. In fact, she’s been the DD at all of our team outings and I gotta say I respect that she looks out for everyone. She’s not a bad captain, just a little too heavy with the iron fist.
Mallory’s apartment is far enough away that we decide on leaving Bri’s car here tonight and getting an Uber back to the dorm later. Bri’s no drinking doesn’t apply to parties thankfully, and I’m hoping if she gets liquored up enough maybe I can corner her in the bathroom and force her to talk, to be friends with me.
Clearly, the alcohol has gone to my head. Emily is talking to some guy I don’t know in the front room, so I go off in search of Sydney. She’s always down for fun.
“Hey, Chloe,” Liv, a freshman, says as I approach the kitchen. I realize I haven’t really done a good job of trying to get to know any of them besides my roommates. In practices, I keep my head down and I’d thought Bri had gotten to everyone but maybe not. Liv seems happy to see me anyway.
“Hey.” I stop next to her. “How’s it going?”
“Good.” She bobs her head, tucks her long red hair behind both ears, and glances around awkwardly.
“Not really your scene?”
“I just don’t really know anyone yet. I got put in a dorm room with soccer players, so practices and team outings are the only chance I have.”
I grab her hand and pull her behind me like Emily did me earlier. “Come on, tonight that all changes.” I pick up a bottle of Rumchata. “Drink?”
