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“I suppose he worries.” It was a poor attempt to comfort her.
Asher—her hot, ice hockey-playing older brother—was terrifying. I tried my best not to be in the room with him when he blew through. Eve was right to worry. He didn’t like his sister going to parties. He was overprotective as hell. Luckily for him, Eve had never been invited to many. Fear of Asher ran deep at Hade Harbor High.
We stopped at a local fast-food place. Eve dramatically clamped a hand over her mouth when I got out of the car.
“Holy shit, what happened to you?”
“I fell over on the way to the car.”
“Classic Lily. You look like you tried to swim in a puddle. Thank God I brought you a change of clothes. Just call me Eve, fairy godmother to the hopeless.”
“Sure. A fairy godmother who forces me to go to crappy high school parties where we’ll have to hide from your brother the entire time.”
“You love me really,” Eve said breezily.
We headed inside and ordered. Eve waited for the food while I went to the bathroom to change. Inside, I deliberated for a moment, checking the time before calling home. At this hour, it should be my mom who was nearest to the phone.
“Williams’ house,” a deep voice spoke.
Damn.My dad was the hardest to get around.
“Hi, Dad, it’s me. I’m going to be a bit late. I’m with Eve, and we’re going to the movies,” I improvised.
If Eve thought Asher was protective, she had no idea what Coach Williams was capable of.
“Is that right? What movie?”
“Um, we haven’t decided. Something scary.”
My dad was quiet for a long moment. “Well, as long as you’re really going to a movie and not Beckett’s party.”
“Is Beckett having a party? I wouldn’t be invited to that anyway. I’m not a puck bunny.”
“Damn right you’re not. My daughter will never be a puck bunny, will she?”
I gripped the phone tight. The entire conversation-from my father's trusting tone to all the lies I was telling-was making me squirm. At least I could be honest about the puck bunny thing. Hockey guys weren’t my type. They were way too confident, arrogant, and fit, for a start. And Beckett Anderson was one of the worst offenders of the entire team. Not only was he gorgeous and a skilled player, but he was rich, too.
“No, Dad. Don’t worry. I’ll be home after the movie, okay?”
“Okay, Lily. I trust you.”
Guilt flooded me at his parting shot. I hated lying, but I’d hate being forbidden from going even more.
I hung up and pulled Eve’s dress from the bag. A quick change later, and I stared, aghast, at my reflection. She’d given me a little black dress to wear, emphasis on the “little.”
It had off-the-shoulder straps and a hem that sat higher on my long body than it would on my best friend’s. I seriously considered putting my dirty jeans back on instead. I never wore revealing clothes. It didn’t seem right that the off-limits Coach’s daughter, a complete bookworm and science nerd, should care what she wore. I’d learned the hard way that even if I made an effort, no one noticed. I washed my hands and balanced my contacts case on the edge of the sink, quickly swapping my glasses and tucking them away in my bag.
I headed back to our table, the thought of food too good to resist. I decided I could always keep my jacket on at the party. Everyone thought I was weird, anyway. One more quirk wouldn’t matter.
Eve froze when she saw me, dramatically pausing with her burger halfway to her mouth. “Jesus, you look so hot.”
“My dad would kill me if he saw this outfit,” I muttered, sliding into the booth and grabbing my bag to lay it over my knees. I’d checked inside it already, and my notebook had somehow escaped getting too wet.
“He’s not going to be there, and you deserve a night of acting like a normal seventeen-year-old.”
“Whatever you say. We agreed on one hour, don’t forget.”
Eve grinned. “Let’s just play it by ear.”
