Dangerous Play

39 » national signing day

"Stupid crutches," I grumbled as I smacked the left one against yet another chair in Claremont Hill's cafeteria. If I didn't need the infernal devices to walk and recover properly, I'd have burned the things days ago. Not only was my knee busted, but now my armpits were sore from hobbling around.

I had surgery for my knee a week and a half ago, just before Halloween, which meant I'd missed out on Felicity's supposedly incredible rager. She and Rose had visited right after I woke up from the operation, decked out in their costumes. Well, sort of. The three of us were supposed to be kiss, marry, kill—me, Felicity, and Rose, respectively. Since I obviously couldn't make it, Rose put on my kiss costume and they took a picture with me in the hospital bed as if I was dead. Apparently kill took the name a little too literally.

They ended up repurposing their costumes anyway. Pictures from the party showed Felicity wearing all white with an angel halo and wings instead of a veil, and Rose simply added a red lightsaber to her original kill costume to become a Sith lord. Pretty in-character adjustments for my two friends.

Now, the two of them were at the front of the cafeteria. Felicity sat behind one of the four tables. Hers was covered in a dark blue tablecloth and decked out with UCLA swag, complete with blue and yellow balloons and a UCLA motif backdrop. Rose stood next to her, chatting about something animatedly.

The other three tables were mine, Finn's, and Ashton's. Mine had a white tablecloth and a giant UNC flag draped across the front. Finn's was similar but with a navy blue UVA flag instead, which was miles better than the orange tablecloth he'd been considering. Ashton's table was a dark crimson for Harvard. I'd known he was a competitive swimmer, but I hadn't realized how good he was. Or, honestly, that he was that smart under the constant joking and not taking things seriously.

Rose and Felicity greeted me as I maneuvered around the tables to get to my seat. I set the crutches down behind me and readjusted the UNC hat I was wearing. My parents had set up the tables for Finn and me, which was sweet. There was a cluster of blue and white balloons behind me, and on the table they'd laid out a couple of sweatshirts and cookies from a local bakery who had customized them to be Tar Heels and soccer themed.

National Signing Day was a pretty big deal for future college athletes. This was the day we officially committed to playing for a collegiate team, especially for D1 schools. Slowly, the cafeteria started filling up with people—mostly our friends and family, but also coaches and our teammates who weren't planning to keep playing in college. I spotted Chanel and Olivia among the crowd and waved at them.

"Rose, are you sure you don't want to play soccer in college? We could be national team teammates!" I overheard Felicity saying.

Rose shook her head with a rueful grin. "Unfortunately, my playing days are over at the end of this season. But if I get into Duke, you owe Abby and me a visit!"

Felicity pouted. "You guys should just come out to LA instead. The weather is nicer."

"Or we could all take a trip out to Madrid to see Kieran play," I suggested. Both of them turned to face me. "I'm sure he could get us tickets. If not, I'll—"

"You'll what?" came another voice. I looked up and saw Kieran's grinning face in front of me.

I blinked innocently at him. "I will very nicely ask my lovely superstar soccer player boyfriend if he could get us tickets to one of his Real Madrid games sometime next season." Beside me, Felicity snorted, and Rose stifled a smile.

"That's what I thought," he said, nodding imperiously. Then he glanced down at the table. "Why are the cookies shaped like feet? Can I have one?"

I batted his hand away. "Those are Tar Heels, dummy, and no! Wait until after I sign the letter!"