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"Tara spoke with me yesterday and gave me an ultimatum: 'Either you go or she goes'."

My heart started pounding in my chest.

"Ah."

"But the last time I checked, Tara was not ‘Coach Tara.’" Coach Davis sat back and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Thank god," I murmured under my breath.

She smiled. "I told her to pack her things and leave. I was prepared to offer her a second chance, but the fact that she was so blinded by her hate for you that she would want to kick off one of the best players on our team shows how little she truly cares about the program."

Holy hell.

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"Wow."

"There will be some adjustments, but I feel good about the decision and I think the team will really benefit. We'll vote for the new captain on Monday."

"I don't really know what to say."

Coach Davis eyed me for a moment and then leaned forward, as if she didn't want me to miss a single word.

"You have a good head on your shoulders, Kinsley. In the few weeks that you've been with the program, you've had quite a few challenges thrown your way, yet no matter what, you haven't let it affect your practice or your commitment to the team.

You've had multiple opportunities to shove yourself into the spotlight, but I think the way that you're going about your career is 502/890

very wise. All too often, athletes shoot themselves in the foot by reaching for celebrity status before honing their skills."

Her warning reminded me of Liam.

"Do you think it's a bad idea to be with Liam? If I’m supposed to stay away from the spotlight?"

"I don't think you could find a better match than Liam. He has a reputation, as I warned you about, but now you’ve seen firsthand how the press likes to embellish their stories about young athletes. He's a damn good soccer player and I think you could learn a lot from him."

Wow. I couldn't believe the way the conversation was going, but I'm really glad I agreed to meet with her. The haziness around the last few days was beginning to 503/890

settle and my options were right in front of me, ready for me to take them.

"Thank you so much, Coach Davis. For everything. I promise I won't take my second chance lightly."

"Good. Now, let's order. I'm starving."

She winked and handed me a menu.

…

"Penn said his house is on the beach so let's wear bathing suits under our dresses in case people are swimming," Becca declared as we pushed off the bed to start getting ready.

"Okay, I have this cover up that's kind of fancy enough to be worn to a party," I mentioned, heading toward my closet. It was an icy blue silk material that wrapped around my body and crossed in the front so that it 504/890

stayed closed when I pulled my arms through the spaghetti straps.

"Hmm, I'm not sure what I have. I could just wear a nice top and shorts?"

I found the cover-up hanging in my closet right next to an identical one. I’d forgotten my crazy mother had ordered me the dress in multiple colors. One blue and one fuchsia. I think they’d been a part of a

“Maui” themed care package. I’m not kidding, the woman is dedicated.

"Oh, I forgot my mom bought me two! If it’s not too ‘sister-wives’ of us, we could both wear these?"

Becca ran to the closet with a giddy smile. "That's perfect."

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"You should wear the teal with your blonde hair," I said, pushing the cover-up toward her.

"We'll look like we're fourteen-year-old best friends that have to match wherever we go."

I pushed her out of my closet so I could change into my bathing suit. "We kind of are.”

“Hey wait, are you nervous to see Liam?” she asked as I started to shut the door on her face.

“Nope. No. Zilch. Nada. Who’s that?” I lied before squashing her out of the door way.

I was as cool as a cucumber.

“The lady doth protest too much!” she called before cackling her way toward the 506/890

bathroom. As long as I live, I’ll regret not putting that hot wax on her face.

An hour later we were leaving the house in our bright, silky cover-ups. Becca's hair looked sleek and sexy and she'd curled mine so that it hung down my back in beachy waves. Penn's house was all the way out in Malibu, but I didn't mind the drive down Pa-cific Coast Highway. You'd think after having lived in Los Angeles my whole life I'd be sick of the ocean, but most of the time I was just too busy to take a trip out just for fun. It'd been almost a year since I'd been out to Malibu, and as we pulled up to his beach house, Becca and I exchanged impressed nods.

Penn had a modern home with lots of windows and sharp, clean lines. We could 507/890

see people mingling around inside already, so we pushed through the front door and were greeted by music and laughter.

"This isn't so bad," Becca nodded. The party was intimate compared to the last few weeks and the crowd appeared to skew a bit older than the LA Stars parties. There were people mingling around with cocktails and beer, but I didn't recognize anyone right away.

"Good call with the bathing suits," I nodded, noticing a few of the guys were wearing swimming trunks and t-shirts.

"Should we go get a d—"

Becca was midway through her sentence when she was interrupted.

"Kinsley! Becca!" Josh called just as I turned to see him approaching us.

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He'd taken his shirt off so that his broad chest was on display. I could tell from his awkward walk that he was already tipsy.

"Hi Josh," I answered simply, unsure of where we stood. Surely he didn't know the article would be spun around on us, so I couldn't blame him for that. But it still left me with a bad taste in my mouth.

"You two look like twins," he smiled, casting his gaze from me to Becca, then back again. Becca stifled her laughter by covering her mouth.

He was just tipsy enough to be harmless and I think I liked him better that way.

"We should party, c'mon," he reached out for my hand, but I pulled it out of his grasp.

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"Actually, Becca and I were going to use the bathroom," I lied, giving him a simple smile.

He bought it. "Okay, come find me when you're done." We watched him walk away and get swallowed up by the crowd of people before us.

"He must have started drinking early,"

Becca noted, and I glanced down at my phone. It was only 7:00 P.M. He'd be well on his way to plastered if he kept the same pace.

"Not my problemo anymore! Let's go find drinks."

I strung my arm through hers and we walked through the party. Quite a few people paused to watch us walk by, but I think it was the matching dresses that pulled them in.

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Penn’s house had an open-concept lay-out. The dining room opened up into the living room and then it expanded into another sitting area. The entire back of the house was composed of floor-to-ceiling windows that showcased a pool and a perfect view of the ocean.

"Wow. This place is amazing," Becca murmured as we both stopped to watch the sunset for a moment.

"Glad you guys like it," Penn answered behind us. Becca's body stilled and then she unwrapped her arm from mine. When she spun around to face him, I could tell she was trying to mask her elation behind a cool facade, but there was no hiding it. She was thrilled to see him.

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"Hi!" she beamed up at him, and I shifted my gaze to Penn. His dark hair was styled back and his brown eyes held a little twinkle in them as he smiled down at her. His head was tilted a bit to the side like he was trying to take all of her in but couldn’t quite figure out where to start.