EIGHT
SERENA
ELLE: How are you feeling about fake-kissing Chase? Call me tomorrow to tell me everything!
SERENA: It’s going to be weird!
ELLE: If I can survive three kids’ birthday parties this weekend, you can survive a kiss with a gorgeous football player.
SERENA: When you put it like that…
LIV: Have fun tonight! Hope you know what you’re doing!
MIA: Good luck tonight! Remember—make it look real!
SERENA: I have no idea what that means.
MIA: It means no pecks on the cheek.
HARPER: It means full tongue and looking at him like you want to rip his clothes off.
RYAN: Can’t wait to see you tonight!
“I am so excited to see you two pull this off,” Harper says, adjusting the strap of her sapphire A-line dress as she takes a seat on the bench of the long oak table in the ranch house kitchen.
The place hasn’t changed much in the years since I was the one sitting there doing homework sessions with Chase or grabbing a midnight snack during sleepovers. The space is warm wooden cabinets, stone countertops, and a massive stove big enough to cook for a dozen hungry football players.
“Or watch you epic fail,” Jake adds from across the kitchen. He wears his tux well—but not quite as well as Chase, I think, sneaking a glance at my best friend. Chase fills out that tux like it was custom-made. It probably was.
Dylan strides in next. His thick dark hair is freshly washed and styled but he’s tugging at the collar of his dress shirt like it’s trying to strangle him. “Five minutes into the ball before this bow tie comes off. Calling it now.”
Right behind him is Madison, skidding in with Buck, Jake’s yellow retriever, at her heels. She’s wearing a red Stormhawks jersey and denim cutoffs, blonde curls wild and bouncing. “Grandpa Joe says we can make ice cream sundaes when you go,” she announces, mentioning her paternal grandfather.
“Grandpa Joe clearly doesn’t want any peace tonight,” Izzy says, following behind. She looks stunning in an off-the-shoulder blue dress. I smile at her, but my eyes slip to her stomach. Even though there’s barely the start of a bump yet, a little ache stirs in my chest.
“I feel ridiculous,” Izzy mutters, fiddling with the ends of her hair.
Dylan is by her side in a few strides and wrapping her in his arms. “You’re the most beautiful person in the world.”
“No offense taken,” Chase says with a mock-pout, and of course, we all laugh.
Then Mama sweeps through the back door like a queen, carrying a bottle of champagne in her hands. Her gown is floor-length black velvet, simple and stunning.
“Wow, Mama,” Chase says, whistling as he takes the champagne from her. “You look gorgeous.”
His compliment is chorused by the rest of us.
“You really do,” I say.
Our eyes meet and Mama’s smile is warm. “And so do you,” she replies. “Chase is a lucky man tonight.”
“Damn straight,” Chase calls over his shoulder as he pops the champagne for Mama.
When a glass is pressed into my hand, I take a grateful sip, feeling the nerves bubbling as much as the drink. I’m relieved to see Chase looking relaxed again. There was a moment on the porch which had felt tight, like maybe he was regretting not bringing a real date. Someone he could give a compliment to like that and mean it. I shiver at the memory of Chase pulling me close. My head knew it was practice, nothing more, but for a moment there my pulse kicked up like it was more.
“I think Serena looks like a princess,” Madison says, her voice uncharacteristically shy as she buries her hands in Buck’s fur.
I beam at her compliment. “Thanks, Mad. But I’d much rather be in your outfit tonight.”
“Me too,” Chase adds. “You wanna swap, Mad?”
“My clothes are too small for you.” She giggles before turning back to me. “Are you really Chase’s girlfriend?”
“Just for tonight. And it’s only pretend. Me and Chase—” I make a silly face like the very idea is totally gross. “No way. We’re best friends.”
“Me and my friend Daisy pretend our teachers are zombies,” Mad replies.
“Some of mine definitely were,” Jake mutters, and we all laugh again as talk turns to high school teachers.
When the limo arrives—a gleaming stretch that can fit all of us—we let Madison sit in it for a minute before Grandpa Joe arrives and calls her away for sundaes. The thirty-minute drive into Denver is loud and chaotic and filled with laughter.
“You two should go last,” Harper says to us as we pull up to the red carpet outside the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. Through the tinted car window, the building looks like a palace from a fairy tale, lit up against the night sky. A line of cameras and press wait outside, cordoned behind red velvet ropes.
“You’re only saying that so you can watch them,” Jake teases.
Harper laughs. “I am, and I’m not even sorry.”
Then the driver opens the door and Mama, Dylan, and Izzy climb out. There’s shouts and camera flashes, then Jake and Harper go next.
Chase takes my hand and squeezes gently before letting go. “Ready to do this?”
I nod and Chase steps out first and there’s a roar of shouts and strobing flashes. He turns, offering me his hand, and I take it, heart hammering as I step onto the carpet. I’m used to performing in front of a crowd, but I’ve always had an entire cheer squad with me. This feels like a whole different level of attention. Chase’s arm slips around my waist, guiding me forward like it’s the most natural thing in the world.
When we’re halfway between the car and the stone columns of the entrance, dead center on the red carpet, he pauses, turning me toward him, drawing me closer. His eyes lock on mine; there’s a smile tugging at his lips that’s so Chase that for a second the nerves and madness of this moment slip away. His hands slide down my back, and I wrap my arms around his neck.
Then his lips brush mine and we’re kissing. It’s soft at first. Then deepens. I feel his tongue slide into my mouth and suddenly the cameras, the noise, everything falls away until it’s just me and Chase and this kiss. His hands on my back are firm and sure, and like a thousand other moments in our friendship, he’s telling me he’s got me. I press myself to him, feeling every hard muscle of his body. Our tongues explore each other’s mouths, teasing and caressing.
And even though I know this is just pretend, just performance, heat spreads through me like wildfire and my heart pounds like it doesn’t understand the rules. But that’s just adrenaline and the nerves of the spotlight, because we put on a damn good show.