“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 entirecheer 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.
NINE
CHASE
Somewhere in the back of my mind, a voice is yelling at me to stop. To pull back. We’ve done what we needed to do. We’ve sold the kiss for the cameras. And yet, I can’t seem to loosen my hold. My hands keep roaming down Serena’s back, pulling her even closer, pressing her body to mine. I can’t stop myself from deepening the kiss. Her mouth is soft and warm, and I swear, I forget where we are, who I am. Forget how to breathe.
Then it ends, and Serena is drawing gently away, and it’s a fight not to keep hold of her. I open my eyes, and for a fraction of a second, she’s looking at me like she sees everything I’m feeling—the heat, the want, the confusion. For that one moment it feels like the world has tipped upside down. But then I blink and it’s gone and she’s Serena again.
I take a breath. My heart is still hammering in my chest. I’ve thrown a hundred game-winning passes under more pressure than this, but one brush of Serena’s skin and I’m rattled like a rookie. No doubt the result of how keyed up I am from the weeks of Chasing Love attention and how much I want my life back.
From the carpet beside me, Serena takes my hand and with a final wave to the cameras and a practiced smile, she leads meinside. The second we’re through the doors and away from the cameras, a strong hand claps me on the back.
“I mean…” Jake says. “I wasn’t sure if you’d pull it off… but damn.”
Harper’s smiling beside him. “You looked like you were ready to eat her alive.”
“Just following orders,” I reply. “Next time I’m requesting more practice runs.” It’s the joke I’m expected to make and everyone laughs, but inside it feels like the world has shifted a little beneath my feet, and suddenly I need to shake it off.