Settling the Score (The Summer Games #1) - R.S. Grey Page 0,75
applied a smidgen more makeup than usual and it was making my gray eyes pop. My tight dress was doing wonders for my cleavage, something I usually tried to avoid, but tonight, it felt right. I felt beautiful, albeit uncomfortable. But who needs to breathe when your boobs look this good, right?
I turned to find my sky-high heels, the ones that made my legs go on for days, and then glanced back at Kinsley.
“Ready when you are, baby mama.”
“That is NOT funny!”
KINSLEY HAD PREPPED me as best as she could on the way over, but as I stepped out of the cab and into the madness, I was still taken aback. There were so many reporters stuffed inside the press box that as Kinsley and I walked down the carpet, shouts and grunts could be heard over the snapping shutters. I smiled through the audible oooomphs and laughed when one of the photographers tripped on his way to the front of the line.
“Kinsley!”
“Right here!” the photographers yelled, vying for her attention. I stepped back and gave her the limelight, smiling just enough that I wouldn’t suffer from Resting Bitch Face in any of the photos; I’d learned that the hard way. I used to think I was invisible when the paparazzi were snapping Liam and Kinsley, but then one day my mom called and asked me why it looked like I was picking my nose on the cover of US Weekly. From that day on, I kept my hands tucked by my side and a casual smile plastered on my face.
“Andie! Andie Foster!”
I nearly swallowed my tongue when a few of the photographers turned from Kinsley and aimed their flashing cameras at me.
I laughed like I thought it was a joke and waved them off.
“No thanks, I’m okay.”
“They’re not asking, Andie,” Kinsley laughed before reaching back to my hand. She tugged me forward and tucked me into her side. “Just smile,” she whispered out of the corner of her mouth.
“This is a mistake,” I whispered back.
But it wasn’t a mistake. The photographers wouldn’t leave us alone, and I couldn’t settle back into Resting Bitch Face until I was well within the confines of the banquet hall.
I stretched out my jaw. “Jeez, pretending to be happy is hard work.”
Kinsley laughed. “Now you know why I wear shades all the time. It makes it much easier to pretend they aren’t there when they snap photos.”
I pocketed that bit of knowledge for later and then followed Kinsley through the party. Soft music played in the background and servers were walking around in black suits, serving hors d'oeuvres on silver trays. I reached for something that looked like a shrimp and then froze as half a dozen camera flashes went off in my direction.
“Don’t put anything in your mouth that you can’t eat in one bite,” Kinsley warned, tilting her head toward the cameras. Jesus, I couldn’t even enjoy the food?
The banquet hall was jam-packed with members of the press, all wearing official Olympic-sanctioned badges. Even if they hadn’t been wearing lanyards, they still stuck out like sore, pudgy thumbs compared to the athletes in attendance. We wove through the crowd and I kept an eye out for Freddie. She’d said he’d be there, but by the time we made it to our table, I hadn’t found him yet.
“Looks like we’ll have to endure the press through dinner,” Kinsley groaned, reaching forward for her name card on the table. I was assigned to the seat next to her, but I couldn’t see the other name cards from where I stood. For all I knew I’d be sitting next to a Bulgarian shot putter. Joy.
“I’ll go get us some drinks. Will you be okay here?” Kinsley asked.
I made a show of rolling my eyes. “Honestly, I’m fine. What do you think? I’m going to run over and hump Freddie the first chance I get?”
She smiled. “Either that or slap him.”
As she left for the bar, I turned back to the crowd and recommenced my search for Freddie. It shouldn’t have been hard filtering through the balding reporters, but it wasn’t until there was a commotion near the door that I realized why I hadn’t found him yet.
He’d only just arrived.
He and Thom breezed into the banquet hall and every camera within a ten-mile radius turned and flashed in their direction. He stood for a moment in the doorway. His suit was tailored to his long swimmer’s physique and his smile was just wide enough to