Miriam leaned across Frida to wrap her arms around Em. “Thank you, thank you, thank you. I was cutting it close. You have no idea how freaked out I was about this.”
“Oh, I think I have a pretty good idea.” She had roughly an hour before she was supposed to go down on the field and compete against other women for a chance to win Grant’s heart...or at least, an hour of his time.
It should’ve been simple enough, but now that she’d admitted her crush to herself, she was going to have a hard time acting casual about it.
“We should probably get you cleaned up,” Frida said.
Em looked down at her outfit—she’d paired Finn’s jersey with a pair of skinny jeans that night—and touched her hair. “What do you mean?”
“It’s The Dating Game. You should look like you’re about to go on a date.”
Em snapped her fingers. “Silly me. I forgot to bring my spare dress tonight, and I’m not running home to get it.”
Frida rolled her eyes. “I just meant I could give you a more dramatic makeup look.”
Why did Frida assume Em had any of that with her? “I don’t have my makeup either.”
Frida lifted her purse. “Luckily, I do. And I’d love to do something with your hair.”
“There’s nothing wrong with my hair.” She glanced over at Miriam who suddenly found the board between them and the field very interesting. She turned back to Frida. “You’ve got ten minutes before the game starts.”
Frida nodded. “Deal.”
It took Frida twenty minutes to do Em’s makeup and hair in the arena’s public bathroom, and as much as she didn’t want to admit it, Em was thankful for her best friend’s magic touch. So much so, she didn’t mind that they missed the beginning of the game.
She couldn’t change her outfit, and worried about looking silly after having her hair and makeup done while still wearing a Storm jersey, but Frida was, after all, an artist. When Em was finally allowed to see herself in the mirror, she couldn’t believe how amazing she looked.
Her eyeshadow was darker, but not too sultry, her cheeks had just a touch of pink to them—which would hopefully cover any unwelcome blushes—and her lips were bright red. As for her hair, Frida had pulled half of it up into a soft, romantic style.
Unfortunately, the first date jitters were hitting hard, and Em fought the urge to touch her hair or face during the second quarter. Her stomach fluttered with a million butterflies, and her breathing got shallower with every minute they got closer to halftime.
It’s not a real date.
He might not even choose you.
The thought of Grant spending an hour at that romantic table with another woman hurt more than she thought it would, which only made her nerves go back into overdrive. She struggled to pay attention to the game unfolding in front of her, and by the time the buzzer signifying the end of the first half sounded through the arena, Em was seriously considering bailing altogether.
“Come on, let’s go,” Miriam said and began walking around the outside of the arena toward one of the goals. Em had no choice but to follow.
Looks like I missed that boat.
There were two other women standing there waiting. They both looked like they were in their mid-twenties, and just as suspected, they were gorgeous. One of them wore an over-the-top pink, frilly dress, and the other wore jeans just like Em, but instead of a jersey, she had on a low-cut top that left little to the imagination.
Miriam walked over and introduced herself while the arena staff rolled up the net. Greg and some other Storm staff members brought the partition and chairs out to the field.
“I’m going to walk out on the field and play host in just a minute. When I call your name, I want you to walk out onto the field and sit down in one of the chairs.” Miriam grabbed three microphones off a nearby table. “When you sit down, press the button on the side. When you do, your mic is live.”
Em’s hands were shaking so much she nearly dropped hers when Miriam handed it to her.
“Grant Vaughn is our bachelor tonight. Greg is leading him onto the field from the other direction so he won’t see you. His choice will be based strictly on your answers. They’re silly questions, so don’t stress. Remember to smile and have fun.” Miriam winked at Em before she turned and walked out onto the field.
Once she was out there, she introduced herself and the bachelor. Then she explained the rules of the game.
The woman in the pink dress looked at Em. She smiled timidly. “Are you nervous?”
Yes!
Em shook her head. “Not really. I think it’ll be fun.”
“Grant is super cute,” revealing t-shirt woman said. “I wonder what the odds of getting a second date are if we win tonight?”
Hopefully zero if you win.
Em instantly felt guilty for the thought. Clearly neither of them had a no-dating-soccer-players rule. Grant should spend his time and attention on someone who could return it fully, not someone who’d only crush in secret and do nothing about it. “I think this is just for fun,” she said to the woman.
T-shirt woman laughed. “Well, yeah. But I plan to take advantage of my time with him if I get the chance.”
“Oh, they just called my name,” pink dress woman said. She took a deep breath and walked out onto the field. When she reached the chairs, she sat down.
Miriam called t-shirt woman. She sauntered onto the field oozing confidence.
Em wiped her hands on her jeans. When Miriam finally called her name, Em plastered a smile on her face and walked out. She took her seat next to the other two women.
“Let’s give our contestants a round of applause.” Holding her own microphone, Miriam clapped her hands. When the applause died down, she turned to the three women. “Before we get to our questions,
