My shirt is suddenly sticking to me with more than sweat, and I scowl at Olivia, my Scandinavian nemesis. Never mind the fact that the water actually feels good. I send a balloon back at her, but it hits Sydney instead, who glares at me. I shoot her a satisfied smile, and the game descends into chaos. Vivid globes are flying everywhere, exploding into strips of colored plastic and sprays of clear water. I don’t know which side gets fully drenched first, and I don’t think anyone else does earlier. We don’t stop until the bins are empty.

Ellie flops down on the grass, and I lie down beside her to stare up at the perfectly clear sky.

“This is my favorite memory on this field,” she says, giggling slightly.

I open my mouth to agree, and then close it.

It’s not mine.

* * *

I’ve just gotten out of the shared shower on Friday night when there’s a loud knock on my door.

“What?” I call, tightening the towel around my torso. The door opens, and Alexis pokes her head in.

“Get ready, we’re going to dinner and then out,” she instructs.

“I was thinking of staying in tonight…” I hedge. In truth, Sophia texted me, asking about going clubbing. Beck must have given her my number.

“Yeah, right. Cancel whatever other plans you made. Everyone’s going.” Alexis gives me a knowing smirk.

I roll my eyes. “Fine.”

I text Sophia requesting a rain check and then get ready. I go for a smokey eye effect with my makeup and curl my hair, so it looks more tousled than messy. Finally, I slip on the black, strapless dress I picked out for the soccer formal last spring. It offsets my tan nicely. The dress is too nice to wear anything but heels with, so I reluctantly slip on a black pair and head downstairs. An awkward silence descends when I enter the kitchen, which is already littered with alcohol. I’m honestly a little impressed by my strait-laced teammates.

Ellie breaks the quiet that follows my appearance.

“Okay, that’s everyone! Let’s go.” We all head out of the house, where a line of several taxis already awaits. I climb into the last one with Alexis, Ellie, and a quiet girl named Alice who I’ve never spoken to before but know has a mean header. Ellie spends the entire drive jabbering nonsensically, making me think she pre-gamed harder than she should have. She’s not normally this chatty.

The restaurant we stop outside is trendy and upscale. Definitely not a place serving traditional German cuisine, which I’m intrigued by. The exterior is half-timbered but painted entirely black so that the texture differential is barely noticeable.