As if I could.
Overly emotional Jen L. was sent home that night, and the next day we had another group date.
Soccer. Or as Dante would mistakenly call it, football.
I hated playing sports. I was not a fan of glistening, which was what we called sweat back home. Once upon a time, I hadn’t minded it, but ever since I gave up ballet, I’d avoided unnecessary exertion. I didn’t like hiking or throwing things or catching them.
I put on a pair of tennis shoes, shorts, and a T-shirt. Half of the girls came out in sports bras and shorts that looked more like underwear. I didn’t understand dressing so impractically. But I wasn’t the one who’d be embarrassed when something sprang free.
Genesis’s hair kept flying out of the rubber band she used to hold it back. I offered to French braid her hair to keep it down, and she agreed. In the middle of doing that, some of the others asked if I could French braid their hair too.
Dante arrived on the field that the show had set up in the backyard with goals and lines. The girls called out a greeting to him, and he waved as he walked over.
It was easier to control my physical reaction, because I was annoyed at him. Only a small heart murmuring this time.
“So the den mother now does hair.”
Den mother? I was hot. I was not a den mother.
I wrapped the last elastic at the bottom of Jessica T.’s hair, and she left, giving Dante a lingering and flirtatious look. I would not roll my eyes.
“Part of the pageant thing. You learn how to do hair pretty quickly.” I didn’t have a brush, so the hairstyles didn’t look as nice as I would have preferred, but they were going to be running around so it didn’t matter.
“Always taking care of everyone else,” he mused. “Who takes care of you?”
I shrugged.
“I would, if you’d let me.” He ran out onto the field and started kicking the ball around with the women as they decided on teams.
What was I supposed to do with that? He sounded serious, but I knew he wasn’t. Right then, he was flirting with tons of other girls. He managed to confuse me, give me false hope, and make me wish for things that just wouldn’t be.
Even if his offer to take care of me had been legit, I needed to take care of myself. I needed to protect my heart from him.
It was time for the match to begin. The show had even sprung for a referee. I was put on the pink team versus Dante’s purple team, and we wore bands on our arms to tell everyone apart. I couldn’t believe we were playing soccer. It was like a soul-crushing wade through a river of misery. How did anyone think this was fun?
I was glistening more than I wanted, and sort of moved back and forth instead of trying to actively play. Genesis was on Dante’s team, and she was killing it. She scored so many points that they called the game before it got much more embarrassing. Dante high-fived her, and she hugged him. He glanced over at me with a shame-filled expression, before disengaging from her.
That was weird. I thought he liked Genesis.
I found some shade and wished for water. I was too tired to get up and walk back to the house to get it. Some assistants were setting up a table, putting a tablecloth over it, and I hoped they were putting out food and water.
Genesis joined me. “Good game.”
“You had a good game. I had a minor stroke.”
She laughed. “I didn’t know he was so good at soccer. Kind of impressive.”
“Everybody in Europe is good at soccer. He’s nothing special.”
Ashley S. strolled past right then and stopped to glare at me. She put her hand on her hip and said, “Why are you still here if you dislike Dante so much? There are lots of us here who do like him, and we’re getting sent home while he keeps you around. If you aren’t here for the right reasons, why don’t you just step aside?”
Right then I was tempted to do exactly what she had said. I would just leave. Then there would be no more temptation, no more Dante, and no more putting up with these women.
And I would go back home to . . . what exactly? Things were not great with Sterling, and I was peeved that he still hadn’t tried to reach me to apologize. He should apologize, and he should suffer a little for it.