Page 29 of Wrong Score

"Yeah, that's me. Sorry I'm late," I tell her.

She gives my body a once over as if scanning me for my measurements.

"That's not a problem at all," she assures me. "Based on the event and your friend's description of you, I pulled a few things to start us off, but of course, if you don't like any of them, you're welcome to look around or tell me what you have in mind."

I move my gaze over toward the changing rooms to find that one of the doors has a handful of dresses hanging on a metal rack. She wasn't kidding when she said that she already pulled items for me.

There must be over twenty dresses bulging off the rack.

There's a slinky gold dress that catches my eye as I follow the saleswoman. When we get closer, I notice a pink satin one with a full skirt, a black and white striped one with a lot of tulle, and an emerald, green dress that looks like it belongs on the red carpet. It would look killer with Keely's auburn hair. I wish more of the girls were here tonight, but most of them had conflicting schedules, so we all had to divide and conquer to get gowns for the event. Still, I'm glad that Tessa, Brynn and soon Cammy are here to do this with.

“No, I trust you. I'm sure whatever you picked out will be a great place to start.”

The saleswoman nods and then opens the changing room that she has waiting for me.

"Now that I've seen your body structure in person, I'll pick my top favorites for you if you're open to my suggestions. You can tell me which ones you like and which ones you don't like, and then I can narrow it down to the perfect dress."

Tessa finds a chair in front of the waiting room and sits as if she's waiting for Brynn and me to start modeling the dresses for her.

"That sounds great, thank you," I tell her.

I walk into the dressing room and then the saleswoman returns with four dresses. She hangs them up for me and then leaves, telling me that she's going to go check on another client at the end of the dressing room but to let her know if I need help in or out of a dress.

I close the door and begin to undress.

"How's it going in there?" Tessa asks Brynn.

"Good, I think. I found a couple I like so far, but I need your opinion. This is the first major event Seven and I are going to as a couple. I just want to make sure that I make him look good."

I hear Tessa make a tsking sound. "You're kidding, right? First of all, you're so gorgeous you could make a dumpster look classy as shit. Second, Seven practically worships you, so stop putting this pressure on yourself. Instead, consider your choice of footwear carefully. I have a feeling that there will be an impromptu walk to Wally's Burgers after the gala ends at one in the morning."

I chuckle at the mental image of a group of Hawkeyes players and their girlfriends, all dressed in formal wear, walking six long blocks to Wally's Burgers.

"Don't forget to model the dresses for me," Tessa says. "And speaking of arm candy, are you bringing a plus one to the gala, Rowan?"

"A plus one?" I ask, trying to sound as if the idea had never occurred to me. Although it actually hadn't happened because this is more of a work event for me than one for pleasure, with all the stunning art pieces that Autumn says are coming in for auction, I'm really looking forward to seeing them in person. "No, I'm not bringing anyone, but if I were to, it would probably be my sister Jordan."

I scan all four dresses and pick a red full-length dress with a plunging neckline to try on first.

"You sure you wouldn't just want to go with someone who is already going to be there?"

I can hear the teasing tone in Tessa's voice, like she's trying to lead me to the answer that she wants to hear.

"Like who?" I ask, playing into her game.

"Word around the Hawkeyes stadium is that things between you two are getting steamy. Something about you two disappearing for an extended period of time on the flight out and then emerging later, both appearing a little more disheveled than when you went in."

For the love of God, does anyone keep their mouth shut around here?

And then a thought comes to me that hadn't before. Is Bex bringing a plus one?

And do I care if he does?

I shake the idea away. Of course, I don't care. He'd be a miserable date for some poor girl.

"Wait, what? This is the first time I'm hearing of this. What happened on the aircraft?" Brynn asks, the sound of taffeta rustling around like she's either taking off a dress or putting a new one on.

"Nothing," I say, pulling the dress up my body and then trying to zip it up as far on my own as I can.

---