Thirty Reasons Not to Date a Player

09. He Looks Too Good in a Suit

My parents didn’t have enough money to throw me a sweet sixteen. I never really wanted one in the first place; I detest being the center of attention. And the idea of my family “mingling” with my friends from school just makes me want to cringe.

“What time will your friend be here?” my mom asks, causing me to tear my eyes away from my phone screen.

“Ten minutes or so,” I reply, seeing that the clock reads a quarter to six. Crystalina’s sweet sixteen party starts at seven, which gives me an hour to get ready once I get to Rachel’s house.

I’m no expert when it comes to sneaking around, but I figure this is the first and last time I’ll have to lie about where I'm going. “Is it okay if we stay out for a couple hours? The movie might be a little long.”

“Yeah, that’s fine, as long as you give me a call when you’re on your way home,” my mom tells me. “Will you be getting a ride or do you want your father—”

“Rachel’s giving me a ride,” I say, cutting her off before she gets a chance to begin her over-protective mom line of questioning. “I’ll be fine, Mom. I’m almost seventeen.” She smiles at me and then rushes into the kitchen because my little sister is calling her.

I get up from the couch and head to my room to pick out some shoes to match my navy blue cardigan. I eventually decide on wearing flats, because I can probably match them with whichever dress Rachel lets me borrow. It’s lucky that the two of us are the same size.

I’m in the process of packing my purse when the doorbell rings. “She’s here,” I say aloud. My mom walks into the living room, with Katie hiding behind one of her legs. My little sister has always been shy when meeting new people. My mom says I was friendly and talkative as a child. I wish I had that kind of confidence now. 

“You must be Rachel,” my mom says, smiling at the dark-haired girl in front of her. Rachel doesn’t have any piercings, besides the ones on her ears, and she doesn’t look like the type of girl to do drugs or enjoy drinking alcohol on a regular basis. My parents are always on the lookout for “troubled" kids, but I doubt Rachel fits into that category.

“Nice to meet you.” Rachel shakes my mom’s hand in a really awkward manner. Or maybe it just looks awkward from where I’m standing. 

“What are your plans for tonight, girls?”

“Oh, we’re just heading to the mall for a little, and then maybe to see a movie,” Rachel answers for the both of us.

“Which movie?”

“Nothing rated R,” I say, trying to satisfy my mom.

“A lot of movies are playing tonight,” Rachel tries. “But I’ve been wanting to see the new Step Up movie with Ryan Guzman and Briana Evigan." She turns to me. "You okay with that?”

“Yeah, totally, I love dance movies,” I say as smoothly as I can. I know the whole conversation is bogus, and I just follow Rachel’s lead. She seems to know exactly what she's doing. 

“Sounds good,” my mom says finally. “But I need her home by nine.”

“Ten?” I try, giving her puppy eyes.

“Nine thirty,” she bargains in a stern voice.

I’ll take what I can get.

 *

The drive to Rachel's house is surprisingly short, but when we get there it dawns upon me that this is Ryder's house, too. 

"There's a first time for everything," Rachel tells me, as she unlocks the front door. I know she's referring to the fact that I just lied to my mom about where I was going. Lying to your friends is one thing, but lying to your parents comes with risks and consequences. "But as long as you're home before nine-thirty," she continues, "your parents won't suspect a thing."