The last time I went bowling, it was for Emmett’s tenth birthday party. And there were clowns.
The bowling alley is dark inside, lit up with neon strips along each lane and a few red lights hung overhead – it’s like the world’s most boring nightclub. There aren’t a ton of people in here, maybe twenty or so broken off into a few separate groups, spaced out enough that it doesn’t feel like people are right on top of us when we settle into our space.
Sophia slips off the Chucks she wore here, pushing her hair over one shoulder while she bends down in her chair to swap them out for a pair of bowling shoes. She’s not wearing any makeup, and her hair is wavy as all damn get out; and she’s never looked fucking better. I don’t think she notices when I pull out my phone and grab a quick photo of her. I don’t think she knows about any of the photos I’ve taken of her, and that’s fine, because if she did, I’m sure she’d give me hell about them.
“Teams?”
Sophia smiles over at Rowan with a nod, telling her, “Girls versus boys, absolutely.”
The two of them pick out their balls first, going for the smallest ones available, and Colt and I follow. “Do y’all even know how to play?” I ask them.
Sophia gestures from the ball return machine down to the end of the lane. “Pick up ball, roll ball, knock pins over. Like this.”
Stepping toward the lane, she cradles the bowling ball in both hands, swinging it behind her before launching it forward, straight down the goddamn center of the lane. She gets astrike. Her arms shoot up in the air with a cheer, and she shimmies over to me while she bites back her smile.
“Ohhhh, how’sthattaste, giant?”
“You hush up,” I tell her, grabbing her chin between my fingers.
Colt follows with his turn, and Rowan follows him, each of them doing pretty well as far as I can tell, and I get set up to take my own. I feel like a fucking idiot walking toward the lane – no one looks cool bowling, and you can’t convince me otherwise. It’s a stupid looking game; except when Sophia’s up, because the way her tight jeans mold to her ass...I could stare at that for a while, no problem.
It doesn’t take more than two hours for the girls to wipe the fucking floor with us – no, we did notletthem win, and yes, they both used that not-actually-bowling double handed method to do it.
While we walk through the dark parking lot, headed for my truck, Rowan and Sophia walk ahead of us. They link their arms together, laughing and talking to each other about god knows what.
“Ah, shit,” I sigh.
“What?”
“I’m gonna marry that girl, old man.”
A slow smile crawls across my best friend’s face and he clamps a hand down on the back of my neck. “Yeah, I know you are.”
•
I drop down next to Sophia on her bed, looking at the corner it’s shoved into, and everything that means. Everything she hasn’t told me or can’t tell me or won’t tell me. I know she’s got five years ofshitbuilt up that I can’t take away from her, but I would if I could.
She was so damn happy tonight in a baggy t-shirt and a pair of bowling shoes.
“I got a question for you,” I tell her while she settles herself over me, straddling my lap.
“I might have an answer.”
“Do youlikeworking at the club?” My hands slide over her body, following up the curve of her hips until they slide under her t-shirt, working their way up to cup her tits. “Or do you just work there ‘cause you felt like you owed me?”
“Well that’s a loaded question to ask with your hands on my boobs,” she laughs, putting her hands over mine.
“You gonna answer it?”
“I do like it there, and it’s completely different from the way that things were,” she assures me. “It’s the job that I actually wanted to to do in the first place...but it’s also a reminder of things that I want to forget.”
“Do me a favor and deposit that damn check, alright, Sugar?”
“Wh—”
“You’re givin’ me your notice.”
I saw someone get pulled out of the lake once back home. He fell off his boat and got stuck out in the water by himself for long enough that he went under. Bill jumped in and went to grab the guy, but it took him a couple minutes to get all the way out there. When he finally got the guy back to dry land, it took a while to get all the water out of his lungs. As soon as it was, though, the guy sucked in air like he thought he was never gonna breathe oxygen again in his life. He had this look on his face that was fear and gratitude and relief all tangled into one.
