“Knox!” I squeal as he tickles me. “Hey! No fair! Knock it off!”
I try to tickle him back, but it’s no use. Ugh. I’m so jealous of people that aren’t ticklish. Eli’s hands join the fray, and soon I’m trapped between two luscious Alphas who seem to want to find every excuse they can to get their hands on me.
It’s jarring, not being afraid of their touches.
I finally swat away their ticklish touches before another familiar scent curls around my senses. Grapes and pine, with the woody scent of aged oak barrels.
I look around and find Walker already approaching us.
“Hey,” I say with a soft smile.
He just walks up, smoothing my ponytail off my shoulder. His eyes roam over me, like he’s trying to take a snapshot for his memory. His intent stare makes me blush before he leans in and presses a soft kiss to my cheek.
My stomach does a somersault.
“Ready to get your ass handed to you, beautiful?” he asks.
I grin up at him, flushed cheeks and all. “Hope you told your head chef what you’ve gotten her into. I run a tight ship when it comes to my pastries.”
Walker chuckles. “Come on, guys. Bowling’s on me tonight.”
We all head inside, the lane lights casting multicolored streaks across the floor. The black lights are on, illuminating posters on the walls that glow with the unnatural lighting. The sounds of pins clattering, balls rolling, and laughter hit me in waves, and I immediately feel at home.
This is my element right here. Friendly competition. Laughter. Messy hair and loud noises with just enough mayhem to make everything feel alive.
I can’t wait to kick Walker’s ass.
We snag our lane and get into our shoes before picking out our balls. Knox is adamant about carrying my ball for me and placing it in the feeder. Walker is hiking my feet into his lap, insisting that he put my bowling shoes on for me. Such a silly Alpha, that one, acting like I can’t even put on my own shoes. Eli works the bowler console, typing in all of our names.
I smile when I see that he’s entered mine in as “Alley Cat.”
I smile at all of them, really. They’re honestly not so bad.
Not like my last pack, anyway.
I shove the thought of those idiots out of my mind. We were young, and dumb, and stupid, and full of hormones. We had no business doing what we had done. Sure, living with my Alpha Rejection Syndrome has permanently altered some aspects of my life. But it doesn’t have to alter this.
It doesn’t have to take away my ability enjoy things.
“Knox, you’re up first,” Eli says as he stands from the console chair.
Knox cracks his knuckles and stands to get his ball. “All right, Sunshine. Try not to cheat on us, will you?”
I balk. “Hey! I never cheat at bowling. I don’t have to.”
“Good,” he says as he tosses me a wink.
Before sending his ball down the aisle and straight into the gutter.
“What?” Knox exclaims. “No way. There’s no way I was that off-center.”
My head falls back with laughter. “Sucks to suck. Eli, your turn.”
I can’t help but to watch his ass as he stands and tries to get his stance right. I can tell that Eli doesn’t bowl much. He probably only just started because his daughter wanted to give it a try, and that makes me melt a little inside. It takes a special man to do something he’s not good at just to make someone else smile.
Man, he’s got a nice ass.
“Oooo,” Knox says as he claps his hand. “Gutter ball. Just like me.”
