I really thought he would mess up on purpose, but he rolled a perfect strike.
Double fuck.
Sebastian’s grin widened.
“Don’t say a word,” I warned while his team celebrated and my team sulked.
“I didn’t.” He held up his hands, his eyes sparkling with laughter. “But Vivian would’ve killed him if he lost on purpose, so I hope you weren’t counting on Dante to throw the game.”
“I wasn’tcountingon it,” I grumbled. “But it would’ve been nice.”
“You would’ve hated it.”
“Um… no, I don’t think I would’ve.”
“It wouldn’t have been a real victory. You like winning fair and square.”
I sighed. Damn him for being right again. “I guess.”
“If it makes you feel better…” Sebastian dipped his head, his breath warm against my skin. “Secondary winners get a consolation kiss.”
My mouth twitched. “Secondary winners?”
“Sounds better than losers.” He shrugged. “I figured using that term wouldn’t endear you to me at this time.”
“You’d be right.” Some of my frustration at losing drained away. It was hard to be upset when he was so…him. “But I’ll take that consolation kiss any day now.”
His chuckle reverberated through me. His lips touched mine a second later, soft and sweet, but our kiss lasted only a heartbeat.
“Maya?” A familiar voice interrupted us, filled with shock.
I jerked back, my head snapping toward the newcomer. My jaw dropped. “Neha?”
“I can’t believe you’ve been keeping this a secret for amonth.” Neha crossed her arms, the picture of sisterly judgment. “Mom and Dad are going to flip. Does anyone else in our family know? Does Priya know? Does Nani know?”
“No! And you’re not going to tell them.” I looked around frantically like her words would somehow summon all threegenerations into the back corner of the bowling alley.
I was in deep shit. I shouldn’t have kissed Sebastian in public downtown, but this place was way too trendy for my family. I didn’t think I’d run into anyone who would blab to my parents.
Clearly, I’d been wrong.
Neha and I were currently standing by the restrooms, locked in a not-so-quiet battle of wills.
The positioning gave me an obstructed view of my friends and Sebastian, who kept glancing at us with a worried frown. He’d wanted to come with me, but I needed to talk to my sister alone. His presence would make things worse, not better.
“I can’t hide this from them,” she said. “If Mom and Dad find out I knew and didn’t tell them, they’ll killmetoo.”
“They won’t kill anyone. They’ll be so over the moon I’m dating someone that they’ll probably throw us a party.”
“Oh, really?” Neha cocked an eyebrow. “Then why haven’tyoutold them?”
“Because,” I said, keeping my voice low. “I’m waiting until after the launch. You know how Mom is. If I tell her now, she’ll have me deep in wedding planning by next week. I can’t deal with that right now.”
Neha narrowed her eyes. She was here with some old college friends, and I silently cursed myself for forgetting that she used to be captain of her university’s bowling team. I should’ve known she’d check this new spot out, trendy or not.
If I had to have run into a sister, I would’ve preferred Priya. She would probably keep my secret for me, but Neha was as strait-laced as they came. This was the same girl who’d smoked marijuanaoncein college and confessed to our parents the next day. They’d taken away her credit card privileges for a month, but she said having a clean conscience was worth the punishment.
Thatwas the type of goody-two-shoes I was dealing with here,and I was trying my best not to freak out.
