“I have a staff meeting at eight a.m. tomorrow,” he tells me as he takes a long sip.
“I have to drive to a horse breeder’s place in the morning. I have to leave at six.”
“We should go to bed,” Miles muses before taking another long sip.
“At seven pm? You must have had a long day at work…”
“It was ridiculously boring,” he admits. “And I’m tired even though I sat at a desk all day. I should probably go to bed early tonight.”
“You should. For sure.”Siiiiip. “Or we could go bowling.”
Miles perks up with interest. “Bowling?”
“I’m pretty much a professional, and people who play against me run in fear.”
Miles smirks. “It sounds exciting. I’m in.”
“Great! Let me go put on some different pants.”
“Oh, so you’re wearing clothes tonight?”
I grab the kitchen towel and toss it at him as I walk out of the kitchen.
SIX
Miles
“Lucy, I should have warned you,” I say as I park my car in front of the bowling alley. “Just because we’re having roommate bonding doesn’t mean I’m going to take it easy on you tonight.”
She smiles up at me with twinkling eyes. “Good. Because I’m not going to give you a freebie either.”
She cackles—freaking cackles—an evil laugh. I raise my eyebrows at her. “Is this going to be a repeat of football?”
“You used physical force to hold me in place,” she says, reminding me about the night when we first interacted with each other—football at Margaret’s.
Margaret hosts game nights regularly, and it’s often a very physical game. I’ve always thought it was funny that a woman in her eighties organizes full-contact sports in her backyard…but it was the first time I spent time around Lucy. That night was what convinced me to give in to Margaret’s nagging to invite her to be my roommate.
“You were exceptionally good. It was the only way we could win. To cheat.” I grin at her as I grasp the door handle and pop it open.
“Well then…I guess we’ll just have to see what happens tonight. I hope you don’t cry easily.” She slips her purse strap over her shoulder and jumps out.
“I thought you said people run in fear.”
“They do.” She runs a hand through her shoulder-length hair. “They run because they’re scared of losing.”
The bowling alley isn’t too crowded when we go in. About three-quarters full. Green Valley is a town that’s big enough to have everything you need, but small enough that you might run into someone you know.
I keep my eyes focused on the front desk. I don’t want to risk making eye contact with anyone I know. I’m here to hang out with Lucy and no one else.
After we get our shoes and lane, we make our way over to the wall of bowling balls.
“It’s been years since I’ve been bowling,” Lucy exclaims as she stares at the wall. “I forgot what you’re supposed to pick!”
I pick up one I think she’ll like and hold it out to her. “Try that one and see if it fits comfortably.”
She holds it carefully away from her, like it might explode if she keeps it too close. “I think so? Maybe?”
She’s funny.
