Only in Dreams(51)
Just before the front door closes behind him, I call after, saying, “It’s a date then.”
I can see he wants to say something else, but it is too late. The door closes, and I manage to make our second date a harmless double with my best friend. Maybe I will be able to get through these three dates without anyone getting hurt.
CHRISTIAN HAD ASKED for Emmie and Colin to meet us at the bowling alley, but the more time I spend alone with him, the more danger I’m in for something inappropriate transpiring between us. Without a word to him, I tell Emmie we should all ride together; she’s thrilled by the idea. However, Christian looks a little clueless when everyone piles into his truck without explanation.
Driving down the old highway that leads to the local bowling alley, Colin kicks into story mode. One of the great things about being friends with brothers, is that even if one of them likes to hide his embarrassing stories from you, the other one is always eager to share.
Colin reveals that soon after moving to Bastrop, Christian had to purchase a new vehicle because he bent the frame of his little Honda when he ran off the road and ended up in a ditch to avoid a deer. Christian's warning when I first arrived, about driving and the deer population in Bastrop, suddenly makes a lot more sense.
When the four of us lived in New York, couples nights were a regular thing for us. We would watch cheesy horror flicks with massive bowls of buttered popcorn, or head down to Kings to watch that night’s entertainment. The evening feels so familiar and there is a comfort about it I am happy to embrace.
The small bowling alley is quaint, and it’s quickly obvious all of the patrons know one another.
“You’re in the lane next to us,” Christian informs Colin.
“So, how about we put a friendly little wager on this,” Colin suggests, pushing into his brother’s space.
“Paige isn’t a bowler, so that doesn’t seem fair,” Christian argues. “How about we get a handicap for her?”
“Hey!” I protest, feeling incredibly insulted.
“Fair enough, ten pins?” Colin agrees.
“Wait a second,” I huff.
“Deal,” Christian exclaims, offering a hand to shake on the agreement.
Emmie shakes her head, laughing. “Ignore them. Once they start this crap, it’s too late.”
“If Em and I win, you have to change ten dirty diapers, and I mean number two, buddy,” Colin tosses out the wager eagerly.
“Fine, and if we win?” Christian inquires.
“What do you want?” Colin asks cautiously.
“You owe me ten hours of free labor.”
“That doesn’t seem equal,” I interject.
“Have you smelled Olivia’s diapers?” Colin questions before enthusiastically agreeing. “Deal!”
The game goes pretty much how everyone expected. Christian and I trail at least five to ten pins at all times, even with the handicap. Though Christian and Colin try their best to relay the useful hints that will help my game, including adjusting my stance approach, release, and even my breathing, nothing seems to help.
However, toward the seventh frame, things begin to shift, and I find my stride. Considering I’ve been bowling twice in my entire life, and both times were in high school, I don’t know how I could suddenly find a stride, but I wasn’t about to complain.
“All right babe,” Christian says. At first the term unnerves me, then I decide to shake it off. “You can do this. I know you can. Look, Emmie only knocked six pins down on that last one. She’ll never pick up those four pins in her next roll. You can get a strike here, I know you can.”
“Thanks, Christian,” Emmie snaps.
“This is war, no pity missy,” Christian taunts back.
Over the speaker system in the bowling alley, the song switches. I turn a bright shade of red as I hear John Hiatt’s “Have a Little Faith In Me” echoing across the lanes.
“You hear that?” Christian shouts, wildly waving his arms and jumping around. “The bowling Gods are speaking to you right now! They have faith in you. You can do this!”
I start laughing so hard I have to take a moment to catch my breath.
“Stop,” I squeal between puffs of air. “I’m going to pee my pants.”
“Oh no, peeing on the alley is grounds for immediate disqualification. We win!” Colin exclaims.
Christian kneels down, looking me in the eyes. “Are you going to let him talk to you like that? Are you going to let these jokers win? Or are you going to show them just what a city girl can do?”
“Yeah, that’s right!” I shout. “I can do this.”
Blocking out all of the noise surrounding me, including the shouts coming from Colin as he attempts to get in my head, I prepare myself. The only thing standing between victory and me are those ten pins, staring at me, taunting me from the end of the lane. Those bitches are going down.