You're the One That I Want(72)

‘Are we allowed to use the bumpers?’ asked Alice next to me, pulling me from my thoughts.

‘Oh … the boys don’t usually let me, they tell me it’s cheating.’

When we were younger the three of us had gone bowling and they’d allowed me to have the bumpers up, as it was my first time. Miraculously I’d won even though my ball had rebounded off the side each time I bowled, occasionally even a few times in one throw, creating a pretty zigzag pattern as they made their way down to the pins. The boys were understandably livid and told me I’d won unfairly. I might have been their best friend, but they were still competitive, especially Robert who sulked the whole way home. From that point onwards I was never allowed to use the bumpers again.

‘Really? But I’m rubbish!’ moaned Alice.

‘Same here.’

Even though I’d been forced to play without the aid of bumpers over the years I was still terrible at the game. My problem was that I didn’t have the patience for it. I was a just-throw-it-and-see-how-it-goes girl. I couldn’t be bothered with the whole lining it up and getting your elbow in the right position malarkey.

‘We’re having the bumpers up, right?’ said Alice sweetly as we joined the boys in the line for our shoes. It was more of a leading question than anything else.

Both boys looked at her with their mouths open, unsure of how to say no nicely – they were both aware that they were meant to be making a good impression on her.

‘Erm …’ started Ben. ‘Oh, we didn’t book a lane with them, I’m afraid.’

‘Yeah, and usually you have to ask,’ Robert answered, with an apologetic shrug.

‘No, it’s okay! They have those electric ones now … we just press the button on our control thingy and they pop out,’ she smiled. ‘I know how to do it too, so you don’t need to worry about a thing. I’ll do it.’

Ben and Robert just stared at her. I couldn’t help but laugh. She knew the boys were trying to fob her off, and that they’d be too polite to argue with her. She turned to me and raised her eyebrows, trying not to laugh as she changed the subject. ‘Are you going for laced or buckled shoes, Maddy?’

The boys needn’t have worried, as even with the bumpers up, Alice and I were as crap as each other. We were lucky to get a couple of pins down each time. Clearly my win all those years ago had been more to do with beginner’s luck than actual talent, and Alice couldn’t help but laugh every time she took her turn, clearly feeling embarrassed by the whole thing. She’d go up full of gusto, line up her shot, and then keel over in a fit of giggles before she’d had the chance to throw it. Her giggle was infectious, though, and we couldn’t help but laugh along with her.

Alice and Ben weren’t as touchy-feely with each other as I’d feared they were going to be. They may have sat next to each other on the sofas throughout the game and looked deeply smitten, but they weren’t there snogging each other’s faces off, which was a big relief. In contrast, Robert and I were still distant from each other, or rather, I was avoiding having any sort of PDA with him with the aid of the whopping big barrier that I’d erected and had been unable, so far, to knock down. So, despite how hard he was trying to make things seem normal, they weren’t.

At the end of the first game, which our sporting hero Robert obviously won, we stopped for some food. Burgers, fries and milkshakes were brought over to us at the lane, which we greedily devoured while sat on the comfy red leather sofas.

‘I’ve seen you around campus before, actually,’ said Alice to me as she popped a chip into her mouth.

‘Oh, really?’

‘Didn’t Ben tell you? I thought you were his girlfriend,’ she giggled.

‘Something you two want to tell me?’ Robert jokingly accused, nudging me with his elbow and raising his eyebrows at Ben.

I felt like a rabbit caught in headlights, completely unsure what to say. So I just gormlessly looked from Alice to Robert.

‘Oh don’t worry,’ Alice laughed at Robert. ‘It’s only because they were together that I thought that … there was clearly no chemistry whatsoever.’

My eyes flicked up at Ben, who was looking at me for the first time that night. For a split second the guard he’d put up slipped away and I could see the real Ben exposed, full of love and honesty. It was as though a magnetic force had been switched on, drawing me to him, making it near impossible to look away. It was a dangerous look to share in public. I felt ashamed as my insides tingled at the connection. I had thought being in the company of others would stop that feeling arising, that we’d be able to lock it away. But it seemed the inappropriateness of it made it more intense, and left it to linger and grow like an unattended fire.