Page 26 of So Long, Honey
I laughed loudly and leaned back against the bench to watch her score a perfect strike. Her small hands commanded the bowling ball, and with a simple side step, she bent her knee and sent the ball down the lane toward the pins for a strike.
I sat up and clapped for her slowly, “alright that was pretty impressive.”
“Afraid to lose?” She asked me. Strands of her dark hair fell around her face, and her smile was infectious.
Mirroring the look on her face, I stood up, “for the first time in my entire life, no. I’m not.” I said to her because it didn’t matter if she kicked my ass at bowling, she could do it every day forthe rest of our lives, and I’d lose every time, fair and square, if it meant I got to see that smile.
“Show me what you got,” she spun away from me and plopped down to the bench with her body leaning toward me, her hands cupped against the fabric to hold her steady as I chose a ball. “They’re all the same.”
“No, no,” I hushed her playfully. “They aren’t; they give off auras.” I teased as my lips pulled into a smirk.
“You’re mocking my play style, I see you,” Lorraine giggled with a roll of her eyes.
“I would never,” I commented, stopping my hand with a funny gasp as I reached a dark blue ball with green flecks. “This is the one,” I said to her, my heart racing.
“How do you know?” She asked with so much curiosity in her eyes.
“I just do,” I said with conviction.
Her shoulders were tense for a hair longer before she finally took a breath and relaxed, it was apparent that she still wasn’t completely convinced with my decision. I could see the doubt flicker around her face but just as soon as it had appeared, it was gone again. I was slowly finding my way through her defenses to the darker corners of who she was and who she could be.
I stepped up to the line, dropped the ball to my side, unaware of how heavy it was, and grunted. “How do you even throw these things?” I gaped at her, but all she did was shrug.
I tried to ignore how it felt to have her eyes on my back as I attempted to prove her math theory wrong. Swinging my arm back, I stepped forward, and as soon as I let the ball go, I knew I’d never hear the end of it. The ball bounced awkwardly before rolling into the gutter.
“You get three,” was all she said when I turned around to face her.
“Uh, huh.” I shook my head and took the second ball. I could tell she wanted to give me pointers, but she kept her mouth closed and let me flounder.
After another gutterball I finally managed to actually throw the ball straight, knocking over two whole pins.
“I guess you’re better at catching,” she teased from the bench.
“I’m warming up.” I shrugged. “Are you hungry?” I asked her, and she nodded gently. " Soda?” I added.
“Please,” her voice was quiet as I leaned over her, trapping her on the bench with my arms as I kissed her slowly, right there in the middle of all that chaos. Her body was tense at first but slowly relaxed under my touch. “Breathe, Starlight. No one cares about two teenagers making out in a bowling alley,” I told her as I stole another kiss and backed away to grab her snacks.
Leaving her there, I pushed past a few crowds to the counter and waited to be noticed. Carson, our center fielder, nodded at me and excused himself to come help me. His fiery red hair and abnormally sized blue eyes paired terribly with the pinstripe bowling uniform.
“What’s up, Cody?” He said with that dragged-out drawl of his.
“I just need some sodas and popcorn.” I pointed to the board, and he nodded.
“Since when does Cadence drink soda?” He laughed while pouring the drink.
“I’m not here with Cadence,” I shook my head and looked around, trying to get a look at Lorraine, but the crowd had shifted and my line of sight to her was closed off. I tapped my fingers on the counter impatiently, desperate to get back to her. I laughed at myself, so foolishly attached and so fast. But it only bothered me when I thought about it. When I toldmyselfhow foolish I was being, every other moment with Lorraine was an adventure. It wasn’t too fast or too soon. It was just right. It feltright to be that in love with her in that moment and everyone else could think what they wanted.
All I wanted was her.
“Who are you here with then? Paisley?” He asked, setting down the cups. “I hear she—”
“Carson, don't finish that sentence,” I said as he slid the popcorn across the counter. “I’m here with Lorraine Field.”
“Loner Lorraine?” He laughed, and I cocked my head to give him a dirty look. “Sorry, yeah, that was dumb, it just—”
“It’s just what?” I growled as I leaned over the counter and grabbed a package of candy. “You’ll cover this for me, right?” I waved it in the air at him with a smile that screamed,“If youever talk about her like that again, I’ll do more than steal candy.“
“Yeah, man, on the house.”