Page 26 of Going All In

Josie. She’s quiet, kind of a tough nut to crack, but I think you’ll like her.

Cam

Thanksgiving with the family?

Yeah, headed to my mom’s place in Ardmore. You?

No real plans. *shrug emoji*

Want to join us? It’s going to be a shitshow with my mom’s new fiancé, Holly, and my sisters. I could use backup.

You sure?

Of course, man, you’re family. Just don’t fuck my baby sister.

*eyeroll emoji*

Mom

One more for dinner, Mom. Cam is coming, if that’s okay.

Of course! He’s more than welcome. The more the merrier.

Unless he’s doing some weird vegan thing like Addie did that one year. I’m not making Tofurkey again.

9

HOLLY

It’s just a date.

I breathe out, staring myself down in the mirror. I can do this.

JJ set up this dinner with a guy named Justin. This one’s profile says he’s 35, a surgical tech who works at one of the local hospitals. He has hair—I double checked—and it’s light brown. I can’t tell from the photo what color his eyes are, but they’re light. There are no obvious red flags in his profile.

We’re meeting at a new bar-slash-bowling alley in Center City. It’s supposed be super fun. I’m actually excited for this one. At the very least, it should be enjoyable, even if the guy is a dud.

I take a few steps back to check out my outfit. JJ more or less dressed me, offering up one clothing option after another of hers until I found something that I liked and she approved of.

It took two hours.

The Uber drops me off in front of 10Pinn, the trendy bowling alley where I’m meeting the gentleman du jour. I climb out of the car and adjust my shirt and hair, hoping to look presentable before I go in to try to find him.

“Holly?”

I startle, almost tossing my purse in the air, but I recover quickly. Justin is waiting on the sidewalk for me.

“I thought we could meet out here and head in together. Less awkward, you know?” He laughs.

As I recover from the initial shock of finding him here instead of inside, I realize it’s actually a really sweet gesture. “Sure, that sounds good. No sitting alone at a table waiting for someone not to show up, right?”

Wait. That makes me sound like I’ve been stood up in the past. Abort. Abort.

I backtrack. “I mean, it’s just much nicer to go in as a couple.” Wait, are we a couple? That sounds like I think we’re a couple. Hold on.

Before I can backpedal and embarrass myself, Justin offers his arm, and I grasp it through his coat. Even through the layer of fleece, I can tell he’s solid. I appreciate his offer to walk in together, too. Itisawkward and uncomfortable to walk into a place alone, trying to see if a face matches the one you think you’re meeting. There’s the sense that everyone else can tell you’re there on either a blind date or a first date with someone you met through a dating app, and they’re all silently judging you.

It turns out Justin actually had the foresight to reserve us a lane. This turns out to be key; the place is insanely busy for a Tuesday night. The bowling balls are stacked behind the sitting area at each lane, and we peruse the selection. I look for the lightest option, settling on a pale blue one that weighs eight pounds, while Justin chooses a twelve-pound red-and-black ball.

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