Page 86 of Insta Bride

Frame 4: Elena strike. Kye – 6 / spare

Our friends went wild, celebrating Kye’s first spare for the night. I graciously gave him the sort of kiss that should have been reserved for when I won.

“Want to go double or nothing?” he asked, putting me back down and holding me until my wobbly legs remembered how to stand.

“I love to win.”

“I know you do, baby. But I want to see what you’re like when you lose.”

“Look at the score, sexy hubby of mine. I’m winning. It would almost take a miracle for you to beat me.”

“You think I’m sexy?” He pulled away, stroking an imaginary beard. “Hot, damn, my wife thinks I’m sexy.”

“Control yourself, stud muffin. Look at the scoreboard. I’m winning.”

“Are you telling me my sexy bride can’t handle a man ready to double down?”

“Oh, I can handle a man who goes down, I just don’t think you know what it means at the bowling alley.”

Kye waited until Olivia threw down a strike, received her reward from Hunter and then tried to rally his troops.

“Guys, help me out here. If I win this one little game of bowling, what should I get?”

“A lottery ticket—no use wasting a lucky streak.” Hunter smirked.

“A year of dishes,” Pete joked.

“What do you think, beloved wife of mine?”

“If you think you can beat me, then the thing you were going to do tonight, the tables get turned.”

Kye pulled me to his chest, again, before whispering, “The full body massage—and you’ll need to pay special attention to my balls—the scented candles, the playlist of my choice. I want to lie back and be relaxed by you.”

“And then?”

“And then I might fall asleep, if I’m relaxed enough.”

“What do I get out of it?”

“The knowledge that your champion husband has put his body in your hands.”

“In the unlikely event you win, I promise your balls will never have been in better hands.”

Kye

I won.

Of course, I bloody won.

My wife got me. She had a way of taking a simple night out with friends, and turning it into one of those memories we’ll be telling our grandkids.

I awoke the next day with my wife’s naked body wrapped around mine, while the only thing I wore was an unerasable smile.

Elena had worn her defeat better than I’d expected. I mean, she had invited me to go bowling—which I thought was a brave move since I used to play in the state league tournament.

But if she hadn’t researched me, I wasn’t going to let her in on a public secret.

I knew how far she could get ahead before I needed to bring out my A-game.

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