Page 49 of Sweet

Will

Can’t exactly go clubbing in a small town. And we’re so small, we don’t even have a bar—never mind a gay bar. We do have a bowling alley the next town over and a steakhouse, both of which the local barflies frequent to get their fix. I consider the steakhouse since I haven’t had dinner, but going to a restaurant alone is too damn depressing. At the very least, the bowling alley has other entertainment that’s less pathetic to be seen doing solo.

Jess winds up texting me before I step out the door, saying if I get stood up, he’ll come over. Too sweet. Not in a good way. A tooth-achingly sweet gesture that’s about as pathetic as drinking at a bowling alley after demolishing three separate prospects in rapid succession. That’s got to be some kind of record.

Not only that, but Cas has done exactly this to me before. And every time Jess swoops in to save the day. I’m not falling for it again. Even if Jess isn’t Cas… fuck, I suppose I’ll never know now.

As soon as I open the heavy glass door, the sound of cracking pins and some kind of techno pop blasts over the speakers. All the lights are out except a few flashing colored ones. Sunday night laser bowling. How could I forget? Ugh.

I head to the bar on the other side of the lanes and grab an empty seat on a vinyl stool with padding as flat as a pancake. The noise carries over from the bowling area, but it’s not as if the bartender needs to hear much. Only a couple of beers are on draft and she can easily figure out what I want to order from me simply pointing at the menu.

Stupid fucking laser bowling. All the teens come out, which means the bar is next to empty, and the adults who drift over this way don’t stay. Instead, they head back to their dates or friends or whatever. I’m crinkling the greasy wax paper into a ball and accepting that I should’ve gone to the steakhouse instead of spending money to sit alone and drink shitty beer while eating an overpriced fry basket when—a hand on my back. I turn. It’s Bailey. He’s flashing his smile while keeping a hand on me, but I can’t hear a damn thing he’s saying while his lips move. I gesture to my ear and he slides his hand down to my arm, then tugs me toward the closest exit. Uh, okay.

I’ve already paid my bill, so I throw a tip on the counter and spring to my feet. The second we’re outside, my hot breath hits the cold air and makes a perfect cloud while I exhale in annoyance at myself.

“I thought you had a date?” Yep, he goes there.

“So did I.”

“I’m sorry.” Bailey frowns and takes a step closer.

“It’s okay.” I take another breath, only much shakier this time. This is not okay. I’m not okay with this. It’s only when I have to explain it to Bailey that the truth smacks me upside the head. “I may have overreacted and… well, he changed his mind.”

“He’ll come around, I’m sure.”

“No.” My bitter laugh sounds more like an unhinged cackle. “He, uh, basically, he cut all ties with me and I have no other way of getting in contact with him. We were supposed to meet in person today, but instead, I scared him off. For good this time.”

“This time?”

“Yeah. He’s… well, you might get this. He’s really private, and he immediately backed off once he figured out who I was, because he worried I would do the same, eventually.”

“But you didn’t?”

“Hardly fucking matters now, does it?” I throw my hands up. “I’ll never get to know.”

“You’re really torn up about this,” Bailey says, another frown marring his features.

“Yeah.” I hold his gaze. “I really liked you. For even longer than I liked this other guy. But… I don’t know. Feels like I’ve been holding out for this guy for weeks and hefinallydecided what he wanted, and we were going to give it a go in the real world. You were like… something I never expected to happen. I spent the better part of the year thinking you didn’t even know my name. So when I finally had the opportunity to get closer, I jumped at the chance. But I never meant for things to play out this way, Bailey. And I feel like shit after you put yourself out there for me.”

“It’s okay.” He smiles, only barely. “I take it you don’t have any plans?”

“No.”

“Well, just so happens my date canceled on me, too.” My face flushes and he snickers. “Let’s get out of here.”

“And go where?”

“Movie?”

I pull out my phone to look at the clock, then quickly check the showtimes online. “The next one isn’t for another forty-five minutes or so. We’ll have to hang around and wait a bit.”

“Come back to my place.”

I almost think I don’t hear him right.

“I’ve got all the good streaming apps,” he says, getting quieter with each word.

“Sure. Yes. Of course,” I babble. “And listen, I meant what I said about wanting to be friends. I know I haven’t been very…friendly, but if one good thing can come out of this mess, I want that to be us becoming friends. Okay?”

---