Page 110 of Choosing You

“Yeah, I don’t want to go to a movie.”

“Then tell me what you want to do.”

The waitress is back with the check and Garret gives her his credit card.

“Let’s go bowling.” I say it mainly to see his reaction. I’m sure rich-boy Garret has never stepped foot in a bowling alley.

“Hmm. Bowling.” He thinks about it. “I don’t know how to bowl.”

Exactly what I thought. He’s never bowled. “It’s super easy. You just toss a ball down a lane and try to hit the pins.”

He laughs. “Yeah. I know what bowling is, Jade. I’ve just never done it before.”

“Then I’ll teach you. What do you think?”

“If that’s what you want to do, then we’ll do it. But do they really make you wear those shoes that other people have worn?”

I roll my eyes. “Yes. We can bring a can of disinfectant if you’re that worried about it.”

“I was kidding. I’ll be fine.”

The waitress is back with his credit card. I’m surprised it worked. I figured his dad would have canceled it.

“So tell me, Jade. Why bowling? Are you a good bowler?”

“Actually I am. Sophomore year I dated this guy whose dad owned a bowling alley so I got to bowl for free whenever I wanted. I got pretty good.”

“How long did you date this guy?”

“I don’t know. A couple months maybe. Long enough to get good at bowling.”

His eyebrows raise. “And did he expect something in return for this free bowling?”

“If he did, he didn’t get it. I can’t really remember but I’m sure all he got was some kissing. Maybe second base.”

“Okay, that’s enough. I really don’t want to hear about the other guys you went out with.”

“Garret, are you jealous of a guy I dated in tenth grade?”

“No.” He glances away. “I just don’t need to hear about it.”

“I don’t mind hearing about the girls from your past. Go ahead. Tell me about them.”

He shakes his head. “There’s nothing to say. I don’t think about those girls anymore.”

“My first week at Moorhurst Sierra told me you were a real heartbreaker. Her words, not mine. So what did she mean? Did you date a bunch of girls and dump them?”

He scoots his chair out and stands up. “All right. No more questions. Let’s go.”

I don’t push the topic. I’m not sure I want to know about his past relationships.

When we’re back on campus, we go up to his floor. It’s so quiet on Friday nights. Nobody is around. We basically have the whole residence hall to ourselves.

I’m a little nervous being in Garret’s room again, worried his dad’s going to barge in and yell at me for being there. But I relax once we get comfy in Garret’s giant bean bag chair and watch a movie. It’s like things are right back to the way they were before last Sunday.

After an hour I start to get sleepy. “I can’t stay awake. I think I need to go to bed.”

Garret helps me up. “I’ll walk you to your room.”

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