Page 119 of Choosing You

“That’s good. It will give us a chance to get to know each other,” I say, pretending we’re actually on a first date.

Once we’re on the road, he reaches over to hold my hand.

“What’s this?” I ask, glancing down at his hand on mine. “We’ve only been on the date a few minutes and you’re already holding my hand?”

“Sorry.” He smiles and takes his hand back. “I won’t do it again.”

“Well, you already did it so you might as well just continue now.”

“Nope. I don’t want to offend you on our first date. You may never go out with me again.” He places both hands on the wheel. I suppose that’s a safer way to drive, but I really want his hand back. And now he’s promised not to hold my hand for the rest of the night. Way to go, Jade.

The bowling alley looks really old and in need of repair. The neon sign on the building is broken. It just flashes B, O, N, and G. The rest of the letters don’t work.

Garret shakes his head as we pull in. “Great. I’m taking you to the bong alley for our first date.”

I laugh. “I’m sure it’s better inside. Those neon signs never work.”

He parks the car. He comes around and opens my door, then double locks the car, making it chirp twice. This town, or at least this part of the town, doesn’t look that safe and he’s probably worried the car won’t be there when we leave. I’m actually kind of worried about that myself.

The inside of the bowling alley isn’t quite as bad as the outside. It has bright orange vinyl seating in the lane area and a small snack stand in the back, next to an arcade.

“I guess we’re keeping score the old fashioned way,” I say, noticing that there are no electronic scoreboards.

“Maybe we could just skip keeping score. We both know you’re going to win.”

“You never know. You might find that you’re really good at bowling.” I lead him over to the counter where an old guy with a long white beard is standing. His arms and neck are covered in tattoos.

“How many games?” he asks, skipping any type of greeting.

Garret looks at me. “One?”

“We have to do at least two.”

“Two,” Garret tells the guy.

“You need shoes?”

“Yes,” I answer, seeing Garret’s confusion. I forgot to tell him that some people actually buy these shoes, rather than rent them. If I’d told him, I’m sure he would’ve went out and bought a pair so he wouldn’t have to wear the rental shoes. “Size 7 for me.”

The man reaches under the counter and grabs the red and blue checkered shoes. I laugh seeing Garret’s expression as he eyes the shoes.

“Twelve for me,” Garret says.

The man pulls out the shoes, which resemble clown shoes in that large of a size.

“That’ll be $18,” the guy says. “Lane 4.”

Garret pays him, then we go to lane 4 and put our shoes on. I laugh even harder when I see Garret in those shoes. “I have to get a picture of this. Can I borrow your phone?”

He doesn’t answer. He’s too busy staring at his shoes. “Okay, why do mine look ridiculous and yours look almost normal?”

“Because you have huge feet.” I pull on his arm. “Come on. Let’s pick out a ball.”

I take him over to the rack of bowling balls. I pick a bright green 10-pounder and he gets a red 16-pounder.

“Okay. So you just walk up to the lane and aim the ball at the pins,” I say, demonstrating it. I release the ball and get a strike. “See? It’s easy.”

Garret steps up to the lane and throws the ball. It goes right in the gutter. The same thing happens when he tries again. He rolls his eyes as he turns back around. “Yeah, this is gonna be fun.”

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