Chapter 17
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Johanna settled her shoulders and gazed down the bowling alley lane, holding her bowling ball with a sturdy grip. She was pleasantly conscious of the fact that Everett was watching her, and she was determined to impress him.
She swung her arm back and released the ball. It rumbled down the lane, straight for the bowling pins. With a satisfying burst of noise, the bowling ball hit the center of the pins, knocking down all but two of them. She grinned in triumph before finishing her turn.
“Hey! I told you all.” Dane laughed, giving his mother a high-five as she returned to her seat. She sat down, laughing. “She’s a rockstar at this.”
“Oh, I’m not that good,” she protested modestly. “I’ve just had a lot of practice. I was part of a league for a little while.” She glanced at Everett and saw that he was looking at her with admiration in his eyes. She quickly looked away, feeling herself flush slightly.
Alissa went next, and then Caitlin, and then Everett. Johanna watched him grip his bowling ball carefully with his big hands, and then send it rolling down the lane in a straight shot. The ball veered to the left before hitting the pins, but it took out most of them right away, and the group cheered. Johanna had to stop herself from cheering as loudly as everyone else—instead, she golf-clapped politely.
When it was her turn again, she got a strike. The group erupted into cheers, and Johanna felt a small rush of adrenaline flow through her veins as she came to sit back down in her chair.
“I may not be able to knit or fish,” she said, laughing, “but at least I can do this fairly well.”
“You’re amazing at it,” Marsha said, leaning toward her as she sat down. “And you’re getting great at knitting and—wait, fishing? Has someone been trying to teach you how to fish?”
Johanna cleared her throat, realizing that she’d almost blown their cover. She wanted to look at Everett in that moment, but she didn’t dare.
“Oh, no, not trying to teach me. I mean, it’s just a Blueberry Bay pastime I know I wouldn’t be very good at. Thankfully I am decent at bowling.”
She smiled, trying very hard not to look at Everett. She wanted to know what his facial expression was.
As soon as Marsha’s attention had returned to the game, Johanna glanced at Everett. He was looking at her, and he waggled his eyebrows just slightly. Suppressing a smile, Johanna turned to watch Alissa’s turn. She did well, and so did Caitlin.
When Everett stood up to bowl, he said, “I’ll have to see if I can get a strike this time.”
He glanced at Johanna, giving her a competitive look. She had to press her lips together to keep from smiling, and she watched in delight as Everett concentrated on his roll, released his ball, and—
“A strike!” Alissa cried. “Wow, that’s amazing! It was like you just decided you were going to get one and then you did.”
“Looks like Mom’s got some competition,” Dane joked, grinning at Everett.
Everett shrugged, not looking at Johanna. “We’ll have to see, I guess.”
As soon as everyone else’s attention was back on the game, she leaned toward him and murmured, “Amazing.”
He grinned at her briefly, his chest puffing up a bit with pride.
So far no one seems to have noticed that we like each other, Johanna thought, glancing back at the rest of their group. They all seem none the wiser.
She chuckled quietly to herself, wondering what they would say if they knew that she and Everett were dating.
As the night wore on, it was clear that everyone was having a great time. They all chatted and laughed together as they played, and Johanna and Everett kept finding moments to murmur things to each other and flirt in secret.
When the game finally ended, she had the best bowling score out of anyone, and Everett grinned at her when Dane announced it. He seemed proud and impressed even though she’d beaten him, and her heart picked up its pace in her chest. She couldn’t wait until she got to talk to him.
Still talking happily about the game, the members of their group put their regular shoes back on and began to walk toward the shoe rental counter. Johanna was just about to follow them when she noticed Everett hanging back. She hesitated and then hung back as well, her pulse picking up a bit.
“What are you doing?” she whispered as he glanced around to make sure no one was watching them.
He stepped forward and pecked her on the lips. “I didn’t like the idea of the night ending without me getting to kiss you,” he said, grinning.
Her heart fluttered at his sweet words. “I’m glad you did,” she whispered.
For a moment, they stood there smiling at each other. Then they heard Alissa laughing in the distance, and the sound broke them out of the little bubble they seemed to be in.
“We’d better catch up to the others,” she said, sighing. “I’ll go a little ahead of you.”
She squeezed his hand and then hurried toward the shoe counter.
Everett followed a few footsteps behind her, keeping up the pretense that they were just acquaintances. Even though he wasn’t beside her anymore, her heart was still racing with excitement over their kiss, and how fun their evening together had been.
I think this is becoming a real thing, she thought happily as she returned her bowling shoes. The way we get along together is really something special.
Once everyone had returned their shoes and their bowling balls, the friends stepped outside into the winter night. Overhead, stars gleamed brightly, and the wind felt refreshingly cold against their faces.
They called cheerful goodbyes to each other as they walked to their cars. Johanna and Everett shared one last secret glance, and she couldn’t wait until the next time she saw him.
.