Chapter 4
4
‘Strike!’
Ben punched the air in triumph, turning from the fallen pins and flexing his biceps in a muscleman pose. Amber’s giggle barely suffocated the collective groans of Tyler and Sharon.
His score came up on the screen above them, knocking Tyler and Sharon’s team back into second place. ‘Suck it, Ty-Ty.’ Ben came back to sit next to Amber, laughing as he reached for his pint. Tyler’s eyes narrowed to slits from the opposite bench.
‘Don’t call me that,’ he grumbled, turning to Sharon at his side. ‘Take him down, Shazza, or he’ll be insufferable.’
The bowling alley was quite full for a Sunday evening. The families had drifted off, leaving more couples and adults on the other bowling lanes. When it hit seven o’clock, the lights had lowered, and the music decibels had risen. It gave the place a party feel, and also hid Amber’s discomfort. Sharon had come with her in the taxi there, Ben and Tyler making their own way, and when they’d first met up, it had been beyond awkward. Sundays were the one night they all got off. The kitchen closed, Mary and Mick from the village ran the quiz night, leaving them free to do their own thing. Which was why they were all here bowling: Sharon’s way of cheering her up since the break-up. It was either agree to this or, as Sharon had put it, Bradley was to get a friendly nut punching. So Amber had chosen to bowl, and endure a slightly awkward night out with her friends and colleagues.
Since the moment in her office the other day, Tyler had been distant. Not weird, or nasty, but he wasn’t himself. He’d brought her lunch later as promised, leaving it on her desk with a gruff, ‘Make sure you eat it all’ thrown before he’d bolted again. Since then, he’d only spoken to her about work, and there had been no memes that he found funny sent her way. Even Sharon had asked her on the way over if they’d fallen out. Amber had brushed her off, and she seemed to buy it, but the energy was definitely off tonight.
Sharon left two pins standing on her next shot and, when she turned back to Tyler, he high-fived her. ‘Nice one, Shazza.’
She eye-rolled him. ‘We needed a strike. We lost!’
‘Damn right you did,’ Ben chipped in. ‘Good thing you have another game to redeem yourselves, losers.’
‘It’s a game, not the Olympics,’ Tyler cut in, draining the rest of his pint like it was thimble-sized. ‘Shall I get the drinks in before the next game?’
This was it: her chance to address the elephant in the room. ‘I’ll come with you.’
They left the other two ribbing each other and headed to the bar. As they waited for their turn, she tried to think of a good way to start the conversation. He broke the ice first.
‘Did you get your plan for the Arms done yet?’
‘Not yet.’ She’d hidden in her office for another hour and then given up on her new life for another day.
‘So what’s holding you back? You were all guns blazing a few months ago.’
‘I still am, I just… ’
‘You’re still waiting for things to change, Amber. They won’t unless you change them.’
She felt her head rear back as if he’d slapped her. ‘Ouch. Say what you mean, Ty. It’s not like I just got dumped or anything. Give a girl a minute.’
‘I mean it.’ He turned to face her, his eyes lasering in. The barman interrupted them, and Tyler ordered another round. When she went to get her purse out to pay, his meaty hand covered hers. Everything stopped.
‘I’ll get it. You need to save your money for bigger things.’ She barely heard him. The second his fingers cradled hers, she felt it. Through her whole body. Her head spun to look at him, but he was staring at the point their hands met. Did he feel that? It registered as a seismic event on my end. ‘I… I made it awkward, the other day.’ He swallowed, and she felt his fingers squeeze hers, just for a second before he pulled away.
‘No, you didn’t.’ The barman left the drinks on the bar, Tyler tapping his card on the reader without even a glance. ‘I did that. I shouldn’t have said it. You’re my friend, Ty. I don’t want you to feel awkward at work.’
‘No,’ he rumbled back. ‘I don’t feel awkward. I just wish you’d said something sooner.’ She waited for him to burst into laughter, tease her about porn again. He didn’t do any of that. In fact, he looked like he meant every damn word. ‘I wanted to say something myself, but I didn’t know if?—’
‘Hey.’ Sharon made them jump, reaching between them for the drinks. ‘Second game needs starting; we only have the lane another hour.’
He didn’t take his eyes off her. Amber wanted to tell Sharon to give them a minute. She wanted to hear more. He was going to say something? When? Why didn’t he say something when she met Brad? Before? Why now? Why couldn’t she look away? Her feet felt like they were stuck to the carpet.
‘Hello,’ Sharon sang, clicking her fingers in front of their faces. ‘What the hell’s going on with you two?’ Good point, Shaz. This was Tyler. My employee, my friend. She needed to get a bloody grip.
‘Nothing,’ Amber replied finally. ‘We’re coming now.’
She watched Tyler bite the inside of his cheek before grabbing the pints and striding back to Ben.
Sharon pulled her back. ‘Hang fire a minute.’ Fine by me. I need a hot minute to get my shit together. ‘I don’t know what’s happening tonight, but you are acting off.’
Amber headed back to the lane without answering. Sharon reached for her arm. ‘Amber, talk to me. You’ve been weird for days.’
One look at her friend and she caved.
‘I know. I’m kind of going through something. I had a weird conversation with Tyler.’
‘Good!’ She folded her arms. ‘It’s about time he said something.’
‘Er… yeah. He said something. Wait, what do you know about it?’
Her expression softened, and she hooked an arm under hers and walked her right back to the guys. ‘Are you kidding? It was my idea. Well, I helped.’
They were almost within earshot now. Amber hit the brakes. ‘What do you mean, you helped? How long have you known about this? I mean, I didn’t have a clue. When we were in the office the other day, we got to talking.’ She gripped Sharon’s hand. ‘I actually really need to talk to you about this. You know, a woman’s perspective. The thing is, Tyler?—’
‘He let slip about the party. I knew it! He said I would be the one to crack!’ She cackled to herself. ‘Well, actually, we thought Brad would ruin it, but—’ She paused, wincing. ‘Sorry, but at least you know now. I felt so bad for whispering around you. Tyler was the one who wanted it to be a surprise party. I said we should just tell you, but he’s been planning the thing for weeks. He also said if I told you, he would make me do all the cooking for it.’ She shook her head, laughing. ‘And he caved! What a loser, eh?’
Amber glanced across at their lane. Ben was talking to Tyler. Who was staring right at her, a rueful look on his face.
‘Tyler planned a whole surprise party for me?’ No-one had ever done that. Not since her grandmother. Bradley would never have even thought of it. ‘Why would he do that?’
Sharon rolled her eyes theatrically. ‘You kidding me? Ty knows what a big deal your thirtieth is to you. He knew things weren’t good with Bradley.’ She linked arms, pulling her back to the guys. ‘And it’s Tyler, come on. You know he’s a big softie when it comes to you.’
‘He is?’ she muttered, but it was swallowed up by the music as they hit the lane.
The second they reached Ben and Tyler, Amber could feel their eyes on her. Tyler stood first.
‘Everything okay?’ he drawled, and she met his eye with a happy smile she didn’t feel. Her mind was trying to fit things into neat little boxes but everything was suddenly the wrong bloody shape.
‘Yeah, everything’s great. Let’s play; they’ll be turfing us out soon.’
Ben clapped his hands together. ‘Game on, eh Amber? Ready to thrash them again?’
‘Amber’s on my team this time,’ Tyler cut in. Heading to the ball rack, he passed her the pink one she always used when they came. ‘You’re up first.’
Sharon laughed, slapping Ben on the arm as she took a seat.
‘Looks like it’s you and me, Benny Boy.’
The second game was decidedly more high stakes than the first. When Amber went to take the ball from Ty’s hands, he leaned closer. ‘Let’s knock that smile off Ben’s face, Cherry. I am not losing to him again. He’ll be insufferable at work tomorrow.’
Despite herself, him using the name he sometimes called her made her grin. He’d once said she would end up looking like a cherry pie, after one shift when she ate five of his pastries. He’d called her Cherry after that, when they were messing about. He’d not said it in a while. Since Bradley, she realised with a jolt. Were there other things I’d missed, being with Bradley? Like the fact my chef and close friend is actually kinda hot? Scratch that. He’s totally smoking hot. Henry Cavill level of hot. Maybe it was the baby fever. That was it. Her uterus was throwing her at the nearest available male specimen. It wasn’t like she’d just noticed him. Oh Jesus, take the wheel. I’m losing my damn mind.
‘Oh, come on!’ She shrugged, giving herself a mental cold shower. ‘Sharon doesn’t care about the game. You men and your sports.’
Sharon was three vodka and cokes down already and drinking her fourth. She threw them a hearty thumbs up. ‘You’re right there. Benny my boy, you don’t need me, right? I thought you were the king of pins?’
‘Yeah,’ he huffed. ‘Well, let’s just get on with it.’
Turning to bowl, Amber walked straight into Tyler. His hands were there instantly, steadying her, and there it was again. That jolt. The second he put his hands on her bare arms, it was like she’d been zapped. When their eyes met, he was staring at her as if they were the only two people in the world. She could swear she felt his fingers clench around her arm.
‘You good?’
All she could do was nod dumbly up at him.
‘Yep. Yeah. Sure. Definitely. All good. Thanks.’
With a twist of his lips, he released her and went to sit next to Sharon. Amber’s arms were jelly and goosebumps. It took all of her muster to not drop the ball on her damn foot as she headed to the pins. Taking a deep breath, she launched the ball with everything she had.
‘Strike!’ Tyler yelled as the pins skittered away from the impact. She heard Ben curse, Sharon laugh and Tyler’s roar of joy almost drowning out both. Turning on a heel, something warm and solid brushed up against her. Turning to look up, she found Tyler’s face was right there. He lifted her off the ground and twirled her around. ‘Perfect!’ He whooped, his arms tight around her.
Laughing, she pointed at their opponents. ‘Suck on that, losers!’
Tyler laughed again, giving her a high five.
‘That’s my girl,’ he rumbled, lowering her only to tuck her under his arm. Amber’s stomach flipped like a pancake.
‘Yeah,’ Sharon slurred from behind them, slapping Ben on the back. ‘We’re going to need another round.’