CHAPTER 35
Maya
PUTTING OUR PHONES IN TIME OUT WAS THE BEST thing that could’ve happened to my score sheet. Without Sebastian to distract me, I bowled a perfect game—a rare enough occurrence that the manager sent us a free round of celebratory drinks.
One round turned into two, and two turned into three. By the time the guys showed up, my friends and I were so drunk, we greeted them like they were soldiers returning from war.
“Seb!” I threw my arms around his neck and kissed him, my cheeks aching from the force of my smile. “I’m so happy to see you! Did you win? Tell me you won.”
Sebastian laughed. “No one won. We left before the game ended, but I see you’re having a good time.” He raised an eyebrow at the collection of empty glasses at our table.
“The best. I bowled a perfect game.” I held up ten fingers. “Per. Fect. Game. First person to do so in…” I faltered, trying to remember what the manager said.
“Three years,” Sloane supplied. She was perched on the railing separating the food area from the bowling lanes. Xavier stood between her legs, his hands braced on her hips to keep her from falling.
I nodded. “What she said.”
“That’s my girl.” Sebastian kissed my forehead. “I didn’t expect anything less.”
Warmth trickled from my nape down to my toes. He looked good. He sounded good. He smelled good, too. I could snuggle into his chest and stay there all night, but first, I had a very important question to ask. “Have you ever bowled a perfect game?”
His chest rumbled with another laugh. “No, not yet.”
“Want to try? We can split into two teams! You and I will be the captains, obviously, and…” I trailed off again, trying to stitch my scattered thoughts together. Everything was so fuzzy.
God, I was really drunk.
“Let’s get you some water first.” A strong hand settled on the small of my back and guided me to the nearest table. “Then we can play.”
Twenty minutes and two full bottles of water later, my head cleared enough for me to think properly again. I blinked up at Sebastian, who observed me with amusement from across the table.
“Hi,” I said.
“Hi, my angel. Feeling better?”
My heart fluttered.
My angel. Mon ange. He didn’t call me that often, but I melted every time he did.
“Much better.” I tucked a hand beneath my thigh, suddenly shy.
It was ridiculous, but this was our first outing as a couple with our friends, and I’d embarrassed myself by getting so drunk I had to be put in figurative time out.
The weight of nearly a dozen pairs of eyes bored into my skin. I looked up to see our friends watching us with giddy smiles (the girls) and expressions ranging from curiosity to amusement (the guys). The only one who wasn’t paying attention to us was Killian, who was frowning at his phone.
“You guys are so cute.” Ayana nudged her boyfriend. “Aren’t they cute?”
Vuk frowned. I took that as a yes.
Once we all sobered up enough to pick up a bowling ball again without dropping it, we split into two teams like I’d suggested. I was with Dominic, Vivian, Sloane, Xavier, and Kai; Sebastian got Vuk, Alessandra, Ayana, Isabella, and Dante.
Killian sat the game out. He parked himself at the bar and continued to glare at his phone like it’d personally offended him. His surliness was extremely out of character, but I forgot all about it as the game got underway.
Our teams had an equal number of strong and weak players. They balanced each other out, and we were tied by the start of the tenth frame. Ultimate victory came down to our last players—Vivian for us, Dante for them.
“Let’s go, Viv!” I cheered. “You can do it!”
She wasn’t one of our best bowlers, but she wasn’t the worst either. Plus she was going up against Dante, whom I suspected might throw his turn so his wife could win. That seemed like something he would do.
Sebastian came up beside me as a nervous-looking Vivian lined up her shot. “Let’s make another deal. Loser has to do whatever the other person says for a week.” His lips brushed the shell of my ear.
Tingles erupted on my skin, but I kept my tone aloof. “Don’t make deals you can’t win.”
His smile could’ve belonged to the devil himself. “Who says I can’t win?”
A second later, groans erupted from my side. Vivian’s ball had gone into the gutter.
Fuck.
“Sorry, Maya,” she said, her cheeks pink. “I tried.”
“It’s okay.” I ignored Sebastian’s grin and gave her a consoling hug. “You did your best. If Dante messes up, we’ll still be tied.”
I really thought he would mess up on purpose, but he rolled a perfect strike.
Double fuck.
Sebastian’s grin widened.
“Don’t say a word,” I warned while his team celebrated and my team sulked.
“I didn’t.” He held up his hands, his eyes sparkling with laughter. “But Vivian would’ve killed him if he lost on purpose, so I hope you weren’t counting on Dante to throw the game.”
“I wasn’t counting on it,” I grumbled. “But it would’ve been nice.”
“You would’ve hated it.”
“Um… no, I don’t think I would’ve.”
“It wouldn’t have been a real victory. You like winning fair and square.”
I sighed. Damn him for being right again. “I guess.”
“If it makes you feel better…” Sebastian dipped his head, his breath warm against my skin. “Secondary winners get a consolation kiss.”
My mouth twitched. “Secondary winners?”
“Sounds better than losers.” He shrugged. “I figured using that term wouldn’t endear you to me at this time.”
“You’d be right.” Some of my frustration at losing drained away. It was hard to be upset when he was so…him. “But I’ll take that consolation kiss any day now.”
His chuckle reverberated through me. His lips touched mine a second later, soft and sweet, but our kiss lasted only a heartbeat.
“Maya?” A familiar voice interrupted us, filled with shock.
I jerked back, my head snapping toward the newcomer. My jaw dropped. “Neha?”
“I can’t believe you’ve been keeping this a secret for a month.” Neha crossed her arms, the picture of sisterly judgment. “Mom and Dad are going to flip. Does anyone else in our family know? Does Priya know? Does Nani know?”
“No! And you’re not going to tell them.” I looked around frantically like her words would somehow summon all three generations into the back corner of the bowling alley.
I was in deep shit. I shouldn’t have kissed Sebastian in public downtown, but this place was way too trendy for my family. I didn’t think I’d run into anyone who would blab to my parents.
Clearly, I’d been wrong.
Neha and I were currently standing by the restrooms, locked in a not-so-quiet battle of wills.
The positioning gave me an obstructed view of my friends and Sebastian, who kept glancing at us with a worried frown. He’d wanted to come with me, but I needed to talk to my sister alone. His presence would make things worse, not better.
“I can’t hide this from them,” she said. “If Mom and Dad find out I knew and didn’t tell them, they’ll kill me too.”
“They won’t kill anyone. They’ll be so over the moon I’m dating someone that they’ll probably throw us a party.”
“Oh, really?” Neha cocked an eyebrow. “Then why haven’t you told them?”
“Because,” I said, keeping my voice low. “I’m waiting until after the launch. You know how Mom is. If I tell her now, she’ll have me deep in wedding planning by next week. I can’t deal with that right now.”
Neha narrowed her eyes. She was here with some old college friends, and I silently cursed myself for forgetting that she used to be captain of her university’s bowling team. I should’ve known she’d check this new spot out, trendy or not.
If I had to have run into a sister, I would’ve preferred Priya.
She would probably keep my secret for me, but Neha was as strait-laced as they came.
This was the same girl who’d smoked marijuana once in college and confessed to our parents the next day.
They’d taken away her credit card privileges for a month, but she said having a clean conscience was worth the punishment.
That was the type of goody-two-shoes I was dealing with here, and I was trying my best not to freak out.
My parents finding out early wouldn’t be the end of the world, but it would destroy all my carefully laid plans. If we stuck to my timeline, I knew what to expect. If we didn’t, anything could happen, and that type of uncertainty made my skin crawl.
“I don’t think that’s it,” Neha said. “I think you’re worried they won’t approve or that they’ll scare Sebastian away.”
I kept quiet.
“Or…” Her eyes narrowed further. “Maybe you’re not ready to tell them because you don’t know how you feel yet.”
I still didn’t respond.
“No, that’s not it.” She tapped a finger against her arm. Tap, tap, tap until she paused, and realization dawned. “You’re scared. This is your first real relationship in—”
“Stop.” I cut her off. “Don’t play therapist with me, okay? I’m asking you, sister to sister, to please keep this a secret until June. That’s only two months from now.”
Neha’s forehead creased. For a brief, shining moment, I thought she might agree, but then she shook her head, and all my hopes came crashing down.
“I’m sorry, but dragging it out won’t do anyone any good,” she said. “The longer you wait, the worse it’ll be. I know how Mom can be, but I know how Dad can be too. He hates when people keep secrets from him.”
Panic and frustration coiled in my gut.
I loved my sister, but sometimes, I wanted to strangle her. “Neha, please,” I said, but I knew it was a lost cause. I recognized the tilt of her chin and the firm set of her mouth. She wasn’t going to budge.
“We’re having dinner with the Laurents next week. Dad should be in a good mood,” Neha said. “You need to tell them then. If you don’t, I will. It’s for your own good. Trust me.”