Chapter 22
Twenty-Two
Denise
It takes a few bangs against Lucas’s front door for it to finally swing open, revealing a disgruntled Preston. He at least grants me the decency of one quick glance before he’s closing the door while saying, “He’s not here.”
I wedge my foot between the closing door and wall. “Well, do you know where he is?”
Preston lets out a frustrated sigh. “Why do you care?”
“Why is that any of your business?”
Preston fully opens the door again, his sharp gaze locked on mine. “Because I don’t appreciate my best friend yapping about a girl that wants nothing to do with him.”
I open my mouth to speak but he keeps going. “And don’t try to spew your bullshit to me. Lucas told me what you said.”
My shoulders drop and any attitude I had for the annoying blond subsides because now all I can see is Lucas having to repeat the things I said to him.
The fact that my words even hurt enough for him to talk to Preston about it makes me hate myself even more, but I’m not here to throw a pity party. I’m here because Lucas deserves to know that I think the world of him.
Preston is just an obstacle in my way.
I square my shoulders back, hands coming to rest on my hips. “Preston, I’m sure you know just as much as me about saying things before thinking them through.”
He crosses his arms, clearly not impressed with me for basically calling him out but I really don’t care. I can’t wait any longer. I’ve already wasted days by hiding out in my room. I need to talk to Lucas. Now.
I continue with my speech. “And you also know way more than me how amazing Lucas is. How he deserves more than anyone. I said shit to him, yes, but if I’m being honest, he’s the one I should be explaining myself to. Not you.”
Preston leans against the doorframe, arms crossed and an unreadable expression on his face.
But I’ve seen him wear this same neutral expression before pouncing on someone during a game.
I hold my breath, reminding myself that whatever he gives, I can dish right back.
I would just rather not waste time doing that right now.
He sighs. “He’s out on a date.”
My spine straightens and my heart begins to race even faster than before, the feeling of Lucas already slipping away from me makes my hands shake. But I do my best not to show Preston how that information affects me.
“With who?”
He shrugs. “Some girl from one of his classes.”
“Do you know where they went?” I push.
“You gonna fuck it up if I tell you?”
Okay, I get why people around campus avoid getting on this guy’s bad side.
He’s already known for nothing but brute force out on the ice but off it?
He’s just as difficult to interact with.
His dark brown eyes and unnecessarily tall frame are enough to have anyone walking the other way.
But I don’t tend to be intimidated that easily.
I cross my arms, not backing down. He decides to do the same.
“If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you have a little crush on him yourself, Nole.”
He arches his eyebrow, his dark gaze studying me. Not my body or the yoga shorts and crop top I rolled out of my bed wearing. His eyes watch me more like he’s assessing a threat or something.
He must decide that I’m not as much of a hazard as he thought because the corner of his mouth twitches ever so slightly and he goes back to leaning against the doorframe. “Love the guy but he’s not my type.”
My eyes narrow. “Then spill, Nole.”
“They’re at the bowling alley.”
I hold back a smile, already turning away and taking long strides down the hallway. “Thanks!” I call out behind me.
I hear Preston chuckle, the door closing with a click.
◆◆◆
My tires crunch against the pavement of the bowling alley parking lot. I barely give myself enough time to put my car in park before jumping out and hurriedly rushing inside.
I know it’s a Friday night and all but I really didn’t think this many people went bowling. I was lucky enough to find a parking spot that wasn’t down the street. I push through the front doors before the scent of ketchup and stale fries floods my nose.
My eyes scan through the crowd. Couples. Families. Bowling leagues.
Lucas’s familiar head of hair sticks out from the rest of the people he’s with. He’s sitting down near a lane with a group of guys who are wearing green bowling shirts. Sprawled on the back is their team name. Alley Gators.
Lucas isn’t wearing a matching shirt but I also don’t see any sign of this date I’ve been told about. I watch him cheering and laughing with the older men and smile. Of course he fits right in with just about anyone.
My feet begin to guide me over there but I’m stopped by some teenager behind the counter, Misha on her name tag. She points a finger at the wall of bowling shoes behind her.
“You can’t play if you don’t rent shoes.” Uneven streaks of purple are scattered through her hair. Her phone is resting on the counter that she’s leaning on. Clearly this isn’t the first person she’s had to tell this to tonight.
“I’m not playing.”
She rolls her eyes and I try really hard to remember to give her grace. I was a teenager once. A snarky one at that. Even I still have some attitude problems so I can’t blame this girl for doing her job. But it is making my goal here a lot harder because I have no cash on me.
I’m just realizing I don’t even have my wallet. Just my car keys and an apology on my tongue.
“Doesn’t matter,” she says. “Anyone on the lanes needs to be wearing bowling shoes.”
I lean my elbows on the counter, finger impatiently tapping against the wood. “Oh, come on. I just need to talk to someone. It’ll be two seconds.”
“No.” She doesn’t even bother to think about it.
Deep breath in. Deep breath out.
“I know you’re just doing your job but this is really important—”
“Lady, I don’t care. You either rent shoes or you don’t go over there. Not that hard to understand.”
I will not lash out at a kid just doing her job.
I repeat the mantra in my head a few times, taking deep breaths and telling myself it’s not the end of the world. I’ll just sit here and wait. Or I’ll just call Lucas…with a phone that I left back at Mom and Brian’s.
Oh, fuck it.
I cup my hands around my mouth and shout across the alley. Loud and unapologetic. “Lucas!”
His head almost immediately snaps in my direction, eyes scanning the building before landing on me. My breath hitches in my throat and my heart begins to race.
What if he ignores me? What if I am too late and he wants nothing to do with me? I wouldn’t blame him but it’ll still sting and I’ll have to go home and cry over a tub of ice cream with Amiyah.
But thankfully that doesn’t seem like that’s going to happen yet because Lucas says something to one of the guys with salt and pepper hair.
Then he’s making his way over to me. I’ve experienced firsthand that anger really isn’t Lucas’s instinct emotion but him not being able to help but smile when he spots me makes this seemingly worse.
Why on earth does this man have to be basically perfect?
I just think it’d only be fair if he had at least one single quality about him that didn’t make me want to just grab his face, kiss him, and apologize for every single mean thing I’ve said to him.
“Who’s the one doing the stalking now, Styker?” He grins, his palm going to rest on the counter.
I look over at Misha who’s been watching the whole thing. She rolls her eyes but picks up her phone and walks to the other side of the counter. Deciding to go about her business.
I step closer to Lucas but make sure to keep a safe distance. After what I said to him, I don’t have any right to assume I’m allowed to stand as close as I want.
“I…uh—I had to talk to you.” I clear my throat.
He arches his eyebrow. “That so?”
My eyes start searching around for his date yet again, even though Lucas technically isn’t mine so I can’t shoot daggers at said girl but man do I want to.
“Where’s your date?” I can’t help but ask.
Lucas raises his eyebrow because he knows that I’m definitely not supposed to have that information but he doesn’t ask how I got it either.
Lucas glances back over at the group of men he was with. “Tell you what.” He pulls a five dollar bill from his wallet, slapping it down on the counter and motioning for Misha to come back over. “We can talk but only if you can beat me at my own game.”
This isn’t at all what I was expecting when I came here but I’m not complaining. “You’re on, Callahan.”
It doesn’t take long after I lace up my bowling shoes for Lucas to introduce me to the Alley Gators. I laugh at the name and Lewis, one of the league’s members, tells me he was rooting for Gutter Dusters and I completely understand why the team did not go with that name.
Tonight, the guys are just playing a friendly game amongst themselves so they were split into teams already. At some point, the game turns into half the guys rooting for me and the other half rooting for Lucas.
“This is the tie breaker, Denise. You got this.” Charles, the coolest one of the bunch in my opinion, pats my shoulder and I smile up at him.
“He’s the one that’s gotta worry, Charlie.”
He pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose and I’ve quickly learned that’s his way of saying good luck. I narrow my eyes in Lucas’s direction to see him already watching me. He’s sitting, leaning back in his seat, legs spread apart and arms folded over his chest.
He winks but I don’t have time to be distracted by butterflies in my stomach, so I look away and reach down to grab a ball before waking up to the lane. I take a deep breath and position myself to roll.
Lucas made a strike this frame, leaving his team with one hundred and eighty-five points.
My team is behind by almost ten points and during my first roll of the frame, I only managed to knock down four of the ten pins.
Leaving us at one hundred and seventy-nine points.
Which means I need to knock down the remaining six pins.