July 29th

Dex,

I have just one more week before I start classes! I’ve gotten all of my materials together and get to go in to decorate my classroom now. I also met this really great guy a few weeks ago. We’ve hit it off but I’m still keeping myself open to what could happen. We haven’t exactly figured out what we are yet, but we’re going bowling on Friday. Do you remember how much you used to tease me about how bad I was? Gosh, I miss that. I’m hoping to redeem myself in your honor. I hope you’re having fun in Cali.

Miss you,

Ames

The smell of sweat and overpriced pizza hit my nose the minute I walked into Up My Alley bowling center the following Friday. Braden shook out his umbrella that had been shielding us on the mat by the front door. Even though the day decided to bring us rain, bowling was a perfect cozy activity to drown away the storm. We walked up to the counter and got settled with our shoes and a lane.

“Do you want to go first?” Braden asked, balancing one of the bowling balls on three fingers.

“Sure.” I took the ball from him and walked up to the lane, lining myself up with the pins on the other end.

“Take a deep breath and let go of the swing,” Dex had taught me the last time we went bowling.

I inhaled deeply through my nose, only exhaling through my mouth when I let the ball sail from my fingers down the lane…and into the gutter. “Dammit.” I pouted as I walked about to where Braden was standing. “Your turn.”

His blue eyes twinkled as he set up. I watched the way his arms moved, feet planted firmly and only taking the necessary steps forward. His left leg swept behind him as the ball left his hand. Rolling, rolling, rolling, clank!

Eight pins down, but the remaining two were on opposite sides.

He grabbed another ball and took a shot. The ball rolled seamlessly down the lane, listing to the left and smacking one of the pins so that it launched itself into the other.

Braden pumped his fist in the air and began to do a very strange ‘happy dance’, leaving me in a fit of laughter.

“What the heck was that?” I managed to get out in between giggles. My hands gripped my sides.

He shrugged. “Beginner’s luck, I guess.”

I playfully whacked his arm. “That’s not what I meant, but okay. My turn.” I grabbed another ball—this one was pink and weighed less than the one Braden had used. With bowl hands gripping the bowling ball, I clambered forward. At the top of the lane, I swung both hands back and then forward, releasing the ball with a thud.

Watching and quietly encouraging the ball to steer away from the gutter, it balanced precariously on the edge before managing to knock over a solid four pins.

Braden clapped politely at my attempt; I stuck out my tongue at him. My second turn knocked down two more.

It went on this way through the rest of the rounds in our game. Braden won with a solid lead over me. I’d volunteered partway through the game that the loser would buy dinner, but I hadn’t expected as much of an epic loss as what ended up happening.

“So, you still want me to buy you dinner?” I asked, hooking two fingers in my bowling shoes and slinging my purse over the opposite shoulder.

Braden shrugged. “I’d be down for that.”

“A deal’s a deal.” I plunked the shoes down on the return counter and turned to him. “What are you feeling tonight? Italian? Mexican?”

“I know this great steakhouse down the road if you’re interested in that?” he suggested.

I bit my lip. Steakhouses weren’t exactly in my price range, but I really liked Braden and didn’t want the date to end yet. “Yeah, sure. We can do that.”

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

“It’s not too much?” He ran a hand through his hair sheepishly. “I can honestly be flexible.”

“It does feel a little like later date material,” I admitted. “So maybe we'll take a rain check on the steakhouse and go somewhere else tonight?”

“Does that mean you’ll want another date?” The corners of his mouth turned up.

I rolled my eyes, a smile slipping across my lips. “I think you’ve earned that much. But we’ll see how dinner goes tonight before I make any promises for the future.”

***

The restaurant we chose had checkered cloths on the table and dim lighting, a very romantic setting if I did say so myself. We chose italian, a cliche first date choice but it was something familiar and cozy. I let Braden order a bottle of wine and we opted to share an appetizer of fried calamari.

The food came out quickly, a crisp aroma wafting from the platter that made my mouth water.

“So, I guess this is where we make small talk about our everyday lives,” Braden said, sipping from his wine. He swirled the red liquid around in his glass, letting it sit on his tongue before swallowing.

I chuckled. “Or we could make it interesting,” I folded my fingers together under my chin and propped my elbows on the table. “Twenty questions?”

“Mmm.” Braden sat back in his seat. “You first.”

“Favorite place to visit,” I said.

“The Cape. I have family on the coast in Massachusetts, so I love visiting there in the summers.” He paused. “Best year of high school.”

“Cliche, but senior year. I was that student who loved starting school but senior year holds a lot of great memories for me. Fraternity in college?”

Braden shook his head. “Nah, I wasn’t into Greek Life.”

It went on like this for a while, through two baskets of bread and the main course, all the way up to when the waiter asked if we were interested in hearing the dessert specials.

“Can we split something?” I asked. “I don’t think I have room for a whole dessert on my own.”

Braden nodded. “How would you feel about Tiramisu?”

“You read my mind.”

We turned to the waiter, ordering coffees and a slice of Tiramisu to share with two forks. While we waited, Braden poured us each a little more wine then raised his glass.

“I’d like to propose a toast,” he said. “To what we’ve started that I hope will continue. Despite the rocky start, I see a chance for us and I hope we can see each other again. This might be cheesy and cliche but that seems to be a common denominator.”

I chuckled at his comment as he winked. “To the start of something more than cliche.” We clinked our glasses together.

After dinner, Braden drove me back home, pulling up in front of the apartment complex and putting the car in park so he could walk me up the path to the door.

“So, I guess this is where I leave you.” Braden shoved his hands in his pockets. “I had a lot of fun today.”

“Me too,” I said, tucking my hair behind my ears. My gaze flickered up to glance across his lips. “You know, you didn’t have any pecans with dinner tonight.”

“Guess I didn’t.” A knowing grin crossed his features. “Does that mean I can kiss you?”

I shrugged. “I’ll allow it,” I teased.

His fingers wove through my hair as he leaned down to my height. I instinctively rose up on my tip-toes to meet his mouth, our lips mere inches away.

My heart thumped in my chest.

His mouth was so close, I could practically taste the coffee that lingered on his lips.

“Oh good, you’re home!” The front door to the apartment swung open to a grinning Eloise. Her gaze pinged between us as Braden cursed under his breath and stepped away from me.

My sister always had such perfect timing, this being now the second time she’d interrupted a moment between me and Braden.

“Um, Braden, this is my sister Eloise. El, this is Braden,” I said, wincing.

Eloise’s eyes widened as she made the connection. “Oh, you’re him!” she squealed. “It’s so nice to officially meet you being, um, sober.” She let out a laugh. “Can I just say you and my sister make a great couple.”

I rubbed at the back of my neck with my hand. “El,” I murmured.

“Right, right.” She took the hint. “I’ll leave you to it. But Braden, if you don’t mind my saying, whatever happens between the two of you…just know that as Amelia’s older sister—and yes, two minutes does count—I want what’s best for her. So you better make sure that if this is real, you’re in it for the long haul.”

“Eloise!” I groaned. “Go inside.”

“I’m going, I’m going!” She winked. “Have fun!”

Once she was gone, I dragged a hand down my face and let out a long sigh. “I’m so sorry. I had no idea she was going to come out here and attack like that.”

Braden chuckled. “No, it’s totally fine. My sister is like that too, always wants to make sure the girl I’m seeing is in it for more than just a few nights, you know?” He ran a hand through his hair. “Um, but speaking of sisters I do have to head out. My sister is—um, well she likes me to babysit and I promised her I’d drop by tonight for some family time.”

“Not a problem.” My heart sank a little. “Maybe we can do something again soon?”

“Absolutely.” Braden grinned. “What do you say to mini golf next weekend?”

That soon? “Sounds like a plan.”

He brushed his lips across my cheek and whispered in my ear, “Sometimes the slowest burns are the best.” Then he straightened up and waved as he got into his car.