Page 46 of The Other Room

Oh shit, I thought just before I landed on my ass with a thud. Wishing the alley would swallow me whole, I laid my head on the wood and licked my wounds for a second while I listened to my ball plunk into the gutter.

Well, if there was even the slightest chance of a mutual attraction, I had just successfully ensured my ass headed straight back to the friend zone.

Forever.

“Are you okay?” Jo called, and I could hear the laughter peppering her words.

“Fine,” I grunted as I rolled to my knees. “Totally fine.”

When I stood up, I stared at the floor for a second before forcing my eyes up to Jo. Her face was a mosaic of reds while she pursed her lips into a tight white line.

“Go ahead. It’s cool.” I tossed my hands in the air and let the assault of their laughter wash over me.

Jo collapsed on the floor, clutching her stomach while she rolled onto her side. Tony and Aaron clung to each other, tears glistening in their eyes as their laughter rolled a hell of a lot farther than my bowling ball... the one stuck halfway down the gutter.

“Get it out, get it out.” I sighed. But as mortification over my debacle blazed my cheeks, I couldn’t help but let the sounds of Jo’s laughter ignite my own. It was contagious, and it was a sound I had missed so much this last year. Bending over, I pressed my hands to my knees and choked on my laughter, tears forming in my eyes as well.

“Dude! You fell down!” Aaron spit between waves of laughter.

“I totally fell down.” I laughed harder, replaying the memory in my mind. “I fucking fell down.”

“You fell down!” Jo called up from the floor, laughter shaking her body.

“You fell down, and you’re never going to live this down!” Tony pressed his head into his arms, and his shoulders lifted with each airy laugh.

While we gasped for air, our faces glistening with tears, I shook my head and did the walk of shame back to the scoring table. One by one our laughter trickled off, heavy sighs refilling the air the prolonged laughter stolen from our lungs.

“So, I guess there’s no way we can pretend that never happened and erase it from our brains?” I asked, giving them a sheepish smile.

“Not a chance.” Aaron chuckled then pointed to my ball in the gutter. “You gonna go get that?”

“I’m gonna throw another ball at it to knock them both in, then go back to pretending this never happened.”

“You do that, Matt.” Jo rose from the floor, her face still as red as a rose. “You forget all you want, because we won’t. And we’ll just keep reminding you. You know... that you fell down.”

Their laughter exploded again, and I couldn’t help but join them. While they continued mocking me, I tossed another ball in the gutter with enough force to send both balls slamming into the catch.

“I’m going again,” I said as I walked back.

“Oh yeah?” Tony said. “Is that like a rule we don’t know about? You fall on your ass and you get a freebie?”

“It was... my hamstring.” I grinned as I leaned down and rubbed the perfectly fine muscle. “Another cramp.”

“Bananas, man. I’m telling you. Bananas.” Aaron pointed the short wooden pencil at me. “I eat a banana every day. And you know what? No cramps.” He tapped the pencil on his head.

“I’ll pick some up this week,” I lied, then grabbed my ball as it came back down the return. This time I wasn’t going to embarrass myself in front of the girl I could still hear snickering. The girl I had intended to impress with my bowling skills before I landed on my ass. The girl who looked so damn good tonight I just wanted to...

Damn it! Just friends.

Narrowing my eyes as I pushed my frustration into my ball arm, I strode toward the lane, releasing my ball before I stepped over the line this time. It shot down the center of the lane, and when it hit the center pin, there was an explosion of sound as the pins went flying.

“Yes!” I shouted, pumping my fist at my side.

Vindicated.

Turning around, I pointed my index fingers at Jo. “It’s on.”

“Bring it, Sir Falls-a-Lot.”