AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I need the alliance, Red,” Cooper says, his voice practically a growl. “James and Bex teaming up completely ruined the strategy.”
“You still owe me dinner at Vesuvio’s,” Sebastian adds, leading the way to the counter. The teenager sitting behind it glances up from his phone, sighs, and ambles in our direction. “But I’ll accept this for now.”
“If it makes you feel any better,” Cooper adds, sounding a little calmer, “I’d never been on a date before Pen.”
“I brought you a list of conversation topics,” Penny says with a sly smile. “Make sure you ask about his interests.”
“I’m going to smack you,” I warn.
She just laughs. “You get the shoes. We’ll get the beer and nachos.”
The moment I’m alone with Sebastian, I feel awkward, which is ridiculous because I’ve been alone with him so often over the past few weeks. Whenever I think about the label—he’s my boyfriend, and I’m his girlfriend—I feel warm enough to start a fire with my bare hands and more than a little turned on, which I think is a good sign, but still, it’s different. There’s a hint of commitment there, and I’ve never had that before.
As if he can tell what I’m thinking, he pulls me into a kiss, his palm pressing against my lower back.
“You look gorgeous,” he murmurs.
I smooth down my blouse. When Penny and I went to lunch, she convinced me to play hooky after and go to the mall. I splurged on a new top, midnight blue with tank top-style straps and embroidery on the hem. Paired with black jeans and my leather jacket—the new one that he bought me—I knew I looked good when we left the house, but hearing the compliment makes me blush.
I lean in so I can whisper against his ear, “You should see the lingerie.”
His hand circles my wrist, thumb stroking softly over my skin. “Any chance I can get a sneak peek?”
That citrus-edged scent of his settles some of the nerves jumping through me. It’s a double date with our best friends, after all. I just need to relax and have fun. I kiss him, shivering as he settles his hands low on my hips.
“No chance,” I murmur. “But if you’re good, I’ll put on a show later.”
“Let’s make things interesting,” he says. “Whoever ends up with the most points after we finish gets to be in charge tonight.”
“In charge how?”
He strokes one finger up my spine. “If I win, I get a good girl in my bed. But if you win…”
“I get to have my way with you?”
He grins. “Something like that.”
Hedefinitelydoesn’t know how good I am at bowling. I almost smirk and give the whole thing away, but I manage to rein it in. “Deal.”
“Think you can keep up with me, sweetheart?”
I press another kiss to his lips. He’s especially handsome tonight; his t-shirt and jeans are fitted, so they show off his physique, and his jaw is sharp and clean. I watched him shave in the bathroom before we left for the bowling alley, swinging my legs on the counter as I brushed my teeth. I already know what I’ll do for him when I win. I have the perfect song to dance to, and a new pair of suede boots to try out. “I’ll try my best.”
“Hey,” the kid behind the counter says. “You gonna rent shoes or what?”
* * *
Half an hour later,I do a little dance as I step up to the line. “Think I can get six in a row?”
“Hell yeah,” Cooper calls. Sebastian punches him in the shoulder. I laugh as I widen my stance. The pins gleam in front of me, perfectly placed and ready to go crashing down yet again. Two nasty-tasting beers in, I’m starting to feel loose—and Sebastian is realizing that I’m absolutely winning our bet.
The first two strikes, he put down to luck. The third, he started to look a little worried. The fourth, he started scowling, and his expression has been stuck that way since. I’m wiping the floor with all three of them. Cooper is decent, but his ball constantly hooks to the left. Penny is terrible, but cares more about the nachos anyway. Sebastian is good at it, but his last two turns, he went into the gutter. With each frame, he’s acting more and more like a paranoid pitcher trying to pick off the runner at first instead of focusing on getting the next batter out.
I close my eyes, wind my arm back, and let go. The ball rockets down the alley, completely straight, and crashes into the pins. All ten crash to the floor. I turn, bowing, as Penny whoops. Sebastian groans, tipping his head back.
When I get back to our seats, I lean down far enough that the ends of my hair brush against his face. “Nervous yet? Those gutter balls are costing you, and I’m here with triple points.”
He presses a fast kiss to my lips. “Not a chance.”
