Page 73 of So Much More
“Beats me. Anyway, Wendy, what’s your plan?”
“We’re going to that place down the street that has late-night bowling.”
“Oookay. And what about that will be awkward for me?”
“You have to bowl left-handed, and you can’t say a word.” She smirks at me.
We’ve already established I’m not great with my left hand, but I can deal with that. Not talking? That might be a problem.
“And what happens if Idosay a word?” I ask.
“For every word you say, that’s one less minute I’ll spend at your apartment afterward.”
My eyebrows shoot up. “You’re coming to our apartment?”
She nods, and my breath catches in my throat.
“What are we going to do there?” I ask.
“That’s for Leslie to decide.”
My gaze shoots to Leslie and back to Wendy. “She’ll be there?”
“Well, I’m not going there with you alone.”
I wink at her. “You afraid of what you might do to me if we’re alone?”
She rolls her eyes. “Yeah, I might smack you upside the head.”
Ash chuckles, and I glare at him.
“Hey,” he says, “you’ve laughed at my expense several times tonight. It’s my turn now.”
* * *
I’ve never laughed as much as I did during wordless bowling. I narrowly missed dropping the ball on my foot multiple times, much to Ash’s delight. And seeing Wendy’s gleeful face when I couldn’t verbally celebrate a strike or express my disappointment at a gutter ball warmed my heart. I might have overdone my frustration a bit simply to see that look on her face. I think I also impressed her with my ability to keep my mouth shut the entire time. And she loved that I left the tiara on, even though the rest of them removed their new items.
After bowling, we went back to the apartment, where Leslie made us play “Spoons.” The winner of each round got to wear the tiara, which Ash protested, but he played along. The more tired we got, the more aggressive and competitive we all became, and I put an end to it when Ash nearly took Wendy’s hand off grabbing for the last spoon. Then Leslie asked Ash to walk her home, and I’m doing the same for Wendy.
“Did you have a good time tonight?” I ask, her hand gripped firmly in mine.
She looks up at me with a sweet smile. “I did. We haven’t ever spent time together with the goal of having fun, and I loved it. We need to do more of that.”
“Yeah, we do. And I love that you want to keep spending time with me. Thanks for giving me another chance.”
“I don’t want that one thing you did to define our entire relationship. You deserve the chance to prove that’s not who you are, and spending time with you is helping me to move past it.”
A sense of relief washes over me at her words. “I’m glad to hear that.”
I walk her all the way to her door this time.
“You can kiss me once on my cheek,” she says primly.
“Both cheeks?” I ask hopefully.
“I’m not sure we’re at that level yet,” she teases. “Just one cheek tonight.”
“I’ll take whatever I can get.” I lean down and press my lips to her cheek, and then I leave them there, resting lightly against her soft skin.
