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“Just as a warning, I’m incredibly good at bowling,” Jade said as she leaned against Franny’s car in the parking lot of Lucky Leagues, waiting for Franny to dig her ball out of the mess in her trunk.

“Is that right?” Franny heaved the ball from beneath a mountain of jackets and jerseys. “You’ve never said.”

“It never came up, I guess. I just wanted to warn you before we get out there. Don’t want to accidentally embarrass you or anything.”

They started walking across the lot toward the entrance, and Franny spared a look at Jade. Her girlfriend was practically strutting, shoulders back, chin up, hips moving deliciously—if far too much for the setting. It was deeply adorable how competitive Jade got.

“You know, this is much less about winning at bowling than it is about the gals just getting together.”

Jade paused. “So you don’t bowl?”

“No, we bowl. We just pay more attention to one another,” Franny clarified.

Jade’s face fell almost comically as she continued walking. “So y’all will be easy to beat, then.”

“Probably.”

“I don’t like it when people are easy to beat.”

Franny snorted. “You are such a brat, you know that?”

“You love it.”

They’d shown up a bit late, and Franny could see that all the girls were already seated around their usual lanes when they walked in. She’d had the brilliant idea to surprise them with her presence instead of sending Barb a message letting her know she’d be there. It was an absolute joy to see the shock and awe on their faces when she smoothly slid in front of where they were sitting, Jade trailing not too far behind.

“Well, look who decided to show her face!” Charlie’s bubbly little greeting was followed by a tight hug around the neck.

“We figured you’d moved on to greener pastures,” Barb grunted, using a cloth to polish the ball between her legs.

“Never!” Franny said, passing out hugs. “I’d never leave y’all behind. Things have just been hectic lately. I’ve barely had time to breathe.”

“I can see why,” Janet said slyly, cutting her eyes to where Jade was standing with her hands on her hips.

“Is this her?” Charlie gasped.

“This is my girl.” Franny laughed through her clarification.

“Uhhh…” Jade ground out.

She was far less cocky than she had been when they’d come in. Franny understood her completely. All the women were incredibly kind, but they made a formidable group of queer elders. Especially Barb, with her grumbling and surly disposition.

Franny wrapped an arm around Jade’s waist, tucking her thumb into one of the empty belt loops of her jeans. Making sure she kepta hold on her, showing her that she was right there beside her and wouldn’t be going anywhere.

“Girls, this is Jade Dunn, my girl. Jade, this is Barb and her wife, Stella. They started the league. And this is Janet, Charlie, and Carmella.”

“Hi, y’all.” Jade’s tone was as close to shy as it could be. “It’s nice to meet you. Thank you for having me.”

“We didn’t know you were coming.” Barb’s words were so matter-of-fact, they earned her a light cuff on the shoulder from her wife.

“Don’t pay her no mind,” Stella said. “We’re happy to have you.”

“We need to recruit more baby gays anyway,” Janet said, laughing. “We won’t be around forever, and we’ve got to keep the league going.”

Carmella rolled her eyes. “I, for one, am not going anywhere. But we’ve heard a lot about you, Jade.”

“You have?” Jade looked at Franny.

“Oh yeah. Plenty.”