Page 39

The sound of bowling balls thundering down the alleys and clashing pins greeted us as we walked through the entrance.

It wasn’t as busy here tonight as I’d expected, so it was easy to spot Grayson and Paige who were hanging out near the lanes.

Paige was chatting animatedly with my brother while he was scowling at some kid who had committed the crime of entering their general vicinity.

I doubted Grayson was scowling at the kid on purpose.

That was just the way he looked when he was forced to do something against his will.

I’d had no luck convincing any of my friends to come tonight. To be fair, I’d only given them thirty minutes’ notice, it was a Friday night, and I was sure they all had much better things to do than unwittingly help convince a girl to like me.

“I thought you said a whole bunch of your friends were coming.” Violet was frowning as we approached my brother and Paige.

“I’m sure they’re just running late,” I replied. There was a small chance some of the guys hadn’t seen my message and could still rock up.

“Violet,” Paige squealed before she ran toward us and gave her a hug.

At first, Violet appeared surprised by Paige’s enthusiasm, but she quickly seemed to accept it and smiled brightly as she hugged her in return.

“This is so fun,” Paige continued. “I’m so glad you could make it.”

“Yeah, me too,” Violet replied as Paige took hold of her hand and led her over to the shoe rental counter.

As I watched the two of them, I had to wonder if roping Grayson and Paige into this had been a mistake.

Knowing Paige, she’d monopolize Violet all night, and I’d get very little alone time with her.

“I still can’t believe you’re making me do this,” Grayson grumbled as we followed after the girls.

“Sorry, I freaked out and suggested the first thing that came to mind.”

“Bowling was the first thing that came to mind? We never go bowling.”

“Like I said, I freaked out.”

“Yeah, well, you owe me.”

“Noted.”

When we got our shoes, the girl behind the counter smirked as I told her my size. I recognized her from school, but I couldn’t recall her name. Tiffany, maybe? I didn’t really care. I was too focused on the way Violet’s eyes lit up as she and Paige joked over how silly their bowling shoes looked.

Tiffany coughed, drawing my attention once more. “Here you go, Reed.”

I gave her a tight smile in thanks, but when I went to take the shoes, she didn’t release them. Instead, she leaned across the counter toward me. “You know what they say about guys with big feet…”

“They make great clowns,” I replied coldly.

Tiffany’s expression shuttered as she took in my hard gaze, but before she could respond, Paige snatched the shoes from her hands. “His girlfriend is standing right there, Abigail!”

I guess I’d been way off with the name, but that was the least of my concerns.

My gaze went straight to Violet who was glaring at the girl.

Was she pretending to be upset because that was her job as my fake girlfriend, or was she genuinely concerned to overhear a girl flirting with me?

Either way, the timing sucked. I was trying to show Violet that I wasn’t some relentless player.

There was no way she’d consider dating me for real if she thought we couldn’t even go bowling without girls hitting on me.

She’d think I was just as bad as every other jock she’d sworn off.

Paige slammed the shoes into my chest. “I can’t take you guys anywhere,” she complained before walking over to Grayson.

I was slightly nervous as I approached Violet. “Sorry about that.”

She smiled though and slipped an arm around my waist. “Don’t worry about it, babe .”

My forehead creased as I looked into her eyes. She gave me a playful wink, and I realized this was just for show. She probably thought Tiffany, sorry, Abigail, could overhear us.

“We should go find our lane,” I said, placing my arm over her shoulder and joining in the act. I’d take almost any opportunity to hold Violet close to me. I was hardly about to miss this one—even if it was pretend.

She lowered her voice as we walked off. “Is it working?”

I couldn’t bring myself to turn and check. Not when Violet was so perfectly tucked under my arm. “I’m sure it is,” I replied. “You better stay close though to really stake your claim.”

She rolled her eyes and released a soft laugh. “Fielding pickup lines like that, I can see why you’d fake a relationship to avoid girls.”

“Yeah,” I murmured in agreement. Although, it wasn’t all bad. Not when that cringeworthy pickup line had landed Violet in my arms.

We reached our lane, and she pulled her arm from around me as she went to sit and change her shoes.

“Didn’t you say this place was packed with Ransom students on a Friday night?” Violet said as I sat beside her and kicked off my own shoes. She was frowning as she looked around.

“What? It is…”

“Reed, the only person I’ve seen who’s our age was the girl with the foot fetish back there—and she works here. Everyone else looks like they’re about twelve years old.”

I swallowed as I glanced down the line of bowling lanes at the various groups.

She was right. There was nobody our age here.

How was I supposed to know no one went to the bowling alley anymore and it had turned into the local preteen hangout?

I guessed it made sense seeing as I hadn’t been here in years.

“It’s still early,” I said. “I’m sure half the senior class will be here later in the evening.”

“You sure about that?” Violet was far from convinced.

This was not going well so far, and I was getting dangerously close to being exposed. What had I been thinking when I’d come up with this plan? Surely, it was only a matter of time before Violet worked out I’d made up the whole fake dating emergency. If she hadn’t already.

“Reed’s right,” Grayson said suddenly. “It’s still early. There will be a ton of seniors here later for sure.”

I gave my brother a grateful nod. He obviously didn’t actually believe what he’d said, but hopefully it would go a long way toward persuading Violet.

“Oh, okay, if you say so,” she replied, flashing Grayson a cautious smile before she went to find a bowling ball. I wondered if she was still worried Grayson didn’t like her. There was no way he would have helped me out just then if he didn’t.

“You actually make a pretty good wingman, Gray,” I said, watching Violet join Paige over by the rack of balls. The two of them quickly slipped into conversation, laughing as they tried out balls in different sizes, weights, and colors.

“Don’t thank me,” he replied. “I just couldn’t bear to watch this car crash any longer.”

“Oh god, it’s not that bad, is it?”

He cracked a small grin. “I’m joking. You know I always have your back.”

I pulled my attention from Violet to look at my brother. “I know. Just didn’t realize that extended to girl troubles.”

“Well, it’s been a while since I’ve had a chance.”

“True.”

“And I can see how important this one is to you.”

“Thanks, guru.” I nodded at my brother and smiled, but he simply rolled his eyes and wandered away to grab a ball for himself. I probably shouldn’t push my luck with Gray tonight. He was already doing a lot for me.

As soon as we started playing, I stopped worrying so much about whether Violet was going to catch on to my emergency date ploy.

Bowling was actually quite fun, and I seemed to have a natural talent for it.

Grayson wasn’t having as much success. He bowled with far too much strength.

I was surprised he didn’t dent the lane every time he flung his ball toward the pins.

“This isn’t shotput,” I told him after a particularly bad throw.

“Aww, Gray, it’s okay,” Paige said, patting him on the arm. “You can’t be great at everything.”

He grunted in reply. The frown he was currently wearing had been known to send guys his size running in the opposite direction, but Paige’s smile simply widened.

“Do you need some pointers?” she asked even though her score was barely better than his.

“I’m going to get a drink,” he replied, stalking off without another word.

Violet gave Paige a worried look. “Is he okay?”

“Oh, totally.”

“He doesn’t look okay.”

Paige laughed. “No, he doesn’t. But messing with Gray when he gets in one of his moods is far too much fun. Guess I better go after him.”

She skipped off after my brother, completely unconcerned by the fact she had practically just taunted a bear. But then again, Paige was probably the only one of us who could get away with it.

“He’s not the only one who sucks at bowling,” Violet said as she prepared for her next shot.

“You don’t suck.”

“I’m only three points ahead of Grayson.”

“Paige isn’t doing much better.”

She shrugged. “Meanwhile, you’re playing like you’re secretly signed up to a bowling league,” she continued. “Do you come here every Friday night to practice and play in tournaments? Is that why you’re so good?”

“No.”

“I bet you do.”

“I swear I don’t.”

“Who’s the team, Reed?”

I rolled my eyes. “There’s no team.”

“Ouch, I’m sure the Gutter Gang will be devastated when they hear you were too embarrassed to admit you’re part of their team.”

“The Gutter Gang?”

“Wrong name, huh?” She tapped her fingers against her chin. “Hm. Let me guess. The Bowling Stones?”

“Wrong again.” I grinned, starting to play along.

“Britney Spares? Split Happens?”

“Actually,” I lowered my voice. “If you must know, I bowl with my grandma’s team, the Ball Busters.”

Violet burst out laughing. “Seriously? I was right?”

“No.” I shook my head, pretending to look disappointed. “Grandma would never let a guy on her team.”

“Brutal,” she replied, still chuckling.

We were both grinning brightly at one another and, in moments like these, it was far too easy to forget our relationship wasn’t real.