by Sam Elswit
When I turned around, I found her forehead to forehead with William, a bright smile on her face. A part of me wanted to tease her, but the look of happiness stopped me. My sister might be annoying, but she deserved to be happy every now and again.
He whispered something in her ear, causing her to giggle. Gently, he pinned a strand of hair behind her ear before he caressed her rosy cheeks with his fingertips.
A pang of jealousy ran through my body at the sight. I turned away, grabbing my second ball, aiming for the remaining pins.
I missed.
“Hey, it’s okay,” Phil said, trying to console me. “I bet you’ll do better next round.”
“Thanks…” I mumbled under my breath.
I glanced up at Emily, waiting for her to realize it was her turn, but she was much too enthralled by her newest boy toy.
“Are they an item?” Phil asked, following my gaze.
“Not that I know of.” I shrugged. “Emily has never been in a committed relationship. She likes to have fun way too much to stick to just one guy for very long.”
“Maybe she just hasn’t found a guy she’d be willing to settle down with. I’m sure once someone really captures her attention, she’ll be a great girlfriend.”
I scoffed. “I wouldn’t want her as my significant other. Too crazy and scatterbrained. She would drive me nuts. Besides, it’s all physical with her. I don’t even think she knows the definition of the word love.”
“You don’t know that. Everyone falls in love at least once in their life.”
“Have you?” The question came rocketing out of my lips before I could stop myself. I knew it was incredibly rude to ask such a question, but I just couldn’t help myself. The thought of Phil loving someone else made me feel sick to my stomach.
He looked down at his fingers, wringing them together. “Does my cat count?”
I couldn’t help but burst out laughing, a sense of relief washing over me. “No, not quite.”
He held up his hands in defeat. “Then, I guess not.” He looked at me and hesitated like he was reading my expression. “What about you?”
I thought about Andy. At one point, I probably did think I loved him, but now, I knew it wasn’t real. What we had was nothing more than lust. “No.”
Phil furrowed his brows together like he was confused. He parted his lips, about to say something else, but quickly clamped them shut again.
An awkward silence fell between us. I fidgeted in my seat, thinking about what I could say, but it was like my tongue had swollen up in my mouth. I gulped, turning away.
In front of me was the tray of food William had brought over. I grabbed the two untouched glasses of beer and handed one to Phil. “Here, you might want to drink this before Emily gets her hands on it.”
Phil chuckled. “Oh, you don’t have to tell me how much she likes to drink. Countless times I’ve gone home from Scotty’s with my wallet significantly lighter because of her.”
“Tell me about it. She’s a master mooch.” I shook my head. “I swear, if she’s around, I can never enjoy my fries. One second they’re there and the next, they’re gone.”
“And then, you can’t really get mad at her, especially when she gives you those great big, puppy-dog eyes.”
I laughed. “That’s never worked on me.”
“Really?” He sounded amazed.
I nodded. “She tries it all the time. But, I guess since I’m her brother, I’ve developed an immunity to all that stuff.”
“You’ll have to teach me sometime before she drives me into bankruptcy.”
“You two talking shit about me?” Emily had pried herself away from William and was now standing in front of us, her hands on her hips. “I’m not deaf, you know.”
“No, maybe not, but you might be blind. It’s been your turn for the last ten minutes.”
“Really? I didn’t even notice.” She giggled, stealing one last look at William before he disappeared behind the counter.
“Of course you didn’t. You were too busy making googly eyes at Mr. Tan and Good Looking.”
“Damn right I was.” She grinned. “And he’s totally into me. You can thank me for the free games and booze later.”
“Stop yammering and just bowl already.”
“Jeez, in such a hurry to lose, are you?” With a cocky pep to her step, she picked up her ball, tossing it down the lane. I flinched as it landed with a hard thud. I had tried to explain to her, years ago, that lobbing wasn’t an acceptable form of bowling, but of course, she had never bothered to listen to me.
The ball cruised down the lane, eventually slamming into the pins, knocking them all down.
“Oh, it’s over now. Momma’s got her A game going. You two don’t stand a chance!” She smirked, giving me a playful shove before she got back to her seat.
***
For the rest of the night, my sister and I were neck and neck. One game, I’d win by a couple of points, in the next, it would be her turn to steal the victory.
Poor Phil never stood a chance. After his first strike, it was all downhill from there. He never managed to knock over more than a couple of pins at a time.
By the time we finally called it quits, most of the bowling alley was empty. Only a few stragglers finishing off their beers remained. Employees had already begun mopping up the floors, their movements tired and sluggish.
I looked at my phone. “Wow, it’s already two in the morning?”
“Is it?” Emily looked around, finally realizing that we were a few of the last people left.
William approached us, running his fingers through his thick hair. “My manager says I have to kick you out now.”
“But, I was finally going to beat my brother.”
“You’ll just have to do it some other time because tonight, you’re going home with me.” His voice was low and seductive as he wrapped his arm around my sister’s waist, pulling her close.
He looked like he was about to kiss her when I stepped in. “Hold up, Casanova, my sister needs to drive me home.”
“Why can’t Phil drive you home?” Emily protested.
“Because Phil wasn’t the one who brought me here. You can cuddle up to your new boy toy some other time.” I said, grabbing her wrist.
“As if. Just go home with Phil. What’s the big deal anyway? You scared or something?”
“No. Of course not.”
“Then, it’s settled. You go home with Phil, I’ll go home with William and everyone is happy.”
“Emily…”
She leaned forward, whispering in my ear. “You’ll thank me later.” With that, she turned on her heels and left.
Great. Just great.
Chapter 8
Phil
Ben didn’t look too pleased to be going home with me. I frowned slightly, not quite sure what to make of him. One second, it felt like there was some serious chemistry between us, the next, he was giving me the cold shoulder.
If I knew better, I would stay away and keep my distance. That way, I wouldn’t get hurt. But, Emily had already trapped me into becoming a member of the band. It wasn’t like I could easily avoid him. I didn’t even know if I wanted to.
With a loud sigh, he turned to face me. “I’m really sorry about this. My sister doesn’t know the definition of the word ‘considerate.’ I’m sure you want to get home as soon as possible. I’ll call an Uber or something.” He said, already pulling out his phone.
I grabbed his wrist, holding it tightly. “Don’t worry about it. I don’t mind giving you a ride.” I smiled, jangling my keys between my fingers.
“Are you sure?”
“Positive.”
Ben shuffled from foot to foot as he thought it over.
Slowly, I let go of his wrist, suppressing the urge to grab his hand, lock our fingers together, and walk out of the bowling alley hand in hand.
“I guess I don’t have much of a choice.” Ben relented as he sat down, taking off his shoes. I joined him, re
turning them to the counter.
By the time we left the bowling alley, the lights in the parking lot had been turned off, making it hard to navigate. “I parked toward the back.” When I turned around to find Ben, I couldn’t see a thing. A second later, he bumped into me. I fell backward, colliding with a nearby wall. Ben followed suit until we were smooshed together.
Naturally, my arms wrapped around him, pulling him closer, in an almost protective manner. When I looked up, our eyes locked together. My breath hitched in my throat as my head started to spin. His lips were so close…
“Phil…” Ben’s voice was soft and seductive in my ear. I leaned forward, getting even closer to those pink, delicious-looking lips. My heart kick-started in my chest, beating faster than ever.
I was just about to reach out and cup his cheek in my palm when he yanked away as if he had just been electrocuted.
“Sorry…” He mumbled under his breath, stuffing his hands in his pockets. “I tripped.”
I stood against the wall, trying to regain my bearings. My head was muddled. Could Ben not feel the energy that passed between us anytime we were close?
Was it only me?
“It’s okay…” I said, my voice deflated. “Car’s this way.” I started ahead, this time not bothering to check whether Ben was following me or not. I was much too embarrassed about my feelings. If Ben hadn’t stepped away, I probably would have kissed him. And then what would he have thought of me?
Quietly, I got into the driver’s seat, waiting for Ben to join me. Once he was buckled in, I eased out of the parking space, heading for the open road. I always enjoyed late night driving. It was so serene. It felt like you were the only car left in the world.
“I hope Emily didn’t give you any wrong ideas,” Ben said, looking out the window.
“What do you mean?”
“She promised you’d be in the band, didn’t she?”
“Well… she didn’t promise me anything. She sort of forced me into the position.” I explained, turning onto a small side road. Here, the surrounding forest took on an ominous edge. The hulking trunks looked like giants, ready to stomp my car underfoot. I drove faster, taking the winding curves at dangerous speeds.
Still, I managed to keep the ride relatively smooth. Glancing at Ben, I couldn’t see an ounce of fear in his expression. In fact, the corners of his lips looked like they were twitching upwards.
Was he enjoying himself?
“How did she manage that?”
“A game of pool.”
“Let me guess, she hustled you.”
“Big time. She told me she hadn’t played pool in a long time and that she sucked. I was ready to teach her how to make a shot when she broke the set and sunk two solids.”
Ben chuckled. “First rule about Emily is never believe anything that comes out of her mouth.”
I thought back to when she tried to convince me to join the band. She had told me that Ben had always been interested in me. Deep down, I knew she was just trying to bait me, but a small part of me wanted to believe that maybe, just maybe, a tiny fragment of that statement was really true.
“I see.”
“Like when she says she’ll bring you home after taking you out…”
I frowned, my fingers adjusting on the steering wheel. He really didn’t want to be in the car with me.
Unable to face the silence that settled between us, I turned on the radio. The station I usually listened to was playing an upbeat remix that I was so not in the mood for. I switched to another station, where a deep voice sang a ballad-style love song.
Trying to clear my mind from the anxiety I felt, I started to hum along, drumming my fingers against the steering wheel. Once the chorus came on, I couldn’t help but sing along, trying to keep my voice low and hidden under the original singer.
Ben reached for the volume knob, turning it down before he shifted in my direction.
Immediately, I stopped singing, suddenly feeling self-conscious.
“Why did you stop?”
“I…”
“You know what, it doesn’t matter.” He shook his head. “The band is a bust anyway. I’m sorry if Emily made you think it still had a chance.”
“Hey.” Before I could stop myself, I reached for his hand, taking it in mine. “You don’t know that.” I squeezed gently. “I don’t know exactly what happened with your vocalist, but whatever it was, you can’t let him destroy your dream. If you want to be the leader of a famous band, then you can’t let one little hiccup get in the way. You may be down now, but I’m sure you can get up and bounce back even stronger than before.”
“Thanks for the advice, life coach.” Ben snorted.
“Seriously –”
“I don’t want to hear it.” He cut me off. “I was this close to getting recognized by a famous record producer, only to have all that taken away from me. Taken away by a guy who I thought cared about me, but obviously, it was all a lie. So, I’m sorry if I seem kind of depressed about the whole thing because I am. Not all of us are happy-go-lucky optimists all the time.”
His words hit me like a barrage of bullets. All I wanted to do was help.
“I…”
“This is my house.” Ben reached for the door handle, waiting for me to come to a stop. The second I did, he scrambled out of the car.
I parked quickly and went after him. It felt like if I let him get away now, I would never see him again.
Before he could open the door, I turned him around, grabbing him by the wrists. “Running away and admitting defeat isn’t going to solve anything.”
“There’s nothing to solve.” He said through gritted teeth. “Don’t you get it? Being in a garage band was just a silly idea from the start. I was a fool for ever thinking it would work out.”
“No.” I pushed him gently against the side of the house, my fingers digging into his arms. “It’s never silly to follow your dreams.”
“Let go of me.” He growled. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Maybe I don’t, but I know you deserve more than this.” Before I could stop myself, I leaned forward, destroying the space between us. Our lips were only inches apart. I hesitated for a moment, the rational part of my brain telling me to leave before I forced Ben to hate me, but I just couldn’t help myself.
Suppressing my inhibitions, I pressed my lips against his. For the first few moments, neither one of us moved. We were like two statues frozen in an intimate position. Then, the warmth of his lips seeped into mine and I came back to life. My fingers tangled in his hair, pulling on it slightly as my lips danced against his.
He tasted so sweet that I found myself pressing into him even harder, getting addicted to the feeling. Our bodies rubbed together as the passion intensified. A fire raged inside my chest.
I needed him.
I could no longer deny that.
Slowly, my tongue approached his lips, about to slip inside when he yanked away.
I couldn’t read his face since it was cloaked in shadows, but I imagined he was disgusted by me. Without a word, he opened the door and slipped inside, leaving me on the porch, feeling empty and alone.
It took a while for me to walk back to my car, dragging my feet with my head bowed low.
What had I done?
Before I drove away, I took one more look at the house. A light on the floor level was on. In the window, the blinds swayed, like someone had just been looking through them.
If I didn’t drive away soon, he would probably call the cops.
With a heavy heart, I eased back onto the road. I took the long way home, trying to make sense of the night.
All the little moments I shared with Ben flashed through my mind. There had to be something there, right? I wasn’t just imagining things, was I?
Just thinking about him caused goosebumps to ripple along my skin.
Maybe, if I hadn’t moved too quickly, things would have been different…
I shook my head.
What was I thinking? Ben would never want to be with someone like me…
***
Finally, at around four in the morning, I arrived home. When I opened the door, Patches materialized by my feet, rubbing against me, meowing for attention.
I ignored him, heading straight for my bedroom, feeling like I could sleep for days.
Patches jumped onto the bed, looking at me expectantly. “Not tonight, Patches,” I said, throwing the shirt I had on into the hamper. Once I was in my boxers, I slipped under the covers.