by Joy Argento
“Wow,” Carrie said, doing her best not to laugh. “It sure is bright.” She took another step backwards to get a better look. “It brings out the brown in your eyes.”
“Yeah, thanks,” Hope smiled. “I think I’ll wear this color more often. I am always looking for clothes that bring out the color of my eyes. The back is even worse. But, you’re going to have to wait until we get there to see it, because we have to go, so we aren’t late.”
“I’m ready,” Carrie said. She grabbed her coat from the rack as they headed out the door.
“I’ll buy you a hotdog and beer for dinner, while you watch me make a fool of myself bowling,” Hope told Carrie as they walked to the car.
“Deal,” Carrie answered her. “But you aren’t going to make a fool of yourself bowling. You have improved so much since we started practicing. You are going to do fine.”
Hope started the car and looked over at Carrie. “I’m really nervous about this,” she admitted. “I am so glad you are going with me.”
“Any time.” Carrie looked at Hope and saw her smile. She reached across and touched Hope’s shoulder. “You are going to be just fine. Honest.”
“Thank you,” Hope said. “For everything.”
Fifteen minutes later the two women walked into the bowling alley. The rest of Hope’s team was already there. Carrie thought Hope actually looked very cute in her bowling shirt, at least compared to the rest of the team. All five team members wore the same ugly orange shirts with the words JENSON DENTISTRY with a large white tooth embroidered on the back.
Hope carried a small canvas bag containing her new bowling shoes. She sat to put them on and wiggled her toes in them as she tied the laces. She felt much more comfortable in them than she did in the rented shoes. They looked and felt more like sneakers than shoes.
As promised, Hope bought Carrie a hot dog and beer. It took only a few minutes for Carrie to inhale the food. She sat next to Hope on the bench behind the ball return and nursed her beer. They talked in low tones while keeping an eye on Jerry Jenson, the first bowler up. His first ball slammed into the head pin and sent seven of the pins flying. The team clapped and cheered him on. He retrieved his ball and sent it once again flying down the lane. Two more pins went down.
The bowler from the opposing team, Andy’s Auto Parts, also bowled a spare. The competition was on.
Hope was the third bowler up on her team. Carrie crossed her fingers and held them up for Hope to see. Hope picked up her ball and walked to the lane. She took a deep breath and tried to block out everything but the sound of Carrie’s voice in her head telling her what to do. Carrie had worked endlessly with her on technique and follow through. She wanted to make Carrie proud. Hope held the ball up and counted out four steps and let her arm swing straight back behind her and forward again, releasing the ball as she did. It traveled down the lane, knocking three pins down. Damn, she thought. All right. The next shot will be better. Slow down, take your time. No need to rush it. Carrie’s words came back to her.
She turned to wait for her ball to return and caught Carrie’s eye. Carrie gave her a thumbs up. She picked up her ball again and went through the same actions. She aimed a little more to the left where most of the pins were still standing. To her surprise, all but one of them went down. The team cheered as she made her way back to her seat. She tried to look nonchalant but a huge grin broke across her face as Carrie gave her a high-five.
Hope drank a soda and Carrie sipped her beer as they watched the other bowlers take their turns. Carrie quietly whispered in Hope’s ear. She pointed out good things the other players did as well as little errors to avoid. When Hope whispered a question about something the current bowler did, Carrie felt Hope’s warm breath on her ear. She had difficulty as she tried to block out the hot feeling of having Hope so close and to concentrate on what she was saying so she could answer the question. She felt flustered and confused by the feelings.
Her team was ahead when Hope got up to take her turn in the fifth frame. She looked down the lane, over the top of her ball, at the pins standing at attention daring her to knock them down. She took her steps, let her arm swing like a pendulum and released the ball. It veered to the left slightly but curved back toward the center as it rolled smoothly down the lane right towards the head pin. It hit squarely and nine pins scattered. The final pin standing was bumped by another flying by and teetered as if it was deciding whether to remain upright or fall over. The decision was made for it as another pin caught it at its base and brought it down. Hope heard the cheer from her teammates behind her before she fully realized that she had just bowled her first strike ever.
Carrie was on her feet clapping when Hope turned and looked at her, a huge smile plastered on her face. Carrie took two steps forward as Hope approached and pulled her into a tight hug, swaying side to side.
“Great job, Hope,” Carrie said as she released Hope from her arms.
“I couldn’t have done that without all of your help.”
Carrie grinned wide. “I know. Aren’t I great?”
“And modest too,” Hope said as she sat down, grabbing Carrie’s arm and pulling her down to the seat with her.
They watched the other bowlers take their turns. Carrie was enjoying herself much more than she thought she would. It seemed that she enjoyed herself no matter what she was doing as long as it involved Hope.
Hope bowled well that night and Carrie was proud of her. She did bowl one gutter ball, but managed to redeem herself when she got six pins down on her second ball.
It was a close game but Team Jenson Dentistry pulled it off in the end and came out ahead. Hope knew that her part of the win was due to all of the help Carrie had given her. They had practiced almost every evening for the past eight days in addition to that first Sunday lesson.
“Anyone want to go get something to eat?” Jerry asked the team as they packed up their shoes and bowling balls. “My treat.”
“No thanks. We aren’t really hungry,” Hope said without consulting Carrie. She slipped her bowling shoes off and put her loafers back on. “Ready, Carrie?” she asked her.
“Yep,” Carrie answered. They said their good-byes and Carrie followed Hope out the door.
As soon as they were in the car Hope said to Carrie, “I’m sure that hotdog wasn’t enough to eat and I’m starving. Would you like to go grab a bite somewhere?”
Carrie tried to hide the look of surprise on her face. “Sure,” she said. “How come you didn’t want to go out with your teammates?”
“I see them all day at work. I like them, but I wanted to spend some time alone with you. Is that all right? You don’t mind do you?” Hope asked her.
“No, not at all. I like spending time with you, too.”
“Where do you want to go? Oh, shit, I just remembered that I have this stupid looking shirt on. Are there any restaurants where it’s okay to leave your coat on while you eat?” Hope asked.
“It’s not that bad. No one will notice.” Carrie said, with a straight face that broke out into a grin.
“Liar.”
“Why don’t we stop at my house, seeing it’s closer and you can wear one of my shirts,” Carrie offered.
Hope’s eyes briefly drifted down to Carrie’s chest protruding slightly through her winter jacket. Carrie noticed the glance and felt her face get hot.
“I’m not sure I can get into your shirt,” Hope said. “Fit into your shirt,” she corrected as a blush spread up her neck.
“I have a few shirts that I’m sure you will fit in,” Carrie’s face still felt flushed. “Or you can just wear your bowling shirt.”
“Okay, let’s stop at your house. A tight shirt would be better than this thing,” Hope said.
Back at Carrie’s house Hope followed Carrie into her bedroom. Some of Carrie’s friends had been in her bedroom before, for various reasons, but it felt a little strange having Hope standing behind her as she peered into her closet, her bed only a few feet away. Carrie c
ouldn’t quite put her finger on what she felt.
“Anything strike your fancy?” Carrie asked her. She stepped out of the way so Hope could get a better look.
Hope pulled out at maroon pull over shirt that looked like the material would be a little more forgiving. “How about this one?” she asked Carrie. “This one might fit.”
“Great choice,” Carrie said with a smile. Go ahead and change, I’ll wait for you in the other room. Carrie left Hope in her bedroom to change. She tried to push the image of Hope removing her shirt from her mind. What the hell is wrong with me, she thought and shook her head.
Carrie picked up a magazine from the end table and flipped through the pages while she waited for Hope. She looked up as Hope entered the room, wearing Carrie’s shirt and holding her bowling shirt in her hand. It was definitely snug over Hope’s breasts. She was at least a cup size larger than Carrie.
“Well, how does it look?” Hope asked doing a theatrical turn.
Carrie thought the snug look made Hope look incredibly sexy. “It looks fine,” she said out loud. “Are you ready to go?”
“All set.”
Carrie threw the magazine down on the couch and got both of their coats. They headed out the door to Hope’s car.
“We never decided where to go eat. Any preferences?” Hope asked Carrie, looking across the car at her.
“Anywhere is fine. How ‘bout you? Any places strike your fancy?”
“My fancy can be striked or is it struck…by a restaurant with seafood. Are you in the mood for seafood? How about The Lobster Shack?”
“Sounds good to me,” Carrie answered.
Thirty minutes later they were sitting at a table at the Lobster Shack waiting for their food. Hope tied a plastic bib around her neck. A cartoon outline of a big red lobster graced the front.
“You were afraid of looking ridiculous in that bowling shirt, but you have no problem with how you look in a plastic bib?” Carrie tried not to laugh.
“I am trying to keep your shirt clean. I don’t want to get lobster juice or melted butter on it.”
“I’ve seen you eat and I’ve never seen you get anything on your clothes.”
“You’ve never seen me eat seafood. It’s best to sit back and not get too close to me. Shells and butter go everywhere.” Hope gave a small chuckle. “It can be very dangerous. When the waitress comes back I’m going to ask her if they have any goggles. It might be a good idea for you to wear eye protection.”
Carrie shook her head and smiled. “If it gets that bad, I’m going to ask the waitress to seat me at a different table…across the room.”
“No, don’t leave the table. All right. I’ll be careful. But, I’m keeping the bib on. Besides, I think it is very fashionable.” She lifted the edge of the bib and glanced down at it. “And just look how sweet this little fake lobster looks on here.”
“I can’t argue with that. Okay, wear the bib. I’ll stay. Just eat slowly and carefully.”
“All right. I promise,” Hope said with a straight face, but a hint of a laugh in her voice.
Before too long, the waitress came back to the table carrying a large tray, filled with food. Hope rubbed her hands together in anticipation. Carrie smiled at her and leaned back. She enjoyed watching Hope get so excited about eating.
Chapter 13
Three days later the traffic was light as Carrie drove to Hope’s house. She was looking forward to a pleasant evening watching a movie with Hope. She had spent a little time visiting her grandmother after work and had grabbed some leftovers to eat at home before heading out.
She pulled into the driveway of Hope’s large two-story house. Carrie had been here before when she picked Hope up for some of her bowling lessons, but she had never spent any real time at Hope’s house before.
She walked up the short sidewalk to the house, a brown paper bag in her hand. She pulled her jacket up higher around her ears to protect her from the cold wind and rang the doorbell.
Hope opened the door with a bright smile. “Hi, Carrie, come in.” She stepped back to let Carrie pass by her.
“I come bearing gifts,” Carrie said as she handed her the paper bag.
“Oh, what’s this?” Hope asked. “Take off your coat and I’ll hang it up for you.” Hope reached into the bag as Carrie removed her coat. She pulled out a bottle of cranberry grape juice. “Aw, how thoughtful of you.” Hope smiled. “I got some wine for you,” she laughed.
Hope took Carrie’s coat and hung it on a wooden hanger in the closet. “I’m glad you’re here. I picked up several DVDs after work today. So, we can decide what we want to watch.” She led the way through the living room and into the kitchen. Carrie looked around the large room and up at the high cathedral ceiling. Real stonework covered most of the walls from the counter tops to the base of the natural oak cupboards. A large butcher-block island with a second sink sat in the middle of the room. A round pedestal table with four wooden chairs was off to the side near a double set of sliding glass doors that opened onto a large deck. A blue tablecloth with tiny white flowers covered the table.
“Wow,” Carrie said. “This is a wonderful kitchen. I especially love that.” She pointed to a pot rack hanging over the stove with a collection of polished stainless steel pots and pans. “I thought you said you didn’t cook.”
“I cook a little, very little.” Hope scrunched up her face. “They are kind of just for show. I usually use the same two pans all the time. They are in the cupboard by the stove. I’m really good at take-out though.”
Carrie laughed. “Well, I’ll have to have you over for supper more. Get some home cooking into you.”
“I would like that,” Hope said in a low voice and with a smile.
Carrie loved to see Hope’s smile light up her face. Yes, she thought. I should definitely have this woman over more often.
Hope put the bag containing the bottle of juice on the counter and retrieved a tall glass from one cupboard and a wine glass from another. “I have red wine and white wine. Which would you prefer?” Carrie looked at her with raised eyebrows. “Yes, I bought two bottles of wine for you so that you could have what you wanted,” she said answering the unasked question.
“Aw, that was so nice of you,” Carrie said. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“I wanted to do something nice for you.” She walked to the refrigerator and took out the bottle of white wine and picked up the bottle of red from the counter. She held them up. “Red or white?” She repeated holding up each bottle in turn.
“I would love a glass of white.”
Hope put the bottle of red wine back on the counter. “White it is then.” She took a strange looking mechanism out of a drawer and handed it to Carrie along with the bottle. “I’ll let you open this.”
Hope took the tall glass and pushed it against the ice dispenser on the refrigerator door. Several half-moon shaped ice cubes clinked into the glass.
Carrie was struggling with the strange wine opener when Hope turned back to her. “You don’t know how to use that do you?” Hope smiled.
Carrie shook her head. “Nope. I’ve never seen anything like this before. I’m assuming that the corkscrew part goes into the cork, but I don’t know how to do that.”
Hope put the glass with the ice in it on the counter. Carrie attempted to hand her the opener. “Oh no,” Hope said. “I’m not going to do it. You get to learn how to do it. Pull those little things that look like rabbit ears apart. Set the corkscrew thing on the top of the bottle and pull down that lever.”
Carrie attempted to do what Hope said, but it still wasn’t working. Hope reached out, her hands covering Carrie’s. Carrie immediately felt warmth and softness. The warmth spread quickly through Carrie’s entire body. It turned to heat as it hit her face. She felt a tingle in her belly and below. The feeling surprised her and her first instinct was to pull her hands away, but she fought the impulse. She didn’t want Hope to know that she felt something from her touch.
Hope moved her hands over Carrie’s hands, showing her how to operate the contraption. The cork slid smoothly out of the bottleneck, with a slight popping sound.
“There you go,” Hope said. “Isn’t that a neat little device?”
Carrie cleared her throat. “It is.” She poured the wine into her glass. Hope did the same with the juice.
Carrie was still thinking about the reaction her body had had to Hope’s touch when they brought their drinks into the living room.
Hope sat on the soft leather couch and patted the spot next to her for Carrie to sit. She had a fresh bowl of popcorn sitting on the coffee table in front of them. “I thought you didn’t cook,” Carrie said, breaking the momentary silence.
“Oh, I cook microwave popcorn. In fact, that is my specialty.” Hope smiled that smile again.
Carrie couldn’t help but smile back. She took a sip of her wine. “Mmm, this is good.”
“I’m glad you like it.” Hope pulled her bare feet up under herself and turned her body to face Carrie better. “So, how was your day?”
“It was fine, mostly paperwork today, so not too exciting. How about you? Did you do anything exciting today?”
“Every day is exciting where I work. I cleaned teeth and then cleaned some more teeth. And oh yeah, did I mention I cleaned teeth?” She took a swallow of her juice. “Actually, this is the most exciting part of my day.”
“Your day must be boring if I’m the highlight,” Carrie smirked at Hope.
“You are the highlight. I really enjoy your company. I mean that.” Hope had a way of making Carrie feel really good about herself.
“Ditto. I really enjoy your company, too. So what movies did you get?”
Hope got up and picked up five DVDs from the large solid wood entertainment center. She handed them to Carrie. “Here you go, take a look. Let me know what looks good.” Carrie put her wine down and shuffled through them. All of them were recent releases except for The Sound of Music.