The Sport of Romance: A Multi-Author Box Set

by Cari Quinn

  “Thanks, love yours, too.” Her golden hair was swept to the side with several braids intertwining throughout. “I wish I could braid my own hair.”

  “I’ve been doing it forever.” Jordan fiddled with a few strands. “Anytime you want me to braid your hair, just let me know.”

  “Okay, I will.” I turned when I heard my brother and roommate chat about whether to get separate entrees or share a few rolls. Apparently, they had been there before. Together. My impatience grew and I was eager to confront them. I don’t know why I had to know the truth. Maybe a part of me felt a little jealous that Luke had done what our parents told him not to do. Yet, I was the one engaged and hadn’t experienced half the stuff he had.

  After everyone agreed to order the ‘Titanic’ boat, filled with several pieces of sushi, rolls, and sashimi, we talked and laughed about school, tests, and the upcoming baseball game. Every fall, PHU held a purple and white game, closing out the fall practice season. The team played against each other in a three series game that started on Wednesday and ended on Sunday afternoon.

  Once we finished off the huge assortment of rolls, we walked to the bowling alley. To my disappointment, Collin stayed a few steps ahead of me, not bothering to hold my hand. Even though it was only one block from the restaurant, it still hurt. We rode the elevator to the second floor and when the doors opened, dance music blared through the speakers. On one side of the building was a large bar with pool tables and a small dance floor. To the right were the bowling lanes. Neon lights colored the dim establishment and plush sofas and chairs lined the walls.

  I took my check card out of my purse. “Hey, I’ll pay for us since you paid for dinner.”

  A look of confusion twisted across Collin’s face. “Thanks for offering, but I’ve got it.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes.” He pushed my hand away.

  I dropped the card into my purse. “I thought maybe I should start offering to pay.”

  He removed a couple of bills from his wallet and then turned to me. “In the four years we’ve been together, I’ve never expected you to pay for us. I don’t expect for you to start now.”

  I looked at him through narrowed eyes, unsure if he was being nice or controlling. Other girls might have been thrilled to hear that, but it didn’t set well with me. If it would have been Raven, that would’ve been a different story. Before I could say anything, he leaned forward and kissed me on the forehead.

  “Size seven, right?” Collin handed Luke his money as he and Forbes worked out the details for renting the lanes.

  “Yes,” I replied.

  “She needs a seven and I need an eleven,” Collin informed the girl behind the counter.

  She handed us our bowling shoes. “I’ve set up lane one for you guys.”

  “Thanks,” I said, taking them from her.

  “Come on, let’s go.” Delaney grabbed her shoes and motioned for us to follow her.

  “I want to go first.” Delaney typed her name into the scoring console, followed by Luke’s.

  “We can go last,” Collin offered as he sat down to change his shoes.

  “Okay.” Delaney shrugged. “I guess that means you and Forbes are in the middle,” she told Jordan.

  “That’s fine.” Jordan tugged, trying to pull off her boots.

  “Here, doll, let me help you.” Forbes rushed to her side. He gave a quick tug and slipped off her boot. Then, he picked up her other leg, and did the same. Before setting her foot down, he kissed the top of it.

  “Stop, pumpkin.” Jordan giggled as he trailed kisses up her calf.

  “Hey,” Luke walked through the aisle, cutting in between them, “there’ll be none of that tonight.”

  Forbes gave Luke a playful push. “Get out of here, man.”

  Luke sidestepped, breaking a fall, and then looked around at the TV’s hanging on the walls. “The game is starting. I’ll ask if they can turn it on.” He jogged to the front desk.

  The TV to the left of us switched from a hockey game to the football game. Immediately, Raven’s picture flashed on the screen and my heart skipped a beat. The sports newscasters were speaking but since the volume was on mute, I had no idea what they were saying. My brother and Forbes discussed the game and whom they thought would score more points. They also debated on how Raven would do if he had his shit together.

  “Lexi,” Collin interrupted my drooling, “let’s find you a ball.”

  I walked to the return ramp and picked up a ten-pound ball.

  “That’s too heavy.” He shook his head. “You can hurt your wrist. I think you should try something lighter.”

  “Okay,” I said, setting the ball down. Since I hadn’t bowled in a few years, I trusted Collin’s advice.

  He handed me a purple and pink swirled ball. “Try this one.”

  “Seven pounds?” I took the ball from him. “Looks like a kid’s ball.”

  “That’s because it is,” Delaney teased as she sunk her fingers into a nine-pound ball and then walked up to the lane.

  “Just try it,” Collin urged.

  “Don’t listen to her.” Jordan leaned over my shoulder. “I use a seven-pound ball too.”

  I smiled at her. “Great. We can share this one.” I placed the ball on the rack and then turned my attention to the TV.

  “Strike!” Delaney yelled.

  “Yeah, baby!” Luke gave her a high-five and then popped her on the butt. Delaney jumped and then laughed it off.

  Just friends. Yeah, right.

  I turned in time to see the receiver miss the catch. “Aw, man.” I stomped my foot on the ground.

  “Damn.” Forbes stood next to me, watching the game.

  “Since when did you care about football?” Delaney elbowed me as she shuffled past me. I gave her a warning stare and then sat next to Collin. I had never taken a keen interest in football since I spent most of my time on the baseball fields with Luke and Collin. Meeting Raven had piqued my interest mainly because I wanted to see him play.

  “What are you doing?” I leaned against Collin, trying to catch a glimpse of his phone.

  He kept his eyes trained on the screen. “Checking the baseball scores.” Abruptly, he stood up and looked around. “The Rangers are playing.”

  “Ten in the pit!” Luke yelled and Delaney exchanged a fist bump with him. “Your turn, Lexi.”

  “Show off,” I muttered as I walked to the ramp and jammed my fingers into the slots. Bearing the heavy ball, I stood in front of the line, extended my arm back, and then dumped it on the lane. It rolled down the wood to the right and immediately went into the gutter.

  “Darn!” I turned around, mad that it didn’t make it half way down.

  “Stand back and then walk into the roll,” Jordan explained, trying to show me how to do it.

  “It’s okay, Jordan. I suck at sports.” I gave her a kind smile.

  “Show her, pumpkin.” Jordan pulled on Forbes arm, trying to coax him into helping me.

  Forbes waved off Jordan. “Hey, Collin.”

  Collin stood behind our seating area, facing the wall that displayed the baseball game. “Yeah?”

  “Show your girl how to hook a ball.”

  Looking over his shoulder, Collin spotted me.

  “Please?” I clutched the cement ball with both hands.

  Collin’s shoulders slumped and he lumbered toward me. He didn’t want to help me. I was disturbing his baseball game, even though we were out on a date. A date he promised when he failed to spend time with me. Nothing had changed. The sweetness and politeness were overcome by his true love.

  Baseball.

  “Did you forget how to bowl?” He eased the ball from my hands, but I saw the discontent in the depths of his eyes.

  “Yes, it’s been a while.”

  He gave me a slight smile and then slid his fingers in the holes and approached the lane. “Stand back a few feet,” he demonstrated while I watched carefully, “and then walk up to the foul lin
e, but be careful not to cross it. Swing your arm back, and then release it with a flick of your wrist.”

  The ball shot down the alley with speed, crashing into the pins and knocking every one of them down.

  “Strike!” I clapped as Collin walked past me. “You make it seem so easy.” I trailed behind him, dying for some attention.

  “That’s because it is easy.”

  “For you,” I added.

  He turned around with a twelve-pound ball in hand. “All you have to do is try.”

  “I am. But I can’t help it if I don’t have any coordination.” I stepped aside and watched him throw the ball with ease and precision as if it were a baseball, earning another strike. Luke and Collin were just alike. Skilled at almost any sport they played. I wondered how he would fare on the football field. Although he was built like a lean running machine, at five-foot-eleven and one-hundred and eighty pounds, he was smaller than Raven and most football players. That’s why baseball suited him.

  “Way to go!” I threw my arms around him, but he stayed as stiff as a board, keeping the wall up between us. After a few awkward seconds, I let go.

  “Excuse me.” Collin flagged the waitress. “Can you bring us a few drinks?”

  “Sure.” The petite girl with blonde and pink striped hair took our order and then jotted down Luke’s and Forbes’.

  I sat on the sectional, facing the TV and tugged on Collin’s hand. “Sit next to me.”

  “Okay.” He eased to the plush sofa but swiveled around, facing the back TV to watch the Rangers play. I crossed my arms and sighed, keeping one eye on the TV and the other on my friends. Once again, I was all alone.

  After Jordan and Forbes bowled, Delaney walked up to the return ramp. With her butt aimed at Luke, she leaned over and huffed as she tried to reach her bowling ball. “Hey, Luke, do you think nine-pounds is too light? Would I do better with a ten-pound ball?”

  Luke watched her pensively before getting up to help her. I elbowed Collin and motioned for him to watch, but he rolled his eyes and returned his focus to the TV screen.

  “Just keep using the nine-pound one.” He winked at her. “You’re doing great.”

  I wanted to say, ‘busted’, but when I saw the way my brother looked at her, I let it go. Since we were all adults, they could do whatever the hell they wanted. It still hurt that neither of them felt like they could confide in me. And I wanted to know why.

  Several turns later, Delaney grabbed me just as I was about to set my soda on the table. “Come with me to the bathroom.”

  “Oh, okay.”

  “And bring your drink,” she whispered in my ear as she swung her purse over her shoulder.

  I thought about telling Collin I’d be right back, but he was glued to the game. I followed her to the bathroom and she pulled me into the handicap stall with her.

  Before I could say anything, she handed me her drink. “Here, hold this.” Then, she reached into her purse, pulling out a plastic flask.

  “Did you bring that from home?”

  She nodded. “That’s why I had to go back upstairs. I almost forgot it.”

  Based on Luke’s comment, I wondered if he asked her to bring it. The fruity smell filled the small space and it called to me, tempting me to drown myself in the cool liquid that would take away all my hurt. Then, I thought about what happened last Sunday. “That’s okay, I better not.” I pulled my drink away from her.

  “Oh, come on,” she hounded. “Just one drink.”

  “No, Collin will get mad.”

  She glanced at me through her thick lashes. “I see how miserable you are…sitting all by yourself while he watches the baseball game.”

  “I know,” I sighed. “But he wants to see it.”

  “Well, let him watch it.” She tossed her long waves over her shoulder. “I doubt he’ll notice. Besides, you deserve to have a good time tonight.”

  She had a point, I did deserve to have a good time, but drinking in front of Collin would be disastrous. “You’re wrong. He’ll smell the liquor and when he does, he’ll be pissed. I better not.”

  “Suit yourself.” Delaney poured two capfuls of the sweet rum into her soda.

  “Dang, Delaney. Isn’t that too much?”

  “Nah.” She mixed the drink with a red straw and then tasted it. “Wow, it is a little strong but perfect for Luke.”

  “Really?” Had she and Luke drank together? She made it seem like it was a regular thing for him. I watched as she tightened the cap on the flask, tossed it into her purse, and then zipped it closed.

  “Delaney, I need to ask—”

  “Let me in.” Jordan knocked on the bathroom door.

  I opened the door and Jordan scurried in, soda in hand. “Let me guess, you need your drink flavored, too?”

  “You bet, girl.” Jordan took a gulp of her soda before holding it out for Delaney to spike.

  “What about Forbes?” Delaney asked.

  Jordan took a quick taste. “He got a beer.”

  “Oh, that’s right, he’s twenty-one.”

  We scurried out of the bathroom and returned to our seats. Luke had a beer in hand along with Forbes. Apparently, Forbes had bought it for him since Luke wasn’t of age and Collin wasn’t twenty-one either. As usual, Collin sipped on his water with lemon.

  “I guess I’ll be drinking this one.” Delaney lifted the glass intended for Luke and took a drink. Her mouth and eyes twisted like she had swallowed hot coffee.

  “A little strong?” Luke joked.

  “Yeah, I made it for you.” Delaney licked her lips and I rolled my eyes.

  “Wanna trade?” Luke lifted up his bottle of beer.

  Delaney shook her head. “Um, no thanks.”

  Forty-five minutes and several drinks later, my friends were laughing and having a good time. Collin watched the baseball game the entire night, only getting up when it was his turn to bowl. Every now and then, he’d say something to me. I kept a watchful eye on the football game, cheering every time we scored. Garnering bravery, I slipped my cell phone from my pocket and texted Raven a message of good luck. Even though I knew he wouldn’t see it until after the game was over, I wanted him to know I was thinking about him.

  “Get off your phone and hurry up!” Luke tried to take Delaney’s phone away, but she jerked her hand away from him. “We only have a few minutes left.”

  “Okay, okay. I was just posting some pics of us.” She shoved her phone into her back pocket and stumbled toward the return rack. She turned around with Luke’s twelve-pound ball.

  “She’s gonna do it!” Jordan cheered and then pulled me to get up to watch her.

  “Don’t fall!” I warned her as she giggled.

  “I won’t.” She waved her hand and nearly lost her balance. “Whoa.” She turned around and gave us a thumbs up.

  She tossed the ball and it wobbled down the wood, veering to the left and then straightening as it hit the center.

  “I almost got a strike!” Delaney danced around.

  “That’s great. Now quit jacking around,” Luke scolded. “You still have another turn. Let’s see if we can all roll before the time is up.”

  “All right. All right,” she barked.

  She retrieved the heavy ball and scurried to the lane. Taking several steps back, she positioned herself, clutching the ball to her chest as she eyed her prize.

  One standing pin.

  Delaney swung her arm back, took a few steps forward, and went airborne. The twelve pounder flew from her hand as her feet slipped against the slick floor. Her body crashed to the floor as she landed on her butt.

  Jordan leaped forward. “Laney!”

  “Oh, shit!” Luke’s voice echoed in the background.

  “Oh my God!” I screamed, sliding across the floor on my knees. “Are you okay?”

  Luke and Forbes helped her sit up. “Did you hurt yourself?” Luke checked her head, arms, and then her legs.

  She rubbed her backside. “I busted my ass, t
hat’s all.”

  “What the heck happened?” Collin hovered behind me. “Delaney slipped and fell.”

  “Better slow down on the drinks, missy,” Forbes teased as he patted her back.

  Collin humphed and then walked off.

  With one hand behind her back and the other around her hand, Luke helped Delaney stand.

  “Oh man!” Delaney cried as she pulled her phone from her back pocket. “My screen shattered.”

  “Damn, that’s the second phone you’ve had this year,” Luke complained.

  “Well if you wouldn’t have been rushing me, then this wouldn’t have happened!” Delaney yelled.

  Luke took a step back. “Don’t blame it on me. You’re the one that had too much to drink.”

  With her hands on her hips, Delaney eyed Luke. “I’m not—”

  “I think you dropped your ball.” Riley Stokes, one of the guys on the baseball team walked up to Luke and shoved it into his chest.

  Luke grunted, but kept a straight face. “Whatever.” They stared at each other for a few seconds before Luke placed the ball on the return ramp. He fisted his hands but kept them at his sides. Luke usually didn’t get in to fights with guys, but for whatever reason, he and Riley didn’t get along.

  Riley smirked, then turned around and started to walk off. He stopped and looked at Delaney. “Next time, you might want to help your boyfriend find his ball.” He covered his mouth, trying to hide his snickering.

  “Screw you, Riley,” Delaney snapped.

  Riley’s eyes swept over her and then a grin spread across his face. “We already did, remember?”

  “Asshole!” Luke leaped over the ball return ramp and grabbed a fistful of Riley’s shirt, spinning him around. Luke swung, landing a punch in the center of Riley’s face. Riley bowed, surprised from the attack, but came back at Luke, throwing a left hook. Luke blocked Riley’s arm and then swung again, this time hitting him in the stomach.

  “Stop!” Delaney yelled.

  Collin and Forbes rushed to pull Luke off Riley. “Come on, guys!” Forbes yelled, trying to stop Luke from throwing punches.

  “Coach is going to be mad,” Collin reminded Luke and Riley as he tried to separate the two.