Counting Down with You(65)

Ace frowns but after observing my expression, he doesn’t push. “I guess we’d better head inside before Mia has a conniption then.”

“Yeah, let’s go,” I say and squeeze Samir’s shoulder, the material of his shirt clenched between my fingers. “We’ll talk more about this later, okay?”

My brother nods again, expression pensive, but my worry doesn’t dissipate. Ace tugs gently on a strand of my hair, and I jolt, realizing I haven’t moved.

“Right, let’s go,” I say, walking ahead of both of them.

Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one.



31


T-MINUS 15 DAYS

The inside of the bowling alley is a shock of loud voices matched with loud music, and it takes a few blinks for me to take in my surroundings. Little kids are running back and forth, parents are laughing together in the common area, and teenagers are shrieking in protest while bright strobe lights flicker overhead. It’s utter chaos and distracts me from the disquiet tearing up my chest.

Ace laughs at the expression on my face and leads me to the counter, where Mia hands us two pairs of shoes. In response to the confusion on my face, she nods toward Samir. “He told us your shoe size.”

I look at my brother, but he’s already moving toward the bowling lane, grinning. My shoe size isn’t the kind of thing I ever expected him to know. Maybe...maybe everything will be okay. I just have to pull him aside and explain everything as soon as I have the chance. My brother is a lot of things, but malicious isn’t one of them.

Some of my anxiety eases, and I take a deep breath, counting down over and over until my pulse returns to normal.

Mia and Daniela head to get some snacks and I sit down and slip on my bowling shoes. When Samir goes for a bathroom break, I almost follow him so we can talk, but he disappears too quickly.

I groan and resign myself to doing it later. Hopefully our promise will keep him from doing anything stupid before then.

A few minutes later, Samir runs up to us holding a sparkly pink bowling ball. “I found the perfect ball! Let’s do this!”

I squint at him. He seems unbothered by our earlier conversation, more focused on the game than anything else. I wish I could let things roll off me that easily.

I turn my attention back to Ace, who’s fiddling with the touch screen in the front of the table. When Mia and Daniela return, I realize I shouldn’t have left Ace in charge, since he put me in as the first player.

With a sigh, I walk over to the lane, testing the weight of a ball in my hands. “For the record, I suck at this.”

Ace does nothing but chuckle in response.

“I’m serious,” I say, but now he’s grinning. His smile is like a punch to the heart, and my ribs are becoming steadily bruised.

“Give it a try,” he says. “I promise I won’t laugh.”

I roll my eyes but look back at the lane. There’s a smile on my own lips, slipping free without my permission. Still, I know it’ll be a miracle if I knock down even one pin. Giving me a ten-pound piece of plastic that I have to throw down a lane is like asking me to do rocket science.

I take a deep breath and swing my arm back and forth before letting go. My eyes track the ball’s trajectory nervously. As anyone could have predicted, it makes to hit one of the pins but skids to the side at the last second, falling straight into the gutter.

I sigh, shaking my head. “Why does this always happen to me?”

“It’s not that bad,” Ace says. His hand is covering his mouth, and I don’t have to see behind his fingers to know he’s smirking.

I glare halfheartedly and retrieve my ball from where the machine spit it back out.

When my ball goes into the gutter a second time, I plop down in the seat next to Samir and mutter, “This game is stupid.”

“Sore loser,” my brother says, grinning at me. I huff and stomp on his foot, but I doubt he can feel it through the bowling shoe.

Ace laughs and stands up, cracking his back and knuckles. He holds out a fist toward my brother and they fist bump.

“Gross,” I say, more for the sake of saying it than anything else.

Ace sticks his tongue out at me like a child before strolling over to the lane, grabbing a red ball on the way. He studies the pins before swinging his arm back, and the bowling ball rolls steadily down the lane. My jaw drops as it hits dead center, knocking down all the pins in one easy motion.

Of course. He’s gorgeous, sweet, and he can hit a strike on his first try.

Ace winks at me, holding his arms out. “It’s just simple physics, sweetie.”

“Simple phy—” I cut myself off and take a deep breath when I notice Mia and Daniela are giggling.

“You two are so silly,” Mia says fondly. “We’re here to have fun. It’s just a game.”

“That’s because you’re going to lose,” Samir says without missing a beat. He’s almost bursting with hyperactive energy. “Guys are just better at bowling.”

I flick Samir’s ear. “Stop being misogynistic.”

“I’m not!” Samir protests. “Is it my fault you and Ma suck at bowling?”

I give him an unimpressed look. “Don’t make me call you an Uber.”

Samir immediately mimes zipping his lips.