Sweet Liar (Candy #2)(49)
Splitz Happen was in the same shopping plaza as the pet store Jonah took me to the other day. There weren’t many things to do in Glenn Valley, but it did have a movie theater and a bowling alley I’d never been to before.
When we walked inside, blue and red strobe lights bounced around the walls and ceiling, and “Hey Mama” played loudly on the sound system. Between the music, the lights, and the crashing of balls hitting pins, cosmic bowling was giving me a case of sensory overload, and I hadn’t even gotten past the doorway.
As we walked inside, I spotted Parker and Ashley, which came as a not-so-pleasant surprise. I figured they’d think they were too cool for bowling. But since they’d obviously decided cosmic bowling meant they could wear nightclub attire in the middle of the afternoon, they’d shown up in their little black dresses. Parker’s dress hugged her curves and showed off her Playboy figure perfectly. In comparison, Ashley looked like a shapeless flagpole, which was probably how Parker liked it.
Nearly everyone else was in jeans, including Lea, Ethan, Jonah, and Malcolm. Malcolm’s girlfriend was there, making me believe she’d forgiven him for taking her to the Tiki Theater. Marta didn’t do jeans, from what I could tell. She wore her usual black leggings and a black sweater, which was exactly what I was wearing. All black. It suited my mood. Although unlike Marta, my eyes weren’t heavily lined in black and my lips weren’t blood red. Marta’s sweater was big and shapeless, while mine was a wraparound style, crossing low in the front and tying on the side. I was glad I’d gone with classy since slutty and dumpy were already taken.
After sizing everyone up, I counted the seconds in my head, wondering how long it would take for Parker to sidle up to Jonah. I didn’t even get to ten when she approached him. First she managed to touch his arm as she spoke. Then she laid her head on his shoulder and laughed about something. He politely ignored her, and she pretended not to notice. Same story. Different day.
Lea spotted me and came right over, looking like she wanted to tell me something. “I called Gregory,” she said, not bothering with hello or any other greeting, which was kind of her thing, I realized.
“Gregory?” I asked, drawing a blank.
“I know you wanted to fix me up with Drew’s friend, but I thought about what you said and decided you were right. I needed to stop waiting for something that was never going to happen, and find someone nice who would appreciate me. It was like a light went on in my head that Gregory could be that guy.”
I grinned. “Is he who you went to the homecoming dance with?”
Lea nodded. “I know I said he was boring but I was comparing him to Ethan, which wasn’t fair. Maybe he’s just nice, and I don’t know what nice looks like.”
“So you’re giving him another chance? That’s great.”
I thought of that first conversation I had with Jonah at the diner about what turned me on. I’d said nice guys, and at the time I thought he might be one, although he denied it. Turned out, he could be both nice and not so nice.
“We reserved a couple of lanes,” Ethan said from behind us. “How do you want to split up? Guys against girls?”
“That’s sexist,” Parker said, predictably not liking the idea.
Ethan turned to her. “No, it’s not. Saying guys are better at bowling than girls is sexist. Splitting us up by gender isn’t.”
Ignoring him, Parker scanned our group. “How about me, Ashley, Jonah, and Ethan against all of you?”
My eyes narrowed. She was so transparent.
“Wait a minute,” Heather said, looking at Ethan. “Is that what you actually think? That guys are better at bowling than girls?”
He put his hands up in mock surrender. “I just said it to make my point, although it is a statistical fact.”
Heather scoffed. “Where did you hear that?”
Jonah came up beside Ethan. “Probably where most people get information that’s based on little or no factual evidence. The Internet.”
Heather and I both chuckled, and my gaze locked with Jonah’s. He was smiling, looking happy. The sight of it made my heart skip. Neither of us had genuinely smiled or laughed in a very long time.
“We can’t divide teams by gender,” Malcolm said. “Marta never bowled before, and I told her I’d teach her.”
“Never?” Ashley asked, looking at Marta like she had two heads.
Marta made a face back at her, and Malcolm quickly decided they’d get their own lane.
“Perfect.” Parker grinned. “Me, Ashley, and Jonah in one lane, and the four of you in the other.”
Ethan tapped his finger to his chin. “I may be way out in left field, but I’m getting the feeling you want to bowl with Jonah.”
Parker put a hand on her hip with a sour expression.
“Should we ask Jonah what he thinks?” Ethan gave Jonah a pointed look.
Jonah shrugged. “I think I’d like to actually bowl at some point today.”
Ethan grinned. “Okay then. It’s settled. You get Parker and Ashley, and I get these lovely ladies.”
I rolled my eyes at Ethan as I wondered why Jonah hadn’t taken the opportunity to get out of bowling with Parker, who was looking very pleased with how things turned out.
We all rented our bowling shoes and then gathered at our lanes, which were side by side. After deciding Heather would keep score for our team, we finally started bowling.