Lynelle

"Bowling?" She laughed. The car was rolling through the parking lot by a building with a giant glowing picture of a bowling ball and pins. Max shrugged as he parked the car in the empty lot.

"Who doesn't like bowling? Bowling fucking rocks."

"It does! I'm bragging, but honestly, I'm, like, really good at bowling," she told him, grabbing her purse and stepping out of the car.

"Perfect! So am I," he replied, linking her arm through his and leading them into the entrance of the building. "We'll have to see who's better at this noble sport."

"I don't think either of those words applies here!"

They paid for entrance and headed over to the shoe counter, where Lynelle got a rush of nostalgia at the sight of the ugly bowling shoes.

They picked the lane in the dim corner of the room and sat on the bench. Max knelt down in front of her to tie her shoes, and she blushed.

"You don't need to do that."

"This is a proper date, Lynelle." He put her foot on his knee after slipping on the shoe and knotted the laces nice and tight, before doing the other shoe.

"Thank you."

She watched as Max did his own shoes, then walked with him up to the screen, where they chose silly names for eachother to show up on the scoreboard. They decided to leave bumpers off.

"Alright!" said Max, rubbing his hands together. "Let's do this thing."

Lynelle picked her ball, choosing it more because of the pretty swirly surface than the weight. Max scanned the racks of balls, then settled on a sparkly hot pink one. She giggled at his choice, but he patted the ball.

"You might laugh at her, but wait until we're crushing you in this game and see how you feel."

"'Her'? You guys have a special connection, huh?"

"I come here all the time to bowl. She's always been my choice."

"Should I feel jealous?"

"Jealous of our impending victory? Certainly."

"Uh-huh. We'll see." Lynelle stepped up onto the platform and settled her fingers into the holes, then swung back and released the ball into the lane.

It was a perfect throw. The ball rolled smoothly just off-center in the lane, striking the formation of pins in the perfect spot to take them all down in an effecient sweep. She cheered and threw her hands in the air as the 'Strike!' sequence played out on the screen.

"Strike! Hole in one! Touchdown!"

Max cheered with her, jumping out of his seat. "Home run!"

She giggled and stepped out of the way to sit on the bench next to the lane. Max grabbed his adorable sparkly ball and took her place, miming a few practice swings. He backed up a step, gearing up, and she watched him closely. He glanced over at her and his face softened as she smiled.

He wound back, and released the ball with perfect, practice form... only for it to go straight into the gutter.

"Hang on!" he defended as she hid her face in her hands to try to hide her laughter. "Don't -- that's not how I usually do. You distracted me."

"What, by sitting here silently?"

"You're fucking hot. What's a poor guy to do?" He shook his head, feigning resignation. "Now I can't even impress you with my bowling skills."

"Yes, those are indeed the most attractive and impressive skills a guy can have." It wasn't a complete lie -- in a strange way, watching Max handle the ball and throw it like that was kinda hot.

The ball rolled back through the machine and he took it, stepping up again. "My chance to redeem myself."

He released the ball again, and this time it knocked over several pins. She clapped diplomatically at the decent performance, and he bowed.

All in all, the games were a lot of fun. They ordered cheap arcade food and trash talked each other, then celebrated each successful turn like they had just won a gold medal at the Olympics. Lynelle won every game. By the end of the night, she was drunk on him.

They giggled their way back to the car and he placed his hand on her thigh when they drove home. She rested her head on the cool window and stared at the dark scenery, and he rubbed little circles on the outside of her thigh with his thumb.

Lynelle relaxed and let her legs fall open into his touch, then glanced over at him as his fingers tightened.

"Sorry," he said, clearing his throat and not taking his eyes off the road. His jaw looked tense, but he relaxed his fingers. She stared at him for a moment, then allowed her head to rest back onto the window.

"So, you've totally taken me down a notch, haven't you?" he said after a few minutes. "Here I was, happily living my life, thinking I was decent at bowling, not having competed against another person in forever. Then you come along and crush me."

She giggled and yawned, the peacefulness of the drive home getting to her. "Yeah, I guess I did completely strip you of your masculine bowling pride."

He hummed and turned the car with one hand in a move that looked like it was more trouble than it was worth. She wondered if he knew he could move his hand if he wanted.

"You can strip me any time, baby," he said with a grin. She smacked his arm and laughed.

"I'll take you up on that, you know that, right?"

"I'm counting on it."

She placed her hand on top of his for the rest of the ride home. She was strangely disappointed when they pulled into the garage and their hands broke away from each other. He turned off the car and turned to look at her, only visible by the dim light in the garage.

"I had a great time, you know. I know this wasn't exactly a fancy date with tablecloths and candles, but... I hope you didn't mind."

She smiled and ran a hand over her hair. "Of course I didn't mind. This was perfect, Max. I don't need tablecloths and candles with you."

He smiled back, then opened the car of the door. He waited for her as she did the same and came around the front of the car, then they walked into the house together, where Rowan and Char were watching some grey-washed show that seemed to be about mafias and stressed-out middle aged men.

Rowan paused when they came in, and they looked over the back of the couch at where Max was setting down his keys and Lynelle was leaning against the counter.

"How was it?" asked Char, and she grinned at him.

"It was so fun!" she told him, taking off her shoes and carrying them with her as she headed towards the stairs. "I won every game because I'm awesome at bowling."

Max shook his head in feigned sorrow and Char caught her wrist as she walked past the couch on the way to the staircase.

"I'm glad you had a good time," he told her as he pulled her in for a kiss. When he pulled away, she felt a little off-balance and needed a second to remember she was headed up the stairs. He grinned at her as she went, and she waved to everyone in the room as she disappeared up the stairwell.

The date with Max was amazing. She wondered what the rest of them would have in store for her.