Page 28 of Forever Fascinating

“Twenty-four…”

“Twenty-five…”

“Twenty-six… c’mon Jana. You’ve got this,” he urged happily, surprising her, because she assumed he would have wanted her to miss one or two, in order to have her pay… or simply lose because of the challenge he’d tossed down.

This surprised her.

“Twenty-seven…”

They were tied… and Jana missed the next ball.

Whether or not it was on purpose, she had no idea, but she’d swung and missed. Hesitating, she waited… and waited… and waited, only to finally hear one more telltale ‘thwomp’of the ball descending the chute again, probably the last one, too.

*crack*

The ball jarred her teeth as it went soaring upwards… only to hear Matthew laugh softly behind her as he announced the winning hit.

“And that’s twenty-eight,” he announced. “I see that the Skee-ball is my treat tonight.”

Jana turned and smiled proudly, propping the bat on the top of her shoe and angling it outwards, as if it was a fancy walking stick.

“Second place state championship…” she beamed, winking at him.

“Nice job, Miss Sorensen,” Matthew replied humbly. “I’m very impressed.”

“It doesn’t bother you that I won?”

“Was it supposed to?” he asked easily, looking at her.

“No. I was hoping it wouldn’t,” she admitted, walking over to put her bat in the bin, before placing her helmet on the shelf to be sprayed with disinfectant. “I’m competitive sometimes and people who really don’t know me take it as annoying, arrogant, or being a complete show-off.”

“So, are you going to think that I’m annoying, arrogant, or a complete show-off when I absolutely trounce you in Skee-ball?” he smiled knowingly, turning to look at her, before holding out his hand.

She met his eyes and saw the relaxed amusement lurking in his gaze, as she put her hand in his, feeling his fingers close around hers and treasuring the feeling it created.

“Sounds like we are both competitive.”

“Sounds like we are…” he grinned, pulling her forward towards the illuminated arcade.

They played games together for what felt like hours on end, just having a great time and hanging out. He wasextremelycompetitive, and it was nice to have someone who pushed her to be better, made her try, and praised her successes.

Her stomach growled painfully, and Jana slapped a hand over it. She realized that they’d completely skipped lunch, moving forward to instead have some fun and keep things relaxed between them.

Matthew must have noticed, because as he threw his last wooden ball up the ramp, sinking it right into one of the rings, he stood up and looked at her.

“Are you starving? I am. How about we get out of here and try something different that the locals would eat. I mean, if we were back in Boston,” he paused and she couldn’t help but notice as his accent came out, “I’d say let’s grab a grinder or a lobster roll.”

“Do as the natives do?” she smiled.

“Absolutely,” he grinned. “We can come back later, if you want?”

“Maybe…”

Fascinated, she watched as he cashed in their tickets and spoke to the attendant, punching in something on his cell phone, before glancing at her. She realized that this had been the most fun she’d had on a date in ages.

There was no pressure, no slimy pick-up lines. It wasn’t someone she met at a bar, or had hitting on her at the grocery store… it was wonderful. This was the first time she’d ever felt like she could be herself, relax, and simply let go for a little while, so maybe there was something to this ‘being friends first’ suggestion that everyone had given her.

“How picky are you when it comes to food?” Matthew smiled.

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