Shot at Love

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Luc

Luc knew he had her in a quandary. If she said no, it’d look like she had the hots for him. But if she said yes, she’d have to spend the afternoon with him. Either way, the outcome would be in his favor; he couldn’t lose. And in the end, she agreed. But only if they went bowling. Honestly, he didn’t care what they did; he just wanted to get to know her a little better.

Luc stepped up to the lane and grabbed his bowling ball. Getting into position, he focused on the pins. Blocking out the other noise, he marched up to the line and tossed the ball with great concentration. He could hear Kassie trash-talking in the background, but he stood watching the ball as it moved towards the pins. Then he watched them fall, one by one.

“Strike!” Luc did his goal celebration, pumping his fist in the air.

“All right tough guy, I can do that, too.” Kassie stepped up to the lane, passing by Luc.

He squeezed by her as she reached for the pink bowling ball. Their bodies almost brushed against one another. Luc felt the tension between them, the pure heat pouring off her. They were as close as two people could be without touching. Luc paused, taking the chance to glance right into her eyes. They were cocoa brown with a swirl of amber through them, and were half lidded as she took a quick peek at his lips, before her eyes met his again.

Yeah, she was into him. There was not a doubt in his mind. And because she never ran away from him, or shied away from his flirtation or advances, he felt it necessary to continue. Maybe he’d get her to slip up and show her true colors, even more than grinding up on him the other night at Mario’s. At any rate, he enjoyed the challenge.

“Hey, hockey boy! It’s your turn. If you’re done with your daydreaming,” Kassie called. She grabbed her pop and plopped down in a seat.

Little did she know that she was his daydream.

She sighed and fanned herself. “I never realized how much work bowling was. I should’ve suggested we just go for a walk.” Her scarf was now on the seat beside her. She mumbled something before pulling the light-colored sweater over her head, exposing a tank top of the same color.

He didn’t know what to expect under that sweater, but this worked. It was very rare that a guy hated watching a girl take off her shirt, even if there was a tank top under there. Kassie was always so put together and matched.

“Are you going to bowl?” Kassie broke through his focus on her.

Luc shrugged, trying to look calm and in control. He stepped forward and picked up his bowling ball. Cradling the ball, he lined up his shot, then strolled up to the line. He effortlessly swung the ball, directing it down the center of the lane.

Turning around to face Kassie, he walked back to the seats without watching what was happening down at the pins. All he had to do was hear the pins go down to know he’d gotten yet another strike, and he fist pumped in celebration.

“I should’ve known you’d be good at bowling, too.” She pouted. “Well, at least you won’t get us kicked out of here.” Kassie smirked.

“I bet I could if I tried,” Luc said.

“Please don’t.” She rolled her eyes, but she was smiling, and that was all that mattered to him.

“Okay, we have two frames left in this game. I’m totally winning, and pretty close to a perfect game, except for that one split. The question is, do you want to play a third game?”

Kassie thought for a moment. “Considering you won the first game and are going to win the second, I think we’re done. No need to prolong my losing streak.” She looked at her watch. “Plus, I’m sure you have better things to do than this.”

Did she really think he had better things to do with his day off than spend it with her? She was crazy. The next two frames were all strikes, while hers were a seven–ten split and a nine.

“Good game, O’Conner,” Luc said, as he changed out of his bowling shoes.

A heavy sigh preceded her words. “Please don’t call me that. I know it’s a guy thing, but let’s not do that. Okay?”

He knew it had nothing to do with it being a guy thing and had everything to do with him bringing up that she was an O’Conner. “All right, sweets. Join me for some pizza and beer?” He pointed to the bowling alley bar.

She looked back and forth from him to the bar. “Um…”

“Come on, what? Do you have something better than pizza and beer planned?”

She flipped her hair off her shoulders with a bit of an attitude. “Well, I don’t drink beer.”

“Pretty sure they have wine coolers. Or Jack and Coke. So, what do you say?” She was already thinking about it; he could see it in her eyes. He didn’t have to say another word to try to convince her; all he had to do was wait.

“I… uh.” Kassie picked her sweater up and seemed to be debating whether to put it on. She looked at him, pausing while she bit at her bottom lip, then glanced at the scoreboard. A small grin spread across her lips. “Seeing how you won, I think it’d be okay if you bought me dinner.”

Luc nodded, enjoying the humor of her words. She wanted to play. He could play. “Sure. Let me buy you dinner.” He put his hand out for her to take it.

Kassie shook her head and held up her shoes. “I have to go turn in my shoes.”

Luc decided not to argue, but grabbed his shoes and headed towards the shoe counter, not looking back. He knew she was right behind him. He handed over his rentals and tipped the kid behind the counter. Moving aside, he waited for Kassie. She returned her shoes and made a point not to look at him, even though he stood staring at her.

When she turned away from the counter, he held his hand out to her again. “Shall we?”

Kassie looked at his hand and back up at him. She didn’t say anything, but slid her sweater back over her head. She adjusted the sweater, tugging the hem around her waist. Then, with her scarf in one hand, she took his with the other.

Luc worked hard not to flinch with surprise when she took his hand. He was shocked that she didn’t blow him off yet again. Without saying a word, he tried to stay in stride with her as they walked to the bar, her soft skin against his.

“You like pepperoni on your pizza?”

“Is there any other topping for a classic pizza?” Kassie answered. Her lips curled up into a smirk.

“Mushroom?” He could play this game with her all night.

“You know I am serious about my pizza, right? I don’t have time for ridiculous garnishes such as pineapple or bacon bits that masquerade as pizza toppers.”

“Garnishes? I should’ve known you’d be serious about your pizza.” He regretted the words as soon as they came out of his mouth. Bringing up that she was an O’Conner had already proved to be a bad idea. “My dad is like that about his beer. He won’t touch an IPA with a ten-foot pole.”

“There’s a table over there by the jukebox. Is that okay?” She pulled him towards the table.

Jukebox, a girl after my own heart. “Works for me.” He nodded to the jukebox after pushing in her chair. “Mind if I play something?”

Kassie shrugged and shook her head.

He played the first rock ’n’ roll song he found. Returning to the table, he bobbed his head and played a little air guitar to the heavy beat. It got a smile out of her, and that was all he wanted.

“I take my rock ’n’ roll quite seriously.” Luc flashed a smile in the hopes of lightening the mood after the pizza comment. They didn’t need to talk about her last name.

“Pizza and rock ’n’ roll. That works,” Kassie said.

“And beer. We need beer. Or not-beer for you.” Luc waved for the waitress. “We’d like a large pepperoni pizza, I’ll take whatever you have on tap, and do you have a hard cherry cola for the lady?”

The waitress nodded and headed to the kitchen.

“How’d you know I liked those?” She was surprised, and luckily not annoyed that he ordered for her.

Luc shrugged, proud of himself. “I guessed. So, tell me about those people who eat pineapple on their pizza.” Luc egged her on, knowing as an O’Conner, she wouldn’t be able to resist.

“Pineapple is not a pizza topping. It’s a side dish or a dessert, but not a topping for pizza.” She huffed with the innocence of an annoyed child, but she certainly was no child.

“Okay, okay. I’ll take your word for it on the pineapple. But why hate on bacon bits? They seem like a fine pizza topping. No different than pepperoni, really.”

She gasped. “Are you serious?” Then she let out a little laugh, as if she’d been masking it. “I’m really just kidding about the bacon bits. I don’t like them, so they never get near a pizza of mine. I like old-fashioned toppings: pepperoni, mushroom, and sausage.”

“What about green peppers? They go great with pepperoni or sausage.” Luc couldn’t believe they were actually having a serious conversation about pizza toppings.

She thought for a moment, tapping her finger against her lips. “Green peppers? Um, I prefer not. It’s a vegetable; it just has no place on a pizza. But if someone, say you for example, liked it and wanted it on a pizza with pepperoni or sausage, I’d eat it. And before you say anything, it’s nothing like mushrooms. Mushrooms are a traditional pizza topping, and are usually cooked. Green peppers are always so crunchy. But I could be flexible on the matter.”

“Good to know.” And good to hear that she might be contemplating sitting down to pizza with him someday after tonight.

“Here you go. Pepperoni pizza, one beer, and one hard cherry cola. Can I get you anything else?” the waitress asked, as she set down extra napkins and plates.

Luc looked at Kassie. As soon as she shook her head, he answered. “No. I think we’re good.” It had been a nice afternoon so far. He felt like they were really getting along without any alcohol or loud music, just the two of them.

“Mm-hmm,” Kassie said as she took a giant bite out of a slice of pizza.

Strings of cheese pulled from the pizza to her mouth, and instantly he wished he was a piece of that cheese. She pulled the cheese from her lips with her fingers. Luc should’ve been disturbed that this sort of thing was turning him on, but he wasn’t.

“Did you have fun bowling?” Luc asked, trying to keep the conversation moving.

“I did. I don’t do that often, so it was nice. Thanks for inviting me.” She smiled and quickly looked down at her plate.

“Yeah, I had a nice time, too. It was fun. Almost as fun as the other night at Mario’s.” He said it knowing full well it’d get a rise out of her, or maybe a cute, embarrassed laugh. Either way it was good.

Kassie covered her face in embarrassment. “Oh, please don’t bring that up! I really should not do shots, like ever.”

“Yeah.” He raised his eyebrows knowingly. “I know all about that.”

She tilted her head and stared at him. “Oh, really? Do you have something embarrassing you’d like to share with me? I won’t tell. Because, you know, it’s just between friends?”

He debated his words, but it didn’t stop them from exiting his mouth. “Yeah, recently I found myself in a situation. I had way too many shots and too much beer on top of it. I was in a rotten mood, and I thought the alcohol would make me feel better. Instead, it just made me confused. I ended up leaving with some bunny that I had no intention of leaving with. My decisions were so clouded, and my brain so hazy, that I didn’t know what I was even doing.”

“So? What happened?” She smirked as if she knew the answer already.

There was no way she’d be prepared for what he was going to say. But at least she didn’t seem offended by what he was saying.

“Well, she was your typical bunny, doing things that bunnies do. I won’t go into details, because I’m a gentleman. Too much alcohol and a pissed-off mood led to very bad choices. A decision to just blow off some steam backfired.”

“Backfired? How?”

“Well, she called me Lucky Macaroni. Lucky was bad enough, but Macaroni? What the hell? I sobered up really quick and realized the poor choice I had made.”

Kassie stifled a laugh. “I’m guessing that airheads aren’t your type?”

“Nope. I’m not even sure what my type is anymore.” But with every second he spent with her, it was becoming much clearer. “It was more about the company I was keeping. I think I’ve outgrown the bunny game.”

“I remember the bunnies Kaden went through. I tried to look the other way, but with social media it proved difficult sometimes. But he grew up and out of that stage. When he met Ali, he just knew she was it for him.”

“Yeah. I totally believe that’s how it works. One day you meet someone, and you just know. Everything changes.” He tried not to stare at her too long, but she didn’t seem to mind.

She pushed some wild hairs behind her ear, but her eyes never left his.

Yep, one day you meet someone and you just know. Everything changes. He wasn’t lying when he said he’d outgrown the bunnies. Kassie was the only girl he wanted now.