by V. T. Do
There was nothing I could say to his statement, so I chose not to say anything. But my face must have shown my emotions, because Cole looked at me with a slight frown. “You okay?”
“Yup.”
He briefly glanced over at Wyatt, before turning back to us and leading us to one of the lanes. “Why don’t we play in teams?”
Joey looked up at me and grinned. “Okay. I’m on Emery’s team.”
He looked a little disappointed, but I thought the prospect of going against him excited Joey more than being on his team.
Cole shrugged. “If you girls want to lose, who am I to stop you?”
I cracked a smile at the cockiness I heard in his voice. Definitely a man used to getting what he wanted. Joey winked when she caught my eye. “You talk too much. Show me your game if you think you’re that good.”
“Oh, I am good, baby. Very, very good.” His meaning didn’t go unnoticed by Joey. She blushed and looked away. I was too surprised over Joey’s reaction to say anything. She was not the blushing type.
Wyatt joined in on the banter. I didn’t think he could be anything but serious, but he was smiling as he walked over to Cole and punched him playfully on the arm. “Stop flirting. I’m embarrassed for you.”
Cole scowled in Wyatt’s direction before a smile took over his face once again, dimples and all. He laughed and patted Wyatt on the shoulder. “You’re just jealous that I have game.”
Then he grabbed Joey’s hand and walked over to the lane. Wyatt and I took a seat just behind them. I was careful not to sit too close, lest he think... well, I wasn’t sure what he would think. It didn’t matter. I didn’t think my heart could handle his close proximity. I felt his eyes on me though, the intensity of them burning a hole in my skin. I pretended an interest in Joey and Cole’s interaction instead.
Cole handed her a bright orange ball. “Ladies first.”
“Gladly.” It didn’t take her long to get into position. She took aim and released the ball, knocking down all the pins, like I knew she would. I clapped. Joey turned around and rolled her eyes at me. “Come on, Emery. That was beautiful. Don’t you think I deserve more than an appropriate clap?”
I bit my lips to keep from laughing. She had imitated Aunt Helen’s tone to a tee. “Should I squeal?” I asked.
“Yes,” she said, clearly exasperated.
I felt a little awkward, especially since I knew Wyatt was watching me, when I stood up and let out an awkward squeal.
Joey wasn’t nice about it. She laughed at the expression on my face. I stuck my tongue out at her. She then chose Cole’s ball for him. It was much smaller than the orange ball he’d handed her, and it was pink. “Good luck,” she said, leaning in close to his body.
I thought that was brave of her. I would never initiate anything with anyone I was interested in, much less flirt. That much was obvious from my interactions with Wyatt.
Cole winked and got into position, an exaggerated imitation of Joey’s pose from before. I was shaking with quiet laughter now. The man was entertaining to watch. Joey caught my amusement, and she smiled. I supposed that was the whole purpose of her dragging me along on this date—to get me to laugh.
My heart wanted to burst with love for the girl I considered to be more than just my best friend. I had never met anyone who cared more for me, besides my own family, than Joey.
We turned and watched as Cole released the ball. He knocked down three pins.
Joey booed him. He turned to her with a devious smile. “It was the pink ball. I felt emasculated holding it. It threw me off my game. Don’t worry, if you offer me a kiss, I might get my man card back.”
She rolled her eyes. “How about I hand you a big blue ball next time? You know, to match what you’ll be experiencing when the night’s over.”
He clutched his heart. “Too cruel.”
Joey laughed and pointed at me. “Your turn, Em. And I know you can beat Cole’s wimpy score.”
I shrugged. This wasn’t really my forte. But Cole seemed to suck just as bad as I did. We might win this game after all.
I got up and grabbed a bright red ball. It was heavier than I expected, and I almost dropped the damn thing.
“Did you need my pink ball?” Cole mocked. I turned to him, unsure how I should answer that. But I didn’t have to. Wyatt grabbed the score card nearby and whacked Cole on the head. “Ouch. What’d you do that for?”
Wyatt shrugged, smiling. “Felt like it.”
“Asshole.”
I turned around. I couldn’t bring myself to get into the same pose as Joey. Mostly because I knew three pairs of eyes were on me, and one in particular made me more nervous than the others. I felt awkward in my own body, though this feeling wasn’t strange to me.
I was an awkward kid, and I grew up to be an awkward adult. It was nothing new.
When I let go of the ball, it skidded off into the gutter halfway down the lane.
I looked back and found Joey smiling. She booed me as well. I laughed. “You knew how bad I was when you picked me to be your teammate.”
“Yeah, but I was hoping you’d be better than Cole. Come on, Emmy, that was pathetic. You didn’t even do the pose.”
I laughed harder. Back in middle school, Joey took me bowling for the first time. She had uncles who had taught her how to play—on those rare times when they visited her and her mom—so she knew what she was doing. And she’d tried to teach me.
“Tried” being the operative word.
Joey was wholly convinced my game could be improved if I just did the right pose. Only, being my awkward self, I made the pose look less like I was getting ready to bowl and more like I was having a seizure standing up.
My grandpa had tried to make me feel better, by imitating me. And it worked.
We didn’t much bowl that day. We were too busy laughing.
I looked at Joey and my laugh slowly faded as an ache took up residence in my heart. It was times like this that I missed him the most. When I realized that we were never going to have those kinds of moments with him ever again.
Looking away, I said, “I think Wyatt’s next.”
Without another word, I took my seat, farthest away from the group. “Emery,” Joey began.
“It’s nothing, Joey.” I looked over at Wyatt. I didn’t want to decipher the look in his eyes. “I think it’s your turn. Let’s hope you’ve got more game than Cole, or Joey will definitely win the game.”
He shot me a smile and stood up. “I am convinced everyone here has more game than Cole.” His smile suggested he wasn’t talking about bowling.
“Hey!” Cole said, indignant. The pitch to his voice was endearing, I had to admit. Joey stood no chance.
She and I both laughed, and it wasn’t until we settled down, and Wyatt got a strike, that I realized he’d only said it to make me laugh.
I bit my lips to keep from smiling too widely, especially when he came back, a smug smile on his face.
Chapter Seven: Ruined
Emery
The game was mostly between Joey and Wyatt. Cole and I were hopeless.
If I had thought the three pins Cole knocked down were a testament to his skills, I was wrong. He was even worse, his ball more likely than not going into the gutter most of the time.
But I had enjoyed myself. I’d almost forgotten that the reason Wyatt was even there in the first place was because Cole had asked him to, not because he wanted to be. I’d almost forgotten that this was more like a pity date. And although the interaction was mostly between Joey and Cole, I’d still had fun.
Until Wyatt decided to ruin it all—and how spectacularly he did so, with no thought of how it would affect me, his supposed “date.”
It was the last game of the night, and Joey, Wyatt, and I had already taken our turns. If Cole knocked down at least one pin, they would win. But judging by his game all night, I knew that we would tie. I supposed that was okay. I was never competitive in the first place, and I had thoroughly en
joyed the company.
I didn’t stay and watch. It was all the sodas I’d drunk, so I went to the bathroom. When I came back out, Joey was laughing with Cole. A quick glance at the scoreboard above told me we had tied.
I smiled, though the smile didn’t last long. Because to my left was Wyatt, talking to another girl. I knew that I had no reason to be jealous. He wasn’t mine, and probably never would be. But it wasn’t because he was talking to another girl that made me wish the ground would open up and swallow me whole. It was the fact that he was smiling at her—something he had done so rarely with me all night—that did me in.
And his smile was... there weren’t words to describe it. It made feel like a fool, when I had been coerced into this sham of date as much as he had. But unlike him, I hadn’t agreed to this beforehand. He had. Willingly.
When he placed a hand on the woman’s waist, and she giggled at something he said, I realized I had to look away.
My eyes stung, and I couldn’t decide if it was because I was hurt or angry or embarrassed.
Either way, I didn’t want to go back over there. Joey would have to come find me when she was done flirting with Cole, because it was time to go home.
I found the bar nearby and took a seat. This bar wasn’t like a regular bar, but a place parents went to while they waited for their kids to play with their friends. In one corner sat a group of moms who were gossiping about something. In the middle sat an older man, drinking beer and watching sports. I picked a seat farthest away from the other patrons.
The bartender came over to me. He was wearing a tight-fitting black shirt that showed off his muscular form, and his beard was neatly trimmed. His eyes were an incredibly warm brown, and they were kind when he turned them my way.
He was handsome, and I wondered why I couldn’t be attracted to someone like him. Why couldn’t I feel that fluttering in my belly when a normal, attainable guy gave me his attention? Why did it have to be someone who had at least a decade of experience on me? Someone who always made me feel like a fool.
“What can I get you?” the bartender asked.
“Sprite.”
He frowned. “Do you want it with something?”
I frowned back. “Sure. If you want to add, like, a lemon or something, that’d be good.”
He tried to suppress a smile. “Ah. Not twenty-one yet?”
I shook my head. “Oh, and don’t forget the ice.”
“Sure thing, sweetheart.”
With that, he walked away. When he brought my drink back, though his smile was still professional, it was a little less friendly. I ignored him. I wasn’t going to leave my seat until Joey had had enough of Cole and decided we could go home for the night. I was not going to brave the group again.
I was halfway through my drink and was starting to become invested in the game, when the chair next to me was pulled out. A quick glance around told me that there were plenty of empty seats, which meant whoever was sitting next to me had purposely chosen that one.
I looked up and met the eyes of a stranger.
He had long blond hair, green eyes, a thin frame, and a cocky smile. Let it be said that I wasn’t impressed. I looked away quickly. I didn’t want him to think I was interested in starting a conversation.
The man didn’t get the message. “Hello there. My name’s Bryan.” I nodded to indicate I had heard him. When I didn’t reply, he asked, “And what can I call you?”
I wondered if he was purposely blowing air in my face, or if that was the way he talked.
“Candace,” I replied coldly.
“Candace. What a beautiful name to match a beautiful girl. Candace, can I buy you a drink?”
I raised my glass to indicate I already had one. “Thanks, but I’m okay.”
“Oh, all right.”
He might have said something else, but my phone rang just then. I turned away from him to answer.
“Hey, Joey.”
“Emery, where are you?”
“Are you done with your date?” I asked.
“Yeah, we’re calling it a night.”
“Cool. How about I meet you at the car?”
“Oh, okay. Yeah, see you in a few.” I knew from the tone of her voice that she knew something was wrong, but I wasn’t going to tell her how hurt or embarrassed I felt about Wyatt’s actions. He wasn’t supposed to matter at all.
“Are you leaving?” Bryan asked, sounding way too disappointed for someone who had just met me.
I turned around and faced him. “Yeah. It was nice to meet you. Take care.”
I stood up, when he stopped me with a hand on my shoulder. I shrank back, more from surprise than anything else. I looked at him with a small frown. “At least finish your drink,” he said.
If he thought my drink would make me stay, he thought wrong. To shut him up, I picked up the glass and was about to chug it when a large shadow fell over me. A large hand followed, halting the action when it grabbed the glass out of my hold.
I turned and found Wyatt’s angry gaze.
“Walk out of here, Emery.”
I’d opened my mouth to protest, when his dark eyes made their way to me. His stare told me not to argue with him. I didn’t know why I listened to him, only that he had that look about him that told me I should do as he asked. I walked away without looking looking back.
After getting my shoes back, I walked outside. I had left my jacket in Joey’s car, and the weather had dropped a few degrees. I was cold, but I didn’t want to go back in there, back to the place where my emotions were all over the place and I couldn’t find my bearings. I just needed space.
I was convinced that a little distance from Wyatt was all I needed to get over my stupid crush on him. And that was what I would get after tonight. There wasn’t any reason for me to ever run into him again.
I just needed to deal with him first. Which I was given the opportunity to do when Wyatt came charging out of the bowling alley like an angry bull.
I looked at him, partly confused, partly angry myself.
“What were you thinking, talking to that boy?” Wyatt all but yelled.
My temper rose, so I did what my Aunt Helen always told me to do in times like this—I started counting to ten.
“What are you doing, Emery?”
I looked at him. “I’m counting to ten.”
He seemed confused. “Why?”
“To get rid of my anger at you,” I hissed out. I was angrier now that he made me start over.
“Oh, for Christ’s sake. Stop counting.”
“Stop interrupting me!”
He waited. When I was done, he asked, “Still mad?”
“Yes. What are you doing? And why the hell are you mad at me?”
“Because you’re naive!” he yelled back.
“What? What are you talking about?”
The man was clearly demented. And he wasn’t making any sense. “Do you know who that boy you were talking to at the bar was?”
“Of course not. Why does that matter to you?”
His left eye twitched. “Do you usually strike up conversation with strangers?”
“No. And stop talking to me like I’m some... six-year-old.”
“Then why did you take the drink?”
“Because I paid for it. And you know what? It’s none of your business anyway. You don’t need to concern yourself with what I do, seeing as how you were busy with someone else when I left.”
He took a step closer to me, and I fought the urge to move back. The man was clearly trying to use his size to intimidate me. I raised my chin in defiance, and his eyes flared. “Is that what this is all about? Are you jealous of who I give my attention to, little girl? You should know there is no future for us.”
Was it because he called me out on my jealousy, or because he called me “little girl” just to remind me that we were not, in fact, on equal footing that made my face red with embarrassment? I wasn’t sure. But I did know I didn’t want to fight with him anymore.
I was not used to having to fight for the attention of the people in my life, and I wasn’t going to start. My shoulders sagged a little, and I looked away so he wouldn’t see the tears I was trying to hide. I hated this.
I hated how emotional I became under his gaze.
He grabbed onto my shoulders when I tried to walk away. “Emery.” His voice sounded regretful, but I had had enough of his pity tonight to last a lifetime. I shook my head and moved away just as the door opened and Cole and Joey walked out.
Cole seemed happy, almost smug, while Joey looked flustered. Her hair was also a mess, and her lips were swollen. It was obvious they had kissed, and it wasn’t any gentle or chaste kiss either. It was written in Cole’s face, which shone darkly with male satisfaction.
His eyes followed Joey’s every move, as if he wanted nothing more than to make her his.
I looked away, feeling a deep ache in my heart. Was it crazy to be jealous of Joey for having someone to look at her like that?
It made me wonder how much I’d missed out on in life. Perhaps if I weren’t so picky with those I allowed into my circle...
No, there was a reason for my reservation.
I had learned early on that most people couldn’t be trusted, and usually had a hidden motive for wanting to be in my life.
I smiled at Joey, hoping I looked more normal than I actually felt. Fortunately, she was still flustered from the big man following close behind her to notice anything off about me.
Wyatt remained a close presence where I stood. I ignored him and walked over to Joey’s car. “Can you unlock the car? I’m cold.”
“Yeah,” Joey answered. Her mind seemed to be elsewhere.
I got into the car before anyone could say anything and closed the door gently behind me. I heard Joey say something to Cole, then to Wyatt, but her voice was too muffled to make out the exact words.
It didn’t matter. Like the first night we’d all met, I willed for this night to pass quickly.
It wasn’t long until Joey got in the car. And then we were silent on the car ride home, both lost in thought.
Chapter Eight: A Unicorn
