Chapter 31

Ifumbled with my shoes and breathed a sigh of relief when I heard footsteps behind me. Hunter slammed the kitchen door, and when I peeked over at him as we crossed the bright white garage, his expression was dazed. The air outside was so sharp it felt cleansing as it filtered through my lungs. Hunter punched in the code on the keypad, and the garage door rattled down, but he still hadn't said a word.

When he turned around, his gaze was scorching.

I wet my lips. "Hunter, maybe I shouldn't have—"

He stepped closer to me and brought one hand to the side of my head so I was pinned against the house. His breath fanned over my face, warm and steady.

"I notice you've slammed me into a wall." I heard the breathless words leave my mouth, my eyes widening in surprise.

His lips were inches from mine, and I tried not to stare at them. "If you're a bird, I'm a bird," he said.

"Is this the part where you go all Ryan Gosling on me?" I asked.

His face was half-covered by darkness, but his mouth split into a wide grin before he tucked a strand of stray hair behind my ear. And this time, he didn't stop. His fingers grazed the side of my pulsating cheek, and he bent toward me, pausing mere centimeters from my mouth. "Please stop talking about Ryan Gosling."

And then his lips brushed mine. It was short and fleeting, and when my eyes fluttered open, he was staring at me, assessing my reaction with burning eyes. I expected the head-clouding panic or the imaginary crawling fingers, but they never came.

It was me who leaned forward, pressing my lips to his, doing my best to answer the question left hanging between us.

It wasn't like how I had kissed Brian Cullen, doing it only because I was supposed to. And it wasn't like how I had kissed Jeremy at the roller rink, slobbery and messy. I'd often wondered if Hunter's lips would be as soft as I imagined, but they were softer, unlike anything I'd ever felt before. It wasn't just the texture either; it was a softness that injected itself through me. One of his arms wrapped around me, hugging me to his chest, while his other hand moved through my hair before it brushed along my jaw, cradling it in place. I twisted my fingers around the back of his neck even though I couldn't remember deciding to do so.

When we parted, his eyes were wide and glazed over. It might have been because of the silence, or it might have been because of the way he was looking at me, but I said the first thing that popped into my head. "Your family is insufferable."

His laughter was an explosion. It carried through the air, alerting the entire neighborhood of his wonderful existence, and when he kissed me again, his lips were still curved into a smile. He pulled away and pressed his forehead to mine as his breathing turned ragged. "Tell me how you really feel. In fact, feel free to perform your speech again." His voice was thick with something that sounded like tiredness, but I knew as well as anyone that it had nothing to do with his REM cycles. "Better yet, let's get the fuck out of here."

* * *

The bowling alleywas busier than I'd expected, but unlike most places, there wasn't a particular crowd it attracted. It was as though the universe had vomited a whole hodgepodge of people, directing its retching into a dingy garbage can with retro lights. I felt a certain comforting nostalgia from the guy handing out shoes without glancing up from his phone and the inescapable smell of sweaty feet.

Hunter and I held hands. Our shoulders bumped together as we made our way through the alley, spotting everyone at the last lane. Melody stood on a retro plastic chair. She ordered Kohen with a flick of her fingers, while Max bowled grandpa style, his legs spread wide as he lobbed the ball down the lane instead of rolling it. It went right for the gutter, almost getting stuck before continuing at a snail's pace, and I pressed the side of my face into Hunter's shoulder to suppress my laughter.

Melody cheered when she spotted us, then scuttled off the chair to throw her arms around me. We'd gone from enemies to friends who hugged each other, apparently, and I wrapped an awkward arm around her, trying to get used to it.

"Hunter said you were having dinner at his house." She leaned back in horror, studying my face. "How was it? Awful? It was totally awful, wasn't it?"

I grinned, Melody's newfound friendliness infectious. "Awful is an understatement."

"Eugh, you poor thing. I wouldn't have gone near that with a ten-foot pole. Seriously, you couldn't pay me to have dinner at Hunter's house. What'd you think of Carol? She's a riot, isn't she? And not in a good way. Have you met Carol, Kohen?" She took a swig from a see-through cup as everyone else crowded over.

"What's up, Alice." Kohen smiled, wrapping one arm around Melody. I smiled back, but it was interrupted by a yelp as Max tumbled into me.

"Heyo, Princess!"

I emerged from his arms and inched closer to Hunter. Hudson stood behind Max and offered me a hesitant nod.

"You want a beer, Alice?" Max asked. There was a pitcher on the table, and I nodded, glancing around the alley. The closest employee was a guy about our age, and if his efforts wiping a table were any indication of his dedication to his job, I could rest assured he wouldn't be barreling over to check our IDs anytime soon.

When Max returned the pitcher to the table, Hunter scoffed. "What am I? Chopped liver?"

Max shrugged, ignoring him as he led me over to the group of plastic chairs. They were in the middle of a game, so Hunter and I teamed up with Melody and Max, alternating turns. To them, bowling was a social outing, while Kohen was more competitive.

When it was Hunter's turn, he examined the balls with careful consideration. Once he selected one, he strode forward, cradling the ball in his palm. He never paused to put his fingers in any of the holes before he brought his arm back and swung it forward. The ball thundered down the lane, and I wasn't the only one staring. The people next to us nudged one another, their eyebrows climbing to match mine. Hunter bowled an effortless strike, and Max leaped from his chair. Hunter spun around, shooting me a wink.

"Fuck me, I forgot how good he is," Kohen grumbled.

Hunter took the chair across from me and lounged back. He pinned me with a pair of raised eyebrows as if waiting for something.

"Why do you bowl so weird?" I asked.

He huffed out a laugh, crossing his feet at his ankles. "I don't know. That's how I've always bowled."

"It's so ... odd."

He took a sip of his beer and grinned at me. "Thank you."

When it was my turn, I managed to knock down a total of one pin during my two attempts. I scurried back to my seat, face burning from the attention while Melody gave me a standing ovation. I ducked into the seat next to Hunter, and he leaned in close, his lips brushing my ear. "Have I ever told you you're cute when you're embarrassed?"

"Have I ever told you I hate you?"

His laughter rumbled through every part of me, forcing a smile.

"Hunter, why don't you keep taking turns!" Max called from the table. The waitress had dropped off a plate of chicken wings, and he dug in, the game a distant thought.

Hunter swung upright when it was his turn again. "Watch and learn, Alice."

While I had to lug the bowling ball to the lane, Hunter's hold on the ball was as lazy as everything else he did. He shuffled a few steps, light on his feet. His back foot lunged behind him, and he held the position long enough to watch his ball crash into the pins. All ten of them went flying, and everyone but Max let out a collective moan. He strolled back to the seat beside me, and he had to be the only person in the entire world who could make such smugness charming.

"He's always been good at things that require balls, Alice!" Max called, halfway through gnawing on a chicken wing.

"Jesus." Hudson sat across from us, and he glanced around with wide eyes. "I mean, it's not even remotely clever ..."

Kohen inspected the available balls on the rack. "Has he ever been clever?"

I twisted around in my seat. "Thank you for that, Max."

He nodded, beaming at me.

Kohen walked back from a spare and jutted his thumb at the lane. "You're up, Princess." I wasn't quite sure when everyone had started using the nickname, but he said it without hesitation or malice as he slumped into the seat beside Melody.

I sifted through the rack of balls, picking a glittery purple one because it was the lightest. As I made my way to the lane, the chanting started with one voice. "Al-ice! Al-ice! Al-ice!"

I peeked behind me, wide-eyed. Melody stood on her chair, jabbing her fist into the air, and it took only an instant before everyone else joined in. It grew louder and louder, and my face burned hot as I stared back at everyone. Hunter leaned forward, eyes bright, chanting my name with a wicked smile.

Max cupped his hands on either side of his mouth. "Come on, cut the shit, Alice! We want to see more than one pin down!"

We'd attracted an audience. The group of boys two lanes over joined in, pausing from their own game to watch. I shuffled around to face the pins, deciding to get it over with before the entire alley was watching. Despite the attention, I managed to roll the ball somewhat straight, albeit slow, and when it knocked over four pins, the entire place erupted.

Max and Kohen charged forward and threw their arms around me, then each of them tried to lift one of my legs and hoist me into the air. My hand gripped Max's hair out of sheer bewilderment as we almost toppled over.

"I have another turn!" I said.

Max and Kohen stilled. They exchanged glances before removing their hands in slow motion. "Well, uh, this is awkward. I guess we'll ... uh ... let you take that shot then."

They both backed away, and I picked up my purple ball again, because all the ruckus had provided more than enough time for the pins to reset and my ball to return.

"Let's see it, Alice!" one of the boys from the other lane called, still watching. "Go for the spare!"

I shot them an awkward nod. I'm not sure if it was Hunter's loud laughter or all the pressure, but I cracked and cannoned the ball right into the gutter, and everyone seemed to love that even more than the four pins.

Melody initiated a round of applause as I shuffled back to the group. "You'll get it next time! Keep your head up!"

I took the seat next to Hudson because it was the only one open. He eyed me with what appeared to be amusement. "I'm glad you're here."

I jerked my head to look at him, but he tore his gaze away. I slid my hands against my jeans. "Uh, thanks. I'm glad ..." I stopped, then started in a different place. "Me too."

When he looked back at me, there was a ghost of a smile, but he shrugged in a way that was so like Hunter it was disconcerting. "I was getting tired of being the worst bowler, but based on that pitiful performance, you have most definitely taken the title."

My laughter was sudden, and he didn't join me, but he almost did, his lips twitching with the effort.