He's My Brother's Best Friend and My Enemy, This Can't Be Good!

The excitement from prom didn’t last long, at least not for me. As soon as school started on Monday everything was about the stuid advance placement tests. Sometimes I really wondered why I put myself through them if every year I ended up cursing myself for doing so. I never learned.

To make matters worse I decided to take all three AP tests for my classes. I didn’t even know why I was doing it. Its not like I had a shot at passing all of them. I didn’t even care about the college credit either. I didn’t even know my own college plans.

I had managed to lock myself in my room the entire weekend, only leaving to eat and occasionally take a break from my obsessive studying. By noon on Sunday I had had it. My books were scattered around my room along with heaps of notes. I was seated at my desk, head in my hands when I heard the door open.

“You need a break,” Parker stated.

I turned around in my chair to find Parker standing in front of me. He was looking down at my holding his car keys in his hand. Reaching down he grabbed my hand and pulled me out of my chair. He started tugging me to my door and I followed willingly. Once situated in his car Parker let out a sigh of relief.

“I didn’t think that was going to be that easy.”

“Where are we going today, Daniels?” I asked. This wasn’t the first time Parker had rescued me from my studying. It was the first time I went willingly though.

“I thought I’d let you decide.”

I sat quiet for a moment trying to think of something fun to do. My face immedietly smiled when I landed on an idea.

“Let’s go bowling!”

“Bowling we shall go,” Parker agreed. He pulled out of the driveway and headed off toward our local bowling alley.

The bowling alley was empty. The only lanes occupied were being used by professionals and a few middle school kids whose mothers were sitting at the table watching them. The familiar scent of greasy pizza and nachos hit me and my stomach rumbled in response. Parker and I headed over to rent our lane and shoes. I set up our lane while he went to order us food. Just as he was coming back with our food I was thanking the employee for putting bumbers up on our lane.

“Bumpers, really?” Parker chuckled.

“Bowling is no fun without them.”

We scarfed down our food before we began bowling. Parker was getting lucky as his ball rolled straight down the middle for the third time in a row. The ball made contact with the pins and they all fell, again. I grumbled silently before getting up to roll my ball. I released it as gently as possible and yet it still bounced from bumper to bumper before knocking over a measly three pins.

“Maybe you should use the kiddie ramp,” Parker suggested.

I scoffed at the suggestion. There was no way I was using the little kid ramp that was created in the hopes of helping little kids get strikes. Instead I threw the ball down the lane more forecully. This time it knocked down three more pins. I groaned in frustration before returnign to the table.

“This is supposed to be fun Jos,” Parker reminded me.

He didn’t wait for me to respond. Instead he got up to bowl, purposely chucking the ball so that it only hit one pin. He did the same thing the next bowl too.

“Why’d you do that?” I grumbled. If there was one thing I hated more than losing it was winning because someone wasn’t playing their best.

“What do you mean?” Parker responded cooley.

“Why did you not bowl perfect?”

“As cute as you may be when you get competitive you are also really scary. I don’t want you mad at me. We’re supposed to be having fun,” Parker sighed.

I blushed at the mention of me being cute when I got competitive but quickly regained my composure. “I am having fun, but don’t let me win.”

I got up once more, and threw the ball down the lane with precious. The ball knocked over four pins this time, still causing me to groan. On the second bowl my ball went straight into the gap I had just created. Furstrated, I returned to my seat to witness Parker bowl another strike.

“Maybe I can help you?” Parker suggested.

He followed me to the beginning of the lane. He stood behind me, adjusting my posture. With his hand on top of mine, he brought it back and then slowly brought it forward as I released the ball. It slide straight down the middle making contact with the first pin, which resulted in all of them falling. I turned around quickly to celebrate with Parker only to be met with his lips on mine.

“You know if you wanted to hold me like this you should have took me golfing,” I joked. Ever since I bowled the first strike Parker was intent on helping me everytime it was my turn. He didn’t care how many pins I knocked over as long as he had his arm wrapped around my waist.

A little while later Parker left to go to the bathroom, leaving me alone. I was snacking on left over chips when I was apporached by an elderly couple. The man was guiding the women towards me, both of them smiling wide.

“Hello,” I greeted as they stopped at my table.

“Sorry to be a bother but my wife wanted to talk to you,” the man said before pushing the women closer towards me.

“I just wanted to say that you and that gentleman you were with reminded me an awful lot like me and this old guy here,” she said gesturing to her husband.

Just then Parker arrived. I qucikly filled him in on what the women was saying, a smile never leaving my face. Parker looked at the couple before opening his mouth to speak.

“Well, hopefully we end up as happy as you two. Now if you will excuse I must take my lovely miss to dinner.”

I chuckled at Parker’s words before following him out of the bowling alley and back to the safety of his car. We pulled into the parking lot of the diner shortly after. We found ourselves at our usual table. The place was empty concidering it was only four. After ordering food Parker began talking.

“Are we less stressed now?”

“Very much so,” I said. I kissed the top of his hand before placing it in my on top of the table.

He smiled at my gesture. “How did I get so lucky?” I knew it was a rhetorical questions but I shrugged my shoulders in response anyway. He kissed my hand this time before mumbling something about how stupid he was for not realizing how perfect I was before senior year.

“Hey you got me now, that’s all that matters,” I assured him.

“Always and forever.”

Always and forver. Just thinking about Parker and I growing old together made my stomach flip with excitement. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind that said we couldn’t end up like that couple at the bowling alley. This was only the start of our lives together, I couldn’t wait to see what else was too come.