Let Love In

As the group walked through the doorway of the bowling alley, several of the guys instantly reacted to the hip-hop music pumping loudly through the speakers, and Noah knew they would have a good time. John and Kennedy took the lead in dancing shenanigans throughout the night as the black lights and disco ball spinning above their heads illuminated the waxed lanes and plastic benches of their assigned section.

Garrett had remembered to bring along his camera, and passed it off to whoever wanted to take pictures or videos. Pat took the lead in filming clips of the group bowling or dancing for an update video as long as they were there. They had been split up in the usual bowling fashion between two lanes, but that didn’t matter. They were there together, all having a good time, and no one minded whose team they were on.

After a few frames, their food and drinks arrived. Everyone swarmed the counter, temporarily abandoning the game and quickly devouring the nachos, chicken strips, and beer pitchers Noah and Riley had taken the liberty of ordering for everyone.

Noah felt a hand on the small of her back and turned around to find Garrett laying his head on her shoulder. “This was a good idea.” He kissed her shoulder as he reached around her to grab a fry. Noah bit her lip and smiled a small smile in response. As everyone went back to the game, Garrett pulled her away from the counter and onto his lap as he sat on one of the plastic benches, wrapping his arms around her waste and intertwining his fingers with hers. Noah was caught off guard at all of this occurring in one swift motion, and smiles as he held her tight.

Her smile was short lived when Colin lingered past her to take his turn bowling for the other team. They’d hardly said two words to each other since the Las Vegas trip, and Noah could sense there was something in the way. The more time she spent with Garrett, the happier she felt; however, the happiness felt shallow every time Colin came creeping back into her thoughts or crossed her path. It was as though she was both happy and sad, and this was a hard feeling to justify. She was completely happy with Garrett, but she felt it to be increasingly fake when she would catch a glimpse of Colin with her sister.

“You’re up.” Garrett tapped her on the leg, pulling Noah’s attention back to the game, noticing her nickname highlighted on the tv screen above them. Noah took a breath as she stood up, attempting to collect her thoughts as she reached for a bowling ball, any ball her fingers would fit in, trying to focus on the pins at the end of the lane rather than the two boys clouding her mind. Noah threw the ball with little aim, and after successfully landing the ball in the gutter both tries, she turned around in slight embarrassment to the sound of Garrett’s “aww Babe it’s okay”s and the other boys “better luck next time”s.

Noah needed a moment to clear her head away from the game, and with six people bowling on this lane, she knew she’d have a few minutes. She rushed past Garrett mumbling she was off to find the restroom when she made a b-line for the front door when she was far enough out of sight. A rush of cool air crashed over her body as she adjusted to the late night air. She took a few deep breaths with her eyes shut tight, holding her head tightly together with her hands. Anxiety seeped through her bones as she tried to calm herself down.

The calming waft of cigarette smoke made its way into her senses as she stood motionless in the parking lot accompanied by a quiet clearing of a throat and a scrape of a shoe against the asphalt from somewhere behind her. Noah opened her eyes and slowly turned around to see Colin standing in the shadows.

“Hey stranger,” He laughed quietly to himself as he stared at her through the dark. “Long time no see.”

“Colin.” Noah stood there awkwardly, unable to put thoughts together as he took a few steps closer to her, reaching her in three quick strides. Her lungs tightened and her heart started beating faster as he reached up to brush the hair from her face blown around by the breeze. His eyes silently darted across her face for a moment before he leaned closer, their noses almost brushing with hardly an inch between their faces.

Colin let out a sigh before turning on his heel and walking straight back inside without another word. Noah let out a deep breath she didn’t realize she had been holding in after she started feeling light headed several seconds later. She stood there motionless and confused at what just happened, closing her eyes in an attempt to replay the memory fresh in her mind.

“There you are! Everyone’s been looking for you, it’s your turn. Well, honestly, it was your turn three frames ago as well, but the guys decided they would bowl for you. Actually, it’s worked out in your favor seeing as both John and Jared got you strikes, but since this is the ninth frame, Garrett sent me to look for you.”

“Oh, um, thank you. Right, I’ll be inside in a moment.” Noah shook her head to gather her thoughts before looking toward the door leading back inside the bowling alley. Riley stood there with her hands on her hips, staring at her best friend slightly confused.

“Ohhhkayyy, whhhhaaat happened. I can tell something’s up. You’re out here by yourself, having one of your anxiety breakdowns by the looks of it, while everyone else is inside having fun.”

Noah laughed at her best friend’s analysis before taking a step toward her with a forced smile plastered across her mouth. “Just, um, nothing. I just wanted some air.”

Riley stood there with her hands firmly planted on her hips, standing her ground. “Don’t give me that bullshit, Noah. Did something happen with Garrett? You never just “want some air.”
“It’s nothing.” Noah stared at the ground as she pushed herself toward the doorway, ignoring Riley’s defeated sigh behind her.

The two girls made their way back toward the far corner where their assigned lanes were, and more than half of the boys were nowhere to be found. They looked around to see the boys had wandered off to the game room, and after a few moderately sober 90’s karaoke songs and a new Pac Man high score by Jared and Kennedy collectively, the closing announcement over the PA system told them it was time to call it a night. Noah looked over to see Sarah and Colin wrapped up in each other in the corner, jealousy crashing through her lungs. She stood there motionless for a moment before turning on her heel and jetted out the doorway back toward the lane. Garrett was at the counter drinking up the last of his beer and chomping on a few fries with Pat. He looked up at her and smiled, noting something was off.

“Hey baby, you have fun tonight?” He walked around the chairs, quickly closing the gap between them and pulling her close to him. He pecked her cheek when she smiled a tight smile, his hand on her lower back. Riley appeared with John in tow, giving Noah a look before grabbing her coat.

“Everyone ready?” Riley asked as the rest of the group had appeared and started collecting their things. Garrett grabbed Noah’s shoes from the seat beside them and jogged off with John to return them. Instead of following behind, Noah’s gaze fell upon Colin’s hand wrapped around her sister’s waist as they walked past her and up the stairs. She felt an elbow in the arm and turned to see Riley standing there with a sad smile.

“C’mon girlie. Let’s find you a seat in the van before they’re all taken.”