I Lost Her

"Size eight, please," Riley told the girl behind the counter.

She handed them to Riley and then we found a lane that wasn't being occupied. We slipped off our shoes and traded them for these god awful bowling shoes. I swear they purposely picked the wackiest colors to mix together and shaped them so you looked like you had clown feet.

"Bowling shoes are so ugly. There should be a law against these things," I told her.

Riley scrunched up her nose before gazing down at her shoes and examining them. "I do have to admit, they're not my favorite," she replied with a giggle.

"Do you ever have a bad thing to say about anything, or anyone?"

She shrugged. "I guess not. I just try to see things in a positive light, I suppose."

"You're something else," I muttered under my breath.

I guess she must've heard me, because she stopped tying her shoe and looked over to me with a slight smile on her lips. "I hope you meant that in a good way."

"Definitely."

We finished with our shoes and entered our names into the machine before going over and finding ourselves a few bowling balls. I slid my fingers into the circles until they fit just right then grabbed it. I waited patiently while Riley was at the other end, searching through all of the lighter bowling balls. I didn't expect her to pick up a ridiculously heavy one, but I didn't think she would go for the extremely light ones they made for little kids either. She finally turned away from the rack, her fingers smushed into the tiny holes of the glittery ball. Maybe she was just weaker than most girls her age. I mean, that happens, right?

"Do you want to go first?" she asked me as we set down our bowling balls.

"I believe the saying is 'ladies first,'" I replied, earning a giggle and nod from her.

Riley moved forward and picked up the ball before letting it go down the lane. It bounced back and forth off of the bumpers, nearly slowing to a stop before the first pin. She managed to knock down five, though.

She made a face. "I'm not very good at this."

"Maybe you'll get a spare," I offered.

She smiled before taking another turn. Only this time just two pins fell to the ground. Her shoulders slumped as she stomped back towards me, a hint of a smile dancing on her lips.

As I made my way up to the lane, I wondered if I should be an ass and go all out and crush her, or be a nice guy and let her win. Maybe I'd give it a hundred precent now and then slowly start sucking so she could make a comeback. That would make her happy, wouldn't it?

I shook my head back and forth before letting the ball propel down the glossy floor. Anxiously waiting for the outcome, I kept my eyes on the ball the whole time before throwing my hands up in the air.

"Strike!"

I turned around to share my excitement with Riley, but she wasn't even looking in my direction. She was talking it up with some guy in the next lane over.

My joyful mood fading away and jaw clenching, I walked over to Riley's side.

"Oh. Hey, Landon," Riley said after noticing my presence. "This is Cody. We used to go to school together."

"Is that so?" I said more to myself as I eyed the guy up.

He looked like complete douche. His hair was spiked and his ears were pierced. The light blue polo was definitely a size too small. It looked as if it would rip to shreds if he moved even an inch. His cologne was so fucking strong I'm almost positive it was filling my lungs and slowly killing me.

I could tell he was tearing me apart in his mind, too. He gave one of those nods before turning back to Riley.

"Who is he? Your cousin or something?"

"No," I cut in before she could answer. "What's it matter to you anyway? It's none of your business."

"He's just a friend. I've been showing him around town for the past few days," Riley explained.

"Oh, so I guess that means you'll be leaving soon, doesn't it?"

"No shit."

A few of his buddies--who were probably gay for him--were all calling his name. He told her he'd talk to her after their game was over, but only if I didn't punch his teeth out before then.

I hadn't noticed my fists were in balls and my knuckles were white until I felt Riley's hand cover mine. I tensed up a little.

"I don't like him," I stated bluntly.

"He's just a boy I went to school with. Calm down," she gently said to me before reaching for her orange bowling ball.

I thought I would be able to let it all go and have some fun with Riley, but I couldn't. He looked over to her every other minute, and I sent him death glares in return. Every time I heard him laugh and joke with his friends I would cringe. I desperately wanted to rip that fucker's voice box out so he could never talk to Riley again.

I knew the type of guy he was. There was a shit ton of them back home. Hell, I was even like him. I'm sure we had both screwed a good number of girls, couldn't care less about school, and thought we were so much better than everyone else. But I was slowly starting to wish that I wasn't as reckless and stuck up; I didn't want people to look at me the way I was looking at him.

An hour and a few complex plans about how I was going to brutally murder this fag later, the game was finally over. Riley won, partially because I let her and partially because I wasn't exactly focussing on the game anymore.

"Hey, Riley!" he called over to her before leaving the group of guys and making his way over to where we were. "I almost forgot. Our families are having dinner together tonight. We should just walk back together since we're going to the same place."

Oh, how I wanted beat the shit out of him with one of the pins and drop a bowling ball on his face for good measure.

"So much for just a kid you went to school with," I muttered. That's what she had told me, not that their family's were close and saw each other often outside of high school.

"Crap. You're right. I didn't even realize that was tonight," Riley said, smacking her palm against her forehead before turning to me. "Do you want to have dinner with the Miller's and my family?"

"I don't think that would be a good idea-"

"No," I interrupted, silencing him.

"Are you sure?" she asked me.

"Yeah, I have to head back soon anyway," I lied.

"Okay," she said with an apologetic frown. "Meet me at the dance studio at eleven tomorrow?"

I just nodded in response, fearful that I would lash out on her instead of him.

The two of them turned away and I watched, fuming with anger as Cody draped his arm across Riley's shoulders. He looked back and gave me a smug smile. I stuck my middle finger up before seeing them walk through the front doors.

I was jealous. He had her all to himself, and I didn't.