New To The Feeling

The rest of the week went smoothly. Beth and I got together a couple times just to talk. Jake took me out to dinner one night and then a movie on Friday. School just happened and Wylie and I got our notes in on time without any fuss. Wylie's notes were almost exactly the story he had told me, but he left out the beating part. It still bothered me even though his face had almost entirely healed. I couldn't stand the thought of being afraid of your parents, or in his case... stepfather.

On Sunday, Jake left for a week to visit some family on the east coast. He had known he was going to go do this at some point during the school year, but he wasn't sure when. He found out only a few days before they left. We tried to spend time together before he left, but it was rather odd. We didn't talk much and I couldn't help but think of all the things I would do without him around. Not that I don't like doing things with him, but for once, I wouldn't have to worry about including him. I was soon to find out just what I would do without him around.

***

It was Sunday afternoon and I had just received a phone call. Wylie wanted me to meet him at the local bowling alley. Wylie never struck me as the kind of guy that would want to bowl, but he was just full of surprises. I played along. I got myself dressed up, for what reason; I'm still not sure. I had on a pair of low-rise jeans and a deep red v-neck t-shirt that I thought complimented my hair. I put on a minimal amount of make-up because I didn't have the time. I rushed out the door with only ten minutes to get there... I knew I'd be late.

When I arrived, I could see Wylie's slender figure leaning up against a pillar. I walked towards the entrance and without a word we stepped inside. The sound of clattering pins against the slick wood lanes surrounded us. There was laughter and some crying from the various groups of children. Parents were yelling and clapping to encourage some much needed competitive spirit. Jake would never come here I thought. Not that he thought himself higher than anyone else. No one in his family thought that way, but he was prone to being a bit standoffish in crowded, dark places.

We made our way to the front desk and asked for a lane for an hour and received our clown shoes. Wylie put his on and began mimicking Michael Jackson. I'm not sure what it was about bowling shoes that made him want to dance like that, but he did it anyway. We began playing our first round, still without saying much to each other. He was beating me by a good amount by our third turn.

"So, what is bothering you?" Wylie said suddenly.

"Hmm?" I hadn't caught the entire sentence.

"What's bugging you?" Wylie repeated himself

"What make you think something is bugging me?" I took my turn and returned to a chair next to Wylie.
"I can see it on your face," he looked deep into my eyes as if reading a book, "I can tell. Something..." Wylie thought for a moment.

"Something what?" I said impatiently.

"Something like... you are sick of the routine." Wylie stood and took his place at the lane and I followed him entirely engulfed in the thought he had just verbalized.

"What routine is that?" I stood behind him and he turned to face me holding the bowling ball on his fingers.

"I don't know what routine. It's you life." He faced the pins and threw the ball down the lane, smashing them directly in the middle causing in a strike.

"Nice," I said looking at the end of the lane and then turned my attention back to him, "You think I have a routine?"

Wylie, looked up at me from the seat he had taken, "Yes."

I leaned in towards him, gesturing for an explanation.

"You do everything the same. You have your friend and the boy toy and I'm sure your family is organized. Your life is simply predictable." He looked up at me with those big green eyes.

"Well, it was until you came along." I placed my hands on my hips and forced myself to lean on one foot so that my hip stuck out revealing a bit of skin over my jeans. I caught Wylie take a glance at my stomach, but maintained composure with ease.

"You're not the seductive type, so don't try so hard." Gasp! Did he really just say that to me?

"Are you saying I'm not pretty?" I threw attitude all over the place.

"I didn't say that," he said simply, never faltering, "you simply don't have the... what's the word... aggressive side. Someone seductive is aggressive and assertive. You're just not like that."

"I can be aggressive." Wylie raised an eyebrow at me, "What? I can!"

"Yeah, just as much as I can be pretty." He paused waiting for me to respond, but after seeing that I didn't, he continued, "You're just not that kind of girl. There's nothing wrong with it, you're just the cute girl instead."

"You don't think I can be edgy?" I was a little worried about what would happen at this point.

"You can if you think you can." I could see the wheels in his head turning.

"I think I can." I said confidently.

"Ok, you just might need a little bit of help." My mouth flew open. How dare he? I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself. He read my mind instantly, "I'm sure you could do it yourself, but trust me, you need a little help."

I tossed the idea through my head a few times. I wasn't sure what he was going to do to me if I agreed. I'm sure somewhere I'd end up with a tattoo... I could always refuse to some of it though. I mean, who's it gonna hurt?

"Fine, when do we start?"

Wylie stood to face me and twirled a lock of my hair through his fingers. He then tilted his head and smirked.

"Right now."