Ohio Is for Lovers

Lena rested her head on her right shoulder and couldn't help but let her mind wander. She thought of how Jake and Andy were sitting right across from her at that very moment. She thought of Derek, and what he must be thinking of this whole thing; wondering who those guys were hanging out with a girl that he seemed to like much too much. She glanced up, and spotted him staring at her from across the way. She smiled slightly and he looked down at his shoes, embarrassed that he had been caught staring. When he looked up and saw she was still gazing at him, he let a small smile spread across his lips at the sight of her sitting there, legs crossed over one another, and her blonde hair falling gracefully over her left shoulder.

She broke her gaze on him when the lights turned out and the strobes and party lights starting flashing. Loud music started blaring over the speakers and mystic bowling had officially began.

"Now this is a fucking party!" CC stood up, hands in the air, exclaiming.

Eve giggled and hit his thigh playfully. Lena couldn't help but observe the way they interacted with one another. Was that what a relationship was supposed to be like? Two people who like each other with no cares in the world of what others think of them? She sighed quietly, looking down at her knees and letting her hair fall in front of her face.

"FUCK. NOT AGAIN!" Jinxx shouted and Lena's head shot up to see what had happened. Jinxx had bowled his sixth gutter ball in a row.

Everyone laughed, and Carson shot Lena a glance. Lena looked back to where Carson was glancing towards and she smiled, knowing exactly what her friend was hinting at. She rose from her seat and made her way over to the desk where Derek was busily scribbling on a piece of receipt paper to keep himself from falling under the spell of boredom.

"Hey," She said, catching his attention. He looked up into her blue eyes and a grin spread across his face. His smile caused her to smile slightly. The way he looked at her was unlike Jake or Andy had ever looked at her before. "Would you mind putting the bumpers up for us? My friend is having a bit of a hard time." She giggled slightly at the brief memory of Jinxx's swearing.

He nodded, a crooked smile playing on his lips. "Sure," he said. "Anything for my beautiful ballerina."

She blushed, turning fast so he wouldn't see her cheeks growing red, despite the darkness of the room with almost all the lights out. He followed her to lanes three and four where it was now her turn and she grabbed a ball and waited at the end of the lane as Derek put the bumpers up on either side.

She gave him a grateful smile, and he walked by behind her, resting his hand on the small of her back for a brief second before returning to his spot behind the register at the desk. She thought the small gesture had gone unnoticed but Jake glared at Derek as he walked away.

"Did you just see that?" Jake leaned over to Andy.

"What?" Andy looked up from his phone. He was deeply entangled in his game of Candy Crush Saga that he hadn't noticed Derek's small, but envious movement.

"That employee guy up there just made a move on Lena. I think she knows him." Jake said, worried.

Andy leaned back in his seat. "What, you think she's over both of us already?"

Jake wrung his hands together, looking at Lena laughing next to Jinxx and occasionally stealing glances back at Derek. "That's what I'm most afraid of."