Bowling Dreams & Cheap Wine

Chapter 20

Sooooo.

Nothing worked out like it should have.

The past two weeks have been long and boring, all with chilly weather that doesn't give any motivation to go outside. I'm forced to do things I have put off for the last year like admit that my sock drawer has only three pairs that match. How did it get like this? Where do all the socks go? Because something happens enroute from the dirty laundry bin to the washer, then to the dryer, and back to my drawer. Half of them don't make it.

I need a matching pair because I'm about to take advantage of the one nice weather day on this Sunday morning and do my grocery workout. Mismatched socks would only make me look crazy.

I give my drawer a harsh close.

Nate has managed to avoid me. Raj has gone completely silent. I have texted them both with apologies and probably broke a hundred dating rules by doing that. I just don't know what else to do. The only thing I can say for sure is one of these men continues to skate around my heart and I don't know what to do about it. He's all I think about when I wake up and I see that I had been wrong in how I had approached things with him.

I sigh. I sigh again. It's been a long several days. Multiple bowling practices, and, a miracle showering the Mams with a spot in the semi-finals. That's right. The ladies at Lane 10 came out swinging with our mad bowling skills. That, and the Pinheads had so much going on personally that they forfeited.

"We're in the semi-finals," I try to say with excitement myself in the mirror, but that feels flat and kind of an afterthought. Funny how at the moment that victory should matter the most it's the one I want to hurry up and be over. It all started with bowling and now I still have to show up and finish it. 

"Dianna," I gasp happily answering my phone. 

"It's been too long." She sounds upbeat. "I got tired of texting and someone posted a video of you doing a grocery workout. Did you...know you're becoming a meme? I thought it was time to call. That, and I can't avoid anyone anymore." 

"I'm swearing off social media for a month."

"Let's not get drastic. Are you free to hang out today? Matt is forcing me out of the house. He says I'm turning into a troll."

"I have nothing going on today." There's no bowling tonight because the semi-finals are next Sunday. It's an off-week so Paul can get the alley ready, though I think he just needs to make sure he has enough ingredients for cheeseburgers. 

"Good. Whew. Should we meet at Baker Park? Twenty minutes? And don't tell me that my face isn't that bad with the missing teeth, okay?"

"Agreed."

Getting to see Dianna has my heart pumping fresh energy. There's nothing like a friend you didn't know you needed reaching out.

I put myself together quickly and grab a light sweatshirt. Three steps dashing down my front steps and Nate and Noreen come out of their house.

I'm in his line of vision. There's no getting around him. A glance in their direction and he makes brief eye contact with me. We haven't seen each other since he told me to get lost. "Hi," I say, afraid that he'll be rude, despite my heart flourishing at the sight of him. 

"Hello," his voice is dismissive. He looks at me a second longer than I thought he would and refocuses on Noreen.

"Big plans?" I say, desperate to talk to him.

"We're headed to the festival at the waterway."

"That's right. It's this weekend. You'll have fun. I haven't been in a while but—"