Just Good Friends

Chapter 35

SAM's POV

~At the bowling alley~

I just slayed my friends in two rounds of bowling. Of course, nobody could ever beat the Queen of the Lanes... not even the queen himself, Diggy. We ordered a meat lovers pizza and some sodas from the bar and found a high table to sit at. Me, Khalil, and Jake grabbed two cheesy, saucy pieces of pizza each and set them onto our napkins. Becca was staring a hole into the remaining pieces. I think her eye was twitching too.

"You ain't hungry?" I ask, already halfway finished with my first slice.

"There's so much meat..." She replies.

"That's kinda why it's called meat lovers," Jake jokes.

"Do you know how much salt and fat and artery-clogging grease is in one slice of pizza?!"

"Baby, just try it," Khalil persuades her.

"You know this isn't healthy for me at all--" Becca complains.

"Yes, but you have to splurge sometimes. It's the last day before the new year... it can be like a resolution before your resolution."

"Resolution before the resolution?" Jake scrunches his face up and looks at me. I shrug.

"...maybe it won't be too bad," Becca gulps.

Khalil smirks while Becca reluctantly picks up a greasy slice of pizza with her dainty fingers, taking a small bite. Then another bite. Did he just get her to eat some pizza? Wow. I am really shocked.

"Dang, Khalil. You're trying to make my best friend fat. She's gonna be thick by this time next year," I laugh. Becca rolls her eyes at me and continues eating her pizza slice.

The song "Break Free" by Ariana Grande explodes through the speakers throughout the bowling alley. I instantly start to move my shoulders. I'm not a big fan of pop music, but I really like this song! Becca nods her head to the beat and dances in her chair. No shame! The guys, however, are undisturbed by the pop tune and finish their slices of pizza. 

I take in the atmosphere of the bowling alley... there's a family playing a game, their faces full of joy; there's also a group of middle school aged girls singing their hearts out while the group of similar-aged boys stares at them. A colorful disco ball shines its neon lights against the black, dim walls, illuminating the entire space. I grin and exhale. I must have been spacing out because I feel a poke on my arm.

"You okay?" Jake's dimples make an appearance and I feel my cheeks get hot.

"Yeah... just taking it all in."

"If you girls are ready, we still have some places to go to," Khalil speaks up.

"Ooh! Where are we going next?!" Becca's eyes are sparkling.

"You'll see..." Khalil smirks.

***

We follow the boys into the parking deck and find a place to park. We get out of our cars and start walking toward the stairs that lead to the street level.

"How much does it cost to park here?" I ask.

Jake puts his receipt in his pocket. "$44 for three hours."

"$44?! Do we even need to be here that long? I mean, what are you planning on doing?"

"Chill, Sam. Jake got us tickets to see The Lion King on Broadway," Khalil states.

Becca gasped.

"OMG! I love The Lion King!"

"Did you pay for the tickets yourself?" I asked Jake with a stern look on my face.

"Well, actually, a friend of our family was gonna go, but they couldn't make it for tonight so he gave us his tickets."

"That was nice of them," Becca croons.

"Well, do you need us to help pay the parking fee? I mean we can all chip in--"

"Sam, don't worry about it. Actually, with event parking the price is lowered so it's only $5 an hour," Jake says.

"Oh. Well, I have $5..." I dig in my purse for my wallet but Becca hits my arm.

"Girl, let the guys pay. That's their job."

"Yeah, we got this," Khalil smiles.

"Here's your tickets." Jake hands a ticket to Khalil, Becca, then to me. 

As the happy couple walks ahead toward the stairs, Jake and I hang back. Actually, he prevents me from walking at all by standing directly in front of me. Since we're the same height, our eyes meet at the same level. "Why are you so worried about the parking fee?" He smiles with a chuckle.

"I... I don't know. I just know that you have some troubles with your income and I didn't want you to feel like you had to pay for everything. I mean, we all paid for our breakfast this morning."

"But I would've paid for yours if you hadn't insisted on paying for yourself."

"I'm an independent woman. I don't need help with every little thing..." I add with a slight neck roll. Jake says nothing and stares at me.

After a brief silence, we both laugh at my foolishness. Sort of embarrassed, I look at the ground and shuffle my feet. Jake laughs to the side and puts his arm around my shoulders as we head for the stairs.

"Just know that I got your back. That's what I'm here for," he says.

"I'll try to remember that," I reply.

He kisses my cheek, leaving a wet mark on my face.

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It's short but I hope you like it! Don't worry, Sam's night of events has just begun! How will she bring in the New Year? Keep reading and post your comments! Have an awesome weekend everyone! :)