Better Than Nothing: Part 3 of On the Edge Series

Chapter 20

I may have skipped at one point as we made our way to the car. I know that a shared giggle passed between my lips and Billy's. He chivalrously walked me to my side of the vehicle, but paused beside the open door and pulled me close to him.

He gave my face a familiar scan. "How are you now?"

"Why do you keep asking me that?" My hands fell to his chest as I peered up at his face.

"Because maybe if I had asked more in the past, you wouldn't have left me." It was a sincere and crushing sentiment that pooled in the back of my eyes.

I let my head fall to his chest while I collected myself. Billy's arms protectively circled me, and I felt his chin rest on the top of my head.

"Billy, I know that, in reality, I left you. That's what you felt, and everyone felt. But I didn't leave you or us. I just wasn't ready. It was a whole life you offered, and I was still building myself. I know that's not an excuse, and you deserved better. Viv and Jackson deserved better. Tim, Mary, and Tess deserved better."

"You deserved better too, Lil." His voice flowed with the familiar vibrations from his chest. "But we haven't watched a movie," he said in a lighter tone. "So, we shouldn't be having this discussion yet."

It was the yet that lingered as he shut the car door behind me. His hand slipped to my knee for another reassuring squeeze as he settled into his seat. This time, I didn't focus on the world outside the car; I let the center console jut into my side so I could lean against Billy's shoulder as he drove.

"Bowling, I should have known you'd take me bowling," I laughed as the neon lights of the bowling alley illuminated our faces.

"What can I say? I love to bowl," Billy announced.

"Oh, I know you love to bowl," I teased.

"Hey, your favorite game is Canasta. So, don't be knocking bowling over there."

"I'm so bad at bowling. You know this," I whined.

"I do. And I'm an excellent bowler. So, this will be a lot of fun for me," he quipped before sliding out of the car.

In a flash, Billy was at my car door; I had barely swung my legs out. I took his outstretched hand and felt the familiar whirl as he pulled me up to his side. A tender kiss on my forehead greeted me as I crashed into his body.

The clutter of falling pins pounded my ears as we entered. Bowlers crowded the lanes, more than I expected for a Wednesday night. Instinctively, I curled into Billy's side in anticipation of the looks and stares that never came. Just like the restaurant, no one seemed to notice Billy's presence.

"Size seven, right?" He murmured before kissing the top of my head as we waited in line for a lane. It was all so normal.

"Yep," I leaned into his proximity, letting his warmth blanket me and protect me from the barrage of noise from the lanes. "Good thing I wore socks," I absently said.

"It's December. Why the hell wouldn't you be wearing socks?"

"Lots of my shoes are no socks or nylon stocking shoes," I shook my head at his boyness.

"You should keep a pair of socks in my car. You never know when a bowling emergency will come up," he advised.

"A bowling emergency?"

"Yeah, you know, like a gray Tuesday when you spill your coffee and have to deal with Tim... lunchtime bowling will chase those blues away."

"You're a musician; don't you revel in the blues?"

"Not the gray Tuesday need to bowl blues."

"Shoe size?" The kid behind the counter spoke in a bored tone, wholly underwhelmed by the rock star standing before him.