Last Friday Night (ManxMan)

Chapter 23

January in Toronto was colder and crisper than anything December could dish out. Fluffy snowfall was replaced by dark brown sludge. Most of the time, there was no snow to make up for the bitter cold. That's why when Hunter called up his friends to hang out Tuesday afternoon, they didn't play football. They went bowling.

Hunter's last memory of bowling was his last year of college when getting strike garnered immense respect from his peers. The familiar pressure of the ball against his palm made him smile every time he threw a strike. Or tried to throw a strike.

"Gutterball!" Kian cheered, giddy as Hunter's shot fell into those dreaded gutters for the third time. "What happened to 'The Strike Hunter?'"

"He grew up and began leading a multimillion dollar corporation."

"Sure, brag to avoid embarrassment. That's fine." Kian smirked, leaning back into his seat with crossed arms and a smile. Connor was laughing into his hands but those telltale snorts were unmistakable.

Those two were laughing really hard considering Hunter was paying for this entire thing. The lanes, the shoe rentals. The fries they ate with their fingers after throwing unsanitized bowling balls. And with Connor joining in, soon all of Hunter's friends were laughing at his fourth place score.

It was Audrey's turn next and she strolled up confidently, delivering the strike Hunter was trying to make. She was just cementing her win. Hunter scowled. Sensing his bubbling jealousy, Luke walked over to his friend, giving him two firm pats on the back.

"It's alright, I know you work too hard to keep up with bowling," Luke whispered. But, his husband was always glued to his side and still snickered at his words. Luke's attempt at comfort backfired and now Connor was laughing even harder at him.

"Connor," Luke pressed, glaring at the white man. Connor caught his drift and cleared his throat.

"Luke's right," Aydrey tagged on as she returned to her seat. Turns out the Korean man's whisper hadn't been so quiet after all. "You're usually so swamped with work that you skip most of our Saturday football games."

"What? I went to those all the time."

"Okay, maybe I was exaggerating," she admitted with a sly grin, tucking a stray strand of blond hair behind her ear. "The point still stands that it's insane that you invited us out here. And on a Thursday, nonetheless."

"River isn't working tonight so I don't need to watch Melodie."

Truthfully speaking, Hunter hasn't needed to watch Melodie for a couple weeks. That was when River's new manager finished training.

"Ah, Melodie. That's your friend's kid, right?" Damien chimed in, humming thoughtfully.
"You talk about them a lot."

"What? No I-I mean I see them a lot, yeah. But that's because River's a good friend and a good dad. I just help out when I can."

Watching Melodie twice a week had been an adjustment, but before long Hunter was looking forward to the days where they could play cars or finish a new Pocoyo episode. Now, along with memes and work, he and River shared Melodie updates.

And when River finally had his Sundays and Thursdays free again, Hunter didn't change his schedule. Most Sundays and Thursday afternoons were spent with the Conyers family. Occasionally, he didn't visit them and used the days to just enjoy his own company. Or, he used the off days as a chance to reconnect with his oldest friends.

And as his oldest friends, he knew they would make a huge deal at the truth, so he left it at that.

Those same friends shared weighted glances across the bowling aisle. Hunter knew they weren't impressed and assumed a million and one things about his relationship with River.