𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 (Walker Scobell)

bad idea right?

I snuck out of my trailer, avoiding any windows that peered into the hall. I was still wearing the dress, but now I had changed into some flats. I texted Bella that I would be stealing her car, and she texted back with a "🤨👍" combo. I plugged in the address Brady texted me into my GPS, and I drove out slowly. It was a fifteen-minute drive out, so I hummed some music to fill the silence. After 5 minutes, I got a text from Brady saying he had arrived and was waiting for me. I made sure to lock my screen and focus on the road, making it to the parking lot safely ten minutes later. I realized then that I was a little bit overdressed.

And way too full of makeup for this place.

"Oh my god, it's actually you!" I heard someone say, and Brady came out, smiling. "You look like you've had a nice night. Sorry, I should've warned you before you came all dressed up. Welcome to the best arcade in all of Vancouver." He extended his hand, and I took it, smiling. "It's just us. Hope you're okay with that. If you want, I can call a friend or my mom."

I nodded slowly, my grin growing. It was insane how he wanted to make me happy. "Nah, you're good." He takes me inside, and I'm not disappointed. The arcade is split into two, one is the actual games, and one side is a bowling alley. I smirk, motioning to the bowling alley side. "Please? Can we bowl first?"

"Yeah, of course," he said. He went up to buy the lane and the shoes, paid, then walked back over. "You know, it'll be pretty hard to beat me in a dress," he said. "If you want, you can go get better clothes?" I shook my head.

"And make you wait 30 minutes? It's okay. The dress is the least of my worries," I admit, walking over with Brady to the lane. I switched my flats into shoes, grateful I had worn my no-shows with the flats. We grabbed our bowling balls, Brady grabbing a 10-pounder, and I grabbed an 11. We plugged in our names, Brady letting me go first. I lined up with the arrows, remembering a little something from winter sports back home. The ball rolled down and knocked 4 pins down.

"So, what caused the random text? Was the dinner that boring?" Brady asked gently as I waited for my ball to come back from the return. I chuckle at his comment, grabbing my ball.

"You could call it that," I say, before focusing on the pins, knocking down 5 of the 6 remaining pins. I shrug and make my way to the little couch, waiting for Brady's turn to be over. "What about you? How come you replied so fast?" I asked, returning an equally as nosy question.

"Uh," he started after taking his turn and bowling 8. "I was scrolling when I saw your name pop up."

"I think you're leaving something out," I said, before feeling my stomach growl. The dinner they had given me was small, and apparently, my stomach wanted to complain about it. Brady bowled the remaining two pins.

"Hungry?" Brady asked. "I can get you something," he offered, pulling out his wallet. I shook my head, pulling out my pocketbook. "No, seriously, I'll pay."

"Brady, you've paid enough," I said, but he shushed me.

"Go bowl your turn. I'll get you something." I smiled an upside-down smile, getting up and bowling. I tried remembering everything my coach had told me. Line up with the arrows, approach, blah blah blah. I prepared, did my best, and let the ball roll.

"YES!" I yelled, the ball successfully knocking every pin. I felt eyes on me and I covered my mouth, apologizing to the surrounding people. Brady chuckled.

"Nice," he said, high-fiving me. "Food'll be out soon. How about you and I get more serious about this game?"

~~~

After I absolutely demolished Brady with my 97 points to his 126, we made our way over to the arcade. "Alright, we pick 5 games each. 10 games total, the person with the most tickets wins."