Troublemaker

Chapter Five

It seemed that both parties were left arguing with their loved ones about what would and would not be taking place. By the time they finally saw one another smiles broke out on their faces. “Sweet relief,” Sheena whispered as they pulled on the rented bowling shoes.

“You should have been there to fight Gran off me. I thought she was going to wrestle me into some damn polo she picked out for me.” The mental image made Sheena laugh rather loudly. It was a pleasant sound, but the sound of it brought her to stop and press her hand to her lips. “What’s wrong?”

Sheena’s brows furrowed before glancing back at him, “It’s just been a long time since I heard that sound.”

“Your laugh?” Sheena simply nodded in reply earning a worried look from Duncan. “Well, let me get a pitcher of beer and we can toast to more laughter.” His attempt to make light of the situation eased her sudden nerves.

“Thank you.”

Duncan gave a little chuckle, “I don’t know what you have to thank me for.”

The scent of hot dogs, pretzels, and nachos caused angry growling sounds from both parties. “Food is on me, you buy the beer,” she ordered with a smile. The two needed a tray before they made their way to their lane, “This smells so good, but my stomach is going to hate me later.”

“Yeah, but you can’t go bowling without getting food that’s bound to clog those arteries.” Duncan marveled at the simple smile that Sheena gave him. He wondered if anyone had informed her that the subtle act could spread warmth through anyone that witnessed. “So Trouble, how did work go?”

“You know, the more I talk to people over the phone the more I realize I hate them,” Sheena grumbled before biting into her hot dog. “I really should never be allowed to interact with the general public.”

Duncan couldn’t help his laughter, managing to shoot beer up his nose. He ended up crying out from the burning sensation. Sheena couldn’t help the look of concern that crept across her face as she passed him a napkin. “How does that work? Not being able to spend time with the general public, but being forced to talk with them anyway.”

“Well, I spend a lot of time whispering to myself that I need the paycheck,” Sheena replied with an offhanded shrug.

After a few bites of food Duncan set up the screen. He gave her a cheeky smile when she looked up at the screen. Queued up were the names Troublemaker and Duncan the Destroyer. The sight of her brow furrowing was becoming quite familiar to the dark haired man.

Upon realizing the face she was making, Sheena flushed and shook her head. Pulling her hair back was proving to be a bad idea as she was unable to hide behind a curtain of blonde hair. “I can edit the names if you want,” he told her in an attempt to backpedal. He thought she would find the names charming or at least amusing, but instead he found himself at a loss once more.

Sheena shook her head, “N-no. It’s okay. I mean it just brings up some memories, but it’s not anything for you to be sorry about.” It seemed that everytime Duncan did something that made Sheena happy there was a strong backlash of sadness that overcame her. “None of this is fair to you.”

“Hey, hey, hey, what’s going on in that head of yours. What part of any of this isn’t fair to me,” Duncan replied a bit irritated. How was he supposed to help her if he didn’t know what she was thinking about.

With a huff she sat back in her chair and picked at a nacho, “I was engaged once. Five years ago,” Sheena tried to clear her throat so she could continue speaking. “He, um, well...he had his problems and decided that he needed a way out. I never figured out what exactly it was that he needed out of.”