Hold Me Now

Chapter Thirteen

It was Freddie and David's last day in New York. Freddie wanted to do something fun and exciting. 

"How about we go bowling?"

"Bowling?"

"Yes, it'll be loads of fun. Then afterward we can go eat and relax before we leave tomorrow."

David agreed and the couple headed to the bowling alley. The walk was fairly long. As they walked through crowded streets and roads, David gazed at all the families in wonderment. When they reached the bowling alley, Freddie opened the door for David and they walked to the front counter.

"Welcome to Strikeout, what can I get for you?"

"Hi," Freddie said to the young man, "we'd like to have a lane and some shoes."

"All right, lane seven is open over to your left and what size shoes will you two need?"

"Eleven," David said.

"Twelve and a half," Freddie said.

"I'm sorry, we don't have half sizes, would a thirteen be fine?"

"Sure."

The man handed the couple their shoes and pointed to their lane.

"Just so you know, Freddie, I've never been bowling."

"Well, well, well, look how the tables have turned!"

The men put on their bowling shoes and typed their information into the scorer.

"Prepare to get beat, darling."

"Least you can do is teach me how to play first!"

Freddie sighed, "Fine. First, you take a bowling ball like this and make sure it's not too light or heavy." He picked up a few balls before finding the perfect one. "Perfect! Now, see those pins? The object is to knock as many down as possible in your turn. There are ten, and if you knock them all down, you get a strike which is good. At the end of the game, whoever has the most points wins. I'll go first to show you."

Freddie walked up to the end of the lane and examined it. He squinted his eyes, walked closer to the lane slowly, brought the ball back, bent down and released the ball. He tucked right foot behind his left foot. "And that is how it's done. Nine out of ten pins."

"Is it my turn now?"

"No, I get a second turn. You always get two turns at once unless you score a strike or it's the last round."

Freddie rolled again and knocked down the final pin using the same technique he used prior.

"Your turn, darling."

David got up from his seat and walked over to the rack of bowling balls. He chose a purple one that was far too heavy. Then he chose an orange one that was far too light. Finally, he chose a green ball that was the perfect weight.

He walked to the end of the lane and examined it carefully like Freddie. He turned back to Freddie. Freddie laughed, "Go on, now. Just roll the ball."

David turned back to the lane. He centered himself and squatted down. He brought the ball back between his legs then pushed the ball forward with all his might. Freddie laughed again. The ball rolled quickly down the lane and slowed down a bit when it reached the pins. To David's surprise, he got a strike.

"You were just lucky."

David wore a cheeky grin and sat in his seat. "Since you got a strike, you only get one roll."

Freddie copied his previous technique and knocked down seven pins. On his second go, he knocked down only one pin. On David's turn, he repeated his own technique and got another strike. Freddie was appalled at how David was beating him. This was his first time playing after all.

For the final round, Freddie decided to copy David's technique. He grabbed his ball, squatted down, and rolled the ball. Unfortunately, he didn't use enough force and the ball stopped in the middle of the lane. David broke into a loud laugh. Embarrassed, Freddie called for a worker to get his ball from the middle of the lane.

Freddie went back to his old technique and got a spare. David got a strike on his turn.

"I got 98, you got 110. But I'm still a better bowler!" Freddie said.

"You may be a better bowler, but I'm the best!"

"Oh, shut it."

"I love you, Freddie."

"I love you."

The men walked out the bowling alley in search of a place to eat. "Since I won, I should choose where we eat."

David guided the couple down busy streets and stopped at a restaurant called Annie's Corner.

"Hi, my name is Wendy, I'll be taking care of you two today. Can I start you guys off with some drinks and appetizers?"

"I'll have a small coke and small water."

"I'll have a lemonade without the lemon, please," David said.

Wendy wrote down the drink orders, "And did you guys need more time for an appetizer?"

"Actually, I'm ready to order," Freddie started, "could I have the double cheeseburger with a side of macaroni and cheese?"

"And I'll have the new york strip with the loaded baked potato. And could you put sour cream on the side?"

"All right, your food will be out shortly." Wendy took the menus and left to the kitchen.

"So you're having a cheeseburger with mac and cheese? Don't you think that's too much cheese in one meal?"

"Don't judge," Freddie said with a giggle.

~~~

By the time Freddie and David were headed back to the hotel for the last time, the temperature cooled off. The streetlights were on and the sidewalks were less crowded.

"I'm so tired."

"Me too. Good thing we already packed this morning."

"Freddie?"

"Yes, dear?"

"What if we had a family?"

Freddie stopped in his tracks. Sharing a family with David had never crossed his mind. Sure it would be nice to have a son or daughter, but it would take extra time and effort.

"That would be nice, I suppose. I mean I never thought of it."

"Well, after seeing all those families in the streets and sidewalks, I thought why not have our own little family."

"I'm not sure about that, David. Aren't we already fairly busy with our careers? Kids take time and effort and I'm not sure I'm cut out to be a father."

David sighed, "Well, I really want kids, Freddie. We can just adopt a child and take breaks from our jobs. We'll get support from our families and our kids will have the best dads in the world."

Freddie sat down on the bed and ran his fingers through his hair. 

"Just thinking about having children stresses me out. How would we even adopt? Do agencies even accept requests from same-sex couples?"

David joined Freddie in bed, "We'll find a way, dear. But only if you want to do this."

"I would stick to cats, but now that I think about it, a family would be nice."

The couple embraced in a tight hug.

"Freddie, there's something I need to tell you."

A/N: What's David going to tell Freddie? Stay tuned :)