A Chance Meeting | Chris Evans

Chapter 45

A/N: Hi everyone. I've had to split this into two chapters otherwise it would have been way too long. I hope that you enjoy it.
Thanks so much for all the views and votes - 11k views and nearly 400 votes! That makes me so happy 😁
Thank you, thank you
C xx

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'They're already on the lane, so Scott is going to come and find us and take us through.' Becca said.
'Not Chris?'
'I think he's keeping a low profile as it's so busy.'
'Makes sense, I guess. So what's Scott look like?' Viv asked, scanning the room.
'No idea. Chris just said that he'd find us.'
'Did he tell you what Scott was wearing? Or a place to meet him?'
'No.'
'How're you supposed to find each other then?'
Becca shrugged. 'I'll google him - there's bound to be a photo of him and Chris somewhere online.'
'Good idea.' Viv said.
'Ah, found one, there he is.' She said, showing Viv a photo of him and Chris smiling.
'Aww, they look cute together.' Viv said.
Becca stared at his face for a second until she was sure that she'd be able to recognise him.
'Okay, I think he'll be coming from over there.' She said, pointing towards the back of the alley where it sounded like the lanes were.
They watched for about a minute, until they saw him appear at the top of the steps. He looked down at the phone in his hand for a moment and then began to scan the room. His eyes widened when he recognised Becca and saw that she was already looking at him. She gave him a small wave, which he returned.
'Let's go.' She said to Viv and they walked towards Scott, meeting him in the middle.
'Hey there.' Scott said. 'Becs, right?'
'Yes. And you must be Scott.'
'The very same. How'd you recognise me though? Chris said you wouldn't know what I looked like.'
'I googled a picture of the two of you.' Becca said, showing him her phone.
He smiled and nodded. 'Smart thinking. I have a picture of you too.'
She looked at the phone and saw that he'd accessed her tinder profile and had one of the photos up.
Next to her, Viv cleared her throat noisily.
'Oh God, I'm sorry Viv. Scott, this is Viv, one of my best friends.'
Scott gave her a wide smile and shook her hand. 'Great to meet you Viv.'
'You too.' Said Viv.
'Shall we?' Scott asked, gesturing towards the lanes.
'Lead the way.' Becca said.
'You know, Chris thought that you might be a bit hesitant to come with me given that you don't know me. He even gave me a phrase to reassure you.'
'Really?'
'Yeah. He told me to tell you that he's checked me out and I'm definitely not a serial killer.'
Becca laughed.
'That mean something to you?' Scott asked, amused.
'Yeah.'
'Whoa.' Becca said, as they walked through into the back. It was a huge place, with at least twenty lanes, but the thing that really drew her attention was the lighting. They'd turned the normal lights off and there was some kind of cosmic-effect UV thing going on - everywhere she looked were neon colours or glow in the dark stars or planets. The pins were glowing in the dark and so were the balls.
'This looks amazing.' She said.
'Cool, isn't it?' Scott said, grinning at her. 'Plus it has the added advantage that it's darker, so Chris doesn't have to worry as much about being spotted.'
Becca nodded.
'I'm glad that you're here.' He continued. 'Chris was starting to stress that you'd gotten lost or something.'
'But we're not late - we said to meet you here at eight o'clock, and it's now only two minutes past eight.'
'Oh you're not late, but you know how he gets.' Scott said, rolling his eyes. Then he looked worried. 'You do know how he gets?'
'Yes.'
'Oh thank God!' He said, looking relieved. 'I thought that I'd just blurted it out for a second there. Chris would have killed me.'
Becca smiled. 'No, he's already told me, so you're off the hook.'
'Good. You know, he doesn't normally tell people, especially not people he's just met. He must trust you.'
Scott looked at her seriously, and she could sense the unspoken end to the sentence - I hope he's not making a mistake.
'Don't worry, I wouldn't ever say anything.'
Scott nodded. 'We're right down the end.' He said. 'Lane 25.'
Despite her comments to Viv, she wasn't feeling anywhere near as cool as she'd made out about seeing Chris again. Her tummy was fluttering with nerves as she tried to make out the end lane, but it was too dark to see.
As they got closer, she could see the outlines of three people, and it didn't take a genius to work out which one was Chris - you could tell just by how wide his shoulders were.
Chris stood up to greet them when they arrived at the lane, and Becca felt her breath catch at the sight of him. He looked impossibly handsome in a dark, fitted henley top and jeans.
Okay, be cool. Breathe. You can do this.
'Hey there.' He said, smiling.
She forced herself to smile back normally. 'Hi.'
'Scotty managed to find you okay then.' He said.
'She actually spotted me first.' Scott said.
'How'd you know...?'
'I googled a picture of the two of you together so that I'd be able to recognise him.' Becca explained.
Chris smiled. 'Didn't I tell you she was smart?' He said to Scott.
Becca looked away, embarrassed by the compliment and glad of the dim light that hid her blush.
'Okay,...well...introductions.' Chris said. 'Becs, this is my brother Scotty-'
'We've already introduced ourselves.' Scott said.
'Right...yes...of course.' He said.
He seems a little anxious.
'Well let me introduce you to these two.' Chris said, gesturing to two men, who stood up.
'These are two of my best friends, Matt and Sam. Guys, this is Becs and her friend Viv.'
Matt smiled at them in a friendly way, but Sam looked less than impressed.
'Hi. It's really nice to meet you both.' Matt said coming forward and shaking both their hands.
'Yeah, hi.' Said Sam in an unwelcoming tone.
Wow. Asshole much?
But then she noticed his top, which had 'I beat the Kobayashi Maru' on it.
That's a Star Trek top. Maybe he's not an asshole, maybe he's just a Star Trek nerd - some of them have rubbish social skills.
But if that was the problem, she could fix it - she could speak Star Trek with the best of them.
'I like your top.' Becca said to him.
He snorted and rolled his eyes a little. 'Yeah, right.' He said scathingly. 'Like you even know what it means.'
'Sam!' Chris said, sharply.
'No, it's okay.' Becca said to Chris.
Be prepared to be blown away, Star Trek nerd.
'Yes, I know what it means. The Kobayashi Maru is the no-win scenario that's used in Starfleet Academy. The cadets have to try and rescue the passengers of the Kobayashi Maru in the neutral zone without being killed by the Klingon birds of prey. Used in The Wrath of Khan movie and the Star Trek reboot. It's programmed to be impossible to win. Unless you're Kirk of course, and you cheat.'
Sam looked at her with his mouth open slightly in surprise. 'You know Star Trek?' He asked.
She smiled at him. 'Yes.'
'Who's your favourite Captain?' Sam asked.
'Do I have to even dignify that with a response?'
'No, of course it's Kirk.' Sam said.
'Kirk? Pfft, Picard is by far the better Captain.' Becca said.
'Favourite series?'
'The Next Generation. Although I did like some of the Deep Space Nine episodes, especially The Trouble-'
'With Tribbles.' Sam finished for her, with a grin.
'Oh God, not another one!' Matt joked. 'It was bad enough just having Sam going on about it.'
'I didn't know that you liked Star Trek.' Chris said.
'Well, my mum had a bit of a crush on Captain Kirk, so I was kind of brought up on the original series.' Becca said.
'What about-' Sam began.
'Someone please change the subject before they start talking about Star Trek again. I can't stand it.' Matt joked.
'How about we start the game, then?' Said Scott. 'We're playing in the order Chris, Me, Becs, Viv, Sam and lastly Matt. Is that okay with everyone?'
'No.' Said Matt. 'Why am I last again?'
'You want to change position? Go after Chris maybe?'
'Fuck no! I look bad enough at this, without going after him.'
Becca looked curiously at him, trying to understand what he meant.
'He's way better than me, and he makes me look like-'
'A loser?' Chris joked, gently punching him on the shoulder on his way past to get a ball.
'Thanks, man.' Said Matt.
Becca smiled at the friendly banter and watched Chris step up.
Oh my God - the way his muscles flex as he bowls! It should be against the law to look that hot!
She had to force herself to look away - it was either that or start drooling.
Chris knocked eight pins down, to the delight of his friends.
'Eight pins? Eight?' Said Scott.
'No strike? Are you losing your touch?' Asked Matt.
Chris grinned good-humouredly at them.
'Still better than you'll do, Scotty.' He said.
'Let's see, shall we?' Said Scott, walking up to bowl.
There was riotous laughter from Sam and Matt after Scott knocked three pins down on his first go and then sent it down the gutter on his second.
Far from being embarrassed though, Scott turned around and bowed theatrically to them.
'Okay, your turn, Becs.' Scott said, as he came back. 'Let's see what you've got.'
'Yeah. You aim the ball down the middle. And try to knock down those big sticky-up pins.' Joked Matt.
'Guys!' Said Chris sharply.
'They're just kidding around.' Chris said to Becca. 'Don't let them pressure you.'
'They're fine, I can take a joke.'
'Just as long as they're not intimidating you.'
'No, of course not.' She said.
'Because it's just a game. It doesn't matter what you score.'
'Are you assuming that I'm going to be bad?' Viv asked.
'Don't answer that, man.' Said Sam. 'It's a dangerous question.'
'No, not at all, it's just...it doesn't matter who scores what or beats who.' Chris replied.
'So, you won't mind if I beat you then?' Becca said.
'Ooh, that's fighting talk.' Laughed Matt.
Chris laughed a little, obviously not believing that she could be better than him. 'I'm better at this than Trivial Pursuit or Scrabble.' He said.
'Yeah, that's not really much to boast about.' Teased Becca, as she walked up to get her ball. 'Because you absolutely sucked at those.'
She lined herself up carefully before taking her shot, because she really wanted to beat him. She'd have wanted to beat him anyway, because of her competitive nature, but when he'd assumed that she wouldn't be any good? That was like a red rag to a bull.
She bowled a strike and couldn't stop herself from grinning as she walked back to the surprised guys.
'Whoa. She bowled a strike.' Said Scott.
'Was that a fluke?' Asked Sam
'Becca is really good at bowling.' Laughed Viv.
'But don't worry.' She said, teasingly to Chris. 'It doesn't matter who scores what or who beats who.'
'Oh man, she got you.' Laughed Matt.
Chris looked at her, still surprised for a second and then he broke into a huge grin. 'Oh, it's on!' He said, laughing. 'I was going to go easy on you, but now? It's on!'
'Is it indeed?'
'Yeah. Prepare to be thrashed.' He grinned.
'You can try.' Becca returned.
The teasing trash-talk continued while the others took their turns; Viv and Sam did okay, getting seven points each, and Matt wasn't as bad as he'd made out getting a spare. Then it was Chris's turn again.
'Don't feel bad if you gutter it.' Teased Becca as he walked up.
He grinned at her. 'Watch and learn.'
And then he bowled the ball ridiculously hard, and pins went flying, earning him a strike.
Scotty whistled and patted Chris on the shoulder as he came back. 'That's more like it.'
'Hmm, why do I feel like you weren't really trying before?' Becca said.
Chris smiled at her a little sheepishly.
'I can still beat you though.' She added.
'You're pretty good.' Chris said, after Becca had bowled another strike.
'Thanks, you're not bad yourself.' Becca said.
And I don't just mean the bowling.
'Care to make it interesting?' He asked.
'That depends - what do you have in mind?'
'Just a small wager. If I win, then you have to come to a Moana sing-along with me.'
'And if I win?'
'Then you get to choose something.'
'Okay. You're flying soon, right?'
'Yeah.'
'Well, I don't even know if they sell it, but if they do I'd like some Lindt chocolate from the duty free shop.'
'That's all?'
'That's all.'
'Okay. Do we have a deal?' Chris asked, holding out his hand to shake hers.
Becca hesitated for a second and then shook his hand briefly, trying not to notice the warmth of his skin, or how his hand dwarfed hers.
'I can almost taste that chocolate already.' She said.
Chris laughed. 'You've got to win first.'
'No problem.'