X - Y - Z

TEN - HARVEY

I put my car in reverse as the call connects to the Bluetooth. It only rings once and then Foster's deep voice fills the speakers. "Hey Harv. What's up?"

"Foster. Are you busy now? Exley and Hazel invited me bowling after the music class. I said "yes" of course. They asked if you guys were busy but I wasn't sure so I told them I'd check on the way and I'm driving to meet them there now." I pause briefly to gasp for air before asking again "So are you busy now?!"

Foster's chuckles and says, "No, I'm not busy. I was just watching tv. I guess you impressed them at the music class, then?"

"More like they impressed me," I say with a grin thinking about how amazing Hazel was with the kids and how kind and helpful Exley was.

"Oh yeah? Can't wait to hear about that. The guys are home, too. I'll round them up and we'll meet ya'll there. You're going to the bowling alley downtown by the center?"

"Yeah, I'm just about to pull in. It'll probably take you guys 30 minutes to get here. Should we wait?

"No, go ahead and start a game and we'll just jump in on the second. That should time out about right."

"Okay, great!" I respond. "Foster...Hurry, though, okay?" I add, a bit more subdued. I'm thrilled that they invited me; more than thrilled. But I'm also super nervous.

"Harvey," Foster starts in his most reassuring tone, "Alone time with them is good. I know we all agreed that spending as much time in a group as possible would be beneficial. They need to form connections with all of us equally, to want to be a part of our group. But alone time is just as important to make sure the connection can get deeper. That's the only way we will know if this will truly work."

"I know. And I want it to work so badly. But liking both of them is so overwhelming. I'm afraid I'm going to ruin it." I tell Foster honestly. We have a full disclosure policy when it comes to feelings. With our background, nothing good comes from bottling things up

"You're definitely not going to ruin it. If something doesn't work out, it's just not meant to be. But I think we all know it is. Just relax and be yourself. Have fun. We'll be there soon."

"I guess you're right. It's not like this is a date. Okay, drive safe. See you in a bit"

We both hang up as I pull into the parking lot. I'm following behind Hazel and Exley as we both look for a spot. I know Foster's right. There's really no point in being nervous right now. I still don't even know if Exley is into guys, let alone into me. And same with Hazel. I have to remember that for them, all of this is so preliminary. Romance isn't even on the table yet. So I just need to chill out and be myself and hopefully that's someone they both like.

The place is actually pretty busy now but we both find spots along the same row, a few spaces apart. That means I can't linger in my car at all so that'll have to be the end of my pep talk. I turn the car off and grab my wallet from the console, hitting the lock button on the door handle as I climb out. I'm just shutting the door when Hazel and Exley walk up.

"I'm so excited!" Hazel exclaims as well head toward the building. "I love bowling! Ex and I used to bowl all the time in highschool." She leans towards me, her shoulder bumping gently into mine, and stage-whispers "I would always kick his ass of course."

"Oh bull shit." Exley interjects, but the smile on his face shows he doesn't mind her trash talk. Hazel falls into a fit of giggles and Exley just shakes his head. I get to the door first and reach to open it. Hazel thanks me while walking through and Exley follows behind her, smiling warmly at me. His smile makes my insides tingle.

We head into the alley and see that it is definitely as crowded as the parking lot suggests. Thankfully, it looks like there are a couple of lanes open still. We make our way to the counter to request a lane and shoes. Thankfully there isn't a line right now. As we approach, the guy behind the counter looks up.