Page 79 of The Chemistry Coach
Her cheeks flamed red, and Connor couldn’t stifle his chuckle.She spread her legs, examining the obvious bruise there.“Oh my God.Connor!”
Connor elbowed Hazy.“Choose something else, dickhead.”
“If she’s so certain she’ll win, I won’t need to pick something else.”
Daisy rolled her eyes, assuming her starting position and refusing to stoop to Hazy’s level.She lobbed the ball, and it sent one pin flying across the lane, knocking over the pin on the other side.When she turned around, she stuck her tongue out and flipped them off with both hands.
Lover and Hazy had their hands on their heads, their minds blown by her skill.
Connor smiled.“Okay, bowling is cool.”
Hazy agreed.“That was pretty cool.”
Lover raised his hands for a double high five that Daisy jumped to give him.When her ball returned, she threw it again, knocking over eight pins and ending their game.
They reset the system, and Daisy left them standing there while she went to talk to the manager.When she was out of earshot, Connor scolded Hazy.“You can’t ask her about her sex life.That crosses a line.”
“You aren’t fucking her, I figured maybe it was someone else.”
Lover’s eyes widened.“Are you serious?They were making out in the dark during the escape room.How the fuck did you miss that?They were loud as fuck.”
Connor’s face got hot.Hazy’s grin widened when he held up his fist for knuckles.Connor smacked his hand, and Hazy laughed.The lights went out in the building, leaving the glow of various computers to illuminate the room until purple light filled the space and party lights flickered rainbows onto the walls and floor.
Lover let out a hoot and trotted over to the jukebox to pick a song.“Bye Bye Bye” came on, and Connor hollered across the building that he still wasn’t going to sing.
Daisy rejoined their group and picked up a ball.“Okay, new game.”
Connor rubbed his hands together, excited for anything she’d planned for them.“Let’s go!What’s the game?”
She approached the edge of the lane and turned around to face them with her feet planted close to each gutter.She swung the ball a few times and threw it between her spread legs, bending over to watch through the gap as the ball meandered to the pins.It knocked over six.
“Unconventional throws.Get creative, because whoever wins gets to pick how we spend our arcade tickets.”
They spent the next hour dancing under the black lights and trying to one-up each other’s crazy techniques.Connor thought Daisy would come out on top since she crushed the normal game, but Lover shocked them all by beating everyone by a good margin.
Daisy was great at bowling, but she was trash at arcade games.Connor was an expert at a few, and with his Coin Dozer and basketball skills, he earned tickets quickly.
Lover and Hazy circled the arcade together, favoring the electronic games.Daisy had scheduled three hours for their team-building session, but it had gone much longer.A bored twenty-something approached them and told them it was closing time.He checked his watch to find that it was past eight pm.
Lover insisted on going to the prize counter alone, saying he wanted his choices to be a surprise.
Connor, Hazy, and Daisy returned their bowling shoes and gathered in the parking lot, waiting for Lover.Connor leaned against his car and pulled Daisy into him.
Hazy said, “God, you guys are gross.”
Daisy pressed her cheek into Connor’s chest and stuck her tongue out at him.“You love us.”
“Doesn’t mean you aren’t gross.”
Connor pressed a kiss onto the top of Daisy’s head.“What are you doing for dinner tonight?”he asked her, choosing to ignore Hazy.
She shrugged.“Takeout.It’s too late to cook, and I don’t have anything prepped.Why?Do you have a better plan?”
He whispered in her ear, “You could come to my place.I’ll make you dinner.We could hang out.Maybe you bring an overnight bag?”
“Yes, that.That’s what I’m doing.”It was adorable how excited she was.
With new plans for the evening, he was dying to be home, and Lover was taking forever.It must have been half an hour before he exited the building with a giant penguin under one arm and a fistful of random junk.
