Shadows Beneath

Chapter 6

I woke up this morning refreshed. Yesterday wasn't so bad. It would have been nice if Tammy had called , but, whatever. I go have a cup of coffee with my mom in the kitchen. A little bit of small talk about my plans for the day. I have to work this afternoon at the bowling alley so my free time is a bit limited. She has her usual dance classes all day long so I'll have the house to myself. After our coffee and talk she heads off to work and I turn on the television. Nothing but soaps on. Man I can't stand soaps. Too much damn drama. I grab a bowl of Cheerios and find an old episode of MASH on. I love military history stuff, even if the show was a comedy, it had its moments. I have a few laughs and finish my cereal and get my running shoes on and go for a jog. Even though high school is done and I can't work out the usual 2 hours a day, I have to keep in shape. I need to look good. It helps with my confidence. It's a decent summer day. It's early but it's still almost eighty out already. I do the usual few blocks around the neighborhood a couple times. It equals out to about two miles. It's a good time to clear my head and set my mind at ease. Not the easiest thing to do with what I had just done with Tammy the other night. I caught myself smiling at random times at absolutely nothing and laughed to myself about doing it.

It still bothered me that she didn't call me yesterday. I mean, I'm sure that I'm not the only thing going on in her life. She probably wanted to but just didn't have the time. No big deal. After my jog I sat outside and let the sweat drip off of me for a while before I went in and took a shower. I prefer it rather hot and relaxing. Almost like a sauna. Great for after a jog. Plus I had to work in an hour and I didn't want to smell up the place.

I had my uniform, which was just a polo shirt and khaki shorts, laying out on the bed. Clean pair of boxer briefs, socks and deodorant. I took a second before I got dressed to check myself out in the mirror. Still a great figure, great definition, and a deadly smile. I always looked after a shower for some weird reason. I guess I needed my own approval. It only took a minute to get dressed and then I sat back and relaxed before I had to leave.

The phone rang. "Shit is that her?" I asked myself. I looked at the caller I.D. No it's my friend Mike, damn. I had hope for a minute. "What's up Mike? How's it going?" I asked. "Not much, how are you? You working today?". "Sure am" I said, "I'll be out at 11:00". "Ok cool bud, we'll probably stop up and say hi later." he said. "Alright man I'll hopefully see ya later."

Wait a minute did he say we?  Here my mind goes again hoping it's Tammy. I really want to see her again. I know he probably was referring to Brian, but a man can hope right? After all, she was fucking gorgeous. I guess I'll have to wait and see. I have to leave for work in a few minutes so I really don't have time to call Mike back to see who else was coming. This just made my night a little more interesting. I have something to look forward to other than all the drunk league bowlers. Even if it is Brian that tags along I'll be a happy camper. They don't get out my way very often so it's kind of a treat to have them here. I think maybe I'll grab my bowling stuff and take it with me just in case they want to throw a few games. Even if they don't, I think I might want to just to keep sharp and focused on my game. After all, when it comes to bowling, Only you have control of your game.

So I get to work and it's the same crap, different day. All of the hot shots out there joking around about how good they are even though they really suck badly. It's fun to hear them talk a good game though. They know I'm pretty good. They've seen me bowl. They've asked me to be in their league, but I'm not interested yet. I want to bowl in college first before any mens leagues. I want to keep myself fresh for that. Maybe when I'm done with school I'll think about it. As the night goes on I start to wonder if anyone is going to show up. Then from a distance I hear the loud mouth, Mike. He walked in with Brian as I thought. Running his mouth as usual. He knew some of the guys there as well. It wouldn't be him if he didn't talk some kind of bullshit.

"What's up bud?" he asks. "Not much bro. I'm getting out in just a little bit." It's about ten thirty so in a half hour I'll be out of there. Just some lanes to clean up, shoes to put away, trash to take out. I was glad they brought their bowling stuff. I was looking forward to bowling outside the league setting. "I'll let you guys get a warm up game in, I know you need the practice!" I said as I laughed and they both proceeded to show their respect by giving me the finger. I just smiled back and proceeded to finish up cleaning as the last of the league bowlers finished up.

Finally, time to show these bastards how to bowl. First, I needed to ask Mike a question. "Have you heard from Tammy lately?". "Yeah, she's been working a lot of hours and she actually lost your number. She wanted me to tell you she's sorry and says hi. She hopes you aren't too mad at her.". "Why didn't you giver her my number again then you moron?" I asked. "Shit I don't know, I guess I wasn't really thinking." he said. "Don't worry about it man. Thanks for relaying the message. I'll call her when I get home."

"One more thing!" Mike shouted. "If you aren't doing anything this weekend, there's a hotel party going on. Lots of girls and alcohol!" I'll see if I have anything going on and let you know!" I replied. I'm not too keen on underage drinking, but I don't have to drink just because it's there. I'll most likely go. Maybe I'll call Tammy and invite her if she isn't too busy.  For now it's time to wipe the lanes clean with these guys and show them who's boss.

After an hour or so and three games later they gave up, no surprise. I beat the crap out of them. I was in a much better mood with the news that Tammy was still thinking about me. I always do better when I'm in a good mood. I was getting worried a little that she forgot about me. I suppose I could have called, but didn't want to push it so soon. Either way. I'm happy now. I hope she wants to come to the party with me, because who knows what could happen in a hotel room when she's a little drunk right? I think I've played out a few different scenes in my mind, and they're all pretty exciting. After Brian, Mike, and I finished, we said our not so pleasant and often rude goodbyes and went our separate ways. I can't wait to get home and call her. I'm sure she'll be happy to hear from me. I can't wait. My five minute drive home feels like an eternity. Eventually I'll make it so I can inform my girl of the weekend plans. "My girl". That has a nice ring to it. I think I'll call her that from now on. Maybe she'll like it. I hope so.