Striking A Chord (Out of Tune Prequel)

2: Striking A Chord

Hey again, guys! As promised, here's chapter two of the prequel to Out of Tune, right on time! (Well, just about - I got stuck in traffic. Ugh.)

My advance copies of the paperback arrived today and it looks so great!!!

You can pre-order the paperback of Out of Tune (http://amzn.to/1lCppNh) and the ebook (http://amzn.to/1payY8z) from Amazon now, for the release on July 3rd!

Well, anyway, here's the chapter. Enjoy!

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Chapter Two

I’m usually pretty good at bowling. I beat my dad whenever we go (though he does suck pretty bad at it), and I’m definitely better than Allie. But right now, with Josh putting his arms around me and standing behind me to show me a good technique, I’m so glad my nerves got the better of me on my first few turns and messed them up so badly.

Josh guides my arm forward, and I let go of the ball. He keeps a hold of my waist and my hand as we watch the ball roll down the lane. My skin tingles where he’s touching me, and time seems to run slower than usual.

The ball knocks down eight pins – better than the four I hit last time.

Josh turns me toward him, grinning. ‘See? Not that hard.’

‘Think I can do the next one myself?’

‘Hmm, maybe. But don’t expect immediate results. It takes time to master this, Grasshopper.’

I laugh, and pick up another bowling ball. ‘Okay.’

Feeling way more in control of myself now and nowhere near as anxious as I was at the start of this date, I manage to hit down the last two standing pins, and they clatter backwards loudly. I shoot Josh an innocent smile over my shoulder, and feel kind of smug when I see his jaw hanging open.

‘You totally hustled me.’

I blush, looking away. I think I’d rather him think I faked being bad intentionally than got really nervous and messed up like a total loser. ‘Maybe just a little.’

He starts laughing then. ‘You’re not what I was expecting, Ashley.’

I take that as a compliment. To be totally honest, I was kind of scared that this was all some big joke. I mean, come on. This is Josh Parker, one of the cutest guys in my grade and one of the popular kids. I was so scared when my mom was driving me here that I’d show up and Josh would have stood me up, because he was only doing this for a joke – maybe one of his friends had dared him to do it. But when I saw him waiting outside the doors, and when he smiled at me as I rushed out of the car, I felt a lot warmer inside, and my palms weren’t sweating so much anymore.

And now, I’m pretty sure that this is Josh Parker flirting with me.

I sit down on the bench while he takes his turn and pick some lint off my jeans. Allie and I decided that jeans were a practical option for bowling, but I’m wearing a cute sweater I bought on sale at Macys a few weeks ago.

Allie helped me tame my auburn curls with some product we borrowed from her sister, Sara (she didn’t know we were borrowing it, but we didn’t use it all, so hopefully she won’t work it out), and I made sure to cover up all my freckles with some powder and cover-up. I hate my freckles.

The only downside to my outfit is the ugly bowling shoes we’re forced to wear on the lanes – but since everyone’s stuck wearing them, I don’t think Josh will care too much.