Oliver ate the last piece of cake and grinned. James smiled too; it was impossible not to. Victor picked his phone up to answer a text, forcing James to swallow back his need to know if it was Luke. Fuck, Luke, he thought.
"I don't want the day to end," Oliver rested his elbows on the table. "Can we do something else?"
Victor checked his watch, then shrugged. "Sure, what do you want to do?"
Oliver hummed and looked up, pressing his lips together. "What do you think, James?"
James scratched the back of his neck and stretched his legs under the table. "I don't know, bowling?"
"That sounds so fun!" Ollie beamed, then turned towards Victor, waiting for his approval.
"Yeah, sure, but I'm going to preface this by saying that I never played before."
James smiled. "I'm great at it. I can teach you."
After paying the bill, they started walking towards the bus station. Oliver was walking between Victor and James, holding their arms. James wished he could be more like Oliver.
The bowling alley made James feel somehow at home. He had refused to think of home, of the people he stopped talking to, and the places he used to frequent. He wasn't planning on visiting anytime soon, not even for the holidays.
"You're first, Jamie," Ollie pecked his cheek and slapped a bowling ball in his arms. "Let's see if you can impress me."
"Is this a challenge?" James leaned forward, pressing his forehead against Ollie's. His boyfriend kissed him.
"Damn right," Oliver said. "Romancing and impressing me is a never-ending struggle. Because I deserve it."
James felt his heart flutter. "I love you, you heathen."
"I love you too, but I need to be amazed. Amaze me."
Oliver sat down next to Victor, who somehow ended up glued to his phone again. James wondered if he felt left out. Ollie kissed his cheek, capturing his attention. Victor smiled at him, then pushed his unruly curls back.
James took the couple of steps separating him from the foul-line, then rolled the ball. He wasn't going for anything fancy.
"Strike," he said. "Are you impressed?"
"No," Oliver got up. "I'm sure I can do better."
"Better than a strike?" James dropped next to Victor.
"Oh yeah, I'm sure I can do it," Ollie smiled. "Tell him, Vic!"
It was evident that Victor was only half listening. He straightened his back and blinked a few times. He frowned for a second, probably piecing together the conversation.
"He can do better," Vic said. "I'm sure he can do it."
Oliver's ball rolled on the side of the lane and made its' way right pass the bowling pins.
"See? Amazing," Ollie said, nodding.
A loud laugh exploded out of Victor. He covered his mouth and leaned forward, his shoulders shaking. James thought it was delightful; he reached towards him and rested his palm on his back, feeling his warmth. It triggered his desire to touch him more, not just over fabric. He wanted to touch his skin.
"Amazing," James agreed.
"Do you think you can do better than Vicky?" Oliver danced a little happy dance as if he had just won the game. It was silly. James loved it.
Victor shook his head. "No, no, I don't think so. It was wonderful."
"Nobody could ever beat that," James agreed.
"I don't blame you for doubting yourselves. I'm not saying you shouldn't, though."
James got up, cupped his face, and kissed his forehead. "You're the best, now go sit your butt down."
"Fine, fine," Oliver plopped on the couch, taking this chance to give Victor another peck on his temple.
James gave Victor his ball. He hesitated for a second, intimidated by the closeness. He was his boyfriend. The thought rolled around in his mind. He told himself to stop being so high-strung.
"Are you ready?" James asked.
Victor sucked in his lips and sighed. "No."
"I know, the pressure to do better than Oliver is crushing, but don't fret," he said. "Nobody can do better than Ollie."
"Nobody," Ollie said.
Victor chuckled. James tried his best to explain to Victor how he should hold the ball, making sure to remind him not to clench his fingers inside the holes. The last thing he wanted was for someone to get hurt on a date.
"And don't throw it, ok?" James continued, "Just try to... roll it, I guess. You need to get low, so it doesn't bounce and lose momentum."
"No pressure," Oliver nodded from his seat.
"We can't all be like you," Victor said.
"Impossible," James gave him space.
Victor managed to knock down two pins. Ollie applauded, then hugged him.
"Almost as good as me!" Ollie said.
Victor smiled. "Almost."
They continued playing for the rest of the evening. James won, but everyone pretended that Oliver had dominated the game. James was glad that after all, they had fun.
"Shoot," Ollie stopped in the middle of the road and patted his pockets. "Damn it."
"What's wrong?" James asked.
"I forgot my phone," Ollie said. "I'll go get it. You can wait for me at the bus station. Please don't leave without me, though. Don't abandon me. I'll cry. I'll wait until I get back on campus, find you, then fall on the ground and cry. You'll feel very bad about it because I'm not -"
"You're not pretty when you cry, you mentioned." James pinched his nose. "Have you always been this dramatic?"
"I'm not going to apologize for who I am as a person."
"Are you sure you don't want us to come with you?" James asked.
"No, no, I'm fine, just wait for me."
Ollie kissed both of them on the cheek before making his way back towards the bowling alley. James thought he could take this alone time with Victor to apologize for his untimely confession.
It was something that weighed heavily on him.
Author's note<3:
Is anyone shocked that Ollie absolutely dominated this bowling game? I'm not. He's like... really good, guys. Question of the day: Do you do any sports? What's your favorite?
Please consider voting and commenting <3!