Chapter 116: Holding Your Hand

"Don't worry. I'll guide you through it."

Eve's breath hitched. She could hear her heart thumping in her ears. Blood rushed up her neck and to her cheeks. More than detecting his voice, she had felt it. His breath kissed the side of her neck when he spoke. 

He seemed both close and not close enough.

'What am I thinking?!' She scolded herself. 'We just held hands earlier! This shouldn't affect me in any way! It's all an act! I can't take it the wrong way or it would be serious trouble.'

Ambryan leaned over her shoulder, trying to get a look at her face. "Evan, are you okay?"

Eve jumped. Her head snapped in his direction. She recoiled away from the closeness. She could have sworn that she would have hit his nose if she hadn't! This was a bit too much to her liking. She could hardly breathe for goodness sake! 

If this is their new normal, she better have a drink beforehand.

"Y-Yeah, yeah! Totally fine" she managed to say. Her eyes flickered back to the lane. "I have to look at the markers, right? Aim for them instead of the pins?"

"Yes, but this is about releasing the ball." Ambryan inserted his fingers in between hers. His knuckles bent over until he had a good grip of her hand without touching her palm. His left foot nudged hers. "You're right-handed so your left foot is your slide foot. It's the one that will support you from falling."

Eve stepped forward, using her left as he mentioned. She ignored his hand and brought the ball to her side. She tested on how to swing it without letting the ball go. At the first attempt, she noticed that the ball would hit the right markers and not the center. 

She tried again. If she aimed for the center, the ball would definitely land in the gutter. It would go in a diagonal direction instead of a straight one. Would it be possible for her to move to the left?

"What are you thinking?" Ambryan thought out loud. Crease lines formed on her forehead all of a sudden. Her lips also thinned into a tight line. Had she always been this easy to read?

"I'm thinking about how to go for a straight line at the center. So far, I think I'd hit the gutters. Do I need to stand at the center? Can't I move slightly more left so my right hand is the one the center?" 

Hearing her words, Ambryan was impressed. Her imagination had calculated the moves and their results. He hadn't met many who thought that way. His gaze assessed the lane as well. Broken lines appeared before him, giving him different angles to work with.

He stepped to her left, giving her some space.

"You can but…" he gripped her bowling hand and pulled it backwards. His upper body and other hand guided her to bend forward. "Make sure to bend too. Otherwise, the ball will bounce onto the lane instead of rolling."

"Oh." Eve blinked. "Yeah, that makes sense."

"You will run up to the foul line, slide, bend and let the ball go."

"That's a lot of things to do in a second."

"Well, there's still time to practice."

"You mean right now?!" Eve practically yelled. Her breathing turned into puffs for air. She inhaled and exhaled out of her nose, the nostrils flaring slightly.

Ambryan's eyebrows shot up. He couldn't tell what the problem was. "Why? What's wrong?"

'What's wrong?!' Eve repeated to herself. 'What's wrong was he wasn't moving! How could she do that when he was clinging onto her?'

Trying to calm down, she shifted her attention back on bowling. There was no other way but to move forward. He would let her go eventually if it proved to be a hindrance. She pulled the ball back to her chest and moved to the left. 

The rest of the room faded into black. She only saw the lane in front of her. Her legs ran up to the foul line—then, she skidded to a stop and lost her balance. She had overestimated the distance, her left foot almost slipped over the foul line.

It broke her momentum.

Ambryan guided her hand and the ball. He changed the angle, pulling it back higher. He increased the speed as well as the force as they both swung the ball forward. He dipped it low to the ground, causing Eve to stumble.

He grabbed her waist while saying, "Release."

And she did.

The ball rolled over the center marker and headed straight for the first pin. It forced its way into the pins, shoving them out of its path. They knocked into each other and fell on the floorboard. It was instantaneous. 

Before everyone knew, the ball had fallen over the edge.

"Wait, what?" Eve gasped, regaining her balance. She glanced at the scoreboard. A red 'X' had appeared in the first frame. The sight confirmed her thoughts. "That was a strike!"

"It was." Ambryan nodded. He let her hand go and adjusted his tie. While he was it, he removed his coat. That left him with a blue vest and a matching black dress shirt & trousers. His necktie was a darker shade of blue. 

"How—Wow, you're really good." 

Wen took the coat off his hands. He smirked at the compliment. It felt "I played with my father since I could lift a bowling ball."

Another crash of a bowling ball and the pins caught their attention. Eve followed the source with her eyes. Jackson had done another strike. He tugged his fist and hissed out a cheer. She checked out their scoreboard. Her eyes widened at the amount of strikes.

It came from both spouses!

She came into a revelation. "Except, both of your parents are just as good. You all have genes that are skilled in this game. I suddenly feel sorry for you for having me as a teammate."

"I don't mind."

Eve turned her head towards Ambryan. "Really?"

'If you were already good enough, could I have held you the way I did just now?' Ambryan froze, alarmed by his thoughts. Since when did he like holding a woman? Actually, since when did he like holding anyone? Even as a kid, he'd fume over the idea.

Instead of that, he said, "I wouldn't mind losing either. I have to be better at you at something."

"So that's what this is?" Eve scoffed with humor. "Is this revenge for dragging you to skate?"

"You had picked out something you enjoy. This is one that I enjoy. We'll call it even."

She chuckled at the logic. "Hopefully, we both enjoy the next one."

Ambryan chose not to answer. His thoughts had wandered off again. They spoke to him words, creating statements that meant somewhere along the lines of 'It didn't matter what they'd do. As long as they were together, it would be fun.'

He forced them out of his head.

It wouldn't do good to dwell on them.

"Are you here to bowl or are you here to flirt?" Avery called out to the couple. An ear-splitting grin stretched across her face. "I don't mind either one but do tell us if you still want to play please let us know."

"We'll play," Eve replied for the both of them. The red ball had rolled back into the rack. "It's what we're here for. We haven't forgotten."

"Sure, sure."

Jackson walked over to screen on a stand. He set up the scoreboards and linked both lanes into one game. They agreed to rotate the turns around the four of them instead of two at a time. The boys would go first.

Each pair sat on their own bench. 

Eve began to sweat. She hadn't really practiced anything. It was Ambryan who managed a strike. She also didn't try another run to the foul line. What if she messed up? What if she overdid it again? 

She was the only one bad at bowling around here!

That alone added a lot of pressure on her shoulders.

Ambryan flicked her forehead. He could almost sense her thoughts. "Don't be anxious. Just have fun. You'll get the hang of it in no time. Besides, my father loves winning. He'd still be happy if you played badly."

"But don't you like winning too?" Eve whimpered. Sure, she was here to impress Jackson but she was his partner. The last thing she wanted was to let him down. He had even taught her himself.

"I can win in other ways," Ambryan reassured her. Mischief glinted in his violet eyes. He kissed her forehead. "I'll be having a personal bet with my father that is between us alone so don't worry about me."

Can skin burn from a kiss? 

It sure felt like it. 

Eve gulped. The center of her forehead sizzled. It wasn't visible but it was there. All of her senses focused on that one spot. It weighed a ton as if boring a hole into her skull. Ambryan had already left her side but his presence lingered on her skin.

Compared to her, Avery relaxed on her seat. She sipped the iced tea and hid the gleeful smile on her lips. She leaned back and crossed her legs. Everything was going better than she thought. 

Maybe she should plan more days like this.