Chapter 118: Be Happy For Me

The bowling game continued in almost the same pattern. 

The Hathaway Family took most of the spotlight. Avery hit an open frame in her second attempt at hitting a split. Jackson missed on a few of his turns and aimed for a spare. There wasn't a pin that he wasn't able to knock down quite yet.

Ambryan only missed one strike much to his father's dismay. 

Despite this, Jackson and Avery had the lead in the score since Eve still hit the gutters. None of her turn plays earned any points. She had played off her nerves as nonchalant comments but it did affect her to a certain degree. 

She sat back on the bench after her nth gutter frame. Her hand shook as she took a drink of her iced tea. She was way out of league here. Her amber eyes swept across the room, wondering how everyone else was doing. It did comfort her a bit to see other players like her. 

"Having fun, dear?" Avery teased from the other bench.

Eve playfully pouted at her. Her wrist twirled the glass, letting the ice mix her drink. "I think I should have trained in bowling more than train for the shoot."

The madam laughed, grabbing a nacho chip. The cheese sauce coated it in a beautiful golden color. Bits of meat had been sprinkled on top. They were sweet compared to the salty taste in the cheese. She bit into it and broke it in half. 

"If you want to, why not? The next time we have a competition like this, we can play beforehand. It wouldn't be much trouble at all," Avery suggested. Her heart soared at the idea. It was like having a daughter. They could also shop for future social events.

She better check their schedule and arrange the shopping date with Cale.

"You'd really do that?" Eve blinked. It seemed a lot for a friendly game. The comment was more aimed at her feeling better over her performance. How could she not improve after trying many times?

Avery ate the last bit of her chip and beamed. "Of course! Us, women, should stick together."

Both males scored strikes. Other players might have been ecstatic at the turnout but these two felt anything but that. Jackson locked his jaw. His son still had the lead in their personal bet. He soon realized that the bet weighed more than who would pay for dinner.

Why did Ambryan have to be this way? 

Why couldn't his son make more than one miss?

Ambyran caught his father's sour face from the corner of his eyes. He crossed his arms over his chest. "Giving up, father? There's still three frames left for both of us. If I miss them all while you get all strikes, you can still win."

Jackson squeezed his eyes shut. "Now, you're just playing with me."

"Isn't that what bowling is about?"

"Oi, oi, oi!" Avery yelled. She and Eve stood side by side, ready to take their turns. "Stop hogging the game to yourselves. Let the women through. If you keep this up, the two of us will play separately from you."

The boys moved aside as they approached. Eve kept her gaze on the floor. She pressed her lips together when she passed by Ambryan. He hadn't spoken to her since the game started. Her thoughts muddled about what he could be running in his mind.

'It must be a serious bet,' she reasoned to herself. 'His concentration was solely on winning that one. It was much better than having him scold her for constant failures and embarrassing her in public.'

Or was it really?

At least, that implied that he cared. 

The previous lesson just proved to be for show. Eve shook her head and took a deep breath. This sort of worry was a distraction. Right now, there was her and the bowling lane—no one else. She still had three frames/six tries to get the ball through the pins. 

Avery took her turn and scored another strike for her team. She smiled at her success briefly before gazing at Eve. Then, her eyes landed on something behind the young woman—or maybe it was better to say 'someone' instead.

"Don't think too much."

Eve yelped at the voice near her ear. She whirled her head and found Ambryan standing close to her. He had his hands tucked in his pant pockets. His face had an impassive expression, completely unbothered by his gesture.

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you focus on your bet with your father?"

"I'm not going to lose," he replied, taking a step forward. "I would have thought you picked up on our techniques by now. You must have seen how we play and how that helps in scoring."

"Well, I'm sorry." Eve scoffed. She humphed and turned back to the lane. Her cheeks puffed out in frustration. "Some of us are not gifted. Neither are we always in the best condition. Besides, I am getting closer to the first pin. I just need a little more push."

Ambryan regarded the back of her head. What did he say wrong? She was smart enough to do what he had stated on her own initiative. It wasn't a baseless assumption.

Still slightly confused, he exhaled sharply through his nose.

"Your power of strength is fine," Ambryan whispered near her ear. "But you always release the ball when your hand reaches the foul line. It doesn't have to be that way. Release it when you've swung your arm forward enough for more power."

…

…

…

Eve turned around. She stared at him with wide eyes. "Why didn't you say that before?" 

"I only said that your foot shouldn't overstep the foul line. There was no rule about your arm doing the same thing," he pointed out. "Didn't you feel it when we practiced? Or noticed it when we played?"

"But—" Eve sighed. She had been doing that. Her hand never went over the foul line whenever she released the ball. Determined to score, she chose not to answer and turned back to the game. 

There was no hesitation. 

She ran up to the foul line. Her arm swung the ball as far back as possible and did the same as it swung forward. Her fingers released the ball just before her hand lifted off the ground. It rolled over the lane in a slanted direction.

It knocked down the farthest pin to the left.

"OMG!" A burst of energy exploded inside Eve. She ran back to the starting line and tackled Ambryan. Her arms went around his neck while her knees bent under her. She continued to squeal. "I ACTUALLY DID IT! I ALMOST CAN'T BELIEVE MY EYES!"

Ambryan grabbed her waist before she could fall. She would have dragged his neck down with her if that happened. His fingertips nearly touched with how tiny her waist was. Crease lines emerged on his forehead.

"How are you so skinny with the amount of fast food you eat?"

The wide smile on Eve's face vanished. She straightened her legs and pulled back. Her eyelashes fluttered at his questioning face. "I think I have told you that I don't always eat fast food. The real answer though is that I don't easily gain weight. That's why I told you that you had nothing to worry about."

"That still doesn't—"

"Yes, yes, I know. Fast food is bad." Eve stepped away from him and grabbed her ball from the rack. She gave him a deadpan expression as she walked back to the starting line. "Couldn't you at least be happy for me?"

She stuck her tongue out for good measure. "Don't think of things that are irrelevant to the situation."

Ambryan's eyebrows shot up. 

Eve took this chance and finished her turn. The ball went into the same direction and hit a pin. It tumbled backwards and hit the pin behind it, giving her a total score of 3 pins. It wasn't the best but it was better than goose eggs.

The game ended with Jackson and Avery's victory. 

"How could you look so gloomy when we won?" Avery asked. She zipped up their duffel bag after they changed out of their bowling shoes. "It's the bet with our son, isn't it? What did you bet on, hm?"

At this, Jackson stiffened. He shot up from his seat and scratched the back of his neck. "It's nothing. You know how we have work divided between us. The loser just gets more work, that's all."

"Really?"

"Yes," he insisted. Then, he pointed his thumb and their companions. "Anyway, should we be worried about those two? That argument seemed intense. The room felt like a furnace all of a sudden. Phew."

Avery didn't look. Instead, she squinted her gaze at him and crossed her arms over her chest. "Are you trying to distract me by talking about our son's relationship?"

"What? No." Jackson snorted, averting his eyes. "I know you care about them a lot. I figured that you might be worried about this so I opened it up. Because I care about you so, naturally, I care about what you care about."

Rolling her eyes, Avery sighed. A few possibilities lingered in her mind but she decided to let it go for now. They'd still see each other later. She shifted her attention on the younger pair. They did seem quieter compared to before.

Still, she wasn't as concerned as her husband thought. 

"They're not that petty. They'll sort it out soon."