Awakenings - SF1 (48 page)

After class on Wednesday Ryan sidled up to Jamie and asked, "Do you know how to bowl?"

"Bowl? Like in a bowling alley?"

A delightfully quirky grin crossed Ryan's face as she asked, "Umm, what other kind is there?"

"Well, there's lawn bowling, but I guess they do that mostly in England."

Ryan cocked her dark head and repeated her question. "Do you know how?"

"Well, I'd say I'd be more proficient at lawn bowling," she mused. "I went bowling once, in grade school, and the manager of the alley asked me to stop before I hurt myself," she said with a wry laugh.

"Perfect," Ryan pronounced with a very satisfied grin. "We're going bowling...tonight!"

After their workout and a stop for a quick shower and a mini-rubdown they got into the Porsche for the drive to The City. After some dogged questioning Jamie finally got the story out of her recalcitrant friend. "So all of your brothers and cousins are in a bowling league, right?"

"Right."

"And you fill in when someone can't make it?"

"Right."

"So tonight Brendan can't make it and for some obscure reason, you want me to be on your team to take his place."

"Almost right," she said with a smile. "Brendan is on Conor's team. I'm filling in for Rory and he's on another team." Her waggling eyebrows indicated her extreme pleasure with her plan and after a few minutes the reason dawned on Jamie.

"You asked me because you knew I'd suck!!" she cried in outrage as she slapped Ryan hard on the thigh.

"Hey! That hurt!" she winced, rubbing the affected part as she shot a glare at her friend. "And I asked you because Conor suggested you," she sniffed. "I thought we'd have fun together." Her eyes were dark and a tiny little pout was forming on her lovely face.

"Ryan, I'm sorry," she said quickly as she gently rubbed her hand on the still stinging thigh. "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings."

Her friend gave her a rakish grin as she admitted, "You didn't, Jamie. I really did ask you because I thought you'd suck."

At the smaller woman's outraged squawk she added, "Plus I wanted to spend the evening with you. Tracy would suck too," she reassured her. "I just thought it would be fun."

"Okay," Jamie said suspiciously. "Who would you have asked if
your
team needed another player?"

"Ally," she said quickly as she tried to cover up from her laughing friend's pinch.

They arrived at the Japantown Bowl just as the rest of the clan was arriving. Looking around quickly Jamie observed that they were the only women in the entire building. "Is this the Testosterone League, or what?" she whispered to Ryan.

"Pretty much," she admitted. "You're on the Carpenter's Local 751 team. I'm on the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 128." Her playful grin caused Jamie to smile back at her, ignoring her pique at being tricked into playing.

Conor arrived moments later and claimed Jamie as his charge for the evening. "Finally, a teammate that I'll enjoy looking at," he said with obvious pleasure. "I'm so sick of looking at sweaty men all day...this is a treat, Jamie."

"Just remember that she has her own sweaty man that she likes to look at, Conor," Ryan reminded him as she playfully patted her brother's cheek.

"Oh, I'm well aware of Jamie's marital status," he said sweetly. Turning to the blushing woman he inquired, "You are still single, but with some vague plans on marrying some unemployed fellow in the distant future, correct?"

"I suppose that's about right," Jamie admitted with a grin.

"Perfect," Conor said with a sexy grin that nearly matched the one Jamie had seen on his sister whenever she spotted a fresh face. "Let's get you set up," he said as he took her hand to lead her over to the racks of balls.

Conor spent quite a few minutes helping Jamie choose a ball that fit her hand and proved light enough for her to roll effectively. After she secured a lovely pair of tan and red rental shoes he took her up to the line and spent a good 10 minutes instructing her on his philosophy of bowling. She kept looking at him with a puzzled glance and finally Ryan could take no more. She stomped over to their lane and demanded, "Are you teaching her how to build a bowling alley or throw the damn ball?"

"Ryan," he explained patiently. "Bowling is a difficult sport. It helps to understand the angles and the percentages of the different approaches."

"Oh for God's sake," she snapped as she placed her hands on Jamie's shoulders and said, "See the center arrow on the lane?"

Jamie nodded.

"Stand just to the right of it, take 4 steps, staring with your right foot. Bring the ball back to about here," she instructed as she pulled her arm back. "Release it smoothly, while looking at the matching arrow right up there," she told her, pointing to a mark on the lane about 10 feet away.

Jamie nodded once and mimicked Ryan's instructions perfectly. The three watched the ball as it slowly but determinedly made it's way right to the pocket where it knocked every pin down, one at a time.

Jamie turned and threw her arms around Ryan, who was grinning like the Cheshire cat at her scowling brother. "Keep it simple, Stupid," she instructed as she backhanded him sharply in the stomach on her way back to her own lane.

The evening went fairly smoothly and Ryan quickly became engrossed in her own play. She didn't own her own ball and she sometimes had trouble finding one that fit her long, slender fingers. Her strength allowed her to effortlessly roll a 16 pound ball but she had never been able to find a heavy ball that did not fall off her hand. So she usually had to settle for a 14 pounder just to keep some control. But tonight she had found the perfect ball. It was a 16 pound dark red ball and the finger holes were nearly perfect. The initials JWB were stamped into the plastic and she made a note in her organizer for the next time she had to fill in so that she could find the darn thing again.

The proper equipment allowed her to have the game of her life, she noted happily. Her first game was a 225, the second 215 and she was already at 230 in the 9
^th
frame of the last game. Even though she was concentrating on her match she shot glances over at Jamie every time her friend went to the line.
Not bad for a rank beginner
, she thought with a small smile. Her eyes wandered to her brother and her assembled cousins as Jamie went to roll her second ball of the frame.
Perverts!
she scoffed when she saw 5 pairs of eyes firmly glued to her friend's butt. But she admitted to herself that Jamie did indeed have a very watchable butt so she really could not blame the lads. The second ball gave her a spare for the frame and Ryan smiled broadly as the smaller woman jumped gleefully into the air and gave a whoop of delight. All of the members of her team were smiling and congratulating her but Ryan noted with her own delighted smile that those misty green eyes immediately found her, seeking Ryan out to share her enthusiasm. She did so with pleasure, giving Jamie both a broad smile and a wink of approval.

As Ryan rolled her next frame she turned and caught Jamie gazing at her intently. They locked eyes and for just one split second the din of the alley died down and became a very faint muted rumble. The other bowlers faded from her view. Only one face remained and Ryan could nearly feel her breathing...so intent was their connection for that one instant. But as soon as it began it was gone...as Ryan walked into the ball return and nearly took a header. "Yipes!" she cried as only her excellent balance kept her upright. All of the cousins laughed at her completely unexpected clumsiness. She felt a deep blush cover her face as she sat down and tried to gather her scrambled thoughts. But just when she was nearly back to normal she felt a warm hand on her shoulder. She turned and saw those green eyes just inches away, this time filled with concern. "You didn't hurt yourself did you?"

"No, no, not at all," she said firmly. "There must have been something on the floor," she explained, trying to cover.

"You sure you're alright?" she persisted.

"Perfect," Ryan insisted, smiling to herself when Jamie's small hand gently squeezed her shoulder as she returned to her lane.

Wow, I don't know what's going on tonight, but I'm actually feeling light headed,
she mused.
I must be having sex withdrawal
, she decided, since she had not been with a woman in a couple of weeks.
Yeah, that must be it
, she decided, as she focused intently on Jamie's cute little butt as the small woman once again approached the line.

"Are
you
aware of her marital status?" a deep voice breathed in her ear. Her blush climbed her face so fast that she almost passed out from the rush.

She gathered herself with as much grace as possible and shrugged her older brother off. "Get a grip, Conor," she snapped as she went to the line and rolled the first gutter ball of her adult life.

Unbeknownst to Ryan, Conor and the boys had been buying Jamie rounds of beers and she had gamely tried to keep up with the much larger men. By the time the match was over her small friend was toast. "Thanks, Conor," Ryan grumbled as a giggling Jamie came over and plopped down on her lap. "Tell Da I had to take Jamie home," she instructed. "I'll just stay at her house so I don't have to come back across the bridge."

"No problem Sis," he said with a smile. "But I could take her home if you want."

The giggles had stopped and now Jamie was sound asleep against Ryan's chest. "Yeah, sure, Pal," she scoffed. "Like I'd trust you with her in this condition."

"Are you sure you're entirely trustworthy?" he challenged. "I can read you like a book, Sis, and you've got it bad." He was smirking widely with his arms crossed against his broad chest.

"You're delusional, Conor," she snapped. "Now help me get her to the car, you big dope."

As they pulled up in front of the house Ryan noted with dismay that the lights were on in both roommates rooms.
Oh boy, another fun night with Cassie
, she groused.

It took a lot longer than Ryan would have predicted but she finally got Jamie's half-awake body out of the tiny, low slung car. She was able to walk with assistance but when they got to the door she was unable to produce her house key. "None of these keys work," Ryan complained as she tried each of the 3 keys on the ring.

"Those'r for the car," Jamie mumbled.

"Where are your house keys," Ryan enunciated clearly.

"Pocket," she mumbled back.

"Can you get them?" Ryan patiently asked.

"Uh uhh," she said as she shook her head and nearly fell over. Ryan rolled her eyes as she began to pat her down. The key was in the small inside pocket of her 501's and Ryan gamely snuck two fingers down into the tiny pocket. She got her fingers around it but had a tough time actually getting it out. Jamie picked that moment to lose the ability to support herself. Her knees buckled and Ryan had to grab her with one strong arm just under her breasts. She dug into the pocket more forcefully and extricated the house key on its tiny silver ring. A minute fumbling with the lock while trying to balance the limp woman eventually allowed them to stumble into the house.

I've gotta get lighter friends
, she grumbled as she stooped and swept her friend into her arms and steeled herself for the long climb up the steep staircase. She was nearly at the top when the ever pleasant Cassie Martin emerged from her room and glared at Ryan in outrage. "What have you done to her?!"

"I haven't done anything to her, Cassie," she said with as much patience as she could gather. "I'm trying to keep her from getting hurt. You can help or you can get out of the way." She glared right back at the tall, thin blonde.

She won this round, for Cassie's expression mellowed and she asked, "What can I do to help?"

"Well, I've got to get her undressed and then into bed," Ryan stated.

"I'll undress her," Cassie said firmly.

"Fine," Ryan snapped, unable to tolerate this annoying woman any longer than necessary. "If you can handle this, I'll take off." She placed Jamie on the bed and started down the stairs only to be stopped by Cassie's startled voice.

"I can't lift her!" she cried.

Ryan rolled her eyes and trudged back upstairs. She stood next to the exasperated woman and asked, "What do you want me to do?"

"Um..." she mumbled as she assessed the situation. "Can you pick her up so I can get her jeans off?"

"Yes, but aren't you afraid I'll rape her if I see her in her underwear?" she snapped, unable to control herself.

"Look, Ryan, I'm sorry I said that. I just..."

"It's okay," Ryan said, her own voice gentling. "Let's just get her undressed." They worked together, awkwardly but effectively getting her into a pair of flannel pajamas. Ryan carried her into the bath and stepped outside while Cassie guided her to the commode. When she was finished relieving herself Ryan came back in and carried her to the neatly turned down covers on the bed as Cassie hovered.

"I'm afraid to leave her here alone," she mused.

"Why don't you sleep with her?" Ryan asked, thinking the solution was obvious.