Brooke
I’ve had an amazing week. Vaughn and I have spoken every night, either via text or phone call, and we’ve had some great conversations. I’m so proud of him for trying all of these new things, and he says they seem to be working. He hasn’t woken up during the night since Tuesday, and he sounds thrilled…although I’ll admit he sounded slightly off last night before going to bed when we started discussing Bowl and Dine today. I think he’s just nervous about me sleeping over again, but we’ll see what happens, because first we need to have some fun with our friends.
Courtney is on her way over to get ready with me. I know it makes us sound like we’re teenagers instead of in our late twenties, but we don’t care, it’s fun. I run to my closet, grabbing some things and laying them out on the bed to try and decide what I’ll wear, but since I’m struggling, I grab my overnight bag and toss what I need into it, so at least that’s ready. No sooner do I zip up the bag and Courtney comes bursting through the door. “I’m glad I wasn’t naked or anything.”
“Like it would be the first time I saw you naked.” She stands with her hands on her hips.
“True. Come help me pick an outfit.” She struts over to my bed to see the three outfits I have laid out. The first is shredded shorts with a floral print top that I haven’t worn in ages. The second outfit has shorts that go to just above my knee, but have shred holes in them and a turquoise short sleeved shirt, and the third outfit was plain dark jean shorts and a bright pink top. She studies them like there’s a right and wrong answer, and if she doesn’t get it right, she’ll end up in jail. “This isn’t a test,” I finally tease her.
“Fine, the middle outfit.” She struts to my closet in search of the shirt I told her she could borrow.
I laugh and grab the other clothes to put them back. “Good, that’s the one I was feeling too.”
“Then why did you ask me?”
“To see if we were on the same page.”
She shakes her head and rolls her eyes. “Brooke, you act like you have a single outfit in all of these clothes that wouldn’t look amazing on you.”
I shrug and say nothing. You always look at other people’s clothes different than you look at your own. “Come on. I want to curl your hair.” I grab her arm and pull her toward the bathroom across the hall. One of the upsides to this house being empty is I don’t have to share the bathroom with my brothers, and soon I’ll have a bathroom of my own. I finally heard back from my landlord, and of course I passed my background check, which means I get to sign the lease on my house Monday after work. I’m so excited and can’t wait to tell Vaughn tonight. Courtney and I are going to go furniture shopping this week with Mama. She wants to come with us, it’s going to be so much fun.
Courtney plops down on the toilet facing the wall and I get busy curling her hair. I’ve already done mine, but I promised her she could do my makeup. While I was in school there were so few days I would get to go out that we would make the most of them, and since I love doing hair and she likes doing makeup, it’s sort of been our thing to swap off.
We both stare into the mirror, happy with our appearance, and in plenty of time for us to get over to the base. Courtney and I are riding together. I told her I would most likely be spending the night at Vaughn’s house, since he hasn’t mentioned a nightmare in a while. We’re meeting the guys at Callen’s place, where she’ll leave her car, and we’ll ride with them to the bowling alley on the base. “Let’s roll.” She flings her long hair over her shoulder and walks out the door with a sense of purpose.
“Are you two off to your bowling night?”
“Yeah, I’ll see you tomorrow, Mama.” I kiss her on the cheek.
“Okay, dear. You two have fun, now.”
We both giggle like schoolgirls and walk out the door. I put my bag in her trunk and climb into the passenger’s seat. “What’s up with you and Callen?” I question as soon as she’s taken off.
She huffs. “I don’t know. He seems like a nice guy and all, but come on, let’s be real. You know my history.”
“I do, and all your history means is you haven’t found the right guy yet. Now I’m not saying Callen is him, but you won’t know unless you give him a fair shot.”
“I’m trying. We’ve talked on the phone a few times and he’s taken me to dinner, but it really hasn’t gone much further than that.” She stops at a red light and glances over at me. “When we do stuff like this he acts thrilled to see me, but then I don’t hear from him for a while.”
“Have you told him about your ex?”
The light turns green so she takes off again. “Yeah, he said the guy was an asshole for cheating on a great girl like me.”
“Well, there you go. Maybe he’s just afraid to rush you.”
“I guess, or he’s really not interested in a relationship and is just trying to get into my pants like the others.” She sounds defeated.
I need to change the subject, otherwise our night is going to be ruined. “I don’t think that’s the case at all, but I don’t want to depress you. We’re supposed to be having fun.” I turn up the music and we both start dancing in the car. It’s one of the things I love about Courtney, we both love to dance.
We finally pull up to the base and she rolls down the window. “Callen Johnson is expecting me.”
“License,” the guy mutters, sounding miserable with his job.
She slips it from her wallet and hands it to him. He looks it over and tells her to have a good day. She puts it back and pulls through to the gate toward Callen’s house. When we get there, Callen and Vaughn are sitting on the porch waiting for us. I jump out of the car, really excited to see him. “Are we late?”
He wraps me in a hug. “Nah, we were just chillin’, waiting for you.” His tone is somber. He sounds off, and it makes me nervous. I hope something didn’t happen, setting him back. Not because I wouldn’t be able to stay with him, because although that would suck, I’d be more concerned over how he was handling the setback.
“Are you ladies ready?” Callen hits the alarm button on his car, unlocking it.
Courtney gives him a shy smile. “Sure, let’s get going.”
She slips into the front passenger’s seat and Vaughn and I sit in the back. I’m trying to get him to look at me, but he’s practically ignoring me, even though he’s holding my hand. He and Callen are talking about work and the guys that are coming today. They’re arguing over who will be on whose team. There are eight of us, so we can divide up evenly. Apparently this guy Tommy is coming. He never seems to go out with the guys because he’s married and has a kid, but they convinced him to come today. Vaughn told him he could bring the family, but he told him it would be just him.
We pull up to the bowling alley at the same time Nolin, Max, and Liam arrive in Nolin’s car. We all get out and say hi, and then head in to see if Tommy is here as well but we discover he’s not. Callen gives his name, and tells the guy he’s registered eight of us for the event. The guy tells us we’re on the last two lanes. The event fee covers three games, and we’ll be served our food in between the second and third game. He lets us know the waitress will bring us the options we can choose from and begins getting us shoes. Tommy walks in as the guy behind the counter brings Liam his. He quickly gives the guy his size and we head to the end lanes.
When we get there, Callen sits in front of one screen and Vaughn in front of the other. Vaughn programs the names. Our lane consists of Vaughn and I, Liam, and Nolin. Callen’s lane is he and Courtney, with Max, and Tommy. The guys quickly introduce us to Tommy, and then we all start looking for balls to throw. I find a pretty purple ball that is a size 8 and Courtney grabs a pink one that also has an eight on it. All the guys are grabbing blue and black ones that are much heavier balls. The guys listed us first in the list. I think it’s because they want to see what we’ve got before they have to throw, but they try to say it’s a ladies before gentleman type of thing.
I’m glad to see Vaughn is loosening up a bit. I was starting to think it was going to be a crap night, but he’s laughing and seems to be having fun. I step up to the lane, slowly walk to the line, and throw my ball. It slowly curves down the lane and I only manage to hit two pins. I turn around with a pout and the guys laugh, but Courtney made me look good, because she threw a gutter ball. Callen tries to encourage her, but I’m not sure it’s working. Liam and Max go next. Liam gets a spare and Max gets a strike. The guys are really having a great time. They’re egging each other on, and joking around, and before we know it, the first game is done and we’ve lost by ten pins. Vaughn is never going to hear the end of it if we don’t win a game. “We’ll take the next one,” I taunt Callen.
“Yeah, we’ll see about that.” He hits the button to start the next game. The waitress brings us another round of drinks. They sell alcohol but because people have to drive, we’ve all agreed to stick to soda or water. I kick off the second game with a spare, while Courtney only gets a six.
I stick out my tongue at Callen and take a seat next to Vaughn. “Hey, are you all right? You’re awfully quiet.”
“I’m fine. I’m having a great time. Are you?”
“Yes, this is a blast.” I’m full of excitement.
He gives me a tight smile. “Good.” He gets up to take his turn and he gets a strike. It’s puts a bit of a pep into his step.
It’s my turn again and I really want to get a strike. I’m really focused when Callen decides to be a dick and shouts, “Look out.”
I flinch, nearly dropping my ball. I turn around and give him a look that screams fuck off. “Dude, my girl is going to fuck your shit up if you keep that up.” Vaughn punches Callen in the arm.
“Shit, dude. My bad. I thought it was funny.” Callen rubs his arm.
“Go ahead, sweetie, take your time.” I line myself up and focus on my shot. This time Callen is smart enough to keep his mouth shut. I throw my ball and it hits perfectly, knocking all ten pins down. I jump up and down, full of excitement. I step down from the lane and Vaughn gives me a high five. “Nice job, sweetie.” I wiggle my brows at him and take my seat.
Our food arrives just as we’re finishing the second game and things are getting competitive. I’m almost afraid to see what the third game will be like. My arm is getting tired, as is Courtney’s. Neither of us are used to repeatedly throwing an eight pound ball around, and who would have thought it could be so exhausting.
Everyone gathers at the table where the waitress has set our food and we dig in. Everyone is starving at this point from the activity, so we eat pretty quickly. Vaughn sits next to me, and again he’s really quiet and distant. His leg is bouncing a mile a minute under the table, and he’s no longer interacting with his buddies. I’m starting to wonder if it was a bad idea for Courtney and I to come today. “Let’s play,” Vaughn announces, and storms off to start the next game. What the hell has crawled up his ass? Courtney looks at me with fear in her eyes, and I simply shrug my shoulders, because honestly I have no idea what that was about, but I’m getting frustrated because he’s gotten more and more distant as the day has gone on. Even after winning the last game he was cranky. I wonder if he’s really not sleeping well and he told me he was because he doesn’t want me on his ass. I shake off my thoughts. There’s no way he’d lie to me like that. “Let’s go, Brooke.” Wow, I went from sweetie to Brooke. Well, all right. I walk up the lane and toss my ball haphazardly, not really caring at this point. I knock down three pins with the first ball and manage a spare with the second, and then I take a seat behind him. I’m watching the others bowl while Callen is giving him shit for his attitude. Tension is getting high, and I’m not sure what to do. I’m about ready to storm off, only I can’t, because I promised I would be there for him.
The game is going by quickly, and in between throws, Callen tries to get Vaughn to pull his head out of his ass, but it just seems to be making things worse. I take my next two throws, and with only one more turn left for me, I kneel next to Vaughn, trying to be discreet. “Hey, is this attitude because I’m supposed to be spending the night?”
His head whips to mine and he narrows his eyes. “What are you talking about? I never told you we were going there.” Tears well in my eyes at his nasty tone.
“When we had dinner…you said that if you were doing well, and you told me you’ve been sleeping, so I assumed…”
He runs his hand through his wavy hair. “Well, that’s the problem. You shouldn’t have assumed. Now if you’ll excuse me, it’s my turn.”
I stand up, floored he’s talking to me this way. I’m fighting my tears because we’re with his friends in a public place and I have nowhere to go. I came with Courtney, and her car is at Callen’s still. “Dude, you’re being a dick. What the fuck is your problem, man?” Callen stands off with Vaughn, but Vaughn steps around him and throws his ball down the lane, getting a gutter ball. Now he’s even angrier.
“I think it’s time to call it quits.” Tommy starts taking off his bowling shoes and the other guys follow suit.
Vaughn collapses into the chair. With his head in his hands, he looks to the floor and whispers an apology. Callen takes care of everything at the counter while Courtney and I change. By the time we’re done, the other guys have all run off. Callen puts his hand on Vaughn’s shoulder. “Let’s go, man. We need to get the girls back to their car.”
“You take them. I’m going to walk, I need to clear my head.”
He stands up and his eyes meet mine. “I don’t know what has come over you, but when you’ve gotten your shit figured out, call me. I’ve tried to be supportive, and to be there for you, and I even understand how I hurt you running out on you after the beach, but that gives you no right to treat me the way you have today. I love you, Vaughn Anderson, but you will treat me the way I deserve to be treated, or you’ll lose me forever.” I hold my head high and walk toward Courtney, who puts her arm around me comfortingly.
Callen spends the entire car ride apologizing for his friend’s behavior. He tells me that he’s never seen Vaughn look as good has he has the past week and a half, and now all of a sudden he was on edge today. Maybe we were rushing things when we spoke about spending the night, but if so, that’s fine. He should have just said so. I was so on edge the entire time we were together I didn’t even get to tell him the good news, and now, I don’t care to.