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“Sounds good,” Jay said, looking up at the monitors. “Jackson, you’re with Hudson, and Charli, you’re with Blake. I’ll put me, Misha, Jackson, and Hudson on one lane, and the rest of you will be on the other one.”
Before anyone could protest, Jay headed for the counter. Blake glanced at Charli, but she wasn’t reacting visually to what her siblings had decided.
“Hope you’re prepared to lose,” she said as they walked to their lane.
As far as Blake was concerned, win or lose, he was just happy to be playing on her team. “Don’t worry. I’m pretty sure we have a chance. Jackson seems to live up to the role of professional handicap in every activity we choose, so I think we’ll be okay.”
A quick smile crossed Charli’s face. “I think he likes having such a low expectation to live up to. Every once in a while, he surprises us.”
Not for the first time, Blake wondered if Charli or Jackson had an interest in each other. He really hoped not. He might not have a chance to recapture what he’d once had with Charli, but he wasn’t sure he could stand by and watch Jackson connect with her on a romantic level.
All he could hope was that Charli and Jackson had already had enough time to get to know each other, so if they’d wanted to be together, they would have been by this point. He wasn’t sure he could witness the two of them dating.
“Alright,” Jay said when he came back. “We’re ready to go.”
Will and Janessa joined Blake and Charli at the lane closest to the one the kids were playing on. Blake appreciated that, since he liked being able to keep an eye on Amelia.
So far, the kids seemed to be having a blast, and Blake had a feeling that Amelia was going to be exhausted when they got home that night. He was also certain that she’d ask to go bowling again soon. Although, if Peyton and Layla weren’t able to join them, she might not be as excited to bowl again with just him.
“You’re up first, Charli,” Janessa said. “Show us how it’s done.”
Charli laughed as she stood up and went to grab a ball. “About all I can really show you is how to hit the gutter. It’s a challenge for me to consistently keep the ball in the middle of the lane for some reason.”
Blake got up and took a couple of steps toward Charli. “Can I give you a couple of tips?”
After a brief hesitation, Charli nodded, so Blake joined her on the approach area.
Standing next to her, Blake gestured to the lane. “You tend to pull a bit to the left. If you want your ball to stay more central, either turn your hand a bit more to the right or position yourself more to the right of center.”
“Do I need to do both?” Charli asked.
“I think you just need to do one. Try each of them to see which one works best for you.”
Blake stepped back off the approach area, crossing his arms as he watched her step toward the foul line and release the ball. She had lined herself up with the middle still, so it seemed she was working on the position of her hand first.
The ball didn’t seem to pull as far to the left and made it to the pins without hitting the gutter. Unfortunately, it only managed to hit the two pins on the far left.
“Well, at least it wasn’t the gutter,” Charli muttered as she turned to pick up another ball. “I’ll try moving off to the right this time.”
She had more success with that, and the ball hit the middle pins and left only one pin on the right standing.
Turning around, the smile she gave Blake made him smile back. “That worked out great. We might just win this.”
Blake chuckled. “We just might.”
“Will, are you going to give me tips?” Janessa asked her husband, when it was her turn, Charli having not been able to get the remaining pin with her last ball.
“I give you tips all the time,” Will said. “But you never listen to me.”
Janessa considered his response for a moment. “I suppose that’s true. I listen when it’s important, though.”
“Maybe this will be important.”
“Possibly.” Janessa gave her husband a broad smile and a quick kiss before going to pick up a ball.
Janessa didn’t do as well as Charli had, but she managed to keep two of her three balls out of the gutter. Blake got all ten pins with two of his balls, and Will did the same.
At the end of the first frame, Will did the math, then announced that Blake and Charli were in the lead. Charli came over to where Blake sat and gave him a high five before she went to pick up a ball to start the next frame.
