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Janessa and Charli developed a friendly rivalry, and soon they were trash talking each other. Will just sat back and let the sisters go at it, so Blake did the same.
“If I get a strike,” Janessa said, turning to face Charli with a ball in her hand. “You have to go on a date.”
Charli gave a huff of laughter. “Okay. Sure.”
Blake glanced at Charli in surprise. From what he’d heard, Charli wasn’t one to date. So the fact that she was willing to commit to that was a bit surprising. Although, he supposed that there wasn’t much risk to Charli agreeing as Janessa hadn’t managed to throw a strike yet that night.
“Hey, everyone.” Janessa had raised her voice enough that the others in the next lane turned toward her. “Charli has agreed to go on a date if I get a strike.”
Misha laughed. “I’m guessing she figures that’s a pretty safe thing to agree to.”
“Hey, sometimes getting a strike is as much luck as it is skill,” Janessa protested.
“Good luck, then,” Jay said. “And I really mean that.”
Charli sat on a seat in the curved row behind the lanes, legs and arms crossed. She didn’t appear to be worried at all as she watched Janessa prepare to throw her ball.
Pretty quickly, it became apparent that Charli’s lack of concern wasn’t misplaced. Janessa’s first ball ended up in the gutter, leaving Blake feeling a strange mixture of disappointment and relief.
“Nice try, Nessa,” Charli called out.
“Oh, I might have missed this one, but I still have a few more frames.”
Charli uncrossed her arms and legs as she popped up on her feet. “Hang on a second.”
Janessa turned around, an innocent look on her face. “What’s the problem?”
“I didn’t agree to you getting a strike whenever during this game. It was just for this frame.”
After throwing her second ball, Janessa turned around. “You didn’t specify that.”
“You didn’t specify it was for the whole game.”
“All I said was that if I threw a strike, and you agreed.”
Charli groaned as she slumped back in her seat. “Siblings suck.”
Blake managed not to laugh, assuming that Charli wouldn’t appreciate it if he did. The tension she showed every time Janessa’s turn came, made it pretty evident that she actually didn’t want Janessa to get that strike.
The odds were still pretty much in Charli’s favor, but Janessa wasn’t completely wrong either. Sometimes luck played a role even when skill was absent.
Janessa was down to two frames, and as she prepared to bowl the second to last frame, she paused for longer than usual before throwing her ball. Apparently, whatever she did to prepare served her well because, shock of all shocks, she got a strike.
As the display flashed STRIKE above her, Janessa stood there for a moment, just staring, and then she slowly turned around. Instead of looking at Charli, Janessa stared at Jay with wide eyes.
“Congrats, Nessa,” Jay said with a broad grin.
“Nope. No congrats,” Charli announced.
Janessa looked at her then, a smile growing on her face. “And that’s how you do it.”
“Nope.”
“Okay. Here’s a deal for you,” Janessa said as she sauntered toward her sister. “If you get a strike, it will cancel out mine.”
Charli glared at her sister, then stalked over to the ball return and stared down at the balls. Blake wondered if she was trying to find a lucky ball or something.
Finally, she grabbed a ball, then walked over to the foul line. She took a small step to the right, clearly planning to do all she could to improve her chances of getting a strike.
