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“Lucas.”
“Ben.”
Amber nods at the bowling alley before looking back at Lucas. “When was the last time we came here?”
Lucas grins. “My birthday, three years ago. I believe I beat you by at least a hundred points.”
“I don’t think so. It was no more than twenty points.”
“You wish.”
Amber gives Lucas a little shove, and Lucas playfully grabs her in a headlock, rubbing his knuckles over her head.
Irritation flickers through me before I quickly quell it. Amber is lovely and easy to get along with. She makes it impossible to dislike her, but that doesn’t mean I don’t feel resentful when it’s her my boyfriend calls first with news, or when Lucas spends so much time reminiscing with her about the good old days. Amber does her best to clue me in on their inside jokes, but sometimes their relationship feels more than friendly.
I don’t want to be that girl. The one who lives up to the jealous and possessive girlfriend cliché. I do everything I can to snuff out the small fires of insecurity that flare up inside of me whenever Amber and Lucas appear to forget I’m there with them. Now that Ben is dating Amber, however, I hope that I won’t have to spend so much time trying to smother those fires. Maybe I can relax a little knowing Amber is happy with someone else.
Amber pushes Lucas off. “You’re ruining my hair.”
Lucas grins maniacally. “Sorry.”
“Yeah, you look it, too.”
“Are they always like this?”
My attention turns to Ben, who watches me with a raised eyebrow.
I force a smile. “They have a lot of history.”
He doesn’t say anything, merely holds my gaze for a second before his attention flits back to the best friends who are still verbally sparring a few meters away. Ben and I continue watching the other two in silence. The silence isn’t uncomfortable, per se, but as Amber and Lucas continue teasing each other and seem to forget about us, I’m compelled to speak. I don’t want Ben to lose patience with their silliness. I know he’s been around Amber and Lucas before, but he might not have seen them quite like this.
“So, you know Amber’s family?” I ask, drawing Ben’s attention back to me as I fish for information.
“Her brother and I went to high school together.”
Amber finally stops stirring Lucas and comes back to us. “I went to the private college a couple of suburbs over with Lucas, but my brother liked sports and he insisted on going to the public school down the road.” Amber looks up at Ben, then back at me. “He and Duncan were in the same classes, and they started out hating each other.”
When I look at Ben, he shrugs. “You could say we were rivals.”
Amber grins. “They pursued the same girl, wound up in a fight, and ended up serving detention together. Somehow, they ended up thick as thieves after that.”
“Yeah, we’re real bosom buddies,” Ben says dryly.
The words ‘bosom buddies’ from this man sound so funny, I snort, and the side of his mouth kicks up in response.
“What he means,” Amber says, shooting Ben a playful glare, “is they both liked to get in trouble sneaking cigarettes on the school oval, and they were both manwhores.”
Ben smiles down at his girlfriend, his expression hot and tender. “I quit for you. The smoking and the manwhoring. I’m reformed.”
“We’ll see about that.” Amber wraps her arms around Ben’s waist, squeezing him while still looking up at him. “Should we go inside?”
Ben presses a kiss to the top of Amber’s head and pulls her tighter against him. “Yeah, babe.”
The affection in his deep, rumbling voice warms me. And as Amber and Ben walk in ahead of us, I can’t keep the smile off my face. Ben seems like the strong and silent type, the opposite of Amber, but it’s clear he adores her. No matter what Lucas has said about Ben, the guy is smitten.
Turning to Lucas, I whisper, “I like him. He’s nice.”
Lucas frowns, not taking his eyes off Amber as we follow the other couple into the bowling centre. The tick in his jaw tells me he doesn’t agree with my assessment. I shrug off his lack of enthusiasm. Amber and Ben are going to work out. I can feel it. And if Lucas really wants his friend to be happy with someone, he’ll learn to like Ben, too.
