Free Changing Course by Aly Martinez Page B

direction.
    "Jesse? What are you doing here? Wow, you look fantastic."
    "Um, just watching the game." She timidly smiles, deciding to play along.
    "I'm glad I ran into you, I could use a friend to watch the game with. I hate coming to these things alone."
    "Really? I happen to have an extra seat in my brother’s corporate box, if you'd like to join me?"
    "A box! Hell yeah, I'd like to join you. I hear they have free beer," I say, causing the small smile to spread across her face.
    "Well, then why are we still standing here when there is free alcohol to be consumed just around the corner?" she says as she starts back toward our seats.
    Before we get more than a few steps away, I lean over and whisper, "Friends?" in her ear.
    "Friends. Thank you," she whispers back. I reply with nothing but a wink.
     
    A FTER LEAVING the game, Jesse and I decided to walk around for a bit. Neither one of us was quite ready to go home. Jesse is incredible. She was nothing like the person I thought she would be. Sure, she was a little timid and shy sometimes, but in other moments, she would put me in my place without a second thought. It was an extraordinary combination of innocent and sassy. I love a woman who can challenge me, and it wasn't until today that I started to see that quality in her. She absolutely fascinated me. We talked about everything. She told hilarious stories about her morning spent shooting down Kara’s "whore-riffic" clothing choices, and I told her about my crazy sisters and all my nieces and nephews. We had the perfect afternoon. As the game came to an end, I suggested a walk as an excuse to keep her close for a few minutes longer.
    "Can we go in here?" Jesse asks, stopping in front of a random bowling alley.
    "You want to go bowling?" I ask, surprised by her choice. I figured we would grab an early dinner at a quiet restaurant, but it seems everything about Jesse is surprising today.
    "Yeah, why not?"
    "You're wearing a dress."
    "So?"
    "I don't know. I didn't think a dress was ideal bowling attire, but if you want to bowl, then I'm game."
    "Do you play?"
    "Of course! Care to make a little wager?" I reach out and grab the door, but pause before opening it.
    "Sure! What do you have in mind? I could stand a little extra spending cash this week." She answers with a smirk.
    "Not this time, little lady." I make a show of tipping my pretend cowboy hat. "How about we bet one favor, to be decided upon later."
    "What kind of favor?" she asks skeptically.
    "Anything. Who knows this time next week you could be doing my laundry."
    "Oh, those kind of favors! Okay! I'm in!" She actually squeals in excitement making me a little fearful of her enthusiasm. But as she jumps around clapping her hands, I can’t help but laugh too. God she's beautiful ! And that thought had nothing to do with the boob that almost popped out of her dress. Before I can stop myself, I place a hand on her lower back to guide her inside and lean over to breathe in her scent.
    "Let's do this, gorgeous."
    We walk into the bowling alley to see it packed for a Sunday evening. Dozens of eyes seem to breeze over me landing directly on Jesse, sweeping her from head to toe. A few of the men openly stare at her chest as she walks. I swear one of them even had the balls to adjust his pants when we passed by his lane! I had to fight the urge not to rip off whatever pencil dick he was grabbing while drooling over my woman…I mean, a woman half his age. I knew right then that this was going to be a short excursion.
    I’m not about to sit and watch men ogle Jesse as she bowls in this dress. Because of my stupid "just friends" conversation earlier, I can't even wrap an arm around her waist claiming her for everyone to see. One game, then we are out of here. We'll go to a nice restaurant or maybe find a nice empty bar where we can hang out. As we reach the counter, I pull out my wallet to pay, but Jesse stops me first.
    "I'll pay for myself. Friends, remember?" She looks up