Free One Broke Girl by Rhonda Helms

going to have.
    And they were right. I hadn’t been to this bowling alley—or any, in fact—since fifth grade, but right now I didn’t care if I looked dumb or unskilled. I was desperate for fun. A night with the girls was exactly what I needed.
    “Okay,” I said as I sat up and smoothed my jeans-clad thighs. “What now? Do we pick out bowling balls?”
    Bianca checked her phone then said with a smirk, “We will in a minute. Just wait.”
    “For what? Are we supposed to start at a certain time or something?” We already had our lane; it was just waiting for us, the pins at the end seated perfectly on the wooden strip.
    “For them,” Natalie said as she waved toward the bowling alley entrance. “Hey, honey! We’re over here.” She whispered to me, “I hope it’s okay that we asked Gavin to hang with us. You’re good with that, right?”
    I spun around and saw two guys walking with Gavin, all of them talking among themselves and laughing. My heart slammed against my ribcage, and I tried to fight that attraction that made my senses open up, my lower belly throb.
    The guy on the right, a bulky blond dude in the tightest shirt I’d ever seen, did that guy head-nod thing when he saw Natalie.
    I disliked him instantly. Something about his smirk, his body language struck me as smarmy and self-focused. Not to mention those absurdly big gym muscles bursting out of his tiny sleeves.
    Bianca leaned toward me as the guy came over and received a kiss from Natalie. “That’s West,” she said, obvious scorn in her tone. “Natalie’s boyfriend. He’s a total penis. I can’t stand him, in case you can’t tell.”
    “Never would have guessed,” I replied, and she elbowed me in the side.
    While the three men went to the counter to get shoes, Bianca asked Natalie, “Hey, who’s the other guy? I haven’t seen him before.” She kept her gaze locked on the jeans-clad backside of the third guy, a shaggy-haired redhead.
    “One of West’s gym buddies. His name’s Rich. He’s nice—I’ve met him a couple of times. I figured he’d make things even.”
    “Hm.” Bianca scrutinized him then shrugged. “Okay. I’m sure it’ll be fun.”
    Ah, crud. Realization hit me—we were all coupled. The girls had set this up as a sort of triple date: Natalie and her boyfriend, Bianca and a blind date, and me with Gavin. My friend.
    My very, very hot friend.
    The guys returned and donned their bowling shoes. Gavin’s eyes raked over my shirt and jeans, and a flush worked its way across every inch of my flesh. That was not a friendly look.
    “Hi, Anna,” he said in a warm voice.
    “Hi, Gavin,” I replied. My pulse roared in my ears as he stood and peered down at me. “Are you a bowling fan?”
    “Honestly? I suck at it.” He chuckled and shrugged. “But it’s a good excuse to drink a beer and wear these sexy shoes.” He lifted his foot in the air and wiggled it so I could check out his red-and-blue bowling shoes.
    “Sorry, but mine are slightly sexier,” I said, pointing at my feet, which were clad in two-toned brown bowling shoes.
    Our group moved en masse to the massive rack holding dozens of bowling balls. I must have picked up twenty balls, trying to decide which one would be the perfect weight to use. Then we proceeded back to our lane, and West jumped up before anyone else could start the game.
    “Watch this, babe,” he said to Natalie as he walked with swagger to the lane.
    “Get ready to be schooled by the master, everyone,” Bianca said under her breath.
    Natalie shot her a glare, and Bianca gave a wide-eyed shrug in response. Then she turned to talk to Rich before Natalie could chew her out.
    “How are you liking Edgewood Falls so far?” Gavin asked me in a polite conversational tone. From the seat beside me, he leaned back, his long legs stretched out in front of him. His thigh brushed against my knee, and I froze before I could do anything dumb like rub back.
    “It’s much more charming than I