Chapter 47

SUBURBAN LANES BOWLING ALLEY

Allison and Lydia stepped into the vibrant glow of the surface bowling alley, the neon lights casting colorful reflections on their faces. They watched as Scott soon arrived, while Allison turned to Lydia, her eyes curious. "Where's your date?"

Lydia, her gaze fixed on the street, replied confidently, "He's here."

Allison and Scott followed her line of sight just in time to see a figure on a BMW R nineT Scrambler roaring down the street. The motorcycle, with its matte black finish and aggressive stance, cut through the night like a sleek predator. The retro design of the bike, highlighted by a round headlight and minimalistic bodywork, gleamed under the streetlights. The high-mounted dual exhaust pipes emitted a deep, throaty growl as the rider expertly maneuvered into the parking lot.

The rider, clad in a leather jacket that matched the bike's rugged aesthetic, pulled to a smooth stop. The spoked wheels crunched on the gravel, and the engine's roar subsided into a purr. He swung his leg over and removed his helmet, revealing Alexander.

Allison and Scott stopped in their tracks, surprise etched on their faces as Alexander stepped into view. The last thing Allison expected was for her uncle to be Lydia's date.

"Alex?" Allison's voice was a mix of disbelief and confusion.

Alexander chuckled softly, the corners of his eyes crinkling. "I didn't expect to see you here, either," he said, glancing at Lydia with a hint of amusement. "Seems we all have some surprises tonight."

Allison turned narrowed her eyes at Lydia, there was slight tension between them palpable. "So, you're dating my cousin?" she asked, her voice edged with suspicion.

Lydia raised her hands in a placating gesture. "I knew him before," she explained, her tone steady but defensive. "He was a friend of my mother's."

Allison sighed, the awkwardness of the situation thickening the air around them. The group made their way into the bowling alley, its neon lights casting a surreal glow over their faces.

Alexander caught up to Allison, a reassuring smile on his face. "Your father found out about your escape," he said, his voice low but clear.

Allison winced. "Is he angry?"

Alexander's smile softened, and he shook his head slightly. "A bit, but he's much less worried knowing you're with me."

Relief washed over Allison's face, and she managed a small smile, nodding in appreciation. Scott, watching their exchange from a distance, couldn't hide the flicker of jealousy in his eyes

Allison, Scott, Alexander and Lydia are at the bowling alley,where Allison is studying a shelf of bowling balls as she tests out the weight of a blue one, trying to find the best one. Scott is clearly intimidated by Allison's perceived expertise when it comes to this sport and nervously comments on it, "You look like you know what you're doing..."

Allison once again shrugs as though it's not a big deal and sets the bowling ball down in favor of picking up another one that is the same color and added, "Used to bowl with my dad."

Allison sets this ball down as well and picks up another one, this one a pale lilac color, as she turns to look at Scott, "When was the last time you bowled?"

Scott, overwhelmed with nerves and wanting to impress Allison and slightly spit Alexander, anxiously stammers his reply as he looks through the bowling balls on the top row, "Uh, at a birthday party..."

Allison decides the lilac ball is the best one for her and turns to walk away, joining Lydia and Alexander at their lane, as Scott quietly finishes his sentence where no one else can hear, "..... When I was eight."

At their lane, Lydia, holding a bright pink bowling ball, is about to play her first frame when Alexander comes up behind her and grabs her on the hips, nuzzling his face into Lydia's shoulder, which she visibly enjoys. She giggles as he presses a small kiss to her check and runs his hands up and down her waist and hips as he muttered,"I know you are really great at this."Lydia grinned tries, and the ball ends up going straight and knocks down all the pins, getting a strike . Lydia gives Alexander a flirtation grin and towards Allison and Scott.

For Lydia's second attempt at the frame, she only knocks over the 10 pins and gets a strike. She smiled and returns to the seats, where Allison and Scott are watching, while Lydia said to Alexander," How was that?"

Alex smiled and replied,"That was great."

It's now Allison's turn, and she picks up her lilac ball and prepares to make her shot while Scott, anxiously bouncing his leg on the ball of his foot, watches her with interest. Allison throws her ball with a competent form and manages to get a strike, which pleases her; she tosses her hair over her shoulder as she walks back to the others, with all three of them clearly impressed by her skill. Lydia claps supportively, and Scott smiles widely at her, "Somebody brought their A-game."

Scott holds out his hand for a low-five, and Allison giggles as she lightly smacks his hand with her own, Scott smiled and said,"Good job."

When Allison turns to watch Alexander bowl his frame, Scott's smile falls, and his anxiety about how he will perform only gets worse, his leg jiggling even harder from how nervous he is.

While Alexander, playing with a sapphire blue bowling ball, gets a strike on his first try, rolling the ball without putting his fingers in the holes and with a nearly perfect posture. Lydia claps excitedly, and Allison smiles gives him a look that says, "Wow, I'm impressed" as Scott bites his lip nervously.

Alexander returns to their seating area, sitting down and putting his arm around Lydia before he calls Scott up to bowl his frame, "You're up, McCall."

Alexander to stare at Scott intensely with a blank expression, and Scott sighs as he gets up, with Allison encouraging him with a gentle elbow to the arm as he goes up to the lane, "You can do it, Scott."

Scott picks up a green bowling ball and heads to make his first shot. However, his nerves cause him to get a little clumsy, leading him to trip as he makes his throw. The ball rolls into the gutter almost immediately, and Alexander controls his urge to laugh just as quickly as Allison shoots him a fake glare at her uncle.

Allison irritably said,"Cousin, please stop laughing.He is just nervous and maybe even new. Maybe he just needs a little warm-up."

Alexander controls himself and said,"Yeah, I understand."

Allison sighed at her couisn is being annoying, she tries to encourage Scott again, "Just... just aim for the middle."

Alexander muttered in a low tone," It seems you cannot use your werewolf powers to impress Allison here."

Scott could hear it and almost lost the bowling ball. While Lydia, who has been silent this entire time, she agrees with Alexander, she did want Allison to find someone better than Scott.

Allison encouraged Scott,"Just concentrate."

Scott self-consciously makes his way up to make his next shot and practically prays for a better outcome muttering, "Come on, just one pin, please..."

Allison leans forward, paying close attention to Scott, as Scott makes his next play. It's a little less clumsy than the first, and the ball stays in the middle of the lane for most of the length until it finally rolls into the gutter again. Alexander shook his head and muttered,"

Great job."

Defeated, Scott returns to his seat next to Allison, who continues to be totally supportive, "Don't worry. We only just started."Scott nervously rubs his arm and looks down at the floor.

It's Scott's turn once again, and he's standing at the lane, visibly wishing he was doing anything else, when looks around to see if any of the other lanes of players are watching. Allison, seeing his discomfort, has a brief internal debate.

While Alexander whispered to her,"Give the boy a small talk, some encouragement."

Allison nodded getting up to talk to him before he makes his shot, "Scott, you're thinking too much."

Scott sighs and looks at her sheepishly and replied,"I know. I'm sorry. I'm ruining this."

Allison reassuringly said,"No, no, not at all!"

Allison stands behind him, leaning forward so her chin is over his right shoulder and continues in a wry tone of voice,"But, I wouldn't mind shutting them up...

Scott huffs a laugh, making it clear that he would love nothing more than to do the same thing, "So, just clear your head, and think about something else."

Scott sighs deeply, "Like what?"

Allison leans forward saying"Anything", linking her right arm through his right arm before speaking in a more seductive voice, "Think about me..."She turns as though she's about to leave, and then gets a better idea, whispering into his ear directly with a smirk,"...Naked."

She scampers back to the seats, and Scott's eyes widen at the thought she just suggested. He gulps and blinks anxiously for a moment before the right side of his mouth quirks up into a smile. Allison, now seated, smiles, feeling much better about his odds. Scott gets into position and stares intently at the pins, his vision switching for a moment into his red-tinted Werewolf vision before making his shot. The ball flies down the lane and hits the middle pin, which knocks them all down in a strike.

Allison laughs, delighted by this improvement in his performance now that he's lost his nerves. Alexander didn't looks surprised, while Lydia being curious turns to Allison and questioned, "What did you say to him?"

Allison stammers for a moment as Scott comes to sit down next to her with a smile on his face and answered, "I, uh... I just gave him something to think about..."

Alexander scoffed and muttered under his breath, "Yeah, what could get a hormonal teenage boy hyped up."

Lydia caught the hint immediately, a playful grin spreading across her face as she glanced at Allison. "Well, it seems Allison is not as innocent as she seems," she teased.

Allison's cheeks flushed a deep red. "Alex!" she protested, her voice a mix of mortification and amusement.

After that encouragement Scott became expert bowler, while Alexander and Lydia enjoyed there double date without too much hustle.