The Joy of Love
Disclaimer: Same as before.
A/N: I'm really pleased with all the feedback that I've received for the story so far! Keep it up and here's chapter 7!
Chapter 7: Bowling fun with a surprise at the end
Zhane entered the bridge looking for Andros. Seeing him at his station, he walked over to him.
"Andros," he began. Andros looked up at him expectantly and he went on. "I just wanted to let you know that I'm going out for several hours."
Andros nodded. "Where are you going?" he asked.
"Back to the fair," Zhane answered. "It's the last day for it."
"Well, have a good time. I won't be here either. I'm taking Ashley to dinner and a movie. Carlos is taking Cassie out as well. We're going to make the most of things being quiet," Andros told him.
Zhane smiled. Carlos and Cassie had just recently gotten together and he was happy for them. "What about TJ?" he asked.
"He's staying here. Jasmine has some family thing going on so he's opted to stay here and keep an eye on everything," he explained. Jasmine was TJ's girlfriend of two months.
Zhane nodded. "Cool," he said. "Well, I better be going now."
Andros smiled and stood up. "I better comb my hair and find Ashley. It's almost time for us to leave as well. Have fun, Zhane," he told him.
"You too, Andros," Zhane replied as they did their special handshake. He then left the bridge and teleported down to 'his' apartment to wait for Rocky.
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Rocky hung up the phone and sighed. Adam had just called him to see if he wanted to go out to dinner with him and the others, which he had declined because of his date with Zhane. Adam, of course thought he was sick or crazy for declining to go to his favorite restaurant and he had just spent five minutes trying to convince him otherwise. And on top of that, when he'd told him that he was going back to the fair, he's had to listen to Adam ramble on about how he'd already been to the fair several times and that he was obsessed with it. It was annoying and he was glad when the call was over.
Shaking his head, he went to the hall closet and got his jacket. It was time to go pick up Zhane for their date. The thought of seeing Zhane in a few minutes made his heart race and he smiled. Double-checking to make sure his wallet was in his pocket; he locked the door and got in his car. He started the engine and a moment later, he was heading for Zhane's apartment.
Minutes later, he pulled into the parking lot and stopped the car in a parking space. He cut the engine and jumped out and raced to the doors that led into the lobby. He let himself in and immediately spotted Zhane coming down the stairs from the second story.
"Hi, Zhane!" Rocky called.
Zhane grinned widely. "Hey, Rocky!" He exclaimed.
Then Zhane reached the bottom of the stairs and they were in each other's arms, exchanging kisses and lovingly caressing each other's cheeks and running hands up and down each other's backs. After several minutes of this, Rocky pulled back and looked at Zhane.
"We better get going, baby," he said, sounding a little reluctant.
Zhane nodded. "I know, love," he replied. They kissed again and headed for Rocky's car.
Ten minutes later they arrived at the bowling alley. Rocky parked and turned off the car and then looked at Zhane. Unable to help himself, he leaned over and drew Zhane close, kissing him lovingly. Zhane moaned and returned the kiss. They pulled back and Rocky spoke. "I love you, Zhane," he said tenderly.
"I love you too, Rocky," Zhane replied, just as tenderly. They then got out of the car and went in the bowling alley.
"This is going to be so much fun," Rocky said enthusiastically upon seeing other people bowling, as well as open lanes. "You're going to love it, Zhane." Rocky stopped speaking as he noticed that Zhane seemed rooted in place, staring wide-eyed and wonderingly at everything around him. This made Rocky burst into a fit of giggles.
Zhane immediately turned to Rocky. "What are you laughing at, you knucklehead?" He asked in a mock-angry voice.
"You, you bonehead!" Rocky replied, still giggling. "You looked so funny just now!"
"Well, I'm so glad I'm amusing you!" Zhane told him wryly and gave an exaggerated bow.
Rocky burst out laughing and gave him a playful shove. "You're such a clown, Zhane! Come on." He led Zhane to the counter.
"Hi, can I help you?" Asked the woman behind it.
Rocky smiled. "Yeah, we want to bowl three games," he answered.
"Okay, do you need shoes?" She wanted to know. Rocky nodded, noticing that Zhane looked puzzled, and she went on. "That'll be twenty bucks even for the both of you."
Rocky opened his wallet and pulled out two tens and handed them to her. She rang it up and looked at them again. "I need your shoe sizes," he said.
Rocky told her his size and turned to Zhane.
Zhane looked blank. "Huh?" He asked.
Rocky bit back a giggle. "What size shoe do you wear?" he asked him.
Zhane looked down at his shoes. "Oh, uh, eleven, I think. Why?"
The woman gave him a strange look as she placed their shoes on the counter, along with a score sheet.
Rocky noticed it and explained. "This is his first time he's ever done this," he said.
She nodded but still looked a little bewildered, as she gave them their lane assignment, and then Rocky went over to a bench with Zhane following.
As soon as they sat down, Zhane turned to Rocky. "Okay, now that I made a fool of myself, would you mind explaining what's going on?" He asked, sounding a little annoyed.
"First off, you didn't make a fool of yourself, Zhane, and second, you have to wear special shoes when you bowl. So put those on and we'll pick out our balls," he answered, indicating the pair of shoes by his left foot, and discreetly squeezing his hand.
Zhane did so and Rocky put his on as well. Then they went to the racks of balls to pick theirs out.
Zhane picked up several different ones and put them back. "These all have different weights. And what are these holes for?" He asked, confused.
Rocky explained about the differences in bowling balls and why their weights were different, and also about the finger holes and which three fingers went in them. He finished by telling him they needed to fit his fingers comfortably, and not be too far apart or too close together.
Finally, Zhane choose a gray sixteen-pound ball and Rocky chose a black sixteen-pound one. They went to their assigned lane Rocky put his ball on the return rack. Zhane followed suit as Rocky wrote their names on the score sheet.
"What's that for?" He asked, pointing to it.
"To keep score," Rocky answered. "I'm going to go first so I can show you what to do." He picked up his ball and demonstrated the approach and how to roll it down the lane.
He knocked down six pins on his first ball and three on his second, missing the sleeper. He marked his score down and turned to Zhane. "Your turn," he said.
Zhane grinned and picked up his ball. "This looks pretty easy," he said as he prepared to take his first shot. A few moments later, Zhane was eating his words as his ball rolled into the gutter about halfway down the lane.
Rocky giggled. "It's not so easy, eh," he said jokingly.
Zhane gave him a mock glare. "What'd I do wrong?" He asked his boyfriend.
"Well, for starters, when you released the ball, your hand crossed your body. It should come straight up like you're going to shake hands. Second, you were about a foot and a half back from the lane when you released. Try going all the way up. That usually helps," Rocky explained as his ball came back.
Zhane picked up his ball and this time went all the way up to the beginning of the lane before releasing. This time his ball almost made it to the pins before going into the gutter. He groaned and threw up his hands. "I did what you said, and it still went in the gutter," he told Rocky.
"I know. Your hand went across your body again. Not as much as before, but it did," Rocky replied. "It just takes practice, Zhane, but you'll get it."
"I hope so," Zhane said as Rocky prepared to take his turn.
His first ball resulted in a three-ten split. On his second ball, he bumped his leg, sending the ball straight to the gutter after about eight feet.
Zhane burst out laughing. "What the heck do you call that?" He asked Rocky.
Rocky shook his head. "I call it a good example of what not to do," he replied wryly. "I hit my leg as I released. It happens to everyone once in a while, but it still sucks, and it can hurt."
"Boy, I sure hope I don't do that," Zhane said, picking up his ball.
"So do I. Knowing you, you'd probably break you leg!" Rocky quipped.
"Hey!" Zhane protested, feigning anger. "You're the one who's the klutz here," he told Rocky as he rolled his first ball.
"I am not," Rocky replied as Zhane's ball knocked over one pin.
"Hey, I got one!" Zhane exclaimed. He then bowed exaggeratedly several times to a pretend audience. "Thank you, thank you!" He said over and over as he bowed.
Rocky groaned and playfully shoved Zhane. "Will you knock it off already, Zhane, and roll your second ball? You look like a complete moron!" He scolded lightly.
"That's Mr. Moron to you," Zhane informed him as he shoved him back. Rocky just rolled his eyes as Zhane got ready to roll his second ball. But somehow, this time when he got to his backswing, the ball flew off his fingers and landed about three feet behind him with a loud thud.
Rocky took one look at the look of absolute shock on Zhane's face and laughed so hard he almost fell over. "Oh Zhane, you're too much!"
Zhane stood stock still. "What the hell just happened?" He asked Rocky.
Rocky shook his head. "You threw the ball the wrong way! It's supposed to go down the lane, not backwards at me!" He exclaimed, still giggling.
Zhane blushed. "Oops!" Was all he said.
Rocky noticed that people were staring at them, but didn't mention it to Zhane because he would just play to them and ham it up. Instead, he indicated Zhane's ball, which was still on the floor. "Zhane, pick up your ball and take your second turn," he told him.
Zhane quickly picked up his ball. "I didn't mean to that, Rocky," he said quietly.
Rocky squeezed his shoulder. "I know you didn't. It was an accident." He said reassuringly.
Zhane smiled at him and bowled his second ball. It went into the gutter but Zhane didn't seem to mind.
But the mishap seemed to set the tone for the rest of the game, and the two after that. By the time the third game was over, Zhane had managed to do it three more times and dropped his ball picking it up from the return rack twice. Rocky couldn't remember a longer three games in his life, or laughing so hard. Zhane hammed up every miscue he made to the fullest and generally clowned around the rest of the time. And when Rocky dropped his own ball behind him in the third game, Zhane lost it. He rolled on the floor and laughed so hard tears streamed down his cheeks. Rocky playfully kicked him several times, but the only thing that accomplished was Zhane getting up knocking Rocky's legs out from under him sending him butt first into a chair. Rocky sprang up and shoved him, and that resulted in about their thousandth shoving match of the evening.
Rocky was almost glad when the last game was over. He'd had a blast, but it had just seemed to go on forever. The put their balls up and returned their shoes, and then got something to eat and sat down at a table.
"You were right, Rocky," Zhane said. "This was so much fun. And I'm not half bad at it either."
Rocky almost choked on his food when he heard that. "Zhane, your highest score was a fifty-one! No offense, but you stink!" He exclaimed.
Zhane laughed. "That's fifty-one points better than I could've done, you know," he pointed out.
Rocky rolled his eyes. "Very eloquently put, Zhane," he replied wryly.
"Thank you!" Zhane exclaimed with a smile.
Rocky just shook his head. "You're a nut case, Zhane, you know that!" He told him.
Zhane nodded. "I know. But I'm your nut case, Rocky," he replied.
Rocky looked him straight in the eye. "Damn straight you are," he confirmed.
Zhane grinned. "That's right. And don't you forget it!" He said forcefully.
Rocky smiled back. "Don't worry, I couldn't even if I tried," He reassured him. He jumped up. "I do have to use the restroom, though. I'll be right back." With that, he turned and headed for it, looking back once to wink at Zhane.
But before he could open the door, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned and found a grinning Zhane standing beside him.
"Hey, you forgot to wait for me," he informed him.
Rocky couldn't help smiling as well. Zhane had fallen for his ploy! "Oh really?" He asked mischievously.
Zhane nodded. "Yeah," he confirmed. "But don't worry; you can make it up to me."
Rocky felt week in the knees. "And how can I do that?" He asked playfully.
Zhane stepped closer and quickly looked around. "Like this," he murmured and brushed his lips against his boyfriend's.
Rocky immediately slipped his arms around Zhane and kissed him back, quickly deepening it.
Zhane moaned as his arms came around Rocky.
After several long moments, the kiss ended and they pulled back momentarily before kissing again and again. Each kiss grew more and more passionate as Rocky ran his hand up and down Zhane's back. Zhane responded by threading his hand through Rocky's hair over and over. Rocky moaned at his touch and Zhane took advantage of Rocky's open mouth and thrust his tongue inside, exploring every recess of his mouth. Rocky returned the gesture and kissed him harder, completely losing himself in the other boy. His heart was so full of love that he thought it might burst as Zhane began to stroke his chest tenderly.
They were completely caught up in each other and oblivious to everything else; and as a result, didn't see the couple just entering the bowling alley at that moment. In fact, they weren't aware of them at all until they were two feet in front of them and the young man spoke.
"What in hell's name is going on here?" He demanded to know in a loud voice.
Startled by the sudden voice, Rocky and Zhane quickly jumped apart.
Zhane gasped in horror, for he recognized the voice instantly. An instant later, his worst fear was realized as he saw Andros standing there with Ashley, both glaring at the couple in shock, anger, and even horror.
He looked at Rocky gravely. "I think we're dead," he said quietly.
A/N: Their secret is out! Will Andros and ashley and the rest accept them or not? Do you think they should? Your opinions matter! Please review and tell me what you think! Also, what do you think about their antics while they were bowling?