Chapter Seven: Q&A
At exactly six o'clock, Justin was standing outside of the coffee shop. A minute later, Tina emerged. She was dressed in a navy blue t-shirt and a pair of jean Capri's. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail.
She smiled when she saw Justin. "Hi," she said.
"Hi," Justin said, returning her smile. "Are you ready to go?"
"Yup."
Then the two of them headed for the bowling alley.
"Hey," Justin said. "My little brother wanted me to ask you something."
"Sure, what is it?" Tina asked.
"He wants to know if you have a younger sister."
Tina laughed. "No, I don't. Sorry."
"Oh, well. Too bad for Max."
"I have a little brother, though."
"That's cool. You two get along?"
"It's a love/hate relationship. We love to hate each other."
Justin laughed. "Yeah, it's the same here."
"So, let me see. You're the oldest, then your sister."
"Alex."
"Then your brother Max."
"Correct."
They continued talking as they walked. When they reached the bowling alley, Justin held the door open for Tina. They got their rental shoes, picked out their bowling balls and got themselves set up on their lane.
"No magic, agreed?" Tina asked.
"Agreed," Justin said. "Because using magic would be cheating."
"But, let's make it a little more interesting."
Justin cocked an eyebrow at her. "What did you have in mind?"
"Each frame, whoever knocks down less pins has to take a truth or dare from the other."
Justin thought for a moment. This would be a fun way to find out more about each other. "Fine. It's a deal."
Tina extended her hand towards him. He took it and they shook hands to seal the deal.
"Let's bowl!" Tina said.
Justin and Tina quickly found out that they were pretty evenly matched in their bowling skills. At the end of the eighth frame, both of them had won four frames. Then, Tina bowled a strike in the ninth frame to take the lead.
"OK," Tina said to Justin when her turn ended. "Truth or dare?"
Justin thought for a moment. "I haven't done a dare yet, so I'll take a dare."
Tina giggled. "I dare you to bowl the next frame with your shirt unbuttoned."
Justin chuckled. "Are you serious?"
"C'mon, Justin. Don't be shy."
"I'm not shy. I'm just…" Justin paused for a moment as he tried to find the right word. "Modest."
"It's just your shirt. All articles of clothing will remain on this evening."
Justin sighed, giving in. "Alright then." He undid the buttons of his shirt.
Tina gave him a look over, gazing upon his muscular chest and abs. "Damn! Milk has done your body good."
Justin chuckled and his cheeks started to turn pink. "I'm going to take my turn now."
"Wait. What if we take this little game a step further?"
"What do you mean?"
"Winner of the next frame gets to ask the loser any question they want and the question must be answered."
"OK, deal."
They shook hands. Then Justin got up and took his turn. He bowled an eight for the final frame. Tina took her turn and on her first ball, she got a seven-ten split.
"What happens if you miss this?" Justin asked, buttoning up his shirt.
"We tie," Tina replied.
"And if we tie, then what? Do I still get to ask you a question?"
"Only if I get to ask you one in return."
"Fair enough. Give it your best shot."
Tina threw her next ball. It went straight down the middle of the lane and in between the two pins.
"Field goal!" Justin said.
Tina laughed. "I guess it's a tie. Ask me a question and then I'll ask you one."
Justin thought for a moment. Of the four frames that he had won, Tina had chosen truth every time. So far in the game, he had learned that her first crush was Joey from New Kids on the Block, she had an irrational fear of tornadoes, her middle name was Malloren, and that she was a vegetarian. Now he had the opportunity to ask her any question he wanted, thereby doing more to figuring Tina out.
"I can ask you anything?" Justin asked.
"Yup," Tina replied. "Anything at all."
"OK. Well, this is kind of a personal question. Feel free to slap me if you think it's out of line."
Tina laughed. "OK."
Justin took a deep breath. "What's the most you've done with a guy?"
"Oh, I knew this question would come up eventually."
"I'm sorry if I'm being forward. I'm just trying to figure you out."
Tina nodded. "Well, I'm not a virgin."
"Oh," Justin said.
"But I'm not a slut either," Tina was quick to add. "I've only done 'it' with one guy."
"Did it hurt?"
"Yeah. And he broke my heart. I found out that he cheated on me."
"I'm sorry to hear that."
"Anyway, same question to you."
Justin sighed. "My last girlfriend was my first. It ended badly, too."
"What happened?"
"For starters, she was a vampire."
Tina's eyes widened and her mouth fell open. "No way!"
"Yeah. I haven't had the best of luck with girls. In addition to the vampire, I've dated a centaur, a werewolf and an elf. There were a couple of mortals in there, too."
"Do you think you'll have better luck dating a wizard?"
"I don't know." Then Justin smiled. "I guess we'll have to wait and see."
Tina returned his smile. "Are you going to tell me what happened with the vampire?"
"It's a long story."
"Well, we've got a long walk home."
