Chapter 26

Zane's POV

'Are you good back there?' I nervously mindlinked Nolan as Melissa and I buckled our seatbelts.

'Yeah, as long as she's near, I don't care where I sit.' He reassured.

'Are you sure?' I asked.

'Even if I was in the front seat, she would be in the backseat alone, Zane.' He chuckled.

'Good point.' I noted before blocking the link and starting the engine. "Are you ready?" I vocally asked.

*****

Melissa's POV

The second my eyes connected with the familiar entryway and sign, I bit my lip to not squeal in excitement.

"Someone looks excited." Zane chuckled as he stole a glance my way.

I immediately pouted at him, but it slowly reverberated back to my excited smile.

"Well, it seems like we chose the right place for our date, that's a good start." Nolan chirped from the backseat. A warm sensation settled into my chest at his words as I registered the 'date' part.

"It's a date?" I shyly asked as I looked down at my hands that laid on my lap for a second before looking up at the cars in front of us.

A soft hand that I now knew belonged to Zane covered my hands. He then intertwined the fingers of my one hand with his and gently squeezed.

"At least we hope we can refer to it as a date, but if you're uncomfortabl-" He abruptly stopped at I cut him off with a giggle.

"It's fine," I gently squeezed his warm hand. "I'm happy we can call it a date."

"I'm glad we're all on the same page." Nolan grinned from the backseat as we parked in one of the vacant parking spots. Luckily for the lazy bum known as me, the parking spot was very close to the entrance.

Just as I reached out for the handle, a resounding click filled the small space. I turned my attention to the right to find a disapproving stare pointed at me.

"What?" I asked with clear confusion marring my tone.

"We open the door for you, you don't get to open it for yourself." Zane chastised with a stern expression. I dumbfoundedly found myself blinking at the man until I heard the doors unlock again, but this time, someone opened mine.

I shook my head and smiled," How chivalrous."

"Always." Zane winked as he opened his.

I turned to my side to find a patiently waiting Nolan offering his hand in my direction.

"May I?" He asked, giving me that charming, dimpled smile of his.

"Always." I grinned as I placed my smaller hand in his. He returned my smile with a bigger grin before wrapping his hand around mine and helping me out.

Zane appeared next to us and closed my door before locking the car.

"I hope bowling sounds as enticing to you as it does to us?" Nolan asked.

"Who can say no to bowling? I could even race you to the alley." I feigned astonishment.

"How do you feel about a piggyback ride there, instead?" He offered, knowing fully well that our girl would never turn down such an offer.

"I would accept the offer, but I'm not as light as I look," I lightly giggled.

Nolan let out a sigh and the next thing I knew, I was on his back with my arms pressed against his shoulders.

"What th-how?" I asked as I secured my arms around his neck.

"Speed, and trust me, your weight doesn't bother us one bit." Zane spoke for the first time since we stepped onto the parking lot.

"You sure?" I asked, my question mostly directed at Nolan.

"Yes, Baby. We're sure." Nolan reassured, giving his arms a gentle flex that lightly squeezed at my jeans clad thighs. He didn't wait for another response from me as he started walking towards the entrance with Zane slowly and silently trailing behind us. His silence and distance had me feeling a bit unsettled for some reason, it was almost like I knew that something was bothering him. I just didn't know what.

We headed into the building where we stopped to be searched for weapons before we walked into the building. Seeing as he had to put me down, he settled for placing his hand on my back as we waited for Zane to come through.

The ceilings were high with gold and white trimmings and baby angels. The lights and bright signs were almost blinding. The sounds from the casino machines, the people walking past while others were sitting down for meals in the restaurants was so exciting. It gave me good chills of anticipation to join in the fun.

"Which direction takes you to the bowling alley again?" Zane asked as he stopped next to us.

"I'm not quite sure, it's been a while since we last came here and they are always renovating this building, I just can't be sure." Nolan sighed with a lazy shrug.

"Then, how about we give ourselves a little tour?" I smiled at them.

"Sounds like a plan," Nolan nodded with his signature smile as his hand slid down to mine. "May I?"

"Of course." I reassured as I gently took hold of his hand and interlocked it with mine. We slowly started walking in no direction in particular and I expected to feel Zane's soft hand envelope my other, but he did none of that. He quietly walked in step with us with his hands in his pockets. His mischievous expressions from earlier and yesterday were replaced by deep thoughtfulness as he walked with an almost somber expression.

"That was fast." Nolan chuckled as we stopped next to the entrance leading to the loud entertainment area. You could already hear the sound of bowling balls crashing onto the clubs, the sound of people applauding and the sound of upbeat music from the outside. You could tell that we were about to walk into a lively space and I found myself feeling quite jittery at the prospect, but at the same time, my fire was barely burning due to my more apparent worry for Zane. Our relationship has healed so much and burned so strong in the hours we've spoken that I don't want us to go back to stage 1 of ignoring each other. I just can't.

Before I could utter a word, an excited Nolan was tugging me into the barely crowded space and towards the cashier who was happily chatting to another worker. It made the environment in the space seem even more laid back that I felt my slightly tense muscles slightly relax.

We stopped in front of the cashier who instantly smiled at us. "Hi, how may I help you this afternoon?" She cheerfully asked. I instantly liked her bubbly attitude, but I wouldn't say the same about her friend's. The girl was openly gawking at Nolan and I'm ashamed to admit that it made an unfamiliar presence of possessiveness and jealousy burn my stomach.

"Hi, Could I please pay for three people?" Nolan politely smiled at the cashier.

"Sure," She nodded," That will be one hu...."Is the last thing I heard as I kept trying to calm myself down.

A soft, but large hand grabbing my vacant hand and giving it a gentle squeeze had me softly sighing in relief. A sweet sensation of sparks ignited through the touch and had me focusing on the gentle sensation instead of the ill thoughts that were starting to bubble in my mind about a certain girl.

"Come on, Baby, let's go," Nolan gently nudged as he leaned down and pressed a gentle, but firm kiss on my forehead. Zane on the other hand gave my hand one last squeeze before completely letting go. I have to admit that kinda made me whine internally as a feeling or incompleteness settled in, but I didn't quite linger on it as Nolan guided us to the alleys. "They placed us on alley 4, so we'll have to wait for these guys to finish first before we can kick each others' butts."

"Don't you mean my butt?" I pouted at him as he placed his hand on the middle of my back and guided me the few steps us before helping me sit on the one of the vacant seats that surrounded the vacant table.

He innocently pressed a featherlight kiss on my cheek in response, making my pout grow even more.

"I'm gonna go get us some drinks as we wait. Any orders?" Zane asked as he stood at the side of the table with his one hand tucked in his jeans' pocket while the other hung freely at his side.

"Some coke would be fine for me, please." I asked to which he nodded before facing Nolan.

"Same." He shamelessly agreed to which Zane nodded before leaving to the bar. I sighed and placed my hands on the table before facing a partially distracted Nolan.

"Nolan." I softly called, turning back to face him once Zane had disappeared to the other side. He turned his attention to me and softly smiled at me in response.

"What's wrong?" He gently asked. His hands crossed the table over to mine that he gently took hold of.

"I'm worried about Zane," I softly sighed as I looked at our intertwined hands. The nerves seemed to calm down at his touch as he gently ran his thumb over the back of my hands in a comforting and reassuring gesture. "He's been distant since we left the car, almost like his mind isn't here. Did I do something wrong?"

"No, Baby," He instantly assured. To emphasize his point, he gave my hands a gentle squeeze. "I know you didn't do anything wrong, but if you want to know what's on his mind, just ask him, Baby." He softly urged.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" I whispered. I don't want him to distance himself even more than he already has. "I don't want history to repeat itself, Nole."

"It won't, Sweetheart. I promise," He reassured, "Speaking of which, here's your chance. I'm gonna give you a few to talk this through." He sweetly smiled. He lifted my hand to his lips and brushed his lips over my knuckles in a brief, kiss before letting go of my hand and getting off his chair.

"Going somewhere?" Zane quirked a questioning eyebrow as he placed a tray with our drinks on the table.

Nolan simply waved his hand and uttered," I'll be back in a few. I just need the bathroom a little quick." He said, but the pointed look he threw Zane said otherwise before he left.

An air of awkward silence draped itself over us as Zane silently sat on the seat next to me, leaving Nolan's seat open. He silently placed my can of cool drink in front of me, earning himself a quiet 'Thank you' from me before placing his drink in front of him.

"Zane," I audibly sighed as I looked at the cold drop of water sliding down the red can. "We need to talk." I looked up at him.

"That doesn't sound good." He nervously chuckled as he pushed his drink away and looked at me with warm green eyes.

"Why are you so distant? I mean, we were fine yesterday and this morning..." I sighed," I'm just confused. Did I do something wrong?"

A look of guilt instantly drew itself over his gorgeous features as he took my hands in his and gave them a gentle squeeze.

"Never, Angel. I promise, you did nothing wrong." He promised.

"Then what's the matter?" I asked.

"The matter is me," He dryly chuckled as he removed his one hand and ran it over his hair. Instead of asking what he meant, I maneuvered our hands so that mine were holding his. I knew that the sparks would give us both strength and comfort for him to continue talking when he was ready. "I've been thinking about how far we've come in a matter of 24 plus hours. It feels like we've been talking for much longer than that. It's almost like those few wasted weeks were never wasted, and I'm worried. I don't want you to feel pressured into speeding things up between you and I and eventually shutting off from me. I don't want you to ever feel rushed to do something with me just because you and Nolan have done it. I want you to take your time and feel comfortable with me, Love. Now and always."

"And I am, Zane. I promise you, I am. I don't feel pressured to do anything with you. Instead, I always feel that doing certain things with you and Nolan are right. For one, sleeping in the same bed as you and Nolan might have made me feel nervous in the beginning, but it also felt so right, and I don't regret the decision to. I don't regret forgiving you or even being here with you today. In fact, I'm happy at the speed that things have caught up between you and I. I never felt like we were strangers, and I didn't want it to suddenly feel like that because I had spent more time with Nolan than you. I know that the progress of our relationship has been super-fast, but I don't care. All I want is to be with you and Nolan." I reassured as I gentle gave his hands a squeeze.

"Are you sure? As I already said, I don't want you to feel pressurised into doing anything. I want our relationship to go at your pace." He asked.

"I'm sure," I replied," In fact, I'm upset that you didn't take my hand today." I pouted.

"I'm sorry, Baby," He lightly chuckled," I had a lot on my mind, and I didn't want to scare you by moving too fast or by bringing peoples' attention to you. I don't want you to feel uncomfortable if I can help it." He reassured as he took my hand in his and lifted it to his lips.

"Well, I'm a big girl, and I can handle it. All I want is to feel both of my mates' hands in mine when we walk." I whined.

"You got it," He agreed, placing another kiss on my knuckles. "I-" He stopped," Never mind."

I nodded and gave a warm smile as I squeezed his other hand.

Why does it feel like I knew what he was going to say.

"Hey, looks like we're up." Nolan's voice appeared as he appeared at our table again.

I looked up at the screen to find our names displayed and the group from earlier gone.

"Time to get my butt whooped." I feigned a pout as I got off my chair, leaving my untouched beverage on the table while I stood near the bowling balls.

"Don't say that," Zane chuckled before I felt his arms around my waist and his head on my shoulder. I instinctively tilted my head to the side to give him more space as we both looked at Nolan as he made his way to the line with his ball in hand. "I'm sure you'll do fine." He reassured, placing a quick kiss on my jaw before relaxing his head again.

The next thing I saw was the ball rolling and crashing against the clubs. Every single club fell from that one shoot, leaving my jaw feeling slack as I watched Nolan innocently smile at me.

"Loser gets free dinner." I said as I moved from Zane's loosening grip. It was my turn after all.