"Your form is terrible."
"I'm aware, Howard."
"Like, genuinely the worst I've seen."
"Still aware."
I throw another gutter ball. My fourth in seven fras.
Behind , Penny and Bernadette are destroying us. Currently winning by thirty-two pins.
"Maybe aim more left?" Howard suggests.
"Maybe stop coaching and focus on your own ga?"
"My ga is fine. Your ga is a tragedy."
Raj and Leonard occupy the next lane over, theoretically bowling but mostly watching our disaster unfold.
"Fifty bucks says Howard and Bernadette win," Leonard offers.
"Sixty says they win by more than fifty pins," Raj counters.
"I'm standing right here," I point out.
"We know." Leonard grins. First genuine smile directed at in two weeks. "We're betting against you anyway."
Fair.
Penny approaches, rolling her shoulders. "Watch and learn, boys."
She throws a perfect strike.
Turns around, walks backward toward , arms spread.
"That's how it's done!"
Bernadette high-fives her. "Told you! Wrist position is everything!"
"You were in a bowling league?" Penny demands.
"Four years. Captain junior year."
"Why didn't you say that before we started?"
"You seed so confident. Didn't want to ruin the surprise."
"I respect that." Penny points at Howard. "Your girlfriend is devious."
"I know." Howard looks pleased. "It's hot."
By fra eight, we're down by forty-three pins.
Penny's taking this very seriously.
"Okay, new strategy." She positions at the line. "Stop thinking. Just throw."
"I've been just throwing."
"You've been overthinking and then throwing. Different." She adjusts my elbow. "Feel the weight. Don't aim. Just—release."
"This is bowling, not zen ditation."
"Everything is zen ditation if you're bad enough at it."
I throw. The ball curves left—actually curves instead of just veering wildly—and knocks down seven pins.
"THERE WE GO!" Penny jumps, grabs my face, kisses hard.
Howard fake-gags. "Get a lane."
"Get better at bowling," Penny shoots back.
"We're winning!"
"By default! Stuart's basically playing blindfolded!"
"Still winning!"
Bernadette throws another strike. Doesn't gloat. Just returns to her seat, smiling serenely.
"Your girlfriend is terrifying," I tell Howard.
"I know." He sighs happily. "It's very hot."
Final score: Howard and Bernadette win by eight pins.
Eight.
Penny demands a recount. Raj shows her the automated scoring. Leonard confirms the math.
"Fine." Penny shakes Bernadette's hand. "Well played."
"You too. That last fra was impressive."
"Stuart finally stopped thinking."
"The key to most things," Bernadette agrees.
We migrate to the attached pizza place. Grab two booths, push them together.
Leonard's sitting across from Penny and . The first ti we've all been together socially since the comic shop announcent.
He's trying. Making eye contact. Contributing to conversation.
But there's still that careful distance. The politeness that cos from effort, not ease.
"So," Howard says through a mouthful of pepperoni, "Stuart's consulting for Marvel now."
Raj gasps. "MARVEL?! Like, the real Marvel?!"
"Consulting on Iron Man 2. And Thor. And Captain Arica."
"Stuart, that's amazing!" Bernadette looks genuinely impressed.
Leonard's quiet.
"It's just authenticity consulting," I deflect. "Making sure props look right, dialogue sounds natural."
"'Just' consulting for Marvel," Howard repeats. "Yeah, super casual. Everyone does that."
Penny squeezes my hand under the table.
"When did this happen?" Leonard asks. His voice is carefully neutral.
"eting was Thursday. Contract starts next month."
"That's—that's really good. Congratulations."
"Thanks."
Silence.
Raj fills it: "Will you get to et the actors?! Can I co?! I want to et Scarlett Johansson!"
"She's not in Iron Man 2, buddy."
"Then Iron Man 3! I can wait!"
The tension breaks. Everyone laughs.
Walking Penny to her car later, I bring it up.
"Leonard's still weird."
"He's trying."
"Trying is good. But it's still weird."
"It'll get better." She leans against her driver's door. "Give him ti. This is—it's a lot for him."
"I know."
"But you're allowed to be happy anyway. Even if it's complicated."
"Am I being selfish?"
"You're dating soone who likes you back. That's not selfish. That's just—how this works." She touches my face. "And for the record? I think Leonard will be fine. He's a good guy. He'll get there."
"You're very wise."
"I'm really not. I just happen to be right about this specific thing." She kisses quickly. "Thanks for being terrible at bowling. Made my night."
"Happy to provide entertainnt through incompetence."
"That's why I keep you around."
"And here I thought it was my winning personality."
"That too." Another kiss. "Text when you get ho?"
"Already planning to."
Driving back to my penthouse, I think about Leonard's careful politeness and Penny's competitive fire and Bernadette's secret bowling league past.
Dating Penny is folding her into my existing life. Friend group, weekly traditions, casual double dates.
With lissa, we existed sowhat separately. Saw each other, sure, but maintained distinct friend circles.
Penny's integrating. Becoming part of the fabric.
And mostly—with the obvious Leonard exception—it's working.
Howard and Bernadette like her. Raj adores her. Even Sheldon's stopped openly docunting our relationship (or he's gotten sneakier about it).
My phone buzzes at a red light.
Howard: Bernie says Penny's good people. I agree. You did good, man.
: Thanks. Sorry about the bowling disaster.
Howard: Made it more entertaining. Rematch next month?
: Only if Penny stops caring about winning.
Howard: So never?
: Yeah, probably never.
The light turns green.
I drive ho thinking about strikes and competitive trash-talk and the way Penny kissed after seven pins like I'd just won the Olympics.
Dating soone who celebrates your tiny victories feels—right.
Even when you're terrible at bowling.
Note:
Please give good reviews and power stones itrings more people and more people ans more chapters?
My Patreon is all about exploring 'What If' tilines, and you can get instant access to chapters far ahead of the public release.
Choose your journey:
Tiline Viewer ($6): Get 10 chapters of early access 5 new chapters weekly.
Tiline Explorer ($9): Jump 15-20 chapters ahead of everyone.
Tiline Keeper ($15): Get Instant Access to chapters the mont I finish writing them. No more waiting.
Read the raw, unfiltered story as it unfolds. Your support makes this possible!
👉 Find it all at patreon/Whatif0
User Comments
0 comments from readers