With Sasha and Riley now attending the group date, Gloria and her friends now began making preparations. Gloria had explained to the new couple that the dates were usually relatively informal and that Nate and Adams mother usually drove them there. Sasha while cool and confident talked with Gloria in private the night before the date.
“Are you sure it’s informal,” Sasha asked. “I mean, this is my first real date ever. I don’t want to make an ass out of myself. Maybe I should dress really nice for the occasion.”
“Sasha will you relax,” Gloria laughed. “Look, these date nights are kind of informal. Everyone dresses pretty casual, dress nice and don’t forget to wear socks. No one wants to wear a bowling shoe without socks.” Sasha crinkled her nose before nodding, still she was nervous.
By Friday night Gloria was finishing getting ready for her date, with some assistance from Lisa. As an added bonus Gloria had invited Sasha and her father over to wait for Mrs. Haskins. “Thanks for inviting us over Glo,” Sasha said quietly. Gloria smiled as she now helped Sasha do her hair and makeup. “Don’t mention it Sasha, besides I figured it might be less awkward having us around when your dad meets Riley.” Sasha blushed slightly as she looked towards her father.
Joe Sampson appeared happy, yet nervous as he talked with Jason. “Yeah I can see dad being a bit freaked out that I’m going on my first date,” Sasha sighed. “He’s been real quiet all week, I think he’s more nervous than I am.”
As Gloria glanced outside she could see Mrs. Haskins pull into the driveway, as she exited the car Gloria could see all her friends and their dates crammed into her SUV. Smiling she watched as Maddie, Nate, and Riley now approached the house. “It’s showtime Sasha,” she smiled.
Lisa opened the door smiling as she invited Maddie and the others inside. “How have you been Maddie,” Lisa said happily. “Great Lisa,” she smiled. “so happy to hear Riley and Sasha will be joining the others tonight. I’ve known Riley’s family for awhile now. He’s a real nice kid.” Sasha smiled shyly as Riley filed in behind Maddie and Nate. The boy was dressed in a sweater and nice jeans and had even tamed his wild sandy brown hair. Joe immediately noticed the boy and approached him, placing one of his beefy hands on his daughters shoulders. “So,” he said, furrowing his brow. “I hear your the guy that wants to take Sasha out.”
Riley paled as he looked at the bear of a man. “Umm yes sir,” he stammered. “I, um, hope that’s okay.”
“As long as you keep her safe and don’t try any funny business we’re cool,” he frowned. Sasha sighed as she now looked at her father. “Cmon dad your embarrassing me,” she groaned. Joe blushed as he looked at his daughter. “Sorry Sasha,” he mumbled. “It’s just...your my only daughter. I want you to be safe and have a good time.” Sasha smiled hugging her dad tightly. “I’m pretty tough dad,” she said warmly. “You raised me to be pretty self reliant. I’ll be fine trust me, and thanks for looking out for me.” Joe smiled before turning away, Gloria noticed the man seemed to on the verge of tears yet exceedingly happy that his only daughter was finally going out with a boy.
After a brief talk with Joe, Jason, and Lisa, Gloria and her friends piled into Maddie’s car as they drove towards the bowling alley. All of Gloria’s friends would be their tonight as couples. Even Jackie had been setup with a boy Adam knew from the football. The boy, named Tyler, seemed like a decent enough guy and all the girls admitted he was cute, still Jackie viewed it as more of a friendly date than anything else. “Just cause I’m going out with this guy doesn’t mean I would cheat on Ann,” she smirked. As the couples now arrived at the bowling alley Maddie wished them well and told them she would pick them up around 10 p.m.
“So how does this work anyway,” Sasha asked as the group now put on their shoes and searched for bowling balls. “Well me kind of break into teams based on who were with,” Gloria said. “Me and Nate are on a team while Adam and Felicia team up. Diane and Naomi also form a team as will Tyler and Jackie. We each bowl a frame for our team so Nate bowls the first frame and I would bowl the second,”
Sasha nodded as she watched Nate begin to add everyone’s name into the scoreboard. “So how is everyone at bowling?”
“Nate and Gloria always win,” Diane frowned. “Then they like to rub it in while we eat and play video games before Mrs. Haskins picks us up.”
“Hey it’s not my fault me and Nate are good at bowling,” Gloria smirked. “Who knows maybe you and Naomi can win tonight.”
“Not likely,” Naomi grumbled. “Admit it you two like watching us throw gutterballs.”
As Gloria laughed the group now began warming up. As Sasha watched she could see that Nate was indeed a very good bowler while the others were average at best. As the group started bowling Sasha watched as Nate bowled a spare. “Way to go Nate,” Gloria called as she kissed her boyfriend on the cheek. Nate blushed as the others simply rolled their eyes, it appeared Gloria and Nate would once again be the winners of the couples game.
“Hey Riley your up,” Nate called. Riley nodded as he pushed his glasses back into place. Sasha now watched as the boy nervously looked down the lane. “Hey Riley,” Sasha called, slowly approaching him. Riley paused as he now looked at the taller girl. “I, um, I wanted to wish you good luck,” Sasha stammered before placing a tiny peck on his cheek. Riley blushed crimson before turning towards the lane and letting his ball fly. The group now watched as the pins scattered in a picture perfect strike.
“Riley,” Sasha exclaimed. “I don’t know you knew how to bowl.”
“It’s all a simple game of physics,” he blushed. “Based on the speed of my throw plus the resistance of the oil on the lane I was able to calculate where to position my throw for maximum efficiency.”
“I have no idea what you just said,” Sasha stated. “But your awesome.” Pulling the boys shirt once more Sasha placed hard kiss on the bewildered boys face. “Looks like your titles in jeapordy,” Jackie giggled as she saw Nate and Gloria frown. Gloria shrugged as she now watched her friend happily talk with her date. Although the idea of losing was not exactly appealing, she couldn’t help but feel a bit of pride in knowing that it seemed Riley and Sasha were definitely getting along.