When My Younger Brother Stole My Girlfriend, I Began Living Together with My Beautiful Childhood Friend Almost As If We Were Married - Chapter 19

Episode 19: Bowling Game

After a little commotion, we moved to the floor with the lanes to play bowling.

We each borrowed shoes, selected balls, and sat down with our favorite drinks.

But as expected, the atmosphere was a bit heavy.

“Well, let’s switch gears. Hey, you’re up first, right?”

Yuma said so, and I slapped my cheeks to switch my mood.

I’ll apologize to Yuri-san later, but for now, we came here to have fun, and it would be a waste not to enjoy it.

Seeing Reina and Misaki nodding, I took a ball, stood at the lane, and aimed at the pins in the distance.

“Go for it, Hayato!”

Reina cheered from behind.

I naturally put more strength into it, wanting to show off.

I swung my arm widely and threw the ball aiming between the first and third pins.

If I hit this spot correctly, I could aim for a strike. I couldn’t use techniques like curves that pros use, so I aimed straight at the weak point.

The ball I threw with a clean form rolled along the course I aimed for but veered a little before reaching the pins, knocking them down except for the two on the left back corner.

It wasn’t a strike, but leaving two pins like this was good enough to aim for a spare.

“Not bad at all.”

“Yeah. Have you done this before?”

“No, it’s been a while.”

Although I played a lot on home game consoles, I realized during middle school that actual bowling involves different levels of force and behavior.

Still, my decent performance here was probably thanks to my familiar movements and improved muscle strength.

The ball returned. After pretending to wipe it clean, I aimed at the remaining pins in front of me.

Second ball.

It was easy to knock down the two remaining pins lined up side by side, and the ball knocked them down, displaying “spare” on the scoreboard.

“Yeah!”

“Nice job!”

“As expected of you, Hayato!”

I was praised by Yuma, Reina, and Misaki applauded me.

As the pins were reset, while I took a sip of orange juice, Reina stood up next to take the ball.

“Go for it, Reina!”

After waving back in response to Misaki’s encouragement, Reina swung her arm vigorously.

Reina’s first ball slid along the right edge of the lane and aggressively attacked the first pin.

The ball had enough power to lightly knock down several pins. Naturally, it hit the pins directly, causing all of them to fall and disappear into the back of the lane.

It was impressive for Reina to score a strike with her first shot.

“Way to go, Hayato! Praise me, praise me!”

Reina, who returned with high energy, leaned her head as if seeking affection.

As her boyfriend, it felt like my duty to praise her efforts, so I gently stroked her head as she desired.

Her actions, like a cat, affectionately rubbing against me as if she might start purring any moment, were irresistibly adorable.

“Congratulations! Amazing!”

“Reina, you’re really good at everything…”
“Do you play often, Reina?”

“I played a little in high school. But I played a lot of games when I was in elementary school.”

“Oh, Wii Sports Paradise?”

“Yeah, that’s it! Have you played Hayato?”

“Yeah, I practiced with it too.”

“That’s right! Since we both have the game and the console at home, let’s play together sometime!”

It’s nostalgic.

The game I played was broken, and I could only play by borrowing the console at a hidden net cafe with the software, so I’m happy that we can play again. It’s quite an old game, but it’s a masterpiece.

Misaki and Yuma watched us with a grin while sucking on their straws, enjoying the high sugar levels in our conversation.

“The carbonation of my cola disappeared in the flirting field.”

“Where did the orange juice’s acidity go?”

Our exchange wasn’t meant to sound overly sugary. Yes, Misaki wasn’t going to get black coffee either.

Well then, it’s Yuma’s turn next.

“Go for it, Yu-kun!”

“Yeah!”

Yuma was either going to show off to Misaki or enjoy the spectacle.

Yuma held his ball, aimed firmly at the pins, and threw it.

The ball rolled diagonally and almost reached the pins, but it fell into the gutter just before hitting them. Gutter ball.

The scoreboard displayed disappointing letters, and he silently grabbed the ball again to throw it once more.

This time, the ball rolled straight, knocking down about six pins.

“Don’t worry! There’s always next time!”

Misaki knew how to hype things up, and that was the simplest impression I had.

Yuma seemed a bit down, so maybe I should pass him a handkerchief or something.