LWLU – Minor Misconceptions

To say Sara was upset would be the understatement of a lifetime. This was unforgivable. The whole situation was her friend’s fault and couldn’t be undone. Not now. Fury filled her veins.

How was it that she was on a date with Paul Kellerman when she was engaged to Michael Scofield while Nika was making a spectacle of herself flirting with Sucre?

Life was so unfair.

Paul slipped on his bowling shoes and glanced up in her direction. “I need to talk to you about something before they come back over here.”

That made two of them. “This isn’t a date,” she blurted.

“Good.” He was visibly relieved. “We’re on the same page then.”

Huh? That wasn’t supposed to be the reaction a guy on a blind date had unless…Wow. He must really not like her.

Whatever.

He slid his street shoes under the chair. “I need your help with something.” Paul looked past her. “Here they come. I can fill you in later, but just help me keep an eye on Sucre.”

Keep an eye on Sucre? That didn’t sound good. What did Nika get herself into this time?

Nika rode back over to them on Sucre’s back while he carried their bowling balls. “Look, Sucre has two balls!”

Sara cringed at the dirty look one of the parents from the birthday party shot Nika. This was going to be a fun few hours.

Paul shook his head and took the bowling balls from Sucre so he could help Nika off his back. “I’d be a little concerned if you didn’t.”

Bowling the first set was uneventful, but Sara wondered about Paul’s comment. The original blind date guy was grounded for drugs, so maybe Sucre was on something. He didn’t look high…or drunk…just happy.

They easily won the first game because Nika kept pretending she didn’t know how to throw the ball so that Sucre would come correct her form with lingering touches on her arms and little kisses on her shoulder. She was doing a good job at it, too. If Sara didn’t already know Nika’s usual scores could rival professional bowlers, she’d believe Nika was horrible at this game.

Nika tossed herself into a hard plastic chair. “I am exhausted.” She batted her eyelashes at Sucre. “Will you get me a drink?”

“Anything for you, mami.”

“Thanks, babe.” She turned her gaze in Paul’s direction and stared. And kept staring, wordless.

He took the hint. “I think I saw a Pac-Man game over there. I’m going to go eat some ghosts.”

Once he was gone, Nika turned in her chair and grabbed Sara’s arm. “Isn’t he totally awesome?”

“Yeah. You and Sucre look really cute together.”

“Ugh!” She slumped back in her chair. “I’m talking about Paul. What’s wrong with you? Why aren’t you flirting with him? He’s beyond hot.”

“Maybe you should flirt with him then.”

“I would, but I think Sucre would notice.” She leaned in towards Sara. “Don’t laugh when I say this because I’m totally serious.”

“I won’t laugh.”

“Promise you won’t laugh, okay?”

“I promise.”

“I mean, you really have to swear, Sara. You’ve got to say you’ll be struck down by…”

“Just tell me already.”

Nika bit her lip. “I like him. A lot. Sara, I really like this guy.”

“This guy that you just met last night?”

“Well, I mean, I’ve seen him around and talked to him at the video store a little…It’s crazy. I know it. I just…”

“You can’t control the way you feel. I get it, Neek.”

“Hey, Sucre’s heading back this way. Do you think you can go hang out with Paul so we can talk for a little while?”

Ugh. “Sure. No problem.”

Instead of heading straight for the video games, Sara went by the snack bar for a drink. Then she pretended to be fascinated by the candy choices. Then she watched little kids bowl. It wasn’t until she got a dirty look from one of the parents that she went over to Paul.

Glancing at the score, “You really suck at this game, Kellerman.”

“Probably because I’m only pretending to play while I watch Nika and Sucre’s reflections in the glass.”

“Okay, you’ve got to tell me what’s going on. Why are we keeping an eye on them like chaperones or something?”

He slid a glance in her direction. “I want to make sure nothing happens to your friend.”

O-kay? “What’s that supposed to mean?”

He shrugged and fiddled with the joystick. “Sucre’s got a bad reputation and she was coming on pretty strong last night. I’m pretty sure he got the wrong idea.”

“I’m pretty sure she knows how to take care of herself.”

His eyes rolled, but he remained silent.

This was beyond annoying. Sara waved her hand in front of the screen. “Can you at least look at me while we’re talking? It’s not like you give a damn about this stupid game anyway.”

Paul turned to her and leaned against the machine. “Better?”

“It’s a start. Now tell me what the hell is going on. Sucre seems like a good guy and he’s been really sweet to Nika all night. So, what’s the deal? Did you only come here to try and weasel a date from her or something?”

“That’s insane.”

“Doesn’t sound that way to me.” A smile played at her lips. “Unless she’s not your type because you don’t date girls.”

He shook his head. “Look, don’t misunderstand, your friend’s hot, but I’m leaving for school not long after graduation and I’m not interested in having a girlfriend for a few months. Not when I’ll just have to break up with whoever she is. Long distance relationships don’t work.” He folded his arms over his chest. “But I could be tempted into breaking your heart if that’s what it takes to get you off my back about it.”

“Completely unnecessary. Just tell me why you’re practically stalking them.”

“It’s hard to explain.” He scrubbed a hand over his face. “You can’t say anything because I don’t know if this is true. The other guy at work has known Sucre a lot longer than I have, but I’m not sure if he’s a trustworthy source.”

“You mean that Bag…something guy?”

He nodded. “Sucre might have assaulted a girl…” Paul grew uncomfortable and fidgeted. “Sexually.”

“He what?”

“Keep your voice down. It might not be true. The Sucre I know is a cool guy, but…I didn’t want to risk it. That’s why I told him I’d come on the double date today.” He sighed. “Sorry about that, by the way. It’s really nothing against you…even though you did just accuse me of being gay.”

Sara wasn’t sure how to respond to all this. “How worried do I need to be about Nika being out with this guy?”

“I don’t know. It’s not like he’s going to do anything to her in front of both of us and you’ll be in the car with them on the way back.”

“Yeah, unless Nika tries to get you to take me home. She’s been trying to get me to flirt with you.”

“Has she now?” He shook away the grin. “I’ll make up a reason why I have to head straight home. You can flirt with me another time.”

“I didn’t say I wanted to flirt with you. I said Nika wanted me…”

“Where the fuck did they go?”

She blinked a few times in surprise. “Huh?” She turned to their lane. It was empty.

They hurried over and found that Nika and Sucre had already switched to street shoes because they weren’t there. This was bad.

Really bad.

Sara turned to Paul. “What do we do?”

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