Chapter Seventy-eight: A Night on the Lanes, A Twist in the Mind

Alex’s Point of View

“I can’t believe she cancelled on me at the last minute!” I exclaimed as Tom drove us to the bowling alley.

“Chloe is always cancelling me at the last minute. I used to get upset until she thanked me for my understanding later,” Tom grinned.

“That made it better? How?” I asked, annoyed, while Matt snorted with laughter in the background.

“Shit man. I didn’t think Lillianna broke you, but now I’m starting to wonder,” Tom groaned.

What was that supposed to mean?

“Didn’t you date Sam when you were in university?” Tom asked.

“Yeah, why? We’re just friends now, which you know, and besides Matt is awesome for her. I’m glad you two hooked up, by the way,” I added.

It sounded like I was sucking up, and maybe I was but Matt made Sam really happy. Sam was also much nicer when she was happy. I wanted them to stay together as long as possible for that reason alone.

We were headed to a bowling alley with a retro vibe. Tom and Matt had planned to hang out tonight and invited me to tag along. Chloe messaged him that she needed Iris’s help with something. I was happy to be included but was also very frustrated that I’d been cock blocked by my female friend. What did she need my new girlfriend for anyway?

“Sam and Chloe both have interesting ways of showing their thanks. I can only assume that since Iris is friends with Chloe, she will also,” smirked Tom.

“You do like Iris, though, don’t you?” Matt asked as Tom pulled into the parking lot for the bowling alley.

“Yeah. We’ve been exclusive since hooking up at the restaurant. I really like her. It’s just that we haven’t … I haven’t …” my voice trailed off.

“Lillianna got in your head. We’ve seen her do it to countless guys; it’s not just you. Tom and I never hooked up with her for that reason. Xavier did before Rei came into the picture, but he never caught feelings for her. I think he’s the only one immune to her charms. Any other man we’ve known that has fucked her has lost his mind,” sighed Matt.

“I shouldn’t have been so harsh saying she broke you. I’m sorry,” Tom said, looking in the rearview mirror to meet my gaze.

Lillianna had a hold on me like no one else ever had. The sex was wild, and I was completely under her spell. I never thought I'd enjoy being dominated, but she had a way of making me crave it. Then, just like that, she ended things with no hesitation. It hit me hard when I realized I was just another pawn in her game with Xavier. Despite knowing it wouldn't end well, I fell for her hard. But she knew all the right words to say and had a perfect body; it was impossible not to fall to my knees for her. Damn it, maybe she did break me after all.

“Thanks, man. I think she may have. I mean, Iris and I have fooled around, but I just haven’t been able to …” Again, I couldn’t finish my thoughts, but Tom just nodded in understanding.

“Give yourself time, man. You go at your own pace. If Iris is pressuring you, just maybe pleasure her until you’re ready for her to return the favor,” suggested Matt.

I nodded. That was the problem. That was what I had been doing. I could tell Iris wanted more, and so did I. I just seemed to freeze and lose my confidence when things progressed.

We paid for our entry and got our bowling shoes. The 80s music was blaring amidst the neon lights, classic arcade games lining the walls, and retro flair. I sighed. I wanted to have fun and get out of my head.

“Did you ever talk about what happened with Lillianna and how she ended things with Sam and Chloe?” Matt asked as we entered our information in the old-school computer system.

I had tried. We’d always been able to talk about anything, but for some reason, I just couldn’t. I shook my head sadly.

“Oh man, you need to talk this out. We were friends with Lillianna for years and saw her play with guys’ hearts and minds like it was a game. None of us warned you because it looked like she was really into you. We thought maybe you would finally get Lillianna off her Xavier fixation,” said Tom.

So that’s what I did as we bowled. It was actually therapeutic tossing the ball down the laneways as I talked it out with Tom and Matt. I was kind of glad in a way that Iris had cancelled on me. I hadn’t realized how much this had been weighing on me.

Lillianna was like a plague, a virus of sorts. I needed to purge myself of everything related to her. While waiting for my turn, I took out my phone and began deleting photos of her and us. I suppose this was something I should have done sooner.

Tom looked at me on my phone and then asked if I had ever let Lillianna use my phone. I looked at him strangely and was about to say no when I remembered that she had asked to see the photos I’d taken and was looking through them when I went to use the washroom once when she was over.

He shook his head and held out his hand. I gave him a strange look and handed Tom my phone. He started installing some kind of app to check for viruses and bugs, then proceeded to delete a lot of things on my phone I didn’t know were there.

“You didn’t know what Lillianna did for her job, did you?” asked Matt as he sat beside Tom.

“It never came up. Why?” I said as Tom grimaced.

“So Xavier and Lillianna met because they both used to run with this group of guys who liked to take things that didn’t belong to them. Xavier and Lillianna are good with computers and hacking, although Xavier is better. Xavier works for the government now, and Lillianna works for the mafia,” Matt said in a low voice.

What the actual fuck? I did not see that coming.

“Be glad that she ended things with you and not the other way around. Lillianna is psycho in more ways than one. The apps she put on your phone to listen in to your conversations and track you are gone now,” Tom said, handing my phone back to me.

“But she broke up with me! Why would Lillianna put those things on my phone?” I exclaimed while both guys shushed me.

“You were dating and a source of information. But count your blessings that you are neither anymore,” Tom said.

I was so flustered when it was my turn in our current frame that both of my throws ended up as gutter balls.