Page 35 of Theoretically Straight

I swallow, wishing I had more of my Witches’ Brew to drink, but the cup has been empty for at least an hour. “Wow. Yeah, that would be cool.”

“You should come next time,” she says softly, her eyes staring intensely into mine. “I truly believe if given the opportunity, you should take it.”

I drop my gaze back at my empty cup, my fingers swirling the leftover condensation. “Yeah. Maybe.”

Sienna reaches her hand across the table and holds my hand in hers. Her skin, while silky soft and gentle, is ice cold against mine, and despite the urge to recoil away, I stay still.

I try not to think about the fact that her hand doesn’t feel electric when we touch.

I try even harder not to think about whose handdoesfeel electric when we touch.

I glance up at her warily, and she’s staring back at me with a purpose.

“Can I pray with you, Theo?”

I want to say no at first. I really do. We’re in the middle of the busiest coffee shop in town on a Tuesday afternoon. There’s bound to be someone I know in this building—someone from school, someone from Cathy’s, someone from church. It’s embarrassing and awkward and unbearably cringe. The last thing I want is to sit here helplessly while my ex-girlfriend holds my hand over a sticky coffee shop table, praying for my soul.

But it’s Sienna. She’s not trying to embarrass me. She’s not trying to make a move on me or rekindle our doomed romance.

She’s genuinely trying to follow God’s will. She cares about my salvation and loves me enough to try to intervene when she thinks I’m not living up to my full potential. Everything Sienna does is out of love—selfless love, even.

And as much as I hate to think about it, Sienna clearly knows what’s best when it comes to spiritual welfare. Who am I to argue? She’s truly an expert on this subject.

It’s infuriating, but I can’t say no.

So, I nod and close my eyes.

“Heavenly Father… We humbly come before You today, blessed beyond our wildest dreams with all You do for us.”

Sienna’s praying voice is a lot breathier than her normal speaking voice. I’m not sure what that means or why I notice it, but it’s weird. I think I used to find it endearing. Now it’s…not.

“Thank You for this fellowship Theodore and I share, and thank You for blessing us with a connection through your Holy Spirit–”

Fellowship? A connection through the Holy Spirit? Is that what we’re calling this? Sure, fine.God, You know how I feel,I pray silently, feeling compelled to add my own inner voice to the mix so God knows I’m not just going through the motions this time.

“—to pursue Your Will and share Your love with the world. We thank You for the privilege that we have, and we ask that You show us how to use it for Your Glory–”

I cringe at that.Ehh…not sure I want to be thanking You for our “privilege,” but I’m sure You know what she means. Thank You for letting us be born in America in the twenty-first century so we have electricity and Wi-Fi and don’t have to worry about the government killing us—most of the time, anyway. Help me find ways to maybe help people out who don’t have it quite as good as I do.

“Father, I thank You so much for blessing me with the opportunity to serve You in South Africa, and I pray that You reveal Yourself to Theodore in the same way You’ve revealed Yourself to me. Please open his eyes to see Your plan for his life, open his ears to hear Your voice, and open his heart to new opportunities to do Your will.”

Yeah, I definitely second that. Just make sure that You’re really obvious when You’re speaking to me though, please. I can be pretty dense sometimes. I mean, You know that, of course. But if I need to go on a mission trip or be a witness to somebody at school or something like that, please make it super freakin’ obvious so I don’t miss it. Please.

“We love You, Abba Father. We thank You for Your everlasting love, and most of all, we thank You for sending Your son to die for us.”

Ditto.

“In Jesus’ holy and precious name we pray, Amen.”

“Amen.”

I open my eyes to see Sienna beaming back at me. She squeezes my hand before letting go, and I try to relax back in my chair.

“Thank you, Theo.”

I nod, staring at my cup again.

“Are you sure there’s nothing else going on in your world?” Sienna asks after a few seconds of silence between us. “Anything specific you’d like me to be praying about for you?” I can feel her watching me as I fidget with my phone case. “Are you talking to any girls at school?”

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