Page 13 of Her Surprise Vacation Date

“That’s where you’re wrong. Thisisthe more comforting answer. It shows that God cares about us too much to leave us alone. It’s like you and your students. I bet you push them to learn even when it’s hard for them. That’s what my favorite teacher did for me. I was a horrible student up until fourth grade when I met Ms. Archibald. She encouraged me to do better and helped me when I wanted to give up. I was a different kid after her class.”

“You know something? You surprise me every time you open your mouth.” I lean my elbow on the center console as I study Shane’s profile. His dark brown hair falls onto his forehead in a messy but attractive sort of way and his five o’clock shadow gives him a rugged edge. He’s grown into such a handsome guy, it’s hard not to stare. Especially when he’s spouting words of wisdom that are so out of place for someone his age. None of the guys I dated in my twenties were even remotely as mature. “You’re like an old man trapped inside a young man’s body.”

He scoffs softly. “I liked it better when you called me gorgeous. Old man just doesn’t have the same appeal.”

“It’s a compliment!” I insist, giving him a playful nudgewith my elbow. “Trust me, girls appreciate guys who have deep thoughts. It’s unfortunately not as common as you may think.”

He glances over, his brows furrowed. His gaze lingers on me longer than I think is safe while driving, but we’re on an open highway with few cars around us. After he faces forward, he asks, “Is that the reason you’re taking time off from dating? Because you’ve been meeting guys with not-so-deep thoughts?”

“Do you really want to hear about my dating woes?”

“Sure. Who knows, I might have some useful thoughts to offer, considering how you think they’re deep and all. I also happen to understand how guys operate.”

“That’s a valid point. It would be nice to get a male perspective.”

He waves his hand as an invitation for me to speak. “Go on.”

“It’s pretty simple, actually. I’m tired of meeting guys who don’t want to settle down. There was one guy, Ned—we met at a New Year’s Eve party and dated for five weeks before he broke it off. He said things were moving too fast for him.”

“Let me guess, he ended it when you were trying to make plans for Valentine’s Day?”

“Yes! Right after I told him I’d found the perfect dress for that day. How’d you know?”

“That’s a typical non-committal move. A guy’s not going to spend Valentine’s Day with a girl he’s not interested in staying with for the long haul. It costs too much and requires too much effort in the romance department.”

“Huh, that makes sense.” Shane’s explanation is so matter of fact, I can’t believe I didn’t think of it. “How about this one? There was another guy, Fred, that I saw for almost three months. He was a long-term sub for one of the teachers onmaternity leave, so we hung out practically every day. We ate lunch together and did yard duty together, too. The kids even had a ship name for us—Frope! Isn’t that cute?”

“I guess it’s cuter than Head.”

“Yeah. But the thing is, he never wanted to post pictures of us online.”

“Oh,” Shane replies knowingly. “Well, that’s easy. He saw it as a fling, so he didn’t want to broadcast it on social media. That way it’d be less messy once the subbing gig was over.”

“Really? He’d always meant for it to be temporary?”

“Did you guys ever have a talk about what your relationship status was?”

“No. I just assumed that if we had a ship name, we were official.” As soon as the words are out of my mouth, I groan. I’d put way too much stock into what a group of fifth graders had said instead of facing reality. I throw my head back as a terrible realization sinks in. “I can’t believe it! I’m the too-stupid-to-live character in my own story.”

“The what now?”

“The character who makes decisions that you know will have bad consequences or they keep letting bad things happen to them. It’s like they have no survival instincts. They ignore obvious red flags or keep making the same bad decision over and over again.” Embarrassment sets my cheeks on fire, despite the cool air from the vents. Since there’s nowhere to hide in this enclosed space, I do the next best thing and squeeze my eyes shut. “I can’t believe it, Shane. I’m that character who keeps falling for the wrong guys. No wonder I’ve never had a long-term relationship.”

“Hey now, don’t beat yourself up. In both of those cases, you were being trusting and hopeful. You were ready to commit, and you wanted to make those relationships work. There’s nothing stupid about that.”

“There is if I can’t tell when a guy has no interest in me.”

“I wouldn’t say no interest. They obviously were attracted to you. Nobody forced them to spend time with you. They just weren’t ready to commit.”

“Thanks for trying to make me feel better.” I wrap my arms around my torso, suddenly feeling vulnerable. “But let’s face facts. I’m not a very good judge of character and I trust too easily.”

“I wouldn’t put it that way.”

“Case in point: my missing luggage.”

“Ah, well...”

“Exactly.”

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