Page 22 of When Forever Stays

I thought maybe shooting in a different location or at another time of day would help. Especially since inspiration struck me so hard on the beach. But nothing helps. I'm still stuck with this block. It makes my frustration mount even higher.

I unplug my ring light, pull my phone off its stand, and set it next to my open Bible. That’s what I need. My Bible. To dive in, dig deep, and study the truth of God’s holy Word for myself. Not just for online content.

But no matter how hard I try, I can’t. The words blur together or the ideas don’t make sense to me. It’s as if I’m being mentally blocked from understanding. Like I have ears that don’t hear or eyes that can’t see.

Giving myself a few more minutes, I stare at the passage and continue to come up short. I collect my Bible, ring light, phone, and stand, and head back into the house. Once everything is in its respective place, I reluctantly repost an older video that did well on the first go-round. Hopefully, it will do well for me again.

After locking up and getting a quick shower, I’m off to bed, hoping that tomorrow will bring new post ideas and a stronger defense against Rhett Stryker’s charms.

I pound on Crew’s door and yell, “I brought sustenance!”

Seconds pass before the door is pulled open, and Rhett stands before me in all his rumpled morning glory. He puts a finger to his lips as if telling me to be quiet.

I wrinkle my brows.

“Crew is still sleeping,” Rhett whispers, apparently noticing my confusion.

“It’s almost eight in the morning. Crew never sleeps this long, even when he’s coming off a long shift.”

I motion to his scruffy cheeks. “Are you growing out a beard?” He had a five o’clock shadow yesterday, but he must be someone who needs to shave every day. The extra scruff makes him look like someone else I know, but I still can’t figure out who. It’s driving me crazy.

He scratches his jaw. “No? But maybe I should shave.”

“I can stop by the store on my way home from work and pick you up a razor.”

Rhett shrugs. “I can pick one up later.” He motions for me to come in.

I walk over to the galley kitchen and lay the food I picked up on my way on the counter. The unmade, sagging air mattress catches my attention. “That does not look comfortable,” I mumble mostly to myself.

“It wasn’t,” Rhett says, rubbing his side. “Where do you work?” Rhett asks.

“A little cafe in town. I help out a couple times a week to get out of the house.”

“You only need to work part-time?”

“Well, my main job is a small business I run on social media.”

He stares out into space as if thinking hard about something I said.

“What?” I ask when he’s been silent for too long.

“What kind of small business?”

I shift on my feet. “It’s a sort of ministry.”

Rhett raises his eyebrows. “Tell me about it.”

So I do. And I can’t help it when I talk faster and get more excitable as I tell him the little details he asks about.

“It started out as a way to hold myself accountable in deep diving into the Bible. The more I posted, the more followers I gained, and I got to interact with other women who wanted to learn how to study their Bible in depth. After I hit twenty-thousand followers, I had my first business reach out and ask to work with me. And it’s just grown from there.” His eyes never leave my face, his expression telling me he’s listening to every word intently. It’s as if he’s really interested in something I’m so passionate about.

Once I finish explaining it all, he says, “That’s amazing. I’d like to watch your videos sometime.”

My eyes widen. “Oh, I don’t know…”

“Come on, you’re okay with thousands of strangers watching but not me?”

I open my mouth, then close it. “It’s different when youknowthe people watching them. Even when it’s the girls I mentor at youth group; it’s weird when they talk about things they learned from one of my videos. That’s why I’m nervous about leading the upcoming girls’ retreat”

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