Page 15 of The Dating Game

“Fine,” I admit, “I may like her a little. We actually met a while ago when I was her skydiving instructor. I never thought I’d see her again, though. Plus, she had a boyfriend at the time, so I knew I needed to ignore my attraction to her. I just lost my head last night when I saw her on stage in need of a partner.” I sigh. “I really messed things up for her, though. Her boyfriend broke up with her because of that performance.”

“Oh wow.” Luke steeples his fingers. “I bet she’s mad at you.” He chuckles. “No pun intended.”

“Pun? What pun?”

“Oh.” Luke frowns. “Maybe I shouldn’t have said that. It’s nothing really, just Hannah said she was only dating that guy as a bet. She didn’t really like him.”

“What? A bet? What kind of bet? Who dates someone as part of a bet?”

“Brooke, apparently. Hannah told me she made a bet with her friend, Sydney—”

“The new media center assistant?” I interject.

“That’s the one,” he confirms. “Anyway, she said Sydney told her last night that she was so sick of Brooke hopping from guy to guy that she bet Brooke that she couldn’t stick with the same guy for three months.”

“Wow.” A lot of things make sense now. Why she was with that jerky guy for so long, being the main one. I mean, I’m not sure Brooke saw, since she was recovering from having vomited on me, but he was flirting hard with another woman who jumped that day. And then he didn’t even go onstage with her last night; he made her stand up there alone. Not to mention all of those jerky things he said to her last night.

Then again, a bet? Seems a bit immature if you ask me.

“Yeah, wow is right. I guess she lost the bet last night.” He raises an eyebrow at me. “And it sounds like that was thanks to you. So good luck getting back in her good graces, my friend.”

Do I even want to get back in her good graces? A bet? Involving another person’s feelings and emotions? I don’t love that.

I think back to the hurt I saw in her eyes last night as the words Grant said to her seemed to take root in her heart. The urge to somehow make the night better for her was overwhelming. I can’t deny that there’s something about her that just…draws me in.

But a bet? Love isn’t a game. People aren’t pawns that you can just move around on your board how you see fit.

“What was the bet for?” I ask, my curiosity getting the best of my better judgment.

“I’m not sure what she got if she won, but if she lost Sydney gotto pick her next boyfriend.”

I let out a short laugh. “What because she can just pick any guy and he’ll agree to date her?” Yes, I answer my own question. Any guy, well at least anysingleguy, would almost certainly agree to a date with Brooke Garza. If a woman as gorgeous as her asks you out, you don’t question why—you just say yes and figure out if there’s chemistry later.

I think back to singing with her last night—there was definitely chemistry. At least on my end. She may very well have only been acting. She must be a good actress if she managed to string Grant along for so many weeks when she didn’t even like him.

“I guess that’s been her general experience,” Luke says with a shrug.

Of course it has.

Which is why I should steer clear of her and focus on finding a replacement chaperone for this mission trip. I’m really not looking for a relationship right now anyway.

“Okay, well,” I clap my hands on my thighs and get to my feet, “consider me no longer interested in her. I’d better go. I’ve got some cold calls to make.”

“Send me your list!” Luke calls after me. “I’ll make some calls too!”

I put a hand up in acknowledgment of his request, then disappear out the door, mind spinning.

Who am I going to call about being a chaperone so last minute?

There’s Eddie Feran. He’s retired, so getting off work wouldn’t be a problem. Although he once showed up to help build a house in a lower income suburb of Tucson and ended up accidentally hammering his shirt to the wall. He’s notoriously clumsy and absentminded. Not sure how much help he’ll be in Port Isabel.

Maybe one of the parents of the kids going—although if they haven’t signed up by now they probably aren’t interested.

One of the teachers from the school? The trip is mostly over their midwinter break, after all. Maybe the first grade teacher Sarah Bochanan would come. But she’s always flirting with me. If I ask her to come she might see that as encouragement and, though Sarah is nice, I’m not interested in dating her.

Brooke. She pops into my head because apparently the mere thought of dating is enough to summon her image.

Is it just because she has a pretty face? Because I really thought I was deeper than that.

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