Page 69 of The Dating Game

“Why not?”

Why not? The question settles sharply over me. It’s not hard to figure out. My Bible reading slowed down around the time I made that first bet with Sydney. I think I knew deep down that it wasn’t a very godly choice to date someone for a bet. I was toying with people’s emotions, after all. If I really sat with God, I was certain He’d make me aware of His disapproval of my choices, and I didn’t want thatconviction to get in the way of me winning these bets. But how do I explain that to Will though without telling him about my bets with Sydney?

Or maybe Ishouldtell him about the bet. He deserves to know. And who knows, maybe he won’t be as mad as I think he’s going to be. Maybe he’ll even understand my desire to push Sydney out of her comfort zone lest she be alone forever.

Or maybe he’ll hate me and the rest of this mission trip will be the most awkward week of my life. Worse, I might lose him forever. I shudder. I don’t want to lose Will for any amount of time.

I take a deep breath, and try to find the right words. Ones that are true, but don’t give me away completely. “Honestly, I think it has a lot to do with the fact that there are some choices I’ve made recently that I doubt He supports. I don’t want to hear God’s opinion about my choices, so it’s easier to avoid Him altogether.” I chew my lower lip. “That’s completely awful, isn’t it?”

“I don’t know about completely awful,” he says graciously. “It’s definitely not the wisest of paths, but I think it’s one we’ve all walked down. It’s not always easy to submit to God’s will, especially if it means having to do things His way instead of your own.”

“You can say that again.” I sigh.

“Can I ask why you’re so dead set on following through on these choices you’ve made? You must have a compelling reason, if you know they’re not pleasing to God.”

Yeesh.Not pleasing to God.That phrasing feels harsh. It’s exactly why I’ve been avoiding introspective time with God. I can’t handle harsh. I stop walking, and a second later so does Will. He turns to face me, the genuineness of his expression crushing me with guilt. I want to be honest with him. And honestly, dating Will hasn’t been about the bet for quite some time now. Surely that will count for something if I tell him, right?

My phone rings loudly, startling me so badly I jump.

“I’m sorry,” I say quickly, reaching in my pocket to silence it, surprised to see it’s Sydney calling. Is that supposed to be some sort of sign? Because if so, I don’t know how to interpret it. With a shake of my head I turn my ringer off and turn back to Will, but the church doors open then and a couple of kids pour out, interrupting the moment.

“There you are, Will!” One of them says. “Tim sent us to look for you because Pastor Keith wanted to ask you about helping out with the singing tomorrow at camp.”

“Oh, okay.” Will nods. “I’ll come in shortly, okay? I’m just finishing up a conversation.” My phone starts buzzing in my pocket again. I take it back out to see that it’s Sydney again. Why is she calling me twice? Is something wrong?

“Do you need to take that?” Will asks.

“I don’t know. I’m not sure why Sydney called me twice in a row.”

“Go ahead,” he says. “Take the call. I’m supposed to go inside anyway. We can finish our conversation later.”

“Okay,” I agree, thankful for the temporary reprieve from having to make a decision about what to tell Will. He smiles at me, then heads into the building. I watch him for a second before putting my phone to my ear. “Sydney? Are you okay?” I greet my friend.

“Brooke! I’m so glad you answered!” Sydney’s voice is bubbling with excitement. I was not expecting that. “I have news! Big news!”

“Big news?” I echo, trying to reorient myself around this happy version of Sydney when I was expecting to hear about some sort of crisis or emergency.

“Yes!” she exclaims. “And honestly, I debated whether or not to tell you, because I don’t want you to have bragging rights or do something crazy like end things with Will. But I’m too excited. Plus, you’re on a mission trip with Will, so you can’t end things with him since that would be too awkward for words. And if you haven’t fallen for him yet, I’m certain you will by the end of the trip. How could you no–”

“Sydney,” I cut her off, my heart racing in my chest as I try to make sense of her manic words. “What are you talking about right now? What happened?”

There’s a brief pause, then she squeals, “I went out with someone last night!”

“Wait, what?” I say in disbelief. “You mean, like a guy?”

“Of course a guy!” she says with a laugh. “Why would I call you to tell you that I went out with a friend?”

“But how? And who?” My mind is reeling, trying to catch up.

“I’ll start with how then tell you the who.” I can’t see my friend but I can hear the stars in her eyes. “Caroline got invited to a play date on Saturday afternoon, and when I took her over I got to talking with the girl’s dad—he’s a widower, like me— and well…I never left.” My jaw drops and I bring a hand over my mouth to stop my squeal. “We talked the whole play date and then when it was over, he asked me out, and well…I said yes.”

“It’s Corbin, isn’t it?” I gasp. “Please tell me it’s Corbin Parker!”

“How did you know?” Sydney cries.

“ItisCorbin!” I practically screech. “Oh my goodness, Sydney! That’s the guy I wanted to try and set you up with it!”

“What? You’re joking!”

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