Page 73 of The Dating Game

“Too bad Will’s car isn’t here,” Brooke quips. “You could just dump it in there.” At first I’m confused, then I remember our drive to the golf course. Although it had physically pained me to do so, I hadliterally emptied my kitchen trash can into her seat before picking her up.

Man, that was gross. Super glad I’m not doing stuff like that anymore.

Xander and Aubree exchange bewildered looks, but I just grab the trash can and dump the contents on the floor. We can clean it up later; right now I want to get this squirrel out of the church.

“You two should go,” I tell the teenagers. “I doubt anything will happen, but no point risking you two getting hurt. Shut the door behind you.” They do as instructed, but the squirrel seems to have had enough of playing invisible. Their movements toward the door send him scurrying. Luckily he tears off in the direction of the wall rather than disappearing out the door. Unfortunately, squirrels can climb walls. Something he promptly tries to do. (Don’t ask me why the squirrel is a boy, he just is.) Only these walls are smooth and flat, meaning there’s nothing for him to grip. He slides back down, landing sprawled on the gym floor in front of us.

I don’t hesitate, barreling toward it with the trash can in front of me, but I’m not fast enough. The squirrel, I’m naming him Clyde, dashes across the floor, making a chee-chee sound as he goes. Clyde leaps between the sleeping bags laid out all over the gym floor, then lands in the middle of the gym and looks wildly around for something to save him.

Brooke pulls up next to me, eyes trained on Clyde. “Is this really happening?” she asks me. “Are we actually chasing a squirrel around a gymnasium right now? Or am I dreaming?”

I look down at her and, despite the crazed squirrel in the room, a smile tugs at my mouth. “Really? Of all the dreams you could have about me, you pick one where we’rechasing a squirrel?”

Her eyes pop wide in surprise, then she laughs. “Excuse me, are you actually suggesting that I would have an inappropriate dream about you?”

“Oh no,” I reply smoothly. “Only appropriate dreams. Kissing, for instance, always makes for a good dream. Though, I can say from experience that the reality of kissing you is better.” My eyes drop to her lips and she sucks in a breath.

“Will, we can’t kiss right now,” she whispers without any real conviction.

“You worried Clyde will see and tell his friends?” I ask, raising one eyebrow.

“Who’s Clyde?”

“The squirrel.”

Another laugh bubbles out of her. “Of course.” She shakes her head, eyes shining. “But no, it’s not Clyde I’m worried about. We can’t kiss because we’re in the girls’ sleeping quarters right now. You’re not supposed to be in here at all, let alone be in here kissing me!”

“Oh right.” Her words are like a splash of cold water to the face, and I take a quick step back from her. “Well, back to the squirrel then,” I say with a resigned sigh that makes her laugh yet again. It’s addictive, making her laugh. I’m already thinking about what I can do to hear it again. Is she a fan of slapstick comedy? I could fall down as I pursue Clyde. Or maybe she likes wordplay comedy. I’m sure I could come up with the perfect pun for this situation. Something about squirrels or nuts—something a-corny. What about stand-up comedy? I’ll start planning a routine as soon as we’re finished with Clyde.

“Do you think we should just leave him for animal control to take care of?” Brooke asks. “Surely someone is calling them as we speak.”

I rip my mind away from the standup routine I was about to start writing and narrow my eyes at Clyde. I don’t trust this sneaky squirrel. “I think we should wait in here with Clyde until animal control arrives,” I say. “If we leave him he could go hide somewhere and then we might end up having to relocate everyone for the night if he can’t be found.”

“True,” Brooke muses. “Of course that’s assuming someone is calling animal control.”

“Aubree said Carmen went to get help.”

Brooke nods. “So we wait and watch.”

“Yup.” We both stare at Clyde. He’s sitting now, his tiny squirrel hands up by his mouth. He seems completely uncertain what to do next. “So, you were in here reading your Bible with Carmen?” I ask conversationally.

“Oh.” Her gaze flashes my way before hopping back to Clyde. “Yes. I mentioned that I was going to stay back and do some reading and she asked if she could join me.”

“So you’re back to Bible reading then?” I ask.

“Yes,” she says definitively.

“That’s great.” I hesitate for a second but then forge on with what’s on my mind. “What made you decide to face God again?”

Brooke drags in a breath, before letting it out in one sharp puff. “Wow, Clyde,” she addresses the animal instead of me. “This guy isn’t beating around the bush, is he?” She fiddles with the ends of her hair before answering. “I guess you did,” she says. “You asked me why I was so dead set on making choices that weren’t pleasing to God, and that made me realize how ridiculous my choices actually were.” She blows out another breath. “Anyway, the stupidest choice of all was avoiding God. I should count myself lucky I didn’t end up in the belly of a whale or stuck in the road with a talking donkey trying to warn me about the giant angel in the road.” She straightens and points to Clyde. “Wait,you don’t talk do you?”

In response Clyde hurries across the floor, trying his luck on the other wall with similar results. He runs back and forth along the wall for a few seconds before turning and resuming his crouched, hands by the mouth position.

We follow after him, maintaining some distance while also tracking his location. Brooke hangs right behind me, one hand clutching my arm. Even though she’s bantering with me, she’s clearly still nervous. The way she’s holding onto me feels as if she trusts me to protect her, though, and it turns out that I really like that feeling. Even if it is only a squirrel we’re facing.

“Somehow I don’t think Clyde was sent here to warn us about any angels in our path,” I say as we creep along.

“I’m certain Balaam thought the same thing when he set off on his journey,” she retorts, her tone playful.

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