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“Nothing. It’s just very you. Go be helpful. Have a good lunch. And then I expect a full report later this afternoon.” Megan poked my shoulder. “I’m serious.”
“Noted.” I collected my purse and took a deep breath. I didn’t mind giving her an update. In fact, I’d go ahead and start a group chat with Whitney so the three of us could talk that way. I just wished I knew what I wanted that update to be.
I made my way through the lingering clumps of people in the worship center and downstairs to the large room the youth used. There were a handful of teens hanging out, helping with the chairs, and joking around.
“Hi, Miss Jones!” Sara, one of my best students, waved and rushed over to me. “Did you grade the programs yet? Will we get them back tomorrow? Did you like the extra that I added?”
I laughed. “I’m not finished grading yet. It’s probably going to be Tuesday. I’m sorry. I had an exam in AP that I needed to grade first. It took longer than I expected.”
“Oh.” Sara’s face fell for a moment, then brightened again. “Well, I hope you like my surprise. I have to go. I’ll see you tomorrow!”
“I’m sure I will. Bye.” I watched her dart off and smiled. Sara reminded me a lot of me as a teenager. Or even more recently, if I was honest. She was fun and bubbly and always cheerful. And those were things I tried to be. I needed to get out of my head and stop this—whatever it was—that was taking those things away.
I crossed the room to where Luke was stacking chairs. “Hi.”
He looked up and grinned. “Hi. You don’t have to help. It just takes a minute.”
I put my purse down against the wall and reached for a chair. “I don’t mind. I like to help.”
“Okay. Thanks.” He grabbed the chair beside mine and the two of us worked in quiet harmony for a few minutes while we gathered the chairs and stacked them against the wall. When we were done, he looked around. “All set.”
“Looks like. Why do you have to stack the chairs?” I went over to where I’d stashed my purse and grabbed it. “Isn’t this just the youth room?”
He chuckled. “There’s a couple of moms groups who meet here during the week. They use this room for games since it’s as close to an indoor gym as we have. So moving the chairs makes it easier for them. I guess, technically, we could ask them to stack them and put them back in rows when they were done, but that seems like a lot.”
“Makes sense. You ready to eat?”
“I am. I’ve been excited about a new Mexican place all week.” He held the door leading out into the parking lot for me. “You sure you wouldn’t rather I drove?”
“If you want, that’s fine. I don’t actually care either way.”
Luke stopped in the parking lot and stuck his hands in his pockets. “I’m trying to decide if this is going to come across as controlling and weird.”
I laughed. “It isn’t. You drive. It’s fine. Which one’s you?”
“You’re sure you don’t mind?” He pointed to a dark blue truck on the far side of the lot.
“I’m sure.” In some ways, it was a check in the “pro” column. He’d been the one to ask me out. He wanted to drive. It was certainly a more traditional start to things.
When we reached the truck, Luke opened my door and waited for me to get in, then closed it and rounded the hood.
So far? I’d say things were off to a pretty good start.
5
LUKE
Iwas so focused on making sure I didn’t drive like a lunatic that I didn’t manage much good conversation with Kayla on the way to the Mexican restaurant. She didn’t seem to mind—at least, not that I could tell—but it still made my palms sweat.
I was bad at dating.
I’d tried, here and there, in high school and again in college. I didn’t even bother in seminary. It wasn’t that I wouldn’t marry a woman with a seminary degree—far from it—I’d just gotten to the point that I realized I was no good at it. And I’d been busy enough then, I didn’t have time.
“I’m not sure how I haven’t been here. I drive past this shopping center all the time.” I pulled into a parking spot and cut the engine.
“I feel like it’s easy to miss.” Kayla shrugged before pushing open her door. “And there are so many little restaurants like this, I never know which ones are good until someone tells me.”
I smiled and opened my door. “True.”
