Page 60 of Safe With You

She smirked. “What lesson are you teaching them tonight?”

“The last few weeks have been about trusting God’s protection and plans. I’m going to tell the Rib Mountain story tonight so you can hear it in all its glorious detail.”

“I’m sure Joel would love to know that.”

Inside, Ethan led her downstairs to one of the larger classrooms. Since they were early, none of the kids had arrived yet, but it didn’t take long before the sound of pounding feet and competing voices signaled their approach. When everyone was present and seated, Ethan introduced Katie and started the night with prayer.

Once they settled into the lesson, he enjoyed finding ways to get her involved. She seemed happy to participate, and he couldn’t help but imagine how much he would enjoy it if they did youth group together every week. If only things were different.

He enjoyed it so much that the evening flew by faster than usual. Before he knew it, it was time to wrap things up. Setting his guitar aside after a rousing rendition ofIn Christ Alone, he looked over the full class.

“Does anyone have any questions before we end tonight?”

One of the fourteen-year-old girls in the center row shot her hand up.

“Yes, Laura?”

“Is Katie your girlfriend?” She and her friends giggled.

He should have seen that one coming. Ethan shook his head. “MissKatie is not my girlfriend. She’s my best friend.”

A few more giggles erupted, though murmurs of obvious disappointment mingled with them. He glanced at Katie, who wore an amused smile.

“Contrary to popular belief, guys and girls can be friends without involving romance.” Considering his true feelings toward her, he wondered if that statement was a bit hypocritical. But theywerefriends, and there wasn’t romance involved, so the statement was technically true.

Before he could engage in any further internal debate, one boy raised his hand, and Ethan had a sinking feeling the matter wasn’t yet settled. He braced himself.

“Yes, Derek?”

“Do you wish Miss Katie was your girlfriend?”

Ethan gave him a tight smile. He didn’t typically want to strangle any of the kids in youth group, but tonight was proving to be an exception. He didn’t dare glance at Katie this time, afraid of the truth being present on his face. Keeping his voice as light and casual as possible, he addressed the question. “Like I said, she’s my friend. We’ve been friends since we were much younger than all of you. Let’s leave the conversation at that and get back to our lesson for the night. Are there any questions about what we learned?”

A couple of the kids groaned, but no one raised a hand.

“All right then, you’re all dismissed.” And the sooner, the better. Best to get them on their way before any other probing questions popped out and dug him into an even deeper hole.

With a chaotic scramble, everyone jumped up to leave at once. Some paused to say goodbye to Ethan and Katie on the way out, though most were already conversing with their friends. In just moments, the room emptied, and a hush fell. He cleared his throat and turned to Katie. Amusement still played on her face.

“Inquisitive crowd.”

Ethan forced what he hoped was a casual laugh. “Yeah. Who knew eighth and ninth graders would be so concerned about my love life? Sorry if they embarrassed you.”

“No, I thought it was funny.”

“I guess that’s what you get from a group of teenagers.” He could only pray that none of them would find themselves in a situation as complicated as his, and not for a few years at least.

Katie just laughed and shook her head. To Ethan’s relief, that seemed to be the end of it, and the kids’ inquisition hadn’t revealed his true feelings. He packed up his guitar, and the two of them headed upstairs to mingle with the rest of the congregation. Here, they got pulled into separate conversations.

Ethan talked with Adam and a couple of the other single men for a while, but when it started getting late, he excused himself. Crossing the auditorium toward Katie and the rest of his family, he turned to say hello to one of the deacons and nearly ran into someone.

“Oh, sorry.” The woman looked up at him, and uncertainty jabbed him in the stomach. “Anna, hi.”

She was a little taller than Katie but more blonde than brunette, especially since it looked like she’d recently gotten highlights. They’d barely talked since he’d ended the relationship, not that he could blame her for wanting nothing to do with him. He’d undoubtedly broken her heart, even though that was the last thing he wanted. Because of this, he struggled for words beyond the awkward greeting.

She, however, offered a smile free of any lingering hurt or hard feelings. He was thankful for that. She had a lot of family here at church. Breaking up with her hadn’t made him the most popular person in the congregation. Though her brothers and extended family hadn’t exactly shunned him, the air between them had been frosty for a while. But if she, at least, had forgiven him, he was glad. And he couldn’t blame her family for being protective.

“Ethan, how are you?”

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