Page 50 of The Game She Hates

I pull out of the embrace to see her face. She looks as beautiful as ever, wearing an olive green overall dress with her hair styled in a high ponytail, two curled strands framing her face. She accessorized with gold earrings and a necklace. Her fruity fragrance is more noticeable than usual.

“I’ve been tuning in to the online sermons using the link you shared with me, and about three weeks ago, I accepted Christ into my life. Then this week, I decided to join the baptism class.” My words tumble out, a smile spreading across my face to match hers.

She opens her mouth, but no words come out.

“I was about to tell you at the wedding before—,” I start, but she interrupts.

“Zane, I’m so sorry for the way I left. You don’t deserve how I’ve been treating you.” Her eyes glisten with tears, almost spilling over. “Will you find it in your heart to forgive me? I know I don’t deserve your friendship anymore.”

Her words echo the conversation that brought me here today. I didn’t deserve God’s forgiveness and love, yet here I am, baptized and embraced by the family of Christians.

“I’m not going to pretend that hearing you call our kiss a mistake didn’t hurt.” I scratch the back of my neck. “But what matters is that you texted me and you’re here. I’m sorry I haven’t replied. I had a baptism to get to.” I chuckle.

“A baptism, huh. I definitely need the entire story.”

“I need to go clean up before I get hypothermia. Can I take you out on a date after church? I’ll tell you everything.”

“Of course,” she says, hugging me again as if she forgot I was still soaked. “I’ll go congratulate the others. That’s why Robyn and I come. We never miss Baptism Sunday.”

I give her a full smile.

She’s absolutely the one for me.

“What’s surprising is how the word didn’t manage to get out. Our church is pretty small, and keeping secrets isn’t our forte,” Pearl remarks as we wait to be seated at an Italian restaurant we discovered we both like.

The rain has stopped, and outside, the April flowers are abloom with a kaleidoscope of colors, each petal a reminder of the changing season. Spring is here, and with it comes my first date with Pearl.

“Pastor made sure to emphasize keeping my privacy. He didn’t want the news to spread and draw unexpected crowds. If the media had caught wind of my baptism, they would have shown up too.”

A tall waitress, almost my height, approaches us and after recognizing me, she apologizes for the wait. I usually don’t wait in lines because I order everything online, but I don’t mind standing as long as needed if I’m with Pearl.

I pull out a chair for Pearl, inviting her to sit. She gracefully accepts and takes her seat. After settling into my own chair, I extend my hand across our small table, and she places her small hand in mine.

“I know this is our first date, but I really want to have many more. Can you let me officially pursue you?” I ask locking my gaze with hers.

She nods, her lips pursed as if she’s holding back words.

“That’s a yes, right?” I clarify, recalling how last time she shook her head but said yes with her words.

“It’s a yes, Zane. I’d love it if you pursued me.”

“Is it because I got baptized today? You should have told me that’s all I needed to do to finally get you to go out with me.”

She playfully pushes my hand away. “Please don’t tell me you did that for me.”

I throw my head back laughing. “I was just kidding. No, I accepted Jesus into my life a few weeks ago. It all started when you invited me to church though. I couldn’t get the pastor’s message out of my head.”

“Pastor Marcus,” she adds.

“Yes, sorry about that, Pastor Marcus. I keep forgetting he has a name. When he taught, I realized I didn’t really know much about Jesus’ life beyond the part where he died for our sins. Even that had never been well explained to me. His sermon challenged everything I had lived for and believed in. I had so many questions, and it turns out Jesus isn’t afraid of my questions. One of my friends and teammates, who is a Christian, helped me through the roadblocks I was facing. It was like he had an answer for everything I doubted, and when he didn’t, he would encourage me to pray about it and read the Bible. Slowly, everything I thought I stood for melted away in the overwhelming knowledge that God sent His son to die for someone like me. It’s all been a whirlwind.”

My eyes dart around, unable to hold her intense gaze. I muster all my strength to resist the urge to cup her face and pull her into my arms.

“I’ve never been happier for a testimony in my life,” she says, wiping away a tear.

I reach out and gently hold her cheek. “You should be. If I hadn’t met you and been so enamored with you from the start, I don’t know how much longer it would have taken for me to find the way.”

She takes my hand and brings it to her mouth, softly kissing it. Her lips are as tender as they were at the wedding, and all too suddenly, all the fears I had about what my life following Christ would look like melt away.

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