Page 72 of The Friend Game

I should’ve stayed at the church. I sat in my car for a while, but the deafening silence was too much, so I drove home. I wanted to be there for Luke, but feared my presence would only make things worse for him.

I hop up off my couch realizing with a bolt of clarity that there is a way I can support him without actually being there: I can pray.

***

Loud knocking wakes me up from the restless sleep I fell into after my praying session eventually landed me back on the couch. Groggily I rub my eyes, completely disoriented. What time is it? How long was I asleep for?

The knocking takes up again, this time accompanied by someone calling my name, “Hannah!”

Luke!I sit up with a bolt, getting up off the couch so fast all of the blood rushes to my head, and I have to bend over so I don’t pass out.

The knocking stops, surging me back into desperate motion. He must think I’m not here! Still a little lightheaded, I’m forced to lean on the door as I open it, stars continuing to spot my vision. But then Luke is there in front of me— and everything clears until all I see is him.

“Luke,” I breathe and then he’s stepping toward me, sweeping me into his arms, and kissing me—this time with zero hesitation. With complete abandon.

His hands wrap more tightly around me as the kiss deepens, and I let my own hands trace acrossthe muscles of his upper back, before sliding them into place securely around his neck. A gasp slips out of me as he lifts me up with a deep groan, letting my feet dangle off the ground. He holds me there for a second, then, with a second groan, pulls away, lowering me back to the ground and taking a step back.

“You have no idea,” he says, his breathing heavy, “what you do to me, Hannah Garza.”

Heat swirls in my abdomen. I want to go back to kissing him, but I force myself to stay put. Since Luke is a pastor, I know it’s especially important to let him lead when it comes to this new physical component of our relationship. So instead of stepping back into his arms, I let out a happy sigh and say, “I’m so glad you’re here. I was worried about you, and I wasn’t sure what I could do to help besides pray.”

“You prayed for me?” Luke’s mouth lifts in the softest of smiles.

“Of course,” I say earnestly. “I saw the way everyone rushed forward to talk to you and knew you’d need some Holy Spirit help.” I reach over and squeeze his forearm. He looks overcome by emotion, but his answering smile tells me it’s the good kind of overcome. “Now please, I’m dying to know what happened with the elder board.”

“Well, they’re sort of split right now. Quite a few of them seemed ready to annul the contract andlet bygones be bygones, but a couple of the more outspoken of the bunch weren’t quite ready to do so. They thought I should be put on probation.”

“Probation?” I exclaim. “What would that even mean?”

“Basically that they’d be watching for me to put one more toe out of line.” Luke shakes his head with a chuckle. “I told them to go ahead and put me on probation. In my view we should always be holding each other accountable for our sins, so if they want to analyze my life andlovinglycall me out for any missteps, I welcome that and hope that I have the grace and humility to hear it.”

“Wow,” I breathe, admiration pulsing through me. The idea of standing in front of a group of people, however well intentioned, and having them challenge me on any sin patterns in my life sounds, well, awful.

“So now I’m on probation until March 1,” he concludes. “But free to date you in the meantime,” he adds with a rakish grin. “So can I take you out to dinner?”

“Right now?” I squeak, my hand flying to my surely mussed hair and my gaze scanning over my rumpled clothes. Luke’s gaze follows mine and he draws in a long, appreciative breath that makes my whole body tingle with pleasure.

“As much as I’d enjoy staying here,” he says, voice tinged with regret, “it wouldn't be the wisest of choices given the depth of my attraction to you.”

Remember that time I wondered if dating a pastor would be as chaste as the dating in a Jane Austen book? It appears that it might be. But since Luke is also saying very swoony things that only Jane Austen heroes would say, I’m okay with that. I mean,given the depth of my attraction to you?

That’s a straight up Austenian hero type of declaration.

Outside of that time in second grade when I got a fluffy diary as a birthday present, I’ve never journaled before, but you can bet when I get home from dinner I am going to grab the first notebook I find and write that down.

Dear Diary,

Today a boy told me he couldn’t be alone in my house with me given the depth of his attraction to me. Ahhhhh!!! I’m not screaming–you’re screaming!

xoxo,

Hannah

P.S. I love him.

“Hannah? You still with me?” Luke asks, waving a hand in my face. I hop back to the present moment.

“Sorry. I may have been daydreaming for a second.”

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