The Boyfriend Bet (LDS Fiction) (3 page)

Patrick came back five minutes later. "Well, I don't mean to be a party pooper, but I have to roll out." He looked directly at me, smiled and said, "I'll see you around. Take care."

"See you later! I hope everything is all right." I was fumbling with my words, trying to figure out something to say.

"Yeah, it's fine, just family stuff," he mumbled. "Gotta run. I'll catch you later." He turned around and started jogging across the park toward his car.

"Hey!" I yelled after him, "you forgot your blanket."  I quickly stood up and starting shaking the grass from the blanket and folding it.

Patrick came back and took the folded blanket from me with a smile and said, "Thanks a lot. Enjoy the rest of your evening." And he was off, heading toward the parking lot again.

I was completely flabbergasted. With one phone call, things completely flip-flopped. Our interaction started out with great potential, and then I was suddenly and unexpectedly left in the dust.

Typically, I would be able to just shake it off and move on, although I didn't often get turned down by guys that I was interested in. But this time was different. Kendra and I had made the decision that this was the guy for the bet. When that decision was initially made, I felt pretty good about it. Now, I was seriously wondering if I had picked the right guy for the bet.

I watched as Patrick jogged to his car and got in, and then I walked over to talk to Kendra. She had finished her meal and was lying on the grass talking with Beth, one of our neighbors.

"So, did he get your number? I want to hear all of the details. That guy was goooooood lookin'." Kendra was always curious about the guys that I was dating, and seemed extra excited this time... probably because of the bet.

"No, he didn't get my number or ask me out. I have no idea what happened. One minute we were talking and having a great time, then, the next minute he was leaving faster than a speeding bullet. I wonder if his middle name is Superman." I sat down cross-legged and started picking at the grass.

"Well, do you know when you’re going to see him again? There's no backing out now, because we both agreed that he was the guy. Unless you want to admit that you couldn't do it and buy me an iPhone tomorrow."

"What is it that she can’t do?" asked Beth.

"Shara needs to get that guy to ask her out on a date within the next week, or else she has to buy me a phone. We made a bet." explained Kendra.

"Well, given her dating track record, that should be a piece of cake for her. A first date isn't a very big deal."

"Yeah, but the rest of the agreement was that she would date him, and him alone, five times within two weeks. She never goes out more than once or twice with the same guy."

"Wow.  Shara, you are
so
going to have to buy Kendra a new phone," stated Beth.  It was fairly common knowledge amongst our friends that I liked the dating game... and the more contestants, the better.

"No way, Jose. I’m not a quitter. I know that he likes to country swing dance, so I guess we’re going dancing this week. Kendra, you know that you have to come with me, I need a wingman." Honestly, I knew in my heart that I was a little nervous about the situation, mainly because my ego was at stake if I lost the bet. I never liked to back down from a challenge.

"Don’t worry; I’ll go dancing with you. What’s his name? I can ask around and see if anyone knows him." Even though Kendra was giving me a hard time about the bet, I knew that she was still being the supportive best friend that she’s always been.

"Patrick Jamison. I don’t know anything about him, other than the fact that he recently moved to the area and he likes to go swing dancing. Oh, and the other guys we were sitting with are his roommates." I patted Kendra on the shoulder, "Thanks for your support Kendra, I’m going to be reminded of my victory every time I use my new phone!"

I knew that Kendra would help me track him down. The tricky part was whether or not I could find him and get him to ask me out within the next seven days. The real challenge was just beginning, and I was determined to not give up.

The next morning, my mom called to catch up and see how my classes were going. My mom and I had a pretty good relationship, and it was common for us to talk on the phone several times a week.

I told her that the classes were fine and then she asked about any boys I might be seeing.  She was so supportive when I called off my engagement and I knew she would understand my need to stay away from a committed relationship right now.

However, I wasn’t quite sure how she would feel about the bet Kendra and I had made. She and my dad were old fashioned when it came to relationships and had always taught me that dating was a precursor to marriage, so if you dated a guy more than a few times as a friend and he wasn’t marriage material, you were just leading him on. 

I didn’t intend to get emotionally involved during this bet, so I decided that there was no need to share this aspect of my life with her.

We had a good talk about my dad’s new promotion and her different charities and clubs, and I promised to make plans to come home for Thanksgiving. Fall Break was coming up in a few weeks, however, with my work load this semester I thought it would be better to stay in
Logan
and try and get ahead of my classes. Kendra was staying as well, so it would give us a few extra days to play catch up and sleep.

We finally ended our conversation and I promised to call again over the weekend when my dad would be home so we could talk.

             
             
             
*****

After the picnic, the main topic of conversation between Kendra and I was to brainstorm how we could find out more information about Patrick Jamison without him feeling like we were stalking him.

We both had the same class schedule, and as we walked to campus Tuesday for our first class, the whole conversation was focused on ideas that I could use to run into Patrick again.

"I know that you can look up Patrick's contact information in the church directory, but that might not be much help because if you want to win the bet then you can't just call him up and ask him out. He needs to be the one asking you out."

"Good point. The problem is that I already looked, and his information isn't in the online directory yet, probably because he just moved here. It usually takes a few weeks before the information gets updated."

"Well, you always have Thursday night dancing. I'm sure he won't be able to NOT ask you out after seeing your smooth moves on the dance floor."

"Thursday night is a possibility," I agreed. "But what if he doesn't go dancing that night? Plus, I can't just sit around and wait for two more days. I've only got a week to make this happen."

"You're right; the clock is ticking, so you can't be wasting time." Kendra turned to walk into the building for our first class.

We sat down in the small classroom and waited while a few more classmates trickled into the room. Since we were in the graduate program, the class sizes were quite a bit smaller compared to the undergraduate classes.

"Class doesn't start for another ten minutes, and I need a snack. I'm gonna run next door to the student center and grab a bagel." Kendra stood up and left her bag with me.

A few of our good friends walked in and sat down next to us. We’d been in a study group with these girls earlier in the semester and found ourselves naturally sticking together in class from that point on.

We talked for a few minutes about our homework assignment, and compared notes on some of the answers that we came up with. We started sharing stories about our weekend, and I told them a little bit about the bet that Kendra and I had made.

"Do any of you know a guy named Patrick Jamison?" I asked the other girls in a quiet voice. "He just moved here."

Daedre, a sassy redhead from Texas, spoke up in her southern drawl, "The name sounds familiar. Do you know where he lives?"

"I'm not sure, I know that he's not in my ward, but he was at the stake activity on Monday night so he must live close. He lives with three other guys, Sean, Bruce, and Burke." I wished that I would have asked him more information when we were talking at the barbeque.

The girls were entertained by the idea of the bet, they were always interested in a good dating story... especially because we were all single. I was always happy to oblige and unlike some of the others, I always had a new story to tell about a different guy.

"What does he look like?" Daedre asked. "I can keep an eye out for him."

"He's good-looking: a few inches taller than me, blond hair, and a good tan. He's from
California
, and he has a little bit of a preppy-surfer-boy kind of look."

Just as I finished my description, Kendra came bounding back in the room, slightly out of breath. "Shara, HURRY! I saw Patrick in the student center, he was near the registrar's office. I'm guessing that he's registering for classes next semester."

The professor was just about ready to start class, but I knew that I couldn't let this opportunity pass me by. I quickly stood up, "I'll be right back. Girls, wish me luck!"

All of them quietly cheered me on as I quickly moved for the door, hoping that the professor wouldn't see me slip out. Successfully exiting the classroom, I quickly walked out the front doors of the building.

As I hurried next door to the student center, I realized that in my haste I had left all of my books and my bag in the classroom. I was in such a rush to go, that I forgot everything. I knew that I wouldn't need my books, but I felt a little conspicuous walking around campus without a bag or backpack. Hopefully Patrick wouldn't notice.

As I headed into the student center, I went straight to the hallway where the registrar's office was located. I slowed down and took a couple deep breaths, trying to calm my beating heart and fast breathing from the speed walking.

Once I caught my breath, I casually strolled down the hallway, acting like I wasn't in a hurry. I couldn't let Patrick know that I was trying to catch him before he left the building.

I passed the registration office and tried to casually peer through the windows and open doors as I walked by, but I didn't see him. There was a group of students waiting in line, so it was possible that someone else was blocking my view of him. Maybe if I hung out in the hallway for a moment, he would walk out the door.

I pretended to read the bulletin board which listed student classified ads. Apartments for rent, furniture for sale, and now hiring signs filled the overloaded board.

After a few minutes, I was still waiting for him to come out of the registration office. Maybe he already left and I didn't make it in time?

I decided to have a little more courage and just walk into the office. Worst case scenario, I could pretend that I needed to find out more information about graduation. It would be a little bit of a white lie, since I had already read through the graduation ceremony packet that they mailed to me. But, it was an excuse to go into the office.

I walked into the office and carefully looked around the room. Patrick was nowhere to be seen.

Oh well, I thought. At least I tried. He must have already left; I didn't make it in time. I started to walk back to my class, knowing that there was no reason to hang out in the student center and miss the professor's lecture.

I decided to walk through the food court area, just in case he was in there. The student center at USU didn't have a large cafeteria area, but there were a few food options available, as well as a lot of tables and chairs where people often studied.

The lunch rush hadn't hit yet, as it was only a little after 11am and I knew things would really pick up within an hour. Thank goodness it wasn't too busy yet, because I could easily look around the cafeteria to see if Patrick was around.

Most of the tables were empty, and the occupied tables didn't contain anyone that looked like Patrick. I glanced over at the food counters as I was turning to walk out the door, and saw a glimpse of blond hair... from behind, it looked like it was the same length as Patrick's. My heart skipped a beat.

Trying to act casual, I walked over near the blond-haired guy, pretending that I was looking for something to eat. I tried to get close enough to see if it was him, without being too obvious that I was sneaking up on him.

He turned a little bit so that he could talk to the chef making a sandwich for him. The guy behind the counter said something funny, which made the blonde guy laugh and he turned a little more.

There it was that glorious dimple and the perfect facial features that I had admired at the picnic!

"Fancy meeting you here." I stepped up beside him, and looked at him in feigned surprise.

"Shara! It's good to see you," he seemed genuine about the fact that he was excited to see me too. "Sorry again about having to leave so suddenly at the barbeque, that was a crazy day for me."

"Not a big deal, I understand how busy life can get." I shrugged it off, as if I hadn't thought much about it. Heaven forbid that he might know that it was all I had thought about for the past 24 hours. "I hope everything was all right."

"Yeah, it was fine," he quickly answered and then changed the subject. "Are you hungry? I was gonna sit down and eat, you’re welcome to join me. I only have about fifteen minutes, though."

"I came here looking for a snack, something to take the edge off. I'm actually going to lunch with friends after my next class, so something little should do the trick." I looked around, and grabbed a bowl of fresh fruit and then got in line to pay for it. "I'd love to join you."

"Sounds great!" Patrick picked up his sandwich and picked up a bottle of water as we walked over to the cashier together.

"Are you planning to take classes here at USU?" I pretended that I was clueless about the fact that he was just in the registration office. "I realize that I don't even know what you’re doing with work and school, since we skipped the standard twenty questions in our last conversation."

"That's the plan. This move was a fresh start for me, I knew that I needed to change location and change my focus. So, here I am. In fact, I just finished registering for classes. I'm ready to get started next semester."

As he was talking, I suddenly realized that I had put myself into an awkward situation: I was in such a rush to get over to the student center to see Patrick, that I’d left my wallet behind in my backpack. It didn't occur to me that I might need my debit card.

I started going through the pockets in my jeans, praying to find something to pay for my food. Patrick was standing behind me, and it felt as though his eyes were burning through the back of my head. Why didn't I come better prepared?

The embarrassment was starting to set in as I searched every pocket that I could find. I reached into the back right pocket of my jeans, and my fingers felt something in there. I remembered that I had put a few leftover bills in there after buying a movie ticket last time I wore these jeans.

Whew! That was lucky. Relief washed over me as I pulled the money out along with the movie stub. I quickly counted the bills, and was happy to see that I had enough to pay for the fruit bowl that I’d selected.

I handed the money to the cashier and waited for Patrick to pay for his sandwich, and we walked over to a table to sit down.

"So, what about you?" Patrick looked at me inquisitively before he bit into his sandwich. "What's your story? I assume that you’re taking classes right now since you’re on campus. What are you studying?"

"Business. Boring, I know. I already finished my bachelor's degree, and I'll finish my MBA in the spring. It feels so close, but so far away at the same time... there's still a lot of work that needs to be done before I earn that degree."

"Ah ha! You're a smart girl then. I knew that there was more to you than just beautiful hair and a gorgeous face."

My heart melted, and by some unseen force of nature all of the blood from my heart must have rushed into my face because I started blushing.

"You know how to make a girl blush, don't you?" I took in a deep breath, trying to calm my racing heart. This guy was much more than I expected. I knew that he was good-looking and that I felt great chemistry with him, but I didn't expect that he would be so witty and charming as well. Most guys had either good looks or a charming personality; it was rare to find a guy with both.

Patrick laughed, "I'm not trying to make you feel uncomfortable, I think it's awesome when a girl has more to offer than just a pretty face."

We sat in silence for a moment as we both took a few bites of our food.  I wanted to keep the conversation going and get to know Patrick a little better.

"What classes are you taking next semester?" I asked him.

"I'm actually done with my bachelor’s degree as well. I studied business at Cal State Fullerton, and after I graduated, I was an entrepreneur for a few years. Things went well for a while but then the business went south, and I decided that I needed to refocus and start over fresh. So now I'm going back to school. I really enjoy working with numbers and I think I want to get an accounting degree. That's the plan for now."

"Ah ha, the truth comes out; I see that you're a smart one too!" I said with a smile.