The Boyfriend Bet (LDS Fiction) (4 page)

"Guilty as charged." He said with a wink.

Patrick finished the last few bites of his sandwich, and then looked at his watch. "Wow, time flies. I've got to go, I'll see you around." He stood up and started to pick up the garbage left over from his lunch.

I knew that we only had 15 minutes together, but I was hoping that would be enough time for him to ask me out. I stood up and walked with him over to the garbage can to throw everything away.

"It was great to see you, thanks for eating with me. Do you have any fun plans over the next week?" I was hoping that a short conversation about upcoming events might encourage him to extend some sort of invitation for me to join him.

"My schedule is kind of up in the air right now, I’m trying to get in the groove with my new job. So that's what I’m focusing on right now. Sorry to cut this so short, I need to be there in thirty minutes, so I better go home and change my clothes. Take care, and hopefully I’ll see you around."

"It was great seeing you again, have a good day at work!" I watched him as he walked away, heading toward the parking garage next to the student center.

I was confused. I felt like the conversation had gone really well—why hadn't he asked me out yet? We had seen each other a few times, and he seemed interested in talking with me. Typically, I could get a guy to ask me out faster than this. I guess Patrick was a tough nut to crack.

My ego wasn't ready to let me give in yet. I'd made a bet with Kendra and I wanted to win. Plus, Patrick seemed like a nice guy and I wanted to get to know him a little bit better.

Other than country dancing on Thursday, I didn't know when I would see him next, and didn't have enough information to know how I could plan another "chance" to meet up. I knew that seeing him at the student center today had been pure luck, and I was worried that my luck would run out. 

At this point, I was 30 minutes late to my 90 minute class. I knew that I could still sneak back in and catch the last part of the lecture, so I walked next door and slipped back into the classroom to sit next to Kendra.

"I'm guessing that you found him," Kendra whispered quietly, leaning in close so that the professor couldn't hear us from the front of the classroom. "You were gone for a while. I hope that means that you were able to talk to him. Please tell me that you have good news!"

"Yes, I did get the chance to talk to him for a while, but no luck. He still hasn't asked me out. I thought that our conversation went really well. Everything seems to be starting out right, so I don't know what's going on."

The professor glanced up from the lecture, and I knew that I needed to be quiet and focus on the lesson. "We'll talk later, don't worry about a thing," Kendra reassured me.

I was grateful that she was so supportive, even though it was in her best interest for me to lose the bet. It reminded me that she was such a good friend. I'm sure she'd love to rub it in my face and get a new phone, but instead of trying to sabotage my efforts, she was being supportive. She wanted to make sure that I had the best opportunity possible to win this bet.

After class, we had a study group scheduled at Daedre's house. She lived close to campus, so we walked to her house as a group. As we walked, all of the girls wanted more details about the bet that Kendra and I had made, especially because they were wondering about my trip to the student center when I was supposed to be in class.

I told them a little bit about the situation and how Kendra had challenged me to date him for two weeks. I was grateful when we arrived at Daedre's house because I didn't want to keep talking about Patrick all afternoon. I was ready to get to work and start studying the information that we needed to cover that day.

The plan was to prepare for our economics test which was scheduled the next day. Knowing that it would take most of the afternoon to get through the content, we ordered in pizza and hunkered down to study our notes and textbooks.

Throughout the study session, I tried to focus on information for the test, but my mind kept wandering to Patrick and wondering why he was being so evasive. Sometimes he seemed like he was really interested and other times it seemed like there was something going on that I couldn't quite understand.

One interesting thing about our hot-and-cold conversations was the fact that his playing hard to get was bringing out my competitive edge even more. My experience in the dating world had taught me that I could date just about any guy that I was interested in, and I had never really gone through the experience of being interested in a guy but not having him interested in me.

My mind wandered off and I thought about the cute dimple and wavy hair... he really was easy on the eyes. If I was being completely honest with myself, I knew that I was a little more than just interested in Patrick. What had started out as a simple conquest to win a bet had turned into a little more.

Was I actually interested in this guy, as in interested enough to consider getting to know him a little better?

Or was I only interested because I had to work harder to get him to ask me out?

Was it Patrick or the challenge that had my attention?

I reminded myself that I still had a semester and a half left to finish my degree. That the plan was to get him to ask me out, date him for two weeks, and then get back to focusing on school.

I needed to stick to the plan. School was too important to let myself waste time chasing after one guy. I couldn't let my heart get involved at this point. I recommitted that I was going to stick to the plan. School first; relationship after graduation. That’s the plan. I just might need to keep reminding myself of the plan.

*****

The next two days flew by as I focused on studying for my test and finishing up a big project for my business management class. I kept thinking about Patrick and how I needed to find him to spark up a conversation again. I didn't have much time to spend on it, so I figured that country dancing on Thursday night would be my best opportunity.

Thursday morning, Kendra and I were getting ready to go to school. We were both seated on the floor in front of our full length mirrors curling our hair. "You promised to go country dancing with me tonight, are you still planning on it?" I asked Kendra. "Since I don't know much about Patrick or where he lives, this might be my last chance to see him before the week is over."

"Of course I'll go with you; I know that every girl needs backup when it comes to this kind of thing. Don't worry; I've got your back. We'll get this figured out. And if you don't figure it out, I'm really looking forward to my free iPhone," Kendra laughed.

"Is Liam going to be joining us?"

"No, he has to work tonight. He’s trying out a new position and he only has a few more nights to decide if he likes it or not. It would be a good raise for him, but he has to work some really odd hours. They promised him if he takes the new position it won’t interfere with school, but he’s still not quite sure about that."

"It’s good they’re giving him a chance to see if it will work before he has to give up his old position. That’s pretty cool."

"Yeah, he asked my opinion and I told him he has to make that decision on his own. He’s the one who might have to be finishing homework at three am, not me." Kendra finished brushing her hair and then turned to me, "I only know that I couldn’t do it. I need my beauty sleep!"

"Well, I think you’re a great girlfriend to be so supportive. We better get going, it’s starting to get pretty late."

"Ready whenever you are. Let’s go see if we can find Mr. Patrick Jamison." Kendra turned on her heel, grabbed her purse and I turned off the lights as we headed out.

That night, we arrived at the dance club around 10:30 PM. By that point, the dancing had already started and there was a fairly good crowd of people on the dance floor.

As I walked into the dance club, I was feeling confident and nervous at the same time. Kendra helped me pick out the perfect outfit, so I was feeling great about my appearance. But my nervousness was stemming from the doubts that were nagging in the back of my mind.

I doubted whether or not Patrick would actually be at the dance club tonight, and I also doubted whether I could get him to ask me out. I knew that I wanted to dance with him, but sometimes it was hard to hold a conversation in a crowded and loud dance hall... which meant that it might make it more difficult to have him ask me on a date. I would figure it out one way or the other though, tonight might be my last opportunity if I was going to make it happen.

Kendra and I walked around the outside edge of the room, scoping out the crowd before we decided on a place to settle. I didn't see Patrick right away, but I knew that it was crowded enough that it might take a few minutes to be able to locate him. In the meantime, I decided to start dancing and enjoy myself.

The song ended and I saw my friend Derek walking toward me; he waved when our eyes met. Derek was a great dancer, probably one of my favorite guys to dance with on country swing nights. He extended his hand, asking me to dance, and swept me out onto the dance floor, twirling me around as we went.

I was having so much fun dancing with Derek that I momentarily forgot about Patrick. Derek and I danced two songs in a row, and then moved on to dance with other people. I had a few friends that were regulars at the country dance club, and it was normal for us to dance with each other for one or two songs before moving onto a new dance partner.

After Derek and I finished dancing, I stepped to the side of the room to catch my breath, just as a slow song came on. A guy that I hadn't met before came up and asked me to dance and I agreed.

We moved around the room in a slow two-step pattern, and we talked a little bit getting to know each other. I found out that his name was Spencer. He was a pre-med student and was aiming to go to an Ivy League university for medical school. He seemed like a nice enough guy, and just as the conversation was starting to get good, I looked over his shoulder and saw that familiar wavy hair and the perfect dimple.

It was Patrick!

My heart skipped a beat, and I was wondering if he had already seen me. I could see the profile of his face, and a cute brunette girl that he was dancing with. He turned just slightly so that he was facing me and I quickly looked away, because I didn't want him to think that I was staring at him.

I continued to talk with Spencer, but at that point my mind was completely distracted. I was thinking about how I could position myself after the song was over, so that Patrick could see me and hopefully ask me to dance.

The slow song ended and an upbeat swing started. Spencer wanted to dance with me again, and I didn't want to be rude, so I agreed. Plus, it might be a good thing for Patrick to see me dancing with another guy, because I didn't want to come across as the desperate girl who was following him around.

I continued to dance with Spencer and tried to stay engaged and look like I was having fun. I really was having fun, but I wanted to make sure that Patrick knew I was having the time of my life. It's one of those funny things that girls do when they see the guy that they like. Why does it always seem like women are out to prove a point for a guy?

My second dance with Spencer ended and I thanked him for the dance. I walked over in the direction of Patrick, where he had just finished dancing with another girl. I walked close to him as if I was headed toward the drinking fountain. I intentionally kept myself from looking at him.

"Hey, Shara!" I heard that familiar voice calling my name, and I turned around just as Patrick placed the palm of his hand on my lower back, trying to get my attention. His touch sent shivers up my spine and reminded me how much chemistry there was between us.

"Hi Patrick, it's good to see you here! Are you having fun tonight?"

"Yeah it's been a lot of fun, and a nice way to relieve some stress after a busy day at work." Patrick smiled, and he kept his hand on my lower back as we both walked toward the drinking fountain together, using his hand to guide me through the crowded dance floor.

It was hard to hear each other over the loud music, so as Patrick spoke he leaned in a little closer to my ear. I could feel his breath on my cheek, and it was exhilarating to have him so close. It was the first time he had been this close to me and the smell of his cologne was fantastic. Somehow it seemed to fit him perfectly.

"I completely understand," I leaned close to his ear so that he could hear what I was saying. "I just finished up a big economics exam and a project in my business management class. Dancing tonight was my reward for getting my schoolwork done."

I paused for a moment, "Well, it's not completely done, because schoolwork seems to be never-ending. I still have one more paper I need to finish before tomorrow afternoon. But the weekend shouldn't be too busy for me, thank goodness."

"Do you come dancing often?" Patrick questioned.

"I like to come when I can," I replied. "I was always in dance class when I was younger, and I found that swing dancing is a great way to have fun and burn off a little stress at the same time. Plus it's always fun to meet new friends."

"Well, I would love to take you on a few turns around the dance floor if you don't mind. I already know that you’re beautiful and smart. If you’re the full package deal, like I think you are, I think it's safe to assume that you're probably a good dancer too."