The Boyfriend Bet (LDS Fiction) (5 page)

My heart was beating quickly in my chest and my palms started to get sweaty. How could this guy make me so nervous and excited at the same time? He always seemed to know the right thing to say, to flatter me and make me feel like the only woman in the world.

We both took a drink of water at the fountain, and then he took me by the hand and led me out onto the dance floor.

We had a blast! It was obvious that Patrick had some formal dance training, plus he seemed to have an internal rhythm that ticked perfectly in beat with mine.

We were good together on the dance floor.

Really good.

I realized that I might have found a new favorite dance partner. I was able to easily follow his strong lead and our skill levels were matched perfectly. I was excited because hopefully our good dance chemistry might be enough to get him to ask for my number that night.

We danced two upbeat songs in a row together. As the second song was finished, we stepped apart and a slow song started playing. Patrick leaned in close to my ear again. He was a little out of breath from the upbeat song we had just danced to, and again the feel of his breath on my cheek sent chills down my spine.

"I know that I've already monopolized your time for two songs in a row, but I can't pass up the opportunity to dance this slow song with you. Will you let me keep you to myself for once more song?"

Usually, I only danced two dances in a row with a partner, but we were having so much fun I didn’t even hesitate to go a third round.

"I'd love to, it's a great song!"

Patrick smiled, and in one fluid motion he wrapped one arm around my lower back to pull me in close. He grabbed my right hand to bring it up close to his chest, and led me slowly as we swayed to the music.

We were dancing so close that we were nearly cheek to cheek. It felt nice to be so close to him, and I could smell his cologne again... it was intoxicating.

His mouth was close to my ear, and it was a little easier to talk since it was a softer song. I could hear him clearly as he spoke. "I'm convinced that I am the luckiest man on the dance floor right now. Those other guys are missing out since they aren't dancing with you!"

"Awe, those poor guys!" I responded, jokingly. "Well, the truth of the matter is that I am the luckiest girl on the dance floor! You are a lot of fun to dance with."

"Tell me three things that I don't know about you."

I loved the fact that conversations with Patrick were unique and creative, and thought for a moment to come up with a witty response.

"First, I went skydiving on my eighteenth birthday. I didn't tell my mom because she would have been terrified at the idea of her little girl jumping out of an airplane. Second, ice cream is my kryptonite, I have a hard time limiting my portion size because it's so tasty. Third, I want to visit Italy, I've never been."

"Ah, that tells me so much about you. Now I know how to plan a perfect date for you: skydiving in Italy, with ice cream of course!" We were dancing so close that I couldn't see his eyes, but I knew they were twinkling in delight and it sounded as though he were smiling as he spoke.

It was exciting for him to say the word "date," and it made me wonder if he would ask me out before the song was over.

"Now it's your turn, tell me three things that I don't know about you!"

"I had a dog when I was young, he was a golden retriever named Taffy. He was the best friend a boy could ever want. Second, I believe that dancing makes the world a better place, and people would be much happier if they danced more often.  And last, but not least, I like shoes. Yes, I'm a guy who isn't scared to admit that I have a thing for nice shoes."

I laughed, and made a mental note to pay attention to his footwear when we stopped dancing.

"A guy who loves shoes? It sounds like a perfect match, because I love shoes too! Well, I guess
every
woman loves shoes though, right?"

"Yes, most women do."

I was wishing that the song would never end, because I knew that the end of the song meant that our dance would be over. I enjoyed the feeling of moving across the dance floor in his arms, and I knew without a doubt that I wanted him to ask me out so that I could get to know him a little better. Plus, I had to win the bet!

As the song came to an end, Patrick pulled away and looked me in the eye.

"You'd better save another dance for me later tonight; you’re a lot of fun to dance with!"

"Don't worry, I will." I tried to sound encouraging, but not too desperate. "The club is open till one, and I'm planning on staying the entire night."

"Sounds great. I'll look for you in a little while. Until then...." he placed his hand over his heart and gave a little bow. "I know it's gonna be tough to find another dance partner as good as you, but I shall endure."

I giggled a little and said, "Thanks so much for dancing with me, I really enjoyed it. You'd better hold true to your word, because I would love to dance with you again tonight."

"I'm a man of my word." He grabbed my hand and gave it just a little squeeze, and then turned around and walked across the room.

The rest of the night flew by quickly; I danced with many other guys. I didn't like standing against the wall to watch other people dance, so I was glad to be on the dance floor for most of the night.

It was fun to watch Patrick out on the dance floor as he danced with other women. I wanted to be the only one dancing with him that night, but we barely knew each other.

I made sure that I was enjoying myself as I was dancing with the other guys, and always tried to keep Patrick in the corner of my eye. I wanted to watch him, but I also didn’t want to get caught staring or be overtly rude to my current dance partner. But I was having a hard time keeping my eyes off him.

I was excited to dance with him again, and decided to wait for him to approach me to ask me to dance again. Playing "hard to get" was difficult for an impatient person like me!

I told myself that I would ask him to dance if he hadn't asked me again by 12:30, which was 30 minutes before the dance club would close. I didn't want to miss the opportunity to talk to him before the night was over, especially because I didn't know when I would see him again and I only had a few days left to get him to ask me out.

I kept an eye on my watch and tried to be patient for Patrick to ask me to dance again. Just as 12:30 was rolling around, I finally built up the courage to go ask him to dance. I saw him across the dance floor and began walking in his direction.

As I started across the floor, a guy that I knew from church touched my shoulder and invited me to join him for the song that was just beginning. I hesitated because I wanted to dance with Patrick, but I didn't want to be rude to this guy, so I said yes.

As we started dancing, I knew that I’d need to move quickly after the song to reach Patrick on the other side of the room before he started dancing with someone else.

When the song ended, I quickly started walking to the area where I had last seen Patrick. I carefully navigated my way through the crowd to get over there, trying to avoid eye contact with any other guys who might be interested in dancing with me.

I scanned through the crowd for his wavy blond hair, but didn't see him anywhere. Maybe he'd moved to a different part of the dance floor? At this point, the dance floor was very crowded, and in the dimly lit room it was difficult to identify people.

I stayed to the edge of the room and worked my way around the entire dance floor. He seemed to have disappeared! Maybe he was in the bathroom?

I stopped for a moment trying to decide what to do. I looked to my right and saw Kendra talking with Beth in the corner of the room. I walked over to the two girls to say hi.

"So, how are things going with Patrick?" Kendra asked inquisitively.

"Good question," I sighed. "I danced with him earlier and had a great time. He knows how to handle himself on the dance floor! But, he still hasn't asked for my phone number. I'm stumped... I can't figure this guy out!"

"Well, the night's not over yet," Kendra said encouragingly. "You still have twenty minutes before the dance club closes," she stated, looking at her watch.

"You're right," I agreed. "The problem is that I don't know where he went. When we finished dancing earlier tonight, he said that he wanted to dance with me again. In fact, he told me that he would find me for a few more dances before the night was over. But I've been looking for him and he seems to have disappeared. I wonder if he left?"

"Hopefully he didn't," Kendra exclaimed. "I was sure that tonight was going to be the night."

"Me too! I'm going to keep looking for him; I'll see you in a few."

I moved to a different part of the dance floor, still scanning the crowd looking for the green shirt that Patrick was wearing. Next, I decided to go out into the main foyer of the dance hall by the entrance; sometimes people congregated out there to talk where it was quieter.

There were a few people out there talking, but still no sign of Patrick.

At this point, the disappointment was really starting to set in. I was confused by the mixed signals that Patrick was sending. In one moment, he seemed to be really interested because of the way that he was talking and flirting with me, but then he always seemed to leave quickly or disappear without much explanation.

My mind was working through possible scenarios: maybe he didn't realize I was interested? But that seemed out of the question, especially because I was trying to be flirty and drop hints to him here and there.

Maybe he had a girlfriend? It didn't seem likely, but it was possible. I didn't think that he would be going to singles’ activities and swing dance clubs by himself if he had a girlfriend around.

After taking one more lap around the dance floor, I finally decided to sit on a chair in the foyer near the front door. I figured it would be a good place to watch the crowd as people started to leave for the evening.

The music stopped, and the lights came back on in the main dance hall. I looked at my watch - one o'clock in the morning. The night was over.

Kendra came walking out and must have recognized the disappointed look in my eyes. "No luck, huh?"

"Nope, I'm pretty sure he left early. What's with this guy? He's starting to make me frustrated!"

We walked out to the car and started the drive home, all the while making up possible stories about Patrick's background and why he was such a hard guy to figure out.

"It looks like you're probably going to win the bet," I said dejectedly. "I don't know when I'm going to see him again, and it's unlikely that I'll randomly run into him within the next three days."

"I'm excited for my free phone," Kendra said hesitantly. "But truthfully, I was secretly hoping that you'd win the bet. In fact, I'm surprised that he hasn't asked you out yet, because you've never had a hard time getting guys to ask you out in the past. I figured that you would lose the bet when it came to sticking with him for two weeks."

"Well, I guess this proves that I'm not quite the dating diva that you thought I was. Yes, I go on a lot of dates, but this goes to show that I can't get
any
guy to ask me out."

"Don't be so hard on yourself; this was all fun and games anyway. Plus, you've told me so many times that you just want to finish school. I'm sure a great guy will come along when the timing is right."

"By the way, tell Liam thanks for letting me borrow you for the evening. I know that you two have been hanging out a lot, and he probably didn't like the idea of you coming dancing without him tonight."

"Oh, it's all right. He's fine. We have been spending a lot of time together, and it was good for us to have a night apart. I'm trying to decide if he is 'the one' for me. He's a great guy, but sometimes I just don't know. Besides, since he was scheduled to work tonight, I would have been at home by myself. At least I got to help out a friend and not spend the evening all alone with my books."

"Dating can be so fun and so annoying at the same time. Sometimes I wish that we had a manual that could tell us exactly what to do, when to do it, and who our soul mate was."

"If you find an instruction manual like that, I wanna see it!"

I thought about what an all-inclusive dating manual would contain. Do’s and don’ts for getting a guy to ask for your number would be the very first chapter.  Maybe another chapter could include a checklist so that you could find dating partners who you actually enjoyed being with – longer than say, two dates. I laughed at the thought, knowing that I was
far
from qualified to write such a manual.

As we pulled up to the apartment I was still thinking about a dating manual. "Maybe after college I should just sit down and write my own. Then again, based upon what’s happening with Patrick, I probably shouldn’t be the one to write it."

"Write what?"

"A dating manual. I’m certainly getting enough experience. I could even write a chapter on how to handle rejection."

"Don’t worry. Either you’ll see him again in the next few days, or you'll find a good price for my new phone. I'm sure we can find something on sale, especially because I'm ok with buying a used phone in good condition!"