I ran my thumb over her cheekbone because I’d been dying to feel her skin again since our walk around the lake.
“Maybe it took seeing you with your ex to wake me up about things, but I don’t wanna pass on the chance to tell you before some new guy swoops in and steals it—I’m, uh, I like you, Lauren.”
Her eyes sparked and I wanted to kiss her right there, but we were surrounded. I didn’t want to catch flack from Tucker—or an eye roll from Cory—for how fast this thing was moving.
“Are you saying you like-like me, soldier?” she teased.
“Marine. And, I definitely like you.”
My gaze focused on her lips, and I didn’t really care if anyone was watching anymore.
“Good. Cause I kind of like you, too.” She leaned in closer.
Our breaths melded, and my lips tingled in anticipation—footsteps fell on the other side of the fire. We jerked apart and she gripped the edges of her armrests, gorgeous smile out on display.
Pastor Gregg’s advice came barreling back to mind, If you’re really ready to stamp this thing out, you’re going to have to try and go on a couple of dates.
“Can I take you out?”
Her smile widened. “When?”
“Tomorrow night?” If I was ever going to get past my grief and move forward, I had to take a chance. There wasn’t another girl alive I wanted to take out more than Lauren. I’d asked God for a sign and there couldn’t be a better sign than meeting her. “How’s fishing sound?”
-LAUREN-
“You and Carter looked super cozy at the fire tonight.” June was sitting on her bed, watercoloring in her journal Bible. Swirls of teal and lavender melded together on the border around the text of the page. Her long red hair hung over her shoulder in a messy braid as she painted.
We’d walked back to our room together when all of the guys decided a ping-pong tournament sounded fun. Carter was some kind of a ping-pong superstar, so he wouldn’t miss me anyway.
Carter . . .
“I thought you were back with Ren?” She glanced up at me, red brows drawn together.
“We were. Kind of, but then, he . . . we’ve changed too much. Or, maybe I’ve changed. For the better.”
Maybe not completely, but I’d changed enough to realize what I wanted. What I’d die without.
Love.
A flurry of warmth swirled in my stomach and I turned to my bottles of nail polish, choosing the bright aquamarine. June’s watercolor was giving me mermaid vibes, and I could totally run with it for my outfit tomorrow. Would Carter like me in teal though? Maybe green would be better. I could go with the whole military look.
“That’s a heck of a smile, girl. I thought you just had a breakup.”
“Okay. So—what do you think about Carter?”
Wow. Was I really about to hash this out with June? Past Lauren would’ve busted up laughing at that thought. But, I was becoming something new, someone better, and, right now, I was totally loving the idea.
“He seems pretty nice. Why?”
“He kind of asked me out at the bonfire.” I coated my fingernail in a metallic-olive polish, trying not to smile too big, but dang. Carter was basically a dream guy. He’d been there for me since the start of all my chaos, and he’d had my back at every turn. And he asked me out!
“Like, on a date?”
Her brows fell and she took a breath, swirling her paintbrush in the cup of water on the nightstand between our beds.
“Okay. So, don’t take this as judgy, because it’s completely out of love, but . . . you were literally just with your ex today. You should be really careful, Lauren. Carter seems like a good guy, but he has some definite history. I don’t know. Maybe you should take some time to just be with you for a minute.” She offered a sheepish smile and a shrug. “It’s your life though, girl. All I can say is pray. I’ll be praying for you, too.”
Prayer . . . there was that word again. I moved on to the next nail, trying not to let what she said bother me. “Thanks, June.”
“Speaking of prayer, we’re doing a prayer walk through camp tomorrow morning, if you want to come.”
“A prayer walk?”
June nodded, looking as excited as I felt about fishing with Carter. “Every Saturday we walk the grounds and pray for all of the kids coming to camp the next week.”
I wasn’t sure my prayers would be worth much, but it would be a way to kill time before my date with Carter. My heart surged at the thought of it again.
“I’ll come.”
“Awesome.”
-CARTER-
I stood in the boathouse window Saturday morning, watching a bunch of staffers do their prayer walk around camp. If I wasn’t working, I would’ve considered going. As hard as it was to pray for myself, I could get behind praying for the kids that came up here. Some of them would be coming from awesome homes with supportive parents and the world at their fingertips, but others would come up here broken, searching for something they wouldn’t find anywhere else. Something I used to have.
Lauren was walking beside June at the back of the line. She noticed me and waved, a big grin lighting up her face. I puffed out a breath, fighting back my nerves and raised my hand in response.
Man. I asked her out.
I should’ve thought about it longer, but it was a knee-jerk reaction. After a whole week of low-level torture, and the fact that her ex was gone, I had to make a move on Lauren, or I’d miss the chance forever.
“Everything okay?” Tucker asked from the row of lifejackets behind me. “Noticed you ducked out of devotions early this morning.”
“I’m good.” I scanned the lake searching the surface for trouble, but there were only a couple of people out there. The onslaught of new campers wouldn’t arrive until tomorrow afternoon.
“Faith not your thing anymore?”
“It’s complicated.”
“Try me.”
“You don’t want to hear my garbage, man. That’s what the counselors get
