When Hearts Collide Read online

  “It’s Caleb,” Amanda interjected.

  “Fine,” Jade said, waving her hand in a dismissive gesture. “He was first, and this new guy sounds like a prude, if he even likes you.” She paused and looked back up at Amanda. “Of course, so are you, so maybe you should dump the first guy and date the second one. You’d probably be perfect together.”

  Though Amanda knew it was a dig, Jade’s words were exactly what she feared. Jared did seem perfect for her. If she continued seeing Caleb, would she miss out on the guy she was supposed to be with?

  Chapter 6

  Amanda smoothed her skirt and applied a layer of lip gloss in front of the mirror. Tonight would be her first real date out with Caleb, and her stomach had been in knots all day.

  “So, you going to get some tonight?” Jade smirked from her bed.

  Biting back the first reply that popped in her mind, Amanda took a deep, calming breath and faced her. “You know I’m not; I’ve already told you that, and you don’t have to be intimate with everyone you meet.”

  Jade wrinkled her brow and tilted her head. “Who said I am?”

  As Amanda sat on her bed, she prayed for wisdom. She wanted to reach Jade, but she knew she needed just the right words. “You did when you had your tryst here the other day. It was only the second week. There’s no way you knew that guy very well.”

  “You don’t know what I feel for him,” Jade said bristling.

  “Well, it’s not from lack of trying,” Amanda replied, “I’ve been trying to get to know you.” Amanda bit her lip as she tried to soften her next statement. “Look, all I’m saying is that whatever you’re looking for, a man probably can’t supply. But Jesus? He can heal any pain you’re feeling.”

  Jade snorted and rolled her eyes. “Yeah, Jesus has never been there for me. I’ve always had to look out for myself.”

  “Have you ever asked him?” Jade opened her mouth to reply but then shut it again. A knock sounded at the door, and both girls looked that direction. Amanda’s heart sank a bit; she had thought there had been a moment when Jade was going to let her in. “That will be Caleb, but I hope we can talk again soon.” Jade gave no answer, and Amanda sighed softly as she pushed herself off the bed and crossed to the door.

  Caleb stood on the other side of the door, looking dapper in a blue shirt that perfectly matched his eyes. Amanda’s heartbeat sped up as her eyes were drawn to the shirt stretched across his muscular chest. She turned back to Jade to avoid blushing. “Caleb, this is my roommate Jade. Jade, Caleb.”

  Jade harrumphed a half-hearted reply, and Caleb raised his brows. Amanda rolled her eyes and shook her head slightly to indicate she’d explain later.

  “She seems pleasant,” Caleb said as Amanda pulled the door shut behind them.

  “I think she is underneath. It seems like there’s some hurt in her past.”

  Caleb nodded and grabbed Amanda’s hand. She smiled up at him as a tingle ran up her arm. For the moment, Jade was forgotten.

  Amanda’s jaw dropped as Caleb pulled into the parking lot of the theater. The building was painted a bright purple with a marquis advertising the shows in bright lights. “Wow, it’s so...”

  “Hideous?” he asked with a laugh. “I know. They painted it last year, and I have no idea why they chose purple.”

  Amanda shook her head as she climbed out of the truck and walked around to meet Caleb, who grabbed her hand and led the way to the ticket agent.

  “Two for Child’s Play,” he said, pulling out his wallet with his free hand.

  The color drained from Amanda’s face, and her throat constricted. “Is that a horror movie?” she asked softly.

  Amanda had sworn off scary movies at the age of twelve after a scary slumber party. They had been watching some crazy show about a possessed doll that grew until it was big enough to kill everyone in the house. Though she had known it wasn’t real, she couldn’t shake the fear as she climbed into her sleeping bag. Her active imagination had run wild, and long after everyone else was asleep, her eyes were still wide open.

  The house had grown eerily quiet, unusual with twenty girls filling the living room. Then a noise that she could only describe as the sound of something growing began radiating from a cabinet. Her eyes had stayed glued to that cabinet until morning.

  Amanda shivered as the memory of the weird sound and the terror that had coursed through her body filled her mind again. The fear had carried over into her own house for another week. Some nights she even had to watch a silly cartoon before falling asleep, so the image of the terrifying doll wasn’t the last thing in her mind.

  “Yeah, I heard it’s great. Don’t you like scary movies?” He raised his eyebrow in insinuation.

  Amanda felt like he wanted her to say yes, but she wasn’t sure she could. Did she tell him the truth or hope her fear had been tamed with age? “Actually, I don’t.”

  Caleb let out a deep breath. “Okay,” he said slowly and turned back to the movie board listing. “Well, the only other thing playing close to now is a cartoon.”

  “I don’t mind cartoons.” Amanda squeezed his hand, hoping he would understand.

  The movie attendant, probably a high school student by his baby face, shook his head but exchanged the tickets.

  Caleb appeared to hold no ill will and held the door open for Amanda. After buying popcorn and drinks, they made their way down the purple carpeted hallway to the theater. Where did one even find purple carpet?

  The lights inside the theater were already dimmed, but as Amanda scanned the room, she could see they were the only people in the theater.

  “Well, I guess there’s an upside to cartoons late at night after all,” Caleb grinned and headed to the very top of the theater.

  Warnings fired again in Amanda’s head. Though she’d never done it, she had heard many stories of couples making out in the top row of theaters where the movie attendant couldn’t see them. In fact, she was almost sure that’s how one of the many girls who had gotten pregnant at her high school had found herself in that unfortunate situation, but Amanda pushed the warnings aside as she climbed the stairs after him. Caleb didn’t seem the type to force himself on her. He hadn't pushed her to be intimate, and after all, he had agreed to see a cartoon for her.

  He sat down in the one of the middle chairs, and Amanda took the plush seat to his left. Even the velvet on the chairs was purple. She wondered who the decorator had been and if the manager who had approved the color scheme had been color blind.

  The lights dimmed and the previews started. Though not a romantic movie, Amanda felt her face flush every time her fingers touched Caleb’s in the popcorn bowl.

  When the popcorn was gone, Caleb held her hand, and though he traced slow circles on it that caused her heartbeat to amplify in her ears, he never made a move to go further.

  “You ready?” he asked as the movie ended.

  “Can we stay till all the credits run?” Amanda asked.

  “I guess,” Caleb said, wrinkling his brow, “but why? The movie’s over.”

  “I did a play once in High School. The actors got all the credit, but no one mentioned our light, sound, and tech crew who did all the backstage work. Without them, our play would have been a disaster. Ever since, I’ve wanted to stay through the credits as a thank you to the behind-the-scenes people. I know, it’s silly,” Amanda said as the expression on his face changed from curiosity to disbelief.

  The corner of his lip pulled up into a smile. “No, I think it’s sweet. I’ve just never known anyone quite like you.”

  When the last credit rolled and the lights came back up, Amanda rose and followed Caleb out of the theater.

  As Caleb pushed open the door to the outside, Amanda shivered. Though still summer, the night air held a slight chill that bit through her short sleeve shirt. Not missing a beat, Caleb placed his arm around her shoulder and pulled her to his side. The masculine scent of his cologne wafted to her nose, and a spark of desire flared within her. Amanda
wrapped her arm about his waist and smiled up at him.

  As she climbed into his car, Amanda couldn’t decide if she wanted to be closer to him or farther away so as not to inflame the desire. “So, are we still on for church on Sunday?” she asked. Perhaps if she reminded herself that the Holy Spirit was watching, her racing heart would calm down.

  “What? Oh, yeah, church, sure.” He turned his head away. “Did you want to try the Experience Life place?”

  “That sounds fine. Do you know what time the service starts?”

  “No, can you check?”

  Amanda pulled out her cell phone and tapped the Safari app to open the search engine, but her email popped up instead. At the top of the Inbox list was an email from the Students for Life. Her heart skipped a beat. Could it be from Jared? She hadn’t thought of him all evening, but his face filled her mind now.

  Sneaking a glance at Caleb, she surreptitiously tapped it to read, and disappointment mingled with relief flooded her body. It wasn’t from Jared, but it was a reminder of the information fair happening on Monday, which she was sure he would be attending. Promising herself she would read it more thoroughly later, she clicked out of it and to the web browser to search for the church time.

  “Looks like 10:45,” she said.

  “Sounds good,” Caleb replied, “I’ll pick you up at 10:15 then.” He pulled into the dorm parking lot and turned off the engine. He turned to Amanda and grabbed her hands. “I had a really nice time. Thanks for coming with me.”

  Amanda’s breath caught in her throat at the intensity of his gaze, and her voice came out barely louder than a whisper, “Me too.” All thoughts of Jared flew out of her mind as her heart pounded in her chest. Could he hear that?

  Caleb placed a hand on the back of her neck and pulled her face toward his. Fireworks exploded in Amanda’s head, and a tingling ran down her entire spine as his lips touched hers. This was so much better than her first kiss had been. This was what a first kiss should be like.

  “I’ll see you Sunday,” he whispered as he pulled back.

  Amanda could only nod.

  “If you’re that attracted to her, why didn’t you ask her out?” Emily asked as she filled her mug with tea and returned to the table.

  Jared sighed. “I don’t know. I guess my nerves got the better of me. What if she turns out to be another Nikki?”

  “What if she doesn’t?” Becca spoke up. “Jared, we know you were hurt by what Nikki did, but you can’t close yourself off to new possibilities.”

  Jared ran a hand through his hair. “I know you guys are right, but it’s hard to open yourself up again.”

  “Open yourself up to what?” Chase asked, entering the lounge with his Bible under his arm.

  “Love,” Becca teased. “Jared’s crushing on the new girl.”

  “The redhead?” Chase asked. “Good choice. She seemed nice and down to earth.”

  “You barely talked to her,” Sarah said, looking up from her Bible. “How can you be so sure?”

  “I’m a good judge of character,” Chase smiled. “It’s how I knew you had a soft side under that sharp, hawkish exterior you like to put on.”

  “Alright, you two love birds,” Emily said, teasing the couple. “We should get started if we want to finish in time to get a good rest before tomorrow.”

  The others grumbled good naturedly but nodded. Though she was the youngest, Emily had organized the weekly Bible study last year, and the rest had eagerly agreed. College was full of stressors and temptations, and the weekly meetings had helped them all stay on track and accountable to each other.

  “I thought we’d start with prayer requests,” Emily continued. “I could really use some prayers for my new roommate. She’s…” Emily paused and took a deep breath, “tough to say the least.”

  “I could use prayer for my Chemistry test next week,” Becca said. “Science is not my strength.”

  As the others continued to share their requests, Jared’s mind wandered to Amanda. He could have invited her here. Then it wouldn’t have been so much like a date as inviting her into their friendship circle, and she had said she could use more friends. Yes, that’s what he would do. The next time he saw her, he would invite her to Bible study and maybe church.

  “Earth to Jared.”

  Emily’s voice broke through Jared’s daydream, and he dropped his eyes. “Sorry,” he mumbled. “I guess prayers for wisdom.”

  “And courage,” Emily added. “Write that down, Becca. We gotta pray for this man to have the courage to ask Amanda out.”

  “I could use it,” Jared said with a smile. He was so glad God had brought these people into his life last year. It had certainly made dealing with Nikki’s rejection and disappearance easier, and now he had a great group of friends to rely on.

  Chapter 7

  As Sunday morning dawned, Amanda woke excited for the day. She hoped she would love this church and be able to call it her home away from home church.

  Jade snoozed across the room, and Amanda wondered what time she usually got up. She seemed to always be sleeping till at least nine or ten in the morning. Slipping out of bed as quietly as she could, Amanda gathered her toiletries and Sunday wear and headed to the showers.

  After her shower, Amanda returned to the room to drop off her toiletries and grab her Bible. Jade hadn’t changed position, and Amanda smiled at the deepness of her sleep. She had often wished she could sleep like that, through anything, but once the alarm went off, she was awake for good. Even on days she didn’t set the alarm, Amanda could rarely sleep past eight. It probably had to do with growing up with younger siblings who were often up at the crack of dawn and rarely quiet.

  Amanda glanced at her watch, and though she had a few minutes before Caleb was due to meet her downstairs she decided to wait in the lobby for him so she wouldn’t wake Jade. Tucking the Bible under her arm, she grabbed a light jacket and headed downstairs.

  “You look beautiful,” Caleb said as she descended the steps. He was early. A blush spread across her face at the unexpected compliment.

  “Thank you,” Amanda managed. “Are you ready?”

  He held out his hand, and after Amanda took it, led the way outside.

  The drive to the church was short, but Amanda was very glad Caleb was driving as the church was in the newly renovated downtown area of the city where all the loops and overpasses converged. She didn’t like driving in traffic anyway, but driving in congested areas when she didn’t know where she was going was a huge fear.

  As Caleb pulled into the crowded parking lot, sweat broke out on Amanda’s palms. The church was huge, and the parking lot, which appeared to hold close to two hundred parking spaces was nearly full. How many people attended this church? Amanda’s church back home had been on the smaller side, only about one hundred people in each service, and she rather liked it that way. It allowed her to get to know people in the church.

  After circling the lot three times, Caleb finally managed to snag a spot as another car vacated it. It was at the very back of the lot, so they had a large piece of real estate to cross to get to the front doors. Amanda was glad she had chosen comfortable shoes.

  A slew of people stood at the front entrance handing out brochures as Amanda and Caleb approached. Amanda took one, tucking it in her Bible to peruse when they sat down. The foyer was expansive, but the doors in front of them opened into a huge auditorium. Amanda held tighter to Caleb’s hand as they joined the stream of people filtering into the auditorium.

  Not generally a claustrophobic person, the sheer number of people in this building unnerved Amanda. Was this a church or a sporting event?

  As Caleb led the way to two empty seats in the middle section, Amanda’s eyes scanned the room. The auditorium which looked like it could hold a thousand people, was already filling up. “It’s so huge,” she said as they sat down. “So much bigger than my old church.”

  “It will be fine,” Caleb assured her.

  Out of the
corner of her eye, Amanda saw Caleb glance at his watch and wondered if he had somewhere more important to be. Deciding she could ask him later, she pulled the brochure out of her Bible, expecting a small bulletin like her church back home had. Instead, it was almost like a college catalog. Every page was filled with a block of information and colorful pictures.

  Amanda turned the pages, trying to find their belief statement, but none of the pages seemed to have it. What they did have was a choir, theatre, puppet shows, bible studies, pizza nights, game nights, work out classes, and much more. This church had a lot going on, and something for everyone, but it was so much Amanda wasn’t even sure what to focus on.

  When the music started, she looked up. She hadn’t even noticed the entire band on the raised stage. As the music grew louder, it echoed throughout the room. The main lights dimmed and spots lit up the stage. Though upbeat and fun, Amanda found the music hard to worship to as it felt more like a concert than a worship service. The music continued for half an hour before a man started speaking.

  He was ten minutes into his sermon before Amanda realized he was even the pastor as he was wearing shorts and a t-shirt. While she believed God didn’t care what people wore, she had always attended a church where the pastor wore a suit or at least dress slacks. The image of the pastor looking more like he belonged at a beach than in a church created an odd dichotomy in Amanda’s head.

  Amanda snuck another glance at Caleb to see if he was having the same issues she was. His gaze was focused on something to the left. Discreetly, Amanda craned her head to see what had grabbed his attention, but all she could see was a group of college-aged people. Perhaps he was just scanning the crowd to see if he knew anyone.

  Returning her attention to the pastor at the front, Amanda opened her Bible and forced her eyes to focus on the words of the page. As long as she didn’t look up, she could follow the message without being distracted. It turned out to be a good one, all about keeping the focus on God. As the pastor ended, the band took the stage again and played for another ten minutes. Then the service was over.