CHAPTER ONE -- of my first Christian romance book | WORTH THE WAIT

CHAPTER ONE

I’m already sweating from the heathen heat that has plagued SoCal this June, and I’ve only stepped out of the car for 0.5 seconds. It was only supposed to be a quick coffee stop before driving up the mountain for summer camp. Yet, by the looks of it, I’m going to have to change into one of the many chic, and aesthetic “campy” outfits I’ve packed for the 4 days we will be at camp. 

“Hey you sure you don’t want anything Bella”, I ask my sister. “Actually yeah, could you get me a strawberry lemonade”, she says. I slam the Jeep door, making sure it closes right with all my force, when I nearly body-slammed into the car parked next to us. Which would have probably been the most embarrassing part of my day, if the owner of the car next to us wasn’t actually in the car, but to my dismay, he was. 

I silently thank God for always trying to humble me; smile, wave, and mouth the words, “so sorry” to the man in the car, before walking into the coffee shop to meet my besties. Bonnie and Hazel have been my best friends for almost 7 years now. They say once you hit the 7-year mark, then you are friends for life, I thank God every day for that. For the friendship that He has given me, and that I guard with all my heart. I would walk through fire and ice, lightning and thunder just for these girls. That’s a friendship that you don’t just desire, but one that you hold onto with everything you have. 

“What you guys getting”, I ask them. “Iced Spanish latte-“, “with oat milk”, I finish for her. “Oat milk, really Bon. You know how processed that milk is? Oh, and you can’t forget that they have a lot of-“. She cuts me off finishing my sentence now “Sugar! I know, I know. But it’s a special occasion, and oat milk just tastes better sometimes, sue me!” We all laugh and step up to order, when I hear the door open behind me, realizing that it’s the guy who owns the car I nearly just dented with my weight and force. I quickly turn back around, and order my two drinks and pain au chocolat, before sitting down next to the girls abruptly. They look at me alarmed, and before I could even say anything, they know I have a story to tell. It’s when he finishes ordering, pays, and adds a $3 tip for the barista, that I finally get a good look at him. 

They say God doesn’t have favorites, but He must’ve been in a good mood when making this guy because he was the most attractive man I’ve ever seen on planet Earth. He was like Harry Styles, Shawn Mendes, and Patrick Dempsey all in one. With light brown hair, green beautiful eyes, 6 feet, he checked off all my boxes. I was too busy checking him out that I didn’t even realize he was staring right back at me. I immediately looked away and met the giggly stares of my friends who knew exactly what I was just thinking. That this man was the man of dreams. The only thing that could make that statement a fact was if he was a MOG (a man of God). They usually weren’t. I blame that on the reason why I’ve never been interested in a man, let alone been on a single date. 

Don’t get me wrong, I am more than happy, living life just for the Lord. I would be lying though if I didn’t admit that sometimes I crave that relationship with a humble, Christian man that I see all around me. Trust me, I’ve prayed and prayed about my husband, but I’m still waiting for the day God brings him to me. You won’t believe how many “he’s right around the corner”, “I’m praying for your husband”, or “God’s got the right one for you”, statements people have told me over the last two years. I know God’s got me and I know God knows that getting married is one of my many desires, but I also know that it’s all His timing. Until that day comes, I will continue praying (while also looking at the attractive men myself). 

Snapping out of my trance I realize the girls have already gotten their drinks, and the barista calls out my name with my order ready.  I glance one more time over at the guy, to find that he was already looking at me. This time, with the confidence that only God can give me, I smile back and grab my drinks. 

We all scramble to get back in the car, and we are on our way to summer camp. We’ve been going to this camp for years and years now, and it’s still one of my favorite weekends every year. I started coming when I was 11 years old, and have never stopped coming. Windows down, roof off, and vibey music playing, the girls and I drive up Big Bear Mountain to the campground site in about 2 hours. When we arrive, we get all our stuff down from the car, and I hear another car pull in. I look over hoping it is one of my other friends pulling in as well, when I see an all-too-familiar car. In fact, it's the same car that I almost body-slammed about two hours ago. 

The car door swings open, and out comes the most attractive man I’ve ever seen on planet earth, again. Holding his coffee cup that matches the one I’m holding, he looks over and meets my stare. Like he came down straight from heaven itself, he smiles at me, and for the first time in my life, I feel butterflies in my stomach. I have this funny feeling that this camp is going to be way different than the other one’s.