Page 52 of Beg Me

Astrid: See, Gianna? God’s talking to you. Have some patience.

Gianna: You’re hilarious.

I go back to Jory’s text and stare at it before typing out a response.

Me: I can’t really talk right now. I’m in church.

Jory: Okay. But can we talk later? I don’t really know how things ended last night, and I want to be sure we’re still good.

I roll my eyes at his words but smile anyway.

Of course, he wants to make sure we’re still good. That’s half my problem with this guy. He’s almost too damn good.

If I didn’t know that there’s a bad boy somewhere inside that delicious body—and I’m never wrong— then I might blow him off. But the way he handled Jasper last night gives me hope. I might be down, but I’m not out.

Me: I have to go to my sister’s this afternoon and do some wedding planning for Audrey. Kinda busy.

Jory: I’ve never planned a wedding, but it can’t possibly take the fifteen hours left in the day, can it?

Me: You’d be surprised at how long I can make things last. Of course, you’ll never find out for yourself. But that’s on you.

Jory:

I smile at the screen as we fall back into our normal rhythm. Thank God.

My fingers fly against the keys as I realize that, unless he’s left the house today, he probably doesn’t know that the town is talking about us.

Me: Apparently, we’re the talk of the town.

Jory: Already?

Me: My sister heard at the gas station about the little introduction, for a lack of a better word, between you and Jasper. And Gianna heard that we’re dating. So, that’s fun.

Jory: Holy shit.

Me: I warned you that word travels fast in a small town.

Jory: You weren’t kidding. Wow.

Jory: What did you say?

I bite my lip to keep from giggling as I respond.

Me: That we dated for about five minutes and then realized that we weren’t on the same page sexually.

Jory: Stop it.

Me:

Jory: You aren’t funny. I’ve imagined about a thousand different ways that last night could’ve ended, and at this point, I prefer any of them to what actually happened.

“So, wisdom, you see, is found in that crack,” Pastor Reed says, catching my attention. I look up to see him watching me. “It’s nestled down in the space between feeling an emotion and acting on it.”

Oof. He holds my gaze and then looks away. I have to wonder if the pastor has already heard the gossip, too, because this message feels very pointed.

“That’s what God is telling us here,” he says. “Reacting too quickly in situations can lead to foolish choices. We have to pause and reflect—master our human impulses. Our Father knows we’re humans and that we struggle with these things. That’s why He gives us a roadmap to wisdom. It’s our job to follow the map.”

I ignore my phone as it vibrates and let my thoughts wander.