Something New

Chapter 1

Fred

“I heard you’re a party animal.” 

I look up from the book in my hand and to the woman who slips into the chair at the table I sit at. Her raven hair is tossed over one shoulder as she wears a grin that says nothing but trouble. It’s Camila. Born in Brazil, but has lived in the U.S. for about a decade now, the woman is wild. 

But so am I.

“Did you now?” I question. She grins before standing and sauntering away. My eyes follow the movements of her hips and I set the book that was in my hand down, following her.

We met that night in our college library, both of us already hearing and being curious about the other person. Our relationship was purely sexual and that’s how we wanted it to be. There was no future, just a present. 

I’m not sure what changed along the way, but we became integrated into one another’s circles,  becoming familiar with each other’s friends and more familiar with one another’s lives. I didn’t want her being with another guy and she made it clear she didn’t want me with another woman. We became exclusive and in that year we met, I began to date her. She laughed in my face the first time I asked her out, but then quickly understood I wasn’t joking and gave it some thought. 

It’s strange, but I guess with wanting something more than what we had, I also began to question the reason behind why I needed more than just sex with no strings. It led me to wonder if there was a purpose to life. It went hand in hand in my mind then. I had a friend named Royce and he was a devoted Christian and all-around wonderful person; he was one of those guys that you knew would do great things in his life. Although we were friends, he lived a life that was completely opposite to my party one. He didn’t sleep around either and he seemed oddly…content. I wanted to know why and he wasn’t afraid to tell me it was because of his faith.

Camila said she was a Christian as well, but her life was remarkably different with the sex, getting drunk, the way she spoke, and lived. It made me ask questions and wonder what their faith was all about, so I took my questions to their Book. I wasn’t much of a reader, but I read through the Bible and found myself pouring over it. I had questions for Royce, as well as Camila. It made him happy, but it annoyed her for quite some time and she didn’t want to hear my questions or discuss anything about faith. I later learned that she felt convicted. She wanted to live how she wanted and not how God wanted. As a nonbeliever, I could understand that, but I knew there was incongruence as well. It seemed like a double-life. 

I found myself being convicted as I began to know things I did were wronging a Higher power that made me. It was wronging God, and not just that, I was also wronging Camila. I was sleeping with her like she was just a body to please me, and not a woman to care for in the best way I could. 

So I took the difficult choice in abstaining from sex as we dated. She was furious and threatened to break up with me, but I loved her and tried to get her to understand. Unfortunately, she didn’t. We broke up for three months and it truly hurt, but I realized during that time that I didn’t know her as well as I would have liked to say I did. 

In those three months, I repented of my ways, placed my trust in the Lord Jesus and my life began to change. I still loved Camila, but I knew the time apart was necessary. I just prayed to the Lord that she would begin to live in accordance with her faith as well. I wanted us back together, but I didn’t think it was best.

At the end of the three months, she came to me and revealed that she had given it thought and agreed with the abstinence. She had also taken the time to take a look at her faith and repent, re-dedicating her life to Christ. We were both babes in the faith then, but this time when we gave the relationship another go, it started out on a firm foundation. I courted Camila instead of jumping into dating. I met her parents and made my intentions known. They respected that and were more than happy for us to be together.