Here and Now

Chapter 7

"Hahaha! Are you serious?" She laughed loudly. It was good to see her laugh. I had a feelings she didn't do it much. We ended up going to eat pizza, after our little heart to heart and I couldn't have been more happy, so much had changed in just one day. I had a method to get close to CJ. I would open up to her, and not push her for any information and them eventually, she would feel comfortable with me, and she would open up too. It wasn't fool proof but I had never cared about a girl enough to want to actually get to know her.

"Yep! Afterwards, Casey cleaned his mouth out with soap and didn't kiss another girl for 3 years." He laughed too.

"I just can't believe Casey kissed a girl with mouth warts." She paused, seeming to think about it, and them she shivered. "That is so gross. Who even has mouth warts?" Her upper lip curled in disgust. I felt the side of my lips twitch upward. She was already loosening up with me, and it hadn't been that long. She would open up to me soon, I could feel it.

"I agree." We started calming down a little and I watched as she took another bite of her pizza and then look back at me.

"How did you know where I went to church? And what time I was going to be there?" She said after a minute. I smirked immediately, thinking about how I ended up there.

"I was driving back from practice, and I saw you hop out of your car and I didn't even think. You had been ignoring me for 2 days and I was going crazy wanting to talk to you. So when I saw you, I just swerved in and I didn't even realize what this place was until a little later. I think it was just God." I said, with a small chuckle. She stopped and stared at me for a minute.

"Did you give your heart to Jesus tonight?" She asked slowly. I felt a smile creep up onto my lips. I nodded slowly in reply. "So you're a christian now?" I nodded again, my smile broadening. "You're not just messing around?"

"I'm not just messing around. God really touched me tonight. I've never been to a church like this before. I didn't know you could be passionate and excited about God like this. I didn't know there were teenagers who we that crazy about God. It was all new for me. But I loved it. And when I felt him tonight, I knew that I needed him all of the time." I said simply. And it was true. God had done a number on me that night.

She stared at me with her mouth slightly agape for a while before she closed it and a smile slowly started forming on her face. "Oh my gosh, Roman. That's amazing!" She said truthfully. And it was. "So you're really going to show up this Saturday?"

"And Sunday." I smiled at her grabbing another slice of pizza and stuffing it in my mouth. CJ was just as bad at eating, she was messy and anything but lady like, but hey, if she ate all lady like, she would expect me to eat all gentleman like. And on top of that, I don't want a girl who eats pizza with a freaking fork. I hate it when girls do that! One time I took this girl on a date and she only ate half of her hamburger, and she ate the half with a fork and a knife. I felt so uncomfortable, I just left as soon as we were done eating.

"CJ, will you come eat with us tomorrow?" She looked up at me warily. "Please."

"I don't want to eat in the cafeteria." She said flatly.

"Fine, then I'll come to you." I smiled.

She sighed. "Player, you don't read." I smiled at her nickname for me. Well, the fact that she gave me a nickname at all.

"You could teach me how." I joked and reached under the table to tickle her knee. She didn't even flinch. I tried again. Nothing.

"I'm not ticklish." I looked up at her. "Of corse you're ticklish." I said "Everyone's ticklish at some point and time."