Searchlight (Crystal 1)

Chapter 4

Crystal noticed him the moment she walked into the youth hall that evening. He had bronze skin, dark hair, and a powerful build that made him stand out like a tiger in a room full of kittens. Her breath caught.

“I thought you said you were done with guys,” Jamie whispered with a smirk, following her gaze.

Crystal tore her gaze away. She was singing a solo tonight. She needed to focus.

“I wonder who he is,” Jamie said, blatantly staring at the guy. “I’ve never seen him here before.”

“Yeah, keep staring at him and he’ll know we’re talking about him,” Crystal snapped. Seriously, Jamie should know better.

“He’s here with a couple other guys,” Jamie said, continuing to stare. “All hot. Oh my gosh, his friend is—”

Crystal jabbed her with her elbow.

Jamie squealed. “What!”

“You couldn’t be more obvious if you grabbed a microphone and a pair of binoculars.”

Jamie’s cheeks pinked slightly. She rubbed her arm where Crystal had elbowed her.

“Besides, this is youth group,” Crystal reminded her. “Why would you even be ogling guys here?”

“Youth group is the best place to ogle guys. At least you know they believe the same stuff we do. Virtuous men who won’t slip drugs into your drink.”

Crystal scowled.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to bring that up.” Jamie looked at one of the big screens dotted around the room and read the instructions.

“What are we doing tonight?” Crystal asked, not bothering to read.

“Speed-dating with a twist.”

That explained the arrangement of the chairs. Crystal should have known it would be something ‘love’ related. With school proms coming up, the youth leaders probably thought they were obliged to talk about love and remind them about purity. Unfortunately for Crystal, her school wasn’t having their proms until the end of June, after the finals.

“Girls sit,” Jamie read. “Guys move from girl to girl. Guys have a list of questions from which they can select questions to ask girls.”

“I wonder what the questions are about,” Crystal mused.

“It’ll be the usual embarrassing stuff. ‘How can I, as a guy, help you to stay pure?’”

Crystal cringed. The youth leaders had made them discuss that once. The guys had said girls needed to cover up more, which the leaders had been pleased with. The girls had said the guys needed to use deodorant. The leaders hadn’t been particularly pleased about that.

“Find seats, ladies,” a voice boomed over the loudspeaker. “The bell is about to ring. Each time the bell rings, guys rotate.”

Girls all over the crowded hall headed for seats. Luckily, Crystal and Jamie managed to find two together. When the bell rang, Crystal groaned. Ben Sykes was headed in her direction.

Beside her, the chair before Jamie crashed to the floor as about five guys made a simultaneous dive for it. Jamie blushed a pretty shade of pink.

Crystal shot her a mock glare. Of course, Jamie had guys flocking to ‘speed-date’ her. She was a Native American beauty with creamy olive skin and dark hair she’d had highlighted with a shade of caramel brown that brought out the gold flecks in her pale brown eyes. A youth leader rushed over to sort out the chaos.