Just a Click Away

Chapter 13

     With a spring in his step, Greg navigated his way through the corridors of the church and to Leslie's Sunday school classroom. His heart raced at the prospect of seeing her beautiful smile. As he entered the room, he noticed Leslie in the corner speaking with Ashley. Now that his feelings for her had grown into something like love, he looked at her in a whole new light. Though she was stunning with her long blonde hair falling in loose curls down her back, he saw past that to the inner beauty that radiated from her. She was strong, and after overcoming so much, she was making a difference in the lives of others. There was nothing more beautiful to him than that. Her lovely exterior was just like the icing on the cake. He waited as patiently as he was able, and soon his patience was rewarded when Leslie turned around and flashed him an excited grin.

"Hi, Greg!"

"Hey, Leslie. I wanted to ask you a quick question before I have to head upstairs."

"Oh? What's that?" Leslie's smile traveled to her beautiful green eyes causing them to dance with anticipation.

"Well, I know that you normally go to the main service, but I thought you might want to come up to the youth department for our service. I'd love to have you meet my friends. We were planning on going out for lunch after, and we want you to come along." Greg's steady gaze held hers. His mouth went dry, and he swallowed hard while waiting for her answer.

"That sound like fun! I'll see you after Sunday school." Try as she might, Leslie could not keep a rosy blush from rising to her cheeks. She could hear the girls giggling and whispering, and could only imagine what teasing she was in for after Greg left the room.

"Awesome!" Greg wanted to leap for joy, but had to satisfy himself with clearing his throat. "See you in a bit." He began to exit the room, but stopped short. "Do I smell pumpkin bread?"

"Not quite. They are pumpkin muffins. I've got breakfast burritos over there too."

Greg's eyebrows shot up with a pleading look.

"Take what you want," Leslie laughed. "Somehow I feel like this is going to become a weekly tradition."

"If the muffins are as good as the cinnamon rolls were last week, it certainly will." Greg took the goodies and left the room.

As Leslie had feared, she was the subject of a lot of speculation from her class after Greg had gone. She didn't mind as much as last week, because her feelings toward Greg were growing, and she was getting closer to admitting to herself that she really liked him.

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Greg had not yet made it to the stairway when he heard someone behind him call his name. Upon turning around to see who the person was, his heart sank almost to his toes, and the bit of muffin in his mouth lost all of it's former flavor. "Angela. I didn't expect to see you here." Greg felt ashamed for being so annoyed to see someone in church. He should have a more Christian attitude and welcome her with open arms, but he knew that this could upset his plans with Leslie later, and that thought was what generated the annoyance.

"Greg! I was just dying to see you again! Why haven't you messaged me?" Not waiting for a reply, Angela linked her arm with Greg's. "I remembered you saying that you work in the youth group here and I decided to come and see what it's all about." Angela batted her dark lashes at him.

Trying his best to be polite, Greg forced a smile. "Follow me, our class is upstairs."

"You would never believe the day I had on Friday! My manager, Jackie, was such a battle-ax! She kept giving me her work to do, and I was just sure she wasn't doing anything in her office except texting her worthless boyfriend. My phone was ringing off the hook, and I just couldn't seem to keep up! I have never been more glad for a weekend, let me tell you."

Not wanting to encourage Angela's diatribe, Greg remained silent on the way to the classroom. When he entered, Jenna shot him a questioning look. Shaking his head, Greg showed Angela to a seat then motioned for Jenna to speak with him in the back of the room. "I'll be right back," Greg said to Angela as he went back to offer Jenna an explanation.

"Greg, I thought you said that Leslie would be coming with us. Who's this girl?" Jenna was obviously confused by the drama that was unfolding.

"That's Angela; you remember the girl I had the terrible date with, the one who doesn't play well in the sandbox with others." Greg massaged his temples, trying to keep a headache from forming.

"I hate to ask this, since this is church after all, but what is she doing here?" Jenna's hands were on her hips by this time, a stance she only took when she was particularly bothered by something, or in this case someone.

"I don't know! She just showed up! I could hardly tell her to leave. The church is a place of welcome, I couldn't just shoo her away."

"I know you're right, but I really hope Leslie doesn't see you together. There may be no coming back from this."

The concerned look in Greg's eyes deepened. "What should I do?"

"There's nothing to be done. All we can do is hope that Angela will be discreet, and that Leslie will be understanding. We just have to pray and hope for the best on this one." Jenna shook her dark curls in resignation.

"Leslie is understanding, but I'm not sure about Angela being discreet. She really doesn't have a concept of personal space; at least she didn't a few weeks ago." Greg braced himself for the storm that seemed sure to strike. When he turned to walk back to his seat, he saw Angela looking in his direction with a look of impatience on her face. "Yeah, this is gonna be great."

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After the Sunday school hour was over Leslie and Ashley walked together to the upstairs auditorium. Leslie felt like she was walking on a cloud. "He wants me to meet his friends! This is shaping up to be a wonderful day!" She and Ashley entered the youth room together, and Leslie's eyes scanned the navy, padded chairs for one person she most wanted to see. As her gaze fell on the man she was seeking a thrill of excitement was quickly replaced by what felt like a punch in the stomach. Greg was not alone. The beautiful woman from the restaurant was seated next to him; her arm linked with his. Leslie did her best to fight back the tears that stung her green eyes. She couldn't succumb to emotion in such a public setting.

She allowed herself the torture of watching them a moment longer. Whoever that woman was, she was the one Greg seemed to want to be with. Every time Greg smiled at the lovely woman in the black lace dress, Leslie felt a stab of pain in her chest? "I've been fooling myself to think that he really cared for me. He just wanted to be my friend. How could I have been so stupid? I read so much into this; I'm glad no one knows what a fool I've been."

When Leslie realized that Ashley was still by her side, she was relieved. "Where do you want to sit?" She whispered in Ashley's ear.

"Weren't we going to sit with your boyfriend? He's right over there." Ashley pointed in Greg's vicinity.

Pulling Ashley's arm down and hoping that she hadn't drawn Greg's attention, Leslie tried to salvage some of the situation. "I think we should just sit together; the two of us. Greg has company sitting with him this morning. "

At that moment, Leslie's eyes met Greg's and it became almost impossible for her to restrain the floodgates that were threatening to stream down her cheeks. One lone tear slipped out of the corner of her eye, and Leslie hastily brushed it away. Spotting two seats toward the back of the auditorium, Leslie grabbed Ashley by the arm, and led her to the empty chairs.

"Miss Leslie, do you think that's his girlfriend?" Ashley seemed almost as disgusted with the prospect as Leslie herself.

"I don't know who else she could be," Leslie's voice was barely audible and quavered from emotion.

Sensing Leslie's hurt, Ashley gave her a hug. "There has to be another explanation. It's obvious that he cares about you. Even a blind man could see that."

"Thank you for being so sweet, Ashley." Leslie didn't know what she would do without this girl right now. "We need to make plans to go out sometime. I think we are going to be great friends." Leslie gave the girl the best smile she could muster as they prepared for the service.