The Christian Bachelorette

Week 1: Elimination

The next day I take a self-care day to clear my head before the elimination. I make breakfast, call my family, read the Bible, online shop, make a salad, work out, do a homemade hair mask, shower, do a face mask, binge watch Reba, and bake cookies.

I take a deep breath as I stare at my reflection. Victoria places her hand on my shoulder and squeezes.

I smile gratefully and say, "I'm ready." We walk into the guys' house and enter the living room. They are all dressed well and seem nervous.

"Hello gentlemen. The first week is officially over; I hope you all had an enjoyable time. Ten of you will be leaving us as you all know. We are all anxiously waiting for Adelaide's decision so I will hand the microphone over to her." Victoria begins.

I nod to Victoria as she gestures to me and steps away so I will be the center of attention. "I'm going to pray before I say who is going home." I clasp my hands together and bow my head. "Father, I thank you for this day and this group of men before me. You tell us in Your word that You have plans for us to give us hope and a future. Whether these men stay here or go home, I know that they will still have hope and a future. I ask that you bless them in their lives. I thank you again for each of these men before me. Amen." The guys echo their amens and I look up at them. "The following men will be going home: Aiden, Flinn, Jacob, Ian, Chase, Gunner, Gavin, Samuel, John, and Hudson. I wish the best for each of you."

Aiden, Chase, and John are angry. Jacob and Flinn are indifferent. Gavin, Samuel, Ian, Hudson, and Gunner look disappointed. Despite their reactions, they walk out.

Victoria hands me a white rose, and I turn to the rest of the guys. "It was really hard for me to choose who this rose would go to, but the first rose goes to Dallas." I smile and Dallas is shocked.

"Will you accept this rose?"

"It would be my honor." I pin the rose on his suit jacket before hugging him.

"Thank you for having fun with me and opening up to me."

"Thank you for choosing me."

He sits back down and I grin. "Now, I'm going to choose who I want to go on my next date." They seemed shocked that I'm choosing this soon, but I'm ready for this next date, and it was easy to choose the next guy I wanted to go on a date with. "Tucker, would you go on a date with me?"

He grins and jumps out of his seat. He rushes over to me and hugs me. "I'll go on a date if you let me choose what we do."

"Deal," I grin.

"We have a surprise for you, Addie." Gabriel says and I turn to him. "You have to close your eyes though."

Cooper leaves the room, and I close my eyes. "Is it okay if I vide this for my YouTube channel?" Micah questions me.

"Yeah, I'm not nervous, but should I be?" I laugh nervously.

"No, don't be nervous," Gabriel responds.

"I'm going to capture the moment by taking pictures," Rowan says excitedly.

"Ready?" Cooper asks as he walks toward me. I nod. "I'm setting it in your lap, okay?" I nod.

I open my eyes when he sets something furry on my lap. I gasp, and immediately hold the golden retriever puppy in my arms. "Aww! It's so cute! Does it have a name?" I look up at the guys. "I need to get it food and toys!"

A few of the guys laugh at my excitement and most of them smile at me. "You get to name it," Gabriel states. "It's a girl. We thought you could use another girl around here even if she is a puppy."

"Aww! You guys are so sweet!" I set her on my lap and pet her. "She looks like a Belle." The guys nod and murmur their agreements. "Who wants to go with me to buy her all kinds of things to spoil her with?" I ask and stand up.

Easton, Reed, and Cooper decide on going after the group decides how many should go. I tell them I want to change and ask if they want to as well. The three guys agree, and we all part ways to change into more appropriate clothes for the trip to Pet Co. I throw my hair up into a ponytail, and change into a hoodie, jeans, and converse.

Reed puts a bag of puppy food in the shopping cart. "This is the best of the best," he states and pets Belle.

I nod with a smile. I pick out a small, white food and water bowl, and I set them in the cart. I turn as Easton and Cooper walk toward us, and I burst out laughing. Easton is walking Cooper who is pretending to be a dog. Cooper is holding a collar that has a leash connected to it around his neck and Easton is holding the end of the leash.

Cooper takes the leash and puts it and the collar in the cart. "We made Belle a dog tag, too."

"Reed, will you pick out dog treats? Cooper, will you pick out a bed and a blanket? Easton, will you pick out shampoo and a brush? I'll be picking out toys." I say and they nod their agreements.

We go our separate ways, and I stroll down the toy isle. I see a stuffed Moose and immediately put it in the cart. I also grab a tennis ball, a rope, and a squeaky toy.

Easton comes back and puts his items in the cart. "The guys want to have a bonfire for when we get back. Are you in?" Easton says.

"Yeah, that sounds fun!" I grin.

"What sounds fun?" Reed questions as he walks up to us.

"A bonfire," I answer. "Let's go find Cooper, so we can kick this Popsicle stand."

Easton and Reed laugh at me and I feel my cheeks heat up. We turn down the aisle with beds and find Cooper standing in front of the beds with a blanket in his hands. He turns to us with a pout. "What size bed do I get? She's small now, but she's going to grow."

"Probably a medium size, what do you guys think?" I respond.

"That will be good. You can get her another one when she is full grown."

When we get back to the guys' house, we take a seat as Reed begins fixing the fire. Tucker comes out of the house and helps Reed with the fire. Bennett and Micah come out of the house carrying all the ingredients for smores. Reece comes out of the house next, and he sits next to me. He leans close to me, and pets Belle. He whispers thank you in my ear, and I give him a questioning look. "For what?"

"Letting me stay," he smiles.

"Reece, I can't get rid of you this early on. I'm excited to get to know you more. You made a good first impression on me."

He blushes and I hug him.

As I'm roasting my marshmallow with Belle sleeping in my lap, I take in this moment as it is. Cooper is telling a story animatedly. Some of the guys are laughing. Some are concentrated on not burning their marshmallows. Reece lets his marshmallow melt into the fire, and he dramatically puts another one on his stick. Joseph seems to be upset and withdrawn from all of us.

Noah sits next to me holding a gram cracker and a chocolate bar. "Is your marshmallow ready?"

I nod, and I smile at him before putting my marshmallow onto the gram cracker and chocolate. "Thank you."

He nods and leans back in his chair.

"Have you noticed that Joseph seems to be withdrawn?" I question.

Noah glances around searching for Joseph, and he nods. "I'll check on him later and make sure he's okay."

"Thank you," I say and eat my smores.