Marriage Prep and Movies

One of the perks of being romantically interested in a fellow ward member is you have an excuse to see them at least once a week. As I walked into the large conference room on campus that served as our chapel, I quickly scanned the congregation for Jeff's short, gelled hair. Sitting next to him would be relationship suicide at this point, but I casually steered my girlfriends to some seats a few rows ahead of his. I wanted to be sure he had a good view of my laboriously straightened hair.

I tried to pay attention to the speakers, but my thoughts kept drifting to review the events of last night and to contemplate what I would say when I saw him after Sacrament meeting. Should I pretend like nothing had happened? Play hard to get? Or should I be friendly and flirtatious? Maybe invite him over for dinner? Oh no, much too suggestive. Perhaps I'll just ask him which Sunday School class he's going to...

"Hi there. Which Sunday School class are you going to?" Jeff's voice echoed my thoughts.
"Huh? Oh, hi. I... don't know. Which class are you going to?" Boy, I could sound like such an idiot sometimes.
"We usually go to Marriage Prep. Want to come?" He gestured towards the back door.
"Um, sure." Marriage Prep? Only engaged couples and desperate girls went to Marriage Prep. I had always avoided it just as I avoided all things making me appear anxious to get married. But when a cute boy invites you to attend Marriage Prep with him, caution gets thrown to the wind. Just to make sure things didn't move too fast, I turned to one of the girls sitting next to me.

"Should we try out Marriage Prep today?" I tried to subtly wink at her, but she looked confused and suspicious.
"Ok. Why not?" Perfect. This way I wasn't going with him, but rather we were going with them. A very important distinction.

The rest of our church meetings were uneventful. Nothing out of the ordinary was said in Marriage Prep. No revelation that this was my soul mate. In fact, I was surprised how applicable the lesson was to my relations with everyone, not just my future spouse. Who knows? Maybe I'd come back to this class. At the end of the second hour, we parted ways for our respective meetings. I didn't see him after church, so my apartment-mates and I headed home and started our typical Sunday night routine. Dinner, dishes, lounge around, dread the upcoming school day, write letters to missionaries, call home, etc., etc. Wishing I had something more exciting to do, I opened my laptop and began sorting through my junk email. No more than two emails through the list, the phone rang.

"Hello?"
"Carly?"
"Yes?"
"Hey. It's Jeff." Wow. He called me. Act cool. Pretend guys call you all the time.
"Oh, hey. How's it going?"
"Not bad. We were just about to start a movie and wondered if you wanted to come."
"Sure. What movie?"
"Dunno. You can help us decide."
"K. Be over in a sec."

I threw on a jacket and headed down the street. Five minutes later I was at his door. He let me in and I looked around. His two roommates sat sprawled across the sofa and chair, but no other females were in sight. Excellent. No competition. Jeff and I took spots on the floor leaning against the sofa. The movie was put on hold as the four of us easily settled into comfortable conversation. I preferred it this way. I enjoyed movies, but you don't get to know someone very well while sitting in silence. Besides, Jeff's roommates were also his best friends, and I would eventually have to win them over as well.

Soon another knock sounded on the door. One of the roommates went to answer it. From around the corner I recognized the distinctly high pitched voice of a girl who lived around the corner from me.

"What are you guys doing?" she squealed.
"Um, just about to start a movie."
"Ooohie! Can we watch?"
".... sure..."

The roommate came back, shrugging apologetically, followed by three girls from our ward. So much for no competition. With the new arrivals, the conversation died and we defaulted to the original plan of movie watching. The other girls selected The Wedding Planner. Ugh. I like chick flicks, but there are some that I can only watch so many times. This was one of them. Jeff and I repositioned to give the girls the couch. We took the back corner, which allowed us to sit close and have whispered conversations without disturbing the others. The movie started and I inched closer to Jeff. At this proximity, I could hear his cell phone buzz in his pocket. He pulled it out, looked at the caller ID, and excused himself. Sighing silently, I watched him walk towards the back bedrooms.

Well, this definitely wasn't what I'd thought would happen. Stuck in this room now with people I hardly knew, I felt uncomfortable and self-conscious. The minutes ticked away like hours. I had hoped Jeff would only be gone long enough to tell the caller he was busy and then return to me. But 30 minutes into the movie, I was still alone. I couldn't be too mad; after all, I had only met the guy last week. But he had invited ME over. Usually that means you are willing to be a courteous host and not disappear as soon as your guest arrives. I contemplated leaving, but was having trouble getting my feet to move. I had decided to give it five more minutes when Jeff returned.

"Who was that?" I demanded rudely.
"A friend. She's leaving on a mission this week," he whispered back. A girl. I should have known. Suddenly I felt very naive and foolish. I was imagining this guy had completely fallen for me after two days . More than likely he was just being nice. When the movie ended, he stood up to walk me home, but I quickly told him not to bother. I would walk back with the other girls.

I didn't say much as we walked back, other than to wave goodbye at the stairwell that led up to the other girls' apartment. It was cold, so I skipped up the steps to my apartment. My hand was on the door knob when my phone rang.

"Hello?"
"Carly, it's Jeff." Oh, I see how it is. You can't spend time with me while I'm there, but miss me the second I leave. Good thing I forgive easily.
"Hi!"
"Are you at your apartment yet?"
"Yes, Dad. I got home safely. I'm just about to go in."
(Jeff explained later that he had very carefully timed this phone call to make sure I had already left the other girls but hadn't gone into my apartment yet. He had about a 20 second window and he nailed it.)
"Good. So, what time do you get out of class on Wednesday?"
"Wednesday? Let's see... 5:30."
I could almost hear his eye bug out over the phone waves.
"5:30? Wow. Hmm, that throws a kink in things. Any way you could be done a little earlier?"
"I could probably skip my last class, so maybe by 3."
"Well, I wanted to ask you if you would like to go 4-wheeling, but we have to leave early to be done before it gets dark. If we can leave right at 3, then I think we can make it."

Now, I always have been pretty studious, but dates like this don't come along every day. I don't think ditching one class was going to hurt me too badly, and the reward would surely be worth it. Unfortunately, I was a teaching assistant in the class I'd be missing, so it would mean I wouldn't get paid, but...

"I'll be ready."