Take One (12 page)

Ten

B
AILEY WAS STILL CATCHING HER BREATH
, still trying to assess what might have been happening between Cody and Andi, when Cody leaned over and hugged her, the same
way she’d hugged Andi a few seconds earlier. It wasn’t a long hug, or one that could be misinterpreted in any way. But for
the few seconds it lasted, his arms felt wonderful around her shoulders. He smiled, and in his eyes was a familiarity Bailey
missed. “You still have my number?”

“Of course.” Heat spread through her cheeks. How long since she’d been this close to Cody, since the two of them had sat together
close enough to touch? The answer resonated through her heart immediately. Not since that July afternoon at her parents’ house.
Cody was right in his letter. The two of them had practically avoided each other since then.

“So why didn’t you text me?” His teasing look said he was mildly upset with her. “I could’ve met you in the parking lot at
least. That’s no place for a pretty girl like you to be hanging out looking for a security guard.”

Bailey glanced down at her lap, because it was impossible to draw a full breath while she was lost in Cody Coleman’s eyes.
She nodded, in full agreement. The parking lot had been scary, and even with the occasional security guard, she would’ve been
smarter to have someone with her. She lifted her eyes to his again. “Next time.”

He patted her knee and both of them focused on the music at the front of the room. The sound was full and rich, filling the
auditorium. Bailey glanced over at Andi, and the two exchanged a smile. But something didn’t seem quite right with her. She
hadn’t wanted to look too deeply into the fact that her two friends were sitting next to each other. Andi and Cody had only
met for the first time the other day—when Cody asked Andi to deliver the note. But tonight, in the first few seconds after
Bailey reached the doorway of the meeting room, she saw something she couldn’t mistake. An attraction—at least from Andi to
Cody.

Bailey’s mind raced with the possibilities. Of course Andi would’ve been attracted to Cody. Who wouldn’t be? And Andi wouldn’t
have any idea that Bailey had feelings for Cody that went beyond friendship. Every time the subject of love and relationships
came up, Bailey had steadfastly avoided talking about Cody. Her feelings for him were too deep, too private to share right
away. Private and complicated. Especially in light of the fact that she was supposed to be dating Tim Reed. Bailey could hardly
blame Andi if—in the course of fifteen minutes—she’d fallen for Cody.

But she couldn’t stand for it either.

With all that Andi had going for her, Bailey would have to find another college if Cody and Andi began dating. A situation
like that would be more than Bailey could handle. Her heartbeat came fast and uneven, shouting at her that she needed to find
a way to fix the problem. If there was a problem.
Breathe, Bailey …
focus on the music and breathe
. The song was “Step by Step,” and Bailey directed all her attention to the words: “Step by step, you’ll lead me … and I will
follow you all of my days.”

Slowly, gradually, the panic building inside her faded a little. They’d only spent a few minutes together. It wasn’t like
Cody had asked Andi to marry him, or even out on a date. He probably slipped into the room late, saw Andi, and joined her
so he’d have an easier time finding Bailey whenever she got there.

“You okay?” Cody brought his face close to hers again. “You’re quiet.”

She elbowed him lightly in the ribs and felt her eyes dance as she looked at him. “I’m hardly quiet. We’re singing, remember?”

He laughed and shielded his eyes for a moment, embarrassed. When he looked up, his cheeks were flushed. “Okay, not that kind
of quiet. You know what I mean.”

“We’ll talk later.” She leaned against his arm for a moment. “It’s good to see you.”

“You read my letter?”

“Yes.” Her eyes locked on his. “We need to talk.”

Cody checked the door again. “Is Tim coming?” His question seemed loaded, especially because his eyes seemed to want more
information than whether Tim was joining them for the meeting.

Bailey tried to find the right words, but the job took a moment longer than she intended. She wanted to tell him that she
and Tim were figuring things out, that she wasn’t sure she had romantic feelings for him, and that sometimes she wondered
if she weren’t acting out a part—the one everyone expected of her. But with the music playing loud, and the kids around them
trying to focus on praising God, Bailey settled for a simple answer. “Not tonight.”

Cody nodded. Again he patted her knee, and this time his hand seemed to linger a little longer than before. The band up front
sang one more song, and then a red-headed tall guy took over.

Andi whispered in her direction, “That’s Daniel. I met him before Cru.”

“Looks like he’s funny.”

“He is.” Her smile seemed intended to convey a deeper message to Bailey—that she was happy and completely uninterested in
Cody. In case Bailey wondered. “I can’t believe so many kids turned out.”

“I know.” Bailey gave her roommate an enthusiastic look. “I’m so glad we heard about this.”

Daniel took the microphone from the lead singer, and when the band had taken their seats, he welcomed everyone again and reminded
them about the flyers. “You gotta check into all these upcoming events. This is going to be our best year ever.” The crowd
responded in agreement. When the room quieted down again, Daniel moved closer to the front row and searched out the faces
around him. “So why are we here? I mean … why are we really here?”

Bailey squirmed in her seat, and when her shoulder came up against Cody’s, she didn’t move away.

His eyes were kind, his smile a permanent part of his face. “You’re here because you love God, and this might be the only
place you feel comfortable talking about Him.” He paused, his delivery easy and direct. “There are definitely some pretty
girls here tonight.” Another series of laughter.

Naturally, Bailey thought. Daniel only just met her, but he has a thing for Andi too. She looked beside her, but Andi didn’t
seem to notice. Her attention was fully on wherever Daniel was headed with his message.

“We’re here because we need each other.” Daniel’s smile faded a little. “Coming to Cru is like coming to a family reunion.
We belong to the same family and we have a lot in common. That and we’re here to help each other throughout the school year.”

Bailey thought about how true that was. Her first two weeks at college had been amazing, and a lot of that was because of
Andi. Having a roommate who shared her faith was like having a sister—for the first time ever. A bit of guilt spread through
her. She couldn’t blame Andi for sitting next to Cody or even for being attracted to him. If Cody didn’t want anything but
a friendship, then why couldn’t he and Andi have a thing for each other? The idea felt like sandpaper against her soul, and
she hugged her arms to her chest, suddenly colder than before.

“Here’s what I’m going to ask you. When you come to Cru, come with an open heart and leave all that other stuff at the door.
This isn’t the place to gossip about the “emo” girl in your chem class, or laugh about a cheerleader who fell doing the splits
at the last home game. At Cru let’s come wanting the best for each other as we grow in our friendships and in our bond with
Jesus. Assume nothing but the best of the people sitting on either side of you.” His grin got big again. “That way we’ll have
a great time, and we’ll have a lot more energy to focus on the message.” His eyes moved slowly around the room. “Make sense?”

The sea of kids nodded and muttered their agreement.

At various times in her life, Bailey had sat through a message where she wondered if her parents or her brother had cued the
speaker ahead of time about exactly what words she needed. Without question, this was one of those times. Here she’d come
to Cru excited more about seeing Cody than hearing a message. And then when she arrived and saw Andi sitting with him, her
heart had done strange flip-flops wondering what she’d missed between the two of them. She was acting practically paranoid,
and not once through the worship had her focus really been on anything other than Cody and Andi.

She stifled a long sigh and stared at the floor near her feet.

Daniel was finishing. “We won’t go long tonight. There’s a snack table set up and lots to talk about. It’s important you get
to know each other. But keep in mind what I said. In this environment, we’re going to expect the best
of
each other and want the best
for
each other. We’re going to practice all the one-anothering we can. We’ll serve one another and love one another and encourage
one another, and at the end of the day we’ll be tight with God and …” he gave the roomful of kids an expectant look. “Tight
with …”

Bailey looked up as the crowd finished for him, shouting in unison, “… one another!”

“Exactly.”

Wow, God … that got my attention.
Bailey bit the inside of her lip. In light of the message, she felt convinced about what she needed to do next. As long as
she was dating Tim, she couldn’t lay claim to Cody—not in any possible way. If he ended up liking Andi—and what guy wouldn’t—then
she’d have to get used to the idea. If that was part of God’s plan, she couldn’t fight it or try to change it. After all,
long before Andi came into the picture, Cody had made up his mind. He wouldn’t consider dating Bailey. So what point was there
in worrying about Andi and an attraction she might have to Cody? If there was one, she needed to rejoice with her roommate
and be grateful that two of her closest friends had found their way to each other. Bailey’s brain could agree with all of
that completely. She wondered how many more messages like this she’d need before her heart felt the same way.

Daniel prayed to close the meeting, and as everyone stood and began talking and milling about, Bailey found her happiest smile.
“So …” she looked at her friends. “Cody … you met Andi?”

“I did.” Cody gave a polite nod in Andi’s direction. Bailey tried not to look too deeply into the moment, but nothing in his
eyes or expression revealed any interest in Andi beyond what was polite.

Andi, though … Bailey already knew her well enough to catch the sparkle in her eyes, the way she kept her attention on Cody
a little longer than she needed to. “Cody was asking about Tim.” Andi turned to Bailey. “He’s coming next week, right?”

“Yes. He should definitely make it.” Bailey looked at her roommate. Was she trying to remind Cody that Bailey had a boyfriend?
So Cody would know where not to put his attention? Bailey willed herself to remember tonight’s message, to think the best
of Andi. Besides, Andi didn’t have any idea about Bailey’s real feelings for Cody.

“Bailey, wait! I didn’t tell you the news!” Andi took hold of her arm, her entire face lit up. “You and Tim and I … we all
got callbacks for
Scrooge
! Monday after school! Isn’t that great?”

“Really? That’s incredible!” Bailey wanted to be excited, but all she could think about was Cody, and how badly she wanted
a few minutes alone with him so they could talk. “I hope we all get cast!”

“We will, I can feel it.” Andi’s eyes lit up even more. “Oh, and tomorrow’s the filming! My dad said that the two of us might
have a line or so. He was looking over the script, and the lead stops to talk to a couple girls. He thought we’d be great
for that!”

That last news really was amazing. “We could get into the Screen Actors Guild with those parts.”

“I know. Imagine having our SAG cards already. We could get summer jobs acting in LA if we wanted to.”

Cody was listening to the conversation, but every time Bailey looked at him, his eyes seemed to say the same thing. That he,
too, wanted to get away somewhere so the two of them could catch up.

“You’re coming to the shoot, right?” Andi took hold of Cody’s elbow and gave him an irresistibly adorable look. “You have
to come. Maybe you’ll get discovered!”

Cody gave a halfhearted laugh. “Hollywood’s not for me.” He let his eyes find Bailey’s again. “I might come by to watch. That’s
about it.”

“Okay. You’ll change your mind once you get on set. There’s something about the draw of the cameras. You’ll see.”

“Maybe.” He looked at his watch, and as he did he shifted just enough that Andi released his elbow. He turned to Bailey. “Hey
… what time’s your first class tomorrow?”

“Eight.” She made a face. “Pretty early, you?”

“Not till nine.” He slipped his hands in his jeans pocket. His expression said he was feeling awkward about what to say next.

Before Bailey could rescue him and state something blunt, like that the two of them were going to go outside for a while so
they could talk, the Cru leader, Daniel, walked up. “A lot of kids are talking about the movie shoot tomorrow.” He stood next
to Andi, his attention fully on her. “Looks like your dad will have a good turnout.”

“Great.” Andi smiled politely at Daniel. “Thanks for saying something.”

Bailey silently thanked Daniel for his distraction. She briefly touched Andi’s shoulder. “Hey, Cody and I’ll be outside. We
haven’t caught up since school started.”

“Okay.” Andi sounded hesitant. “Wait for me to walk back?”

“Which dorm are you in?” Daniel didn’t sound pushy, just willing to help.

Andi told him, and he assured her he’d be happy to walk her back. “I have to go that way too.”

“I’ll wait.” Bailey was quick with her offer. She didn’t want Andi feeling like she had to walk back with a guy she’d just
met. “Seriously, Andi. We’ll be right outside.”

“No.” Andi seemed to think the situation over. She looked from Bailey to Cody and back. She showed a flicker of what looked
like hurt feelings, but then her smile took over. If she was upset, her tone didn’t give her away. “It’s okay.” She brushed
off the idea. “You guys go. I’ll be all right with Daniel.” She turned her attention to him.

Daniel looked more than happy to help. When Bailey was sure Andi was okay with the plan, she nodded at Cody and the two of
them headed for the door. “Nice to meet you,” Cody told Andi as they left.