"Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?" – 2 Corinthians 6:14

The swell that had provided fun waves for Alana's birthday was gone. Sunday morning brought gray skies, choppy water, and gusts of wind. Aside from whitecaps dotting its surface, the ocean was completely still.

Blaine frowned while he sat on his computer chair, spinning round and round with his laptop on his knees. He glanced one more time at the C Street surf cam before closing the screen. What was the use? There was no surf, at least not for the next few days. Besides, Blaine needed to get moving—church was starting in less than twenty minutes.

Since the gang's usual Sunday morning surf sesh was cancelled, Blaine had sent out a group text suggesting that they go to the second service, which started at 10:30. Then, after church was over, they could immediately head over to Scottie's for lunch. The plan had been enthusiastically accepted.

A knock suddenly sounded on Blaine's bedroom door. He spun around and saw Cole standing in the doorway with his hands in his pockets.

"Oh, hey," Blaine said. He cocked an eyebrow upon noticing his twin's dressier-than-usual attire. "Someone looks handsome this morning."

Cole just shrugged.

"So how did yesterday go?" Blaine asked curiously. The Disneyland squad had gotten back well past midnight. It was almost a miracle that Cole was even awake this early.

"Well," Cole said, scratching his head, "it was pretty crowded, but the rides were fun. And the food was great..."

"Come on, you're hiding a smile," Blaine coaxed.

The corners of Cole's lips twitched, and then he immediately grinned. "Okay, it wasn't just fun. It was amazing."

"I'm guessing you're not talking about Disneyland anymore."

Cole squirmed a little. "Yeah, you got me."

"What went down between you and Alana?"

"Something incredible. We were sitting in the rocket, and then the fireworks were going off, and—dude, it was just amazing," he said again.

Blaine watched his brother's wild gestures and huge smile and concluded that Cole was lovesick. Clearly their time at Disneyland had gone better than expected. The way Cole's eyes lit up with excitement showed that he was still running on adrenaline from last night.

"Did you get any sleep at all?" Blaine asked curiously.

"Not really," Cole admitted. "I couldn't stop thinking about what had happened."

"Which was...?"

"I don't know how to put it into words." He struggled for a moment before explaining, "Okay, it went like this: Alana told me I have this pull on her and she's still really interested in me. She thinks we're ready to take the next step in our relationship, but first she wants to talk and clear things up."

"Sheesh, how did you have that conversation in front of Maya and Tammy?"

"We didn't. We were sitting on this ride together, away from everyone else, and fireworks were going off above our heads—it was too good to be true."

"I guess the happiest place on earth really worked out for you."

Cole gave him a lopsided smile. "Yeah. I can't wait to see her at church."

Right on cue, Mr. Anderson appeared in the hallway and told the twins it was time to get going. They followed him out of the house and into the car, where they sped off towards church.

When they entered the sanctuary ten minutes later, Blaine scanned the crowd until he spotted Alana, Tammy, and Dylan sitting in their usual spot eight rows from the stage. "Hey," Blaine said, tugging on his father's sleeve. "Let's go sit over there. I want to hear what went down at Disneyland from Alana's perspective."

Mr. Anderson acquiesced, but Cole leaned over and shot his twin a warning look. Blaine just smiled. He wasn't going to give Cole's secret away—not yet. That was something Cole himself had to do when the time was right.

When they approached the pew where the Walker siblings were sitting, Mr. Anderson greeted them with a warm hello. Immediately, all three turned and smiled.

"Hi," Dylan said brightly. "How are you guys?"

He and Mr. Anderson struck up a conversation, so the twins shimmied past Dylan and Tammy to the other side of Alana.

"Hey guys," she said.

"How was Disneyland?" Blaine asked automatically.

Before she could reply, however, another group appeared at the end of the pew. It was the Sanders clan. A few minutes later, both Koa and Maya arrived too.

The adults congregated in one row while the teens (plus Tammy) sat in the pew in front of them. They chatted away happily while the orchestra and choir took their places onstage.

For a while, the main topic of the teens' conversation was Disneyland. Maya, Alana, Cole, and Tammy took turns describing all the fun they had. When there was a brief lull, Blaine took the opportunity to reach over and give Jake a fist-bump. "So," he said, "how's it going with your mom?"

Jake glanced from side to side, but no one else was paying them any attention. "She's okay," he said finally. "How did you know...?"

"Our dad told us," Blaine explained. "Man, I'm so sorry. I can't imagine what your family must be going through."

Jake looked down. "It's been rough," he admitted. "But Mom is getting treatment in a few weeks."

"Chemo?"

"Yeah. She's—"

Suddenly, Maya—who was sitting on the other side of Blaine—gasped and called out, "Nikki!"

Everyone's heads turned. Koa scooted forward in his seat, a broad smile on his face. Meanwhile, Nikki walked calmly down the aisle, scanning the crowd until she spotted the group.

"Nikki!" Maya exclaimed again. "How awesome to see you here!" She inched her way past everyone in the row until she made it out into the aisle, where the girls embraced.

Blaine watched the exchange curiously. What was Nikki doing here? He had never seen her at church before, and during their weekly visits to Scottie's, she had always politely declined their invitations to come to the service. Was this all Maya's doing? The girls did spend a lot of time together at work, Blaine knew.

Maya squeezed her way back to her seat, and Nikki followed shyly. She said hello to the rest of the gang as she passed, but Blaine saw her smile widen a bit more when she inched past Koa's knees.

"Glad you could come," he said.

She leaned forward and lightly grasped his hand. "I'm glad to be here."

When Nikki reached Blaine, he greeted her with a warm smile. However, she didn't squeeze his hand in return like she'd done to Koa. The thought prompted the gears in Blaine's head to turn. He waited until Nikki and Maya were seated on the other side of him before turning his attention back to Jake. However, the service was just getting underway, so the congregation politely quieted down in preparation for worship.

That didn't keep Blaine from sneaking glances at Nikki, however. After contemplating for a good ten minutes, he came to the conclusion that it was either Maya or Koa who had asked her to come this morning. Maya was the obvious answer, mainly because the girls were close friends from working together at Scottie's. But the exchange between Nikki and Koa suggested otherwise. Something was going on between them, much like the small touches and smiles that went on between Cole and Alana when they thought no one was looking.

When Pastor Browne began speaking, Blaine turned his attention fully to the sermon. Only after the service did his thoughts return to Nikki. Once the final worship song came to a close, he saw her attempt to head straight for the exit. The gang stopped her, of course. Everyone thanked her for coming and said they would see her later that afternoon at Scottie's. Maya spent a little more time talking with her, but then Nikki said she had to leave before she was late for her shift.

Blaine watched as she headed out the main doors of the sanctuary. Seconds later, he saw another figure leave through the doors right after her. He glanced over at Koa's seat and realized it was empty. Since most of the congregation was standing and talking, Koa had easily slipped away undetected.

"I'll be right back," Blaine told his brother, but he doubted Cole had heard him. He was too busy talking to Alana to notice anything else.

With his senses on high alert, Blaine pushed through the crowds filing out the door and eventually made his way outside. He looked right and left for a few seconds before spotting his target. Koa and Nikki were standing the corner where the sanctuary met the parking lot, slightly hidden underneath the branches of a drooping tree. Blaine quickly headed in their direction. He kept his head low and eyes downcast, but his ears were alert to their conversation. He heard just enough to confirm that it was indeed Koa who had asked Nikki to come.

"Okay, I have to go," she said hurriedly. "I'm going to be late for my shift."

"Alright," Koa said reluctantly. "See you soon."

"We're still on for Friday, right?" she added.

"Of course. Thanks for keeping your word."

With a small wave, Nikki bid him goodbye and headed across the parking lot, leaving Koa standing under the tree alone. Blaine waited until she was out of sight before coughing loudly into his fist.

Koa jumped and spun around. "Blaine?" he asked doubtfully. "Oh, man, you scared me!"

"Sorry," Blaine replied, smiling. "I didn't mean to stalk you."

Koa's smile fell. "Were you watching this whole time?"

"Don't worry. I only saw the last part."

He sighed. "So you know it was me who invited her."

Blaine nodded. "I'm really glad you did," he said encouragingly. "Nikki needs to hear the Word of God. You're a great example in her life."

Koa brightened a little at his words. "I talked with her on Friday night," he said. "We had a long discussion about faith and church."

Blaine waited patiently.

"I—I think I like her," Koa admitted. "She's easy to talk to, she's really smart, and she knows exactly what to say in every situation." He took a deep breath and looked Blaine straight in the eye. "I'm just not sure if I want to tell the gang yet."

"Well, thanks for confiding in me," Blaine said. "Are you and Nikki...you know...?"

"Dating?" Koa suggested. He chuckled and shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans. "No. We haven't really talked about it."

"But you're sure she feels the same way?"

"Yeah. Most likely."

Blaine smiled at the thought of kind, lighthearted Koa finally getting involved with a girl. "You better step up your game, dude," he said. "If you're sure she likes you, then you need to talk to her about it."

Koa sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I don't know. I'm terrible at this stuff! It's all so awkward and weird."

"Look, I'm no expert either, but maybe you should pray about it," Blaine suggested. "I know this sounds really cheesy, but you need to consider if your relationship with Nikki is going to bring glory to God."

Koa nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, I know. The only reason I'm hesitating is because I've never asked a girl out before. Plus, Nikki is a nonbeliever, so..."

"Hmm, I get what you're saying." Blaine shifted from one foot to the other, searching for the right words. "God wants us to bring others closer to him, but at the same time, I've heard of people who have lost their faith because they were influenced by dating a nonbeliever."

"I've thought about that," Koa said. "But something tells me that Nikki is really, really close. She knows how passionate I am about my faith. And now I finally got her to come to church! God is definitely working in her heart."

"So what are you planning to do?"

Koa sighed deeply. "That's the problem: I don't know."

"Look, I don't know exactly how you feel about her, but if I was in your shoes I would wait a little longer. If you can lead Nikki to Christ without being in a dating relationship, then I believe God will bless whatever happens next between you two. But," Blaine cautioned, "if you date Nikki while she's still an unbeliever, you take the chance of becoming too involved. I doubt you want to end up married to someone who's not a Christian."

"Oh, I promised myself years ago that I would never marry a nonbeliever," Koa said, blushing slightly. "But marriage seems so far away."

"But isn't that the purpose of dating? To see if you want to marry someone?"

Koa nodded, grinning. "Look, man, this conversation is starting to sound way too much like a relationship counseling course."

Both guys started laughing, which immediately eased the tension between them.

"Hey, I think the rest of the gang is coming outside," Koa said, looking over Blaine's shoulder at the entrance to the sanctuary.

"Well, as much as I would like to chat about marriage with you..." Blaine chuckled before composing himself. "In all seriousness, I firmly believe God will bless you if you do what you think he wants you to."

Koa smiled. "Then I'll do my best to find out what that is."