"Walk in wisdom towards outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person." – Colossians 4:5-6

The afternoon temperature dropped steadily as the hours wore on, and Koa found himself donning jeans and a hoodie before heading outside. His stomach growled. He had just finished most of the weekend's homework, so he thought it fitting to treat himself to dinner while his parents were on a date night.

He whistled cheerfully as he spun the keys to his dad's pickup truck around his finger. He slid into the vehicle and started the ignition. A few vibrant ribbons of color were still arced against the inky blackness of the night sky when he backed out of the driveway. Ten minutes later, he reached his destination.

But the neon sign that usually greeted him was no longer glowing, and the entrance to the parking lot was roped off. Koa frowned and pulled over to the side of the street. He stared at the burger joint until he noticed a sign posted out front: closed for remodeling.

"Of all the nights," he muttered, resigning himself to his fate. He didn't necessarily want to drive back home, since the only things left in his family's fridge were some spaghetti and crusty garlic rolls. He would just have to find somewhere else to eat.

Koa pulled away from the curb and made his way towards the ocean. He knew there was a Del Taco and a pizza place somewhere up ahead, so he decided to eat at whichever restaurant popped up first.

To his surprise, Scottie's Surf Shack was the place his eyes lit on a few minutes later. He noted the intersection and realized he was one street west of the Del Taco/pizzeria locations. I really need to drive more at night, he thought, slightly embarrassed about his lack of street knowledge.

As soon as the light turned green, he made a left-hand turn and pulled into the parking lot of Scottie's. The presence of quite a few cars hinted at the crowds that awaited him inside, but the hunger pains in his stomach told Koa that he wasn't about to search for somewhere else to eat. He pushed open the front door and walked in.

The light chattering of families and couples complemented the music playing softly overhead. Koa glanced to his right and saw, through the glass window, a group of teenagers browsing the surf shop next door.

He stepped into line behind an older couple and shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans. He only had a five dollar bill and a few ones on him, so after perusing the menu hanging above the counter, he decided to go for the least expensive meal available: a classic burger and a drink.

Peering past the heads and shoulders of the people in front of him, Koa glanced over to the waitresses working the counter and realized neither of them looked familiar. His heart deflated. Part of him had hoped Nikki was working tonight.

The girl had a strange pull on him. She was both friendly and reserved, intelligent and humorous, soft-spoken and outgoing. Her charisma made such an impression on him that he always had lingering memories of their conversations. She kept him on his toes, in a good way. Plus, it helped immensely that she was attractive...

"Um, sir? Hello?"

Koa snapped back to attention and realized he was next in line. One of the girls, a cute preppy brunette with a smattering of freckles across her nose, beckoned him over. "Are you ready to order, sir?"

He hastened over. "Yes! Sorry."

"No problem. What can I get for you?"

After rattling off his order, he slid the five-dollar bill across the counter and received a few cents in change. He then retreated to a secluded corner of the restaurant where he could eat. An empty booth suited his fancy, so he sat down and propped up his feet on the seat across from him.

A few minutes later, as he was scrolling through some pictures on his phone, someone approached and cleared her throat. He glanced up and immediately sat straighter. "Nikki!"

"Here's your order, sir," she said with a playful smile.

As she slid a tray onto the table in front of him, he withdrew his feet from the opposite booth and tucked them underneath his seat. "Hey, I didn't know you were working tonight."

"My shift is over, actually," she said. "I just happened to see you sitting over here, so after clocking out I decided to deliver your order."

Koa realized her usual apron and work attire were gone. He chuckled. "Good thing you saw me."

"Yeah, good thing." She stood awkwardly for a few seconds before blurting out, "Are you expecting anyone?"

Koa immediately glanced over at the empty seat across from him and shook his head. "No! No, I'm not. Do you—I mean, are you tired, or do you want to join me?"

She smiled and approached the booth obligingly. "Thanks, I'd love to. But first—"

Koa watched as she scurried over to the back of the restaurant. Moments later, she returned with a small milkshake in hand. When she plopped back down at his booth, she closed her lips over the straw and began drinking. "Mmm," she said after a short silence. "Have you ever tried Scottie's milkshakes? They're to die for."

"Can't say I have," he said. When she held out the drink for him to taste, he quickly shook his head. "Thanks, but no thanks. I need to save some room for my own meal."

As Koa began to eat, Nikki briefly abandoned her milkshake to get the conversation rolling. They were soon trading off questions and answers, allowing them to get to know each other a little more. When there was a lull in the conversation ten minutes later, Koa glanced down and realized he had left a quarter of his burger uneaten. He wasn't really that hungry anymore. His Coke, on the other hand, was empty with only a few half-melted ice cubes rattling around.

"So," Nikki said, slurping on the last bits of her milkshake, "why are you here, anyway? Not to be rude or anything. I just never see you by yourself."

"What about the time we saw each other at C Street?" Koa offered. "I was by myself then."

"True. What I meant to say was, you're usually surrounded by your friends—Maya and Jake and the rest of them."

"Yeah, we're a close-knit group."

"So..." She cocked her head. "Did you decide you had enough of them? Or what?"

"No, nothing like that." He smiled in spite of himself. "I just wanted a burger and a place to eat. Pretty spectacular."

"I hope I'm not intruding."

He shook his head. "Believe me, you're not. You're the best company I've had all day."

Her strawberry lips turned up into a graceful smile. She propped up her elbows on the table and leaned forward. "You're the best company I've had all day, too."

Koa couldn't help but laugh. "Sure, Nikki."

"Hey, after a few stressful classes and a long work day, this is exactly the kind of relaxation and conversation I need."

"Believe me, I feel the exact same way pretty much every day after school," he replied. "The only time I'm really at peace is when—"

She studied him curiously.

"Um, when I'm reading. Reading my Bible." It sounded lame to his ears, but it was the truth.

Nikki dropped her gaze. "I've noticed," she said quietly. "When I see you with your friends, you guys are always having fun...but then at the same time you're really serious about this whole church thing."

"You mean our Sunday afternoon Bible study?"

She nodded.

"That's only the beginning," he said, glad that she hadn't made fun of him for his earlier statement. "Nikki, you have no idea how much this 'church thing' affects us. It's not just church. It's our way of life."

She swirled her straw around in her empty cup. Koa knew he had lost her interest with that cliché comment. "Wait," he said, "let me rephrase that. Have you ever felt so passionate about something that you wake up in the morning and go to bed at night thinking about it? Have you ever felt on fire for something?"

"After I watched a movie," she said, laughing.

"No, no, I mean something that lasts a long time—a passion that is rooted deeply within you."

She leaned back in her seat and contemplated. Koa saw the creases on her brow and the slight pattering of her fingers on the table as signs that she was struggling to come up with an answer. Finally, she said, "No, I don't think I've ever been passionate about something for longer than a few months. My interests are always changing."

"You've never felt deeply about anything? It could be a cause, it could be a person...anything."

"Like the way you feel about surfing?"

He grinned. "Exactly."

"Well, I used to be really involved with dance. That was for quite a few years. I had posters of dancers all over my room, and it was all I could think about...but ever since middle school I haven't had time to pursue it."

Koa studied her carefully. "Do you still love it?"

"I don't know. It seems like such a long time ago."

"Look, Nikki, the type of passion I'm talking about is something that doesn't go away. It doesn't leave any doubt in your heart or mind. Even though I'm passionate about surfing, I balance it out with my other interests. It's more of a hobby to me."

"Then what's your passion?" She crossed her arms and smiled at him amusingly. "Come on, you've been drilling me this whole time. Don't tell me you don't have a passion after all this!"

He laughed and placed his hands on the table. "Trust me, I have something I'm passionate about."

She gave him a curious look. "Church?"

"Not just church. It's more than that."

She cued him to go on.

"It's like this: after years of doing my own thing and trying to fulfill my own selfish desires, I realized that there was more to life than just me and my problems. My eyes were immediately opened. I knew that there was a God bigger than me. Everything I heard preached in church, and everything I read in the Bible—whether on my own or in group studies—confirmed what I saw in the world around me. Once I knew that the Bible was true, and that Jesus is God, it changed my life. He became the person that is deeply rooted in my heart. He is my passion, not just church. Even if I didn't have weekly Bible studies with my closest friends, he would still be the single motivating factor in my life."

Nikki nodded, but the blank stare in her eyes told Koa that she just didn't get it. "Am I boring you?" he asked. "Answer me honestly."

"No, it's not boring, per se," she said hastily, attempting to sound more intrigued. "I just don't get what the big deal is."

"I guess I got a little carried away," Koa admitted.

"No, no...I used to go to church and all that when I was little, but I never became passionate about it. Not like you."

"Why was that?"

She shrugged. "It didn't make sense. Not to belittle your beliefs or anything, but when I became a teenager, I started to see Bible stories as fairytales. They didn't hold any importance in my life, so I said goodbye to church and went my own way."

"That's happened to a lot of my friends at school," Koa said. "The Bible is just full of make-believe stories for little kids and old people who want to believe they can go to heaven. Right?"

She blushed. "I wouldn't put it that bluntly...but, yeah."

"Do you still feel that way now?"

When she hesitated, he leaned forward and reassured her, "You're not offending me or anything, Nikki. I'm just curious to know what you think."

"Okay," she said. "I think that having a passion is great, and everyone needs some sort of motivating force to get them inspired. As long as each person finds his or her own way to be happy in life, why should they think any differently?"

Koa nodded. "That's good. People definitely have a variety of passions. But this passion, Nikki—the one based on God—is the only one that makes all the difference in the long run."

"But you can't be sure of that."

"Oh, I can. The Bible promises eternal life to those who confess and believe Jesus is the Son of God. Can any other passion reach beyond this life into eternity?"

"If there even is an eternity," she corrected him.

Koa sighed. He knew he had pushed her, for sure, but he didn't regret turning this chat into a theological conversation. He had never expressed his beliefs so outright to an unbeliever, but the effect it had on his own self was astounding. His heart swelled with an even deeper grasp of his faith and love for God, and he realized his earlier problems—those centered around Alana and Cole—were miniscule compared to trying to reach Nikki's heart. She needed to hear this.

"Um..." She swept a few black locks from her face as she thought about what to say next. "Look, Koa, I'm in awe of how impassioned you are by your faith. But I just don't get it. Obviously it's worked wonders for you, but I can't see myself ever living life like you."

Koa felt stumped. Do you even believe in a God? he wanted to ask. Or have you given up on spiritual matters entirely?

He held his tongue and decided it was better to pick up this conversation on another day. "Nikki," he said, "I really appreciate you listening to what I had to say. It probably wasn't the ideal conversation you wanted to have with me."

She cracked a smile. "It's fine. It was stimulating."

"Good." A smile blossomed on his face as well. "Before we tire ourselves out talking about this much longer, what are your plans for this weekend?"

Koa purposed to direct the conversation towards his own plans for the weekend, mainly celebrating Alana's birthday, but Nikki turned the tide in a new direction.

"Oh! I almost forgot." The reflective, serious look on her face was instantly replaced by one of excitement and apprehension. Her cheeks turned the slightest shade of pink as she explained, "Maya was asked to go on a double date with some friends from your school, but she thought it would be a better idea if I went in her place. Not with Jake, of course. Maya wanted to set me up with someone, but I told her that I could take care of it myself."

Koa let this information soak in before raising an eyebrow quizzically.

"I pretty much told Maya I already had someone in mind," she added.

His heart started beating a little faster. "Okay...so what's the point in all this?"

She gave him her best pleading look and asked, "Will you go on the double date with me?"

Those large, brown eyes and full lips begged him to acquiesce, but he found himself hesitating. Was this some sort of setup cultivated by Nikki and Maya? Or was Nikki telling the truth, and she really wanted him to be the guy on the double date with her?

"Who else is going?" he asked, skirting the question.

She was a little annoyed by his reply, but answered, "Hannah and Benji."

"Oh." His thoughts took a positive turn. Hannah and Benji were pretty fun, and Benji was a cool guy. He would get along with them well.

"So?" Nikki prodded. "What do you say?"

Koa wanted to say that he had never been put in this type of situation before, and he had never felt this way about a girl, either. For the first time in his life, Alana was the farthest person from his mind. He was wholly focused on Nikki and her beautiful black hair and imploring eyes.

"Okay," he said, letting the word escape softly and gently. "But only if you agree to do something for me."

She beamed. "Sure! What is it?"

"Come to church with me on Sunday."

Koa never would have thought, in his wildest dreams, that he would use church as a bargaining chip for going on a date. But there it was. Now Nikki had to decide.

"Of course," she said without skipping a beat. "I'll go with you."

He laughed, though inwardly his worst fears had just been confirmed: her feelings for him were shallower than he'd thought.

"Wow, that was way too easy," he said. "You must be desperate to find someone for this date."

"Oh, no," she nearly gasped. "You think I'm desperate?"

He met her gaze with a blank stare. Then, to his surprise, she burst out laughing. "Oh, Koa!" she exclaimed. "If you didn't want to go on this double date with me, then I would have told Maya and Hannah I couldn't come."

"There's no one else you want to go with?" he asked incredulously.

She shook her head, and Koa wondered if this meant she truly liked him. He desperately wanted to find out, but that seemed totally beyond his means. This girl was unlike anyone he'd ever had a crush on. "Well," he said with a grin, "I guess I have to go on this date with you, then."

"I guess you do," she replied.

"And I guess you have to come to church with me."

"I guess so."

"And I guess we'll be spending a lot more time together."

She smiled and leaned forward across the table. "That's the best part."