Renee stood in front of her bedroom mirror, adjusting the neckline of her dress. Sunday was starting to become her favorite day of the week, apart from the fact that she got to spend time in the presence of God and fellowship with others. Someone made her dread every other day of the week.
She groaned.
Noah had called her seven times over the course of the week.
Seven.
And every single time, he'd asked her out.
The first time, she had a meeting.
The second time, she had an online class.
The third time, she had a church programme she absolutely couldn't miss.
The fourth time, she had a Zoom meeting with some people from church.
The fifth time, she was tired.
The sixth time, she had something to do.
And the seventh time?
Well, she couldn't even remember what she'd told him.
At this point, she was beginning to suspect that if Noah called her one more time, she'd have to invent an international conference and claim she'd been appointed the keynote speaker.
It was getting ridiculous.
And the worst part?
He hadn't complained. Not once.
He'd simply accepted her excuses, told her they'd find another time, and called again a day or two later.
Honestly, the man was either extraordinarily patient or completely determined to be the death of her.
Possibly both.
After putting on a pearl earring she stole from her mother, she glanced at the clock on the side table beside her bed. It was only seven o'clock.
She smiled.
She had decided to attend church early that day. Not because she had anything particularly important to do, but because she wanted enough time to settle down before the service began.
Besides, she needed to get out of the house.
She'd spent most of the previous evening thinking about Noah, which was becoming an increasingly irritating habit.
She was just reaching for her shoes when the doorbell rang.
Renee frowned.
Who could that be?
She wasn't expecting anyone.
Perhaps it was a neighbour.
Or someone from church.
She slipped her feet into her house slippers and hurried towards the front door.
The moment she opened it, she froze.
Noah.
Standing right outside her door.
Smiling.
Looking unfairly good for someone who had just appeared without warning on a Sunday morning.
For a moment, neither of them said anything.
Then Renee felt it.
That horrible, unmistakable sensation of cold sweat trickling down her back.
Oh, Lord.
Of all the things that could happen to her that morning, why this?
"Hi," she managed.
"Good morning."
"Good morning." She blinked at him. "What are you doing here?"
Noah's smile widened slightly.
"I'm here to go to church with you."
Renee stared at him.
You're here to do WHAT?
"Oh!" She let out a laugh that sounded far too high-pitched to be natural. "Really? That's so sweet of you. Thank you so much!"
She stepped aside immediately.
"Come in, come in."
Noah walked into the apartment, glancing around briefly as she shut the door.
Renee stood there for another second, mentally trying to recover from the shock.
Then she remembered she was supposed to be getting ready.
"Oh, I'm almost done," she said quickly. "Just give me a minute."
"Take your time."
My time? Dude, you have just shortened my lifespan by at least five years.
She hurried back to the bedroom and sat on the edge of her bed to put on her shoes.
As she bent down, another thought occurred to her.
Wait.
How did Noah know where she lived?
She paused, one shoe in her hand.
Then it came back to her.
Christmas.
After the family get-together, he'd driven her home.
Of course.
She stared at her shoe.
I need to move.
The thought was so absurd that she almost laughed.
What was she going to do? Relocate every time Noah remembered her address?
Perhaps I should move to another state. Start a new life. Change my name.
If anyone was going to relocate, it wasn't going to be her....she giggled,cleared her throat then she straightened immediately.
She quickly put on the second shoe.
When she returned to the living room, Noah was standing near the sofa, checking something on his phone.
He looked up when he heard her footsteps.
"Ready?"
"Yes."
"Good. Let's go."
Just like that.
As though he hadn't just walked into her home and turned her peaceful Sunday morning into an emotional emergency.
---
Church was surprisingly pleasant.
Renee had expected to spend the entire service being painfully aware of Noah sitting beside her, but after a while, she managed to relax.
They sang together. They listened to the sermon. Noah even leaned over once to whisper a comment about something the pastor had said, making her suppress a laugh.
It felt... normal.
Comfortable, even.
For a few precious moments, Renee allowed herself to forget that they had a complicated history.
She simply enjoyed the service.
And Noah?
Noah seemed perfectly content to be there with her.
When the service ended, they greeted a few people before heading outside.
Renee was already mentally preparing to say goodbye when Noah turned to her.
"Have you eaten?"
She blinked.
"Not really."
"Good. Come on."
"Come on where?"
He gave her a look.
"Ice cream."
"What?"
"I'm taking you out for ice cream."
She stared at him.
Ice cream?
That was all?
No expensive dinner. No elaborate romantic setup. No suspiciously beautiful restaurant with candles and soft music that would make her feel like she was being lured into a proposal.
Just ice cream.
"Oh," she said, attempting to sound casual. "Okay."
Noah smiled.
"Okay?"
"Yes, Noah. Okay."
"Great."
He opened the passenger door for her.
Renee climbed into the car, carefully arranging her dress before fastening her seat belt.
As he walked around to the driver's side, she looked out the window and took a deep breath.
It's ice cream, Renee.
People ate ice cream together every day.
Friends ate ice cream together.
Families ate ice cream together.
Former almost-something-or-other people ate ice cream together.
Whatever they were.
She frowned.
Former almost-something-or-other? Really?
She was going to need to have a serious conversation with herself.
---
The restaurant Noah took her to was a cosy little place with warm lighting, comfortable seating, and a display counter filled with different flavours of ice cream.
It wasn't particularly fancy, but it was charming.
The sort of place where people could sit for hours without feeling pressured to leave.
Renee liked it immediately.
That was unfortunate.
She would have preferred to dislike it. It would have made everything considerably easier.
They ordered their ice cream and found a table near the window.
Renee chose a seat facing the street, while Noah sat opposite her.
For the first few minutes, everything went well.
They talked about church, the sermon, and a few funny things that had happened during the service.
Noah told her about something that had happened at work, and she laughed so hard at his imitation of one of his colleagues that she had to put her spoon down.
For a moment, she forgot to be nervous.
Then she looked up.
And caught Noah staring at her.
Not casually.
Not in the way people sometimes glanced at someone while listening to a conversation.
He was watching her.
Intently.
Renee's smile faltered.
"What?"
Noah blinked.
"What?"
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Like what?"
"Like..." She gestured vaguely at his face. "Like that."
He leaned back in his chair, looking thoroughly amused.
"Can't I look at you?"
Her stomach did an inconvenient little flip.
"Well, yes, obviously. I mean, you can look at me. You're allowed to look at people. It's not illegal." She said, suddenly feeling like she had committed a felony.
Noah laughed.
"I'm glad I have your permission."
She rolled her eyes and returned her attention to her ice cream.
Wonderful. He's funny now.
Not that he hadn't always been funny.
That was part of the problem.
She took another spoonful, determined to concentrate on the very important task of eating ice cream.
Unfortunately, Noah hadn't stopped looking at her.
Every now and then, she'd glance up and catch him studying her expression.
When she smiled, he smiled.
When she laughed, he looked pleased with himself.
And whenever she went quiet, his gaze seemed to linger a little longer, as though he were trying to figure out what had happened.
It was beginning to make her self-conscious.
She shifted in her seat.
Then she adjusted her dress.
Then she picked up her spoon, put it down, and picked it up again.
Finally, Noah raised an eyebrow.
"Are you uncomfortable?"
Renee nearly dropped her spoon.
"No!"
He looked at her.
She looked at him.
A second passed.
"Okay," she added, somewhat less convincingly. "Maybe a little."
"Why?"
Because you're staring at me like I'm a complicated mathematics question!!!!.
"I'm not uncomfortable," she corrected herself quickly. "It's just..."
She searched for the right words.
The problem was that there were too many answers, and none of them were particularly safe.
She was uncomfortable because he was looking at her like that.
Because she liked that he was looking at her like that.
Because some foolish part of her wanted him to keep looking.
And her desires didn't always end well for her or people around her. She reminded herself.
"I'm not used to this." she finally admitted.
Noah's expression softened.
"To what?"
She lowered her eyes to her ice cream.
"To... us."
The words slipped out before she could stop them.
Silence settled between them.
Renee wished she could take the words back. Not because they weren't true, but because saying them aloud made the situation feel suddenly more serious.
Noah rested his forearms on the table.
"Renee, we're just having ice cream."
She looked up at him.
"I know."
"I'm not asking you to marry me."
Her eyes widened.
"Noah!"
He laughed.
"What? I'm just saying."
She covered her face with one hand.
"Oh, my goodness."
"Relax." His voice softened. "I'm not trying to pressure you. " The corner of his lips curved up slowly "Be careful though, we don't want you swallowing any metal unknowingly"
"For real?" She turned slightly pale.
"Goodness, relax!"
She lowered her hand slowly.
He was still smiling, but there was something earnest in his expression now.
"I just wanted to spend some time with you. That's all."
Renee looked at him for a long moment.
And that was precisely what made it difficult.
He wasn't demanding anything.
He wasn't asking her to make promises.
He was simply showing up, calling her, inviting her out, and making it clear that he wanted to be around her.
Somehow, that was harder to deal with than if he'd given her an ultimatum.
Because she couldn't blame him for anything.
She couldn't tell herself he was being unreasonable.
She couldn't even convince herself that he didn't care.
He did.
And she was beginning to realise that the question wasn't whether Noah wanted her.
The question was whether she could stop being so afraid of what might happen if she let herself want him, too.
Across the table, Noah watched her quietly.
He'd noticed how she'd been fidgeting since they'd arrived. The way she'd kept adjusting her dress, avoiding his eyes, and growing nervous whenever their conversation drifted too close to anything personal.
He wasn't sure whether she was uncomfortable because she didn't want to be there or because she wanted to be there more than she was willing to admit.
He hoped it was the latter.
But he wasn't going to assume.
For now, he was content to sit across from her, eat ice cream, and enjoy the rare occasion when she wasn't using an excuse to escape him.
Even if she looked as though she might bolt from the restaurant at any moment.
He smiled.
"So," he said, picking up his spoon, "are you going to finish that, or are you planning to stare at it until it melts?"
Renee looked down.
Her ice cream was, indeed, melting.
"Oh, shut up."
Noah burst out laughing.
And despite herself, Renee laughed, too.
For the fifth time that morning, she forgot to be afraid.
A real milestone.