It turned out that we couldn’t go anywhere too far away the next day because she’d signed up to do extra volunteer work taking food to homeless people with Brandon.
I fully intended to be there for every one of Grace’s volunteering stints. If it was fine for Brandon to crash my lunch date, then there could be no objections to me lending an extra pair of hands to help the homeless. It wasn’t as if I were the third wheel on a date of theirs. And so that was day two, and day six and seven.
We had a long drive ahead of us on day three, but not to her grandparents. We headed south because I’d discovered Starflicker had a gig in a town two hours in that direction. I couldn’t get a ticket, but I was assured the venue was massive, and we’d be able to pay at the door. We set off early to make sure we allowed time for eating and getting lost. We promised each other no hitchhikers.
I didn’t figure on not getting there at all.
We’d gotten about halfway before we decided to turn back.
At Grace’s request, I’d been driving slowly, and she’d had the windows open, but she felt sicker and sicker by the minute. Not sick enough to warrant a visit to the doctor, but nauseous, sleepy, and she complained of a headache.
I took her home and stuck around until her mom showed up.
The next day I stopped off at Mama Maggie’s independent health food store and purchased freshly made bean and super-food soup. The best gift I could think of.
She looked much better, with a smile on her face and a little color back on her cheeks. She was delighted with the soup, which she ate hungrily in front of me. It was good to see her with a hearty appetite.
We chilled out with another horror movie. This time an expectant mother gave birth to a demon baby, and it was far more disturbing than the previous flick.
We hadn’t yet made plans to see her grandparents. Even though she seemed a lot better, she told me she felt tired and generally not her usual self.
She canceled her volunteer work—which meant I canceled mine too, because volunteering to spend the time with my big brother didn’t appeal.
“You’ve turned out to be the best friend a girl can want, Noah, but you don’t have to spend every day with me. You must have other friends,” she said several days later when we’d done a lot more hanging out but never gotten any closer. Somehow we’d cuddled up many times, and yet they remained as innocent cuddles between friends, and when I thought we were getting closer, she’d always managed to put distance between us.
I swear she’d never really seen me any time before I asked her to lunch.
Of course she knew I existed. We had been in many of the same classes at school. Plus there were our mutual friendships with the twins. But to her, I was just another human body in the classroom. I hadn’t pinged on her radar as anyone important. Certainly not as a potential boyfriend.
Shit. When I’d been focused on good grades, I didn’t realize I hadn’t put enough effort into my social life.
“About that friend status. You have lots of friends. Can you like me more, like, as a boyfriend?”
“Can I? Yes, obviously I can. Or will I? That’s a different question. You are very likable, but I can’t make that commitment right now.”
“Why not?”
“It’s complicated.” She sighed.
“Okay, Grace, I need to address the rumors.”
She frowned. “Rumors?”
“Yes. You might have heard rumors about me that are enough to turn you off dating me.”
“What? You aren’t a well-known demon child or a psychopathic killer that I just haven’t heard about.”
“No. You might have heard that I’m a staunch Christian virgin who is saving my naked body for marriage. If so, I can understand your disappointment, but I’m here and now about to correct that misconception. My body is naked underneath these clothes and all yours if you want it.”
That got her giggling.
“Obviously, there are a line of guys lining up who want to date you and give you the best sex ever. So you are not going to choose the dude who lives like a monk.”
She squealed, laughed, and blushed all at the same time. “Noah. I don’t believe the way your mind works.”
“Well, I want to assure you that you don’t have to wait until we’re married. If you date me, I’ll do my uttermost to make you happy in every way, including that way.”
“Gee, thanks. You are a considerate guy.”
“I am. I’m pleased you’ve noticed. And I’ll be just as considerate when it comes to sex, both before and after marriage. If you wanted to marry me first, I’d be game for that too.”