Great.
“I’m sorry, what?”
I cleared my throat and gestured to Danny to give me the phone. He handed it over, happy knowing he had accomplished his goal. “Hey, Faith, sorry about that. Danny called you.”
“Oh.” Her voice fell. “Sounds good, good night.”
“No, wait…” I sighed.
Danny was right. I had been grumpy since Faith had started shutting me out. Was it better to walk away right now? I wasn’t sure I could be around her and not want to be in a relationship with her. I wasn’t sure she was ready for that.
But who else would I take to the dance?
“Adam?” Faith paused. “Are you there?”
I groaned. “Yep, sorry.” I took a deep breath. Danny gave me a thumbs up and a grin.
“I was curious if I could ask you something.” One of these times I was going to ask to spend time with Faith, and it wouldn’t sound like a charity event.
“Okay, what can I do to help you and Danny?” Her voice brightened a little.
“Um…” I turned off the main road. “Well,” I huffed, “it’s not Danny that needs help.”
I sounded like such a loser.
“Oh.” Her voice was smaller.
“I need a date.”
The silence was palpable.
“Are you there?”
She cleared her throat. “Um, yep.”
“You don’t have to, but I need someone to go with me to the dance on Saturday. I have—I kind of volunteered to chaperone.”
“And you want to ask me?” Faith asked.
Part of me wanted to demand she be ready to tell me everything, and the other part of me wanted to trust.
Trust. It wasn’t my strong suit. But there was no one else. No one else I wanted to spend time with, no one else that made me feel whole.
Somehow, this quiet, resilient woman had softened my heart, and I wasn’t ready to give up the chance.
“Yes, I’m sure.”
I hadn’t wanted to fall for anyone ever again, especially someone who I barely knew. But here I was falling. Like an idiot.
“Only if you want to though. I don’t want you to do it out of some weird obligation or favor.”
She cleared her throat. “So you are asking me on a date to a high school dance?”
I chuckled. “Yep. I guess so.”
The pause stretched and pulled between us.
“I would love to go to the dance with you, Adam.”
