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Janessa nodded. “Yep.”
“How do you feel about that?”
No one had asked her that in awhile. Given the fear that had surfaced during the whole situation with Jay, it had been harder for her to say goodbye to them this time.
“I worry,” she admitted. “It was bad enough worrying about them going to Haiti, especially because they’ve been there when storms have hit, that resulted in us losing contact with them. Now, I’m worried about them running into ocean storms on the ship.”
“That’s understandable,” Will said. “I think I’d probably worry as well.”
“I’ve tried to accept the risks that come with their decisions, since they’re probably always going to be travelling to places that might have safety issues.” She took a drink of her water. “Of course, I know from experience that bad things can happen at home, too. There are no guarantees.”
“Well, I’ll be praying for safety for your folks and also that you won’t worry too much about them.”
“Thank you,” she said, giving him a small smile. “I really appreciate that.”
As their time together continued, Janessa felt her hope for their relationship grow. She’d already admired Will so much, and he had reinforced that admiration in their short time together over supper. Their comfort level with each other was all she could have hoped for.
There was a part of her that wanted to explain what had happened in the summer and to apologize for her anger toward him. She knew that it was something she should do, but she didn’t want to delve into why everything had unfolded the way it had for her.
But she wouldn’t do it right then anyway, so she didn’t focus on it. She wanted to enjoy their first time hanging out together as something more than just friends.
After they’d finished their meal, Will took the bill when the server brought it. Janessa protested, but Will just held up his hand and said, “Please. Let me take care of this.”
She decided that it wasn’t worth the argument, but she didn’t want him to think he always had to pay when they went out together. The switch from friendship to dating was going to take some getting used to. When they’d gone out as friends, there had never been a debate over who paid.
They didn’t linger too long at the restaurant, declining dessert in favor of getting some treats as they watched the movie, then headed off to the theater.
As they walked from the car to the doors leading into the building, Will said, “Can I hold your hand?”
Janessa slowed her steps as she turned to look at him, taking in his earnest expression. In that moment, she realized that there were more ways than death that could cause her pain in loving Will. The crush she’d had on him was blossoming into something so much more, and already, she knew that if things didn’t work out, she would be heartbroken.
But if things did work out…
Reaching out, she took his hand, tangling her fingers with his. As she did, Janessa felt strength in his hand, and yet she knew he would never use it against her.
She’d never been abused in any way, but like most women, there was always a bit of the unknown when starting to date someone you didn’t know well. It was a blessing to not need to worry about that with Will. If he had an inclination toward violence, she would have seen an indication of it during the years they’d known each other.
She loved knowing so much about him, and that he knew so much about her. Her trust in him went soul deep, and she’d never imagined how much that would mean to her.
Since she’d rarely thought about having a relationship, she hadn’t realized what things would be important to her. But knowing that Will would never willingly hurt her—physically or emotionally—went a long ways toward settling her worries.
She smiled at him as she gently squeezed his hand. “Let’s go watch a movie.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
“You look happy this morning, Mr. K,” one of his female students said as she walked past Will where he stood next to his desk. “Have a good weekend?”
“I did.”
He didn’t go into any further detail. He never did. His presence in the classroom was to teach them math, not to discuss his personal life. Of course, his personal life and school life crossed paths occasionally because of an event like the Fall Dinner. But he still tried not to be the one to initiate that conversation.
“We did good, didn’t we, Mr. K?” One of the teenage boys who’d helped serve grinned at him.
“You did. We couldn’t have done it without you guys.”
“What did you do?” another student asked.
“We had a dinner at our church on Saturday night, and me and a bunch of others helped serve the food.”
