I do and I do

20| It's our little date

Adedayo stood in front of his door, nervous and agitated at once about knocking. He looked at himself over and over again, to be sure he looked his best. For a moment, he turned away from the door, shut his eyes and repeatedly told himself to be calm. They'd kissed. Therefore, everything was going to be different between them. How is it different? He wondered. He wanted to be extremely excited but he also worried that her excitement might have quenched after that morning kiss.

"Dayo." Bimbo called and he instantly turned his head to her. Bimbo had just walked into the compound and beside her was Joy. Adedayo tried his utmost best to hide his surprise. She smiled at him and he smiled back, unable to resist.

"Are you okay? You were behaving strangely." Bimbo asked with one hand on her waist.

Dayo felt embarrassed and looked anywhere else but at them. "I'm fine." He managed to say. The older woman let out a scoff.

"Thank you for today." Joy told her and after the woman nodded, she walked to him. Adedayo stood aside while she unlocked the door. Bimbo didn't stop staring till they were both inside and the door locked behind them.

The two of them were like shy brides. They smiled without steading their gazes at each other. They were hesitant to talk. Mostly because neither knew what to say. Their kiss from the morning were fresh in their memories

"Did you wait long?" Joy asked him as she turned to him.

He shook his head. "You seem to have gotten closer to Mrs. Aderigbe."

Joy smiled. She lowered her head and lifted it up to meet his eyes. "It was supposed to be a surprise."

He raised his brows in questioning.

"I've been accompanying her to her shop... I'm learning tailoring." She paused to read the reaction from Dayo. There wasn't much. Sure, he was surprised but he didn't seem upset. She was glad for that. A light chuckle left her lips. "To be honest, I'm not good at it. But I need to learn something so I can be able to earn a little that'll help you with the expenses."

Dayo couldn't help it as his smile got even wider. The fact that she was truly considering a life with him in the long run was exciting for him. Not once in the past year did he ever believe he would have someone who would stay by his side. He dreamt of it. He secretly wished for it. But he never realistically saw it coming to pass. Adedayo walked closer to her and put his arms around her neck, sealing whatever space existed between them.

"Thank you." He said and Joy smiled even brighter. She wrapped her arms around his waist. Her head leaned onto his shoulder. The truth would always remain that she was the thankful one. She sometimes wondered what her situation would've been like if she'd never met him. Would any other soul have taken her in? Would she have been happy? At least half as happy as she is right now.

Eventually, they separated and a little distance was maintained in between them. Again. For a little while, they simply smiled at each other like love-stricken idiots.

"Should we eat out tonight?" Dayo asked and Joy was quick to nod her head. She has no memory of doing that so the thought of it was enticing enough.

Each of them took turns having their baths and readied themselves for what should be a date. The truth was, Adedayo didn't have the slightest idea about a good restaurant he could take her to. He'd never done this before. He'd never even taken the time to eat out.

Taking the excuse of changing his shirt, Dayo closed the room's door on himself and reached for his phone. He dialed the familiar number and held it close to his ear. The phone on the other end rang for a little while before the owner answered it.