Baby Steps {TNS}

One

November 30

Richelle

"Rich! Rich!"

I wake to Noah lightly shaking my leg and calling my name. "Wh-what?" I mumble, slowly fluttering my eyes open. My head is rested on Noah's shoulder, with one of his hands around my waist while the other is placed on my lower thigh.

"Babe, we're back at the studio," he responds. "Oh, okay," I say with a yawn as I slowly stand from my seat on the bus, my knees aching from being locked in the same position for several hours.

We just got back from competing at regionals, and we won - obviously. I mean, we are international champions, so winning regionals wasn't very hard. Of course we still danced as best we could, but with the national level routines that James and Giselle had choreographed for us, the win wasn't exactly what you would call a surprise. We were all still overjoyed that we won, though, and we all still feel very excited to compete at Nationals in August.

Noah grabs my hand to help me get off the steps off the bus, yet I still manage to stumble. Noah catches me, before we both fall about in laughter. "You're an idiot," he chuckles, and I slap his chest with the back of my hand. "I wouldn't have fallen if the steps weren't so god damn high", I mumble, but Noah just laughs. I cheekily stick my tongue out at him as he walks off to get our luggage from under the bus. He comes back over to me, wheeling a suitcase with each hand, and bends down to kiss me on the forehead. "Let's get you home," he whispers. I nod my head in response, before bidding goodbye to the team and walking towards Noah's car.

We sit in a comfortable silence on the drive to my house; mostly because I'm too tired to hold a proper conversation but also because Noah is focusing on the road. He only recently obtained his G2 license and hasn't done a lot of driving with it. He's a confident driver, but it's definitely easier for him to drive if he's not talking, which I could imagine it would be for anyone.

In the time I've zoned out, Noah has driven to my place. We unbuckle our seat belts and Noah gets my suitcase from the boot of his car. I meet him at the door, fumbling through my handbag trying to find my key. I eventually do, and unlock the door to my house. I stand on the tips of toes and wrap my arms around Noah's neck, giving him a hug goodbye.

"I've been thinking," he says, and I unwrap my arms to look him in eyes. "We should go out tonight," he continues, and my face instantly lights up. "I'll take that as a yes then?" he chuckles and I nod, a huge smile on my face. We haven't been able to spend a lot of time together, just us. It's been non-stop rehearsing in the lead up to regionals, and while I love dancing with Noah, it's not the same as just spending time with him.

"When? Where? What are we doing?" I ask quickly, my excitement bubbling. "I'll pick you up at 7, and what we're doing can be a surprise," he responds with a wink, a smirk spread across his face. I glare at him for not telling me, but I'm too happy to make it last and I crack a smile.

"It's a date."