"This is so weird," I mumbled to Jonah the next Sunday as I clenched his hand for dear life. He looked down at me, a lopsided smile spreading across his face, his eyes alight with excitement.
"I know. But I'm right here and the people here are really nice."
I swallowed as I nodded, scanning the massive sea of teens that were chatting and laughing. The youth service wasn't supposed to start for another ten minutes and I had asked Jonah if we could just stay in the car, but he had persuaded me to come inside with him to meet people. Currently, we were standing in the giant lounge area that had foosball tables and a small coffee shop that made everything smell amazing. But my nerves were on high alert and everytime someone brushed past me, I jumped out of my socks.
"Oh, Braylin! Here comes Cameron and Rebecca."
I snapped my head around and followed his eyes as two teens came walking toward us. I felt my stomach twist into knots. Jonah squeezed my hand, sensing my unease, which helped slightly.
"Hey, Jo!" The boy, who I was assuming was Cameron, said with a giant smile. He was tall, a few inches taller than Jonah, and had dark curly hair that was piled up on his head. His soft brown skin and hazel eyes seemed to be aglow with so many people and I could tell that he was definitely an extrovert, the exact opposite of me.
"Hey, Cam. Bec." Jonah beamed at both of them.
I glanced over at the girl who had a soft smile and long, black hair. Her nearly black eyes shimmered as she looked at me kindly. "Hey, are you Braylin?" she asked. "Jonah has said so much about you."
I couldn't help but smile slightly back. I looked up at Jonah with narrowed eyes. "Has he, now?"
Cameron chuckled. "Oh, he won't shut up about you. He's definitely crushing hard."
Jonah's eyes widened as his face turned redder than his hair. "Dude!" He smacked him hard on the arm, but Cameron just laughed.
I met Rebecca's gaze and she rolled her eyes, making me chuckle.
"Don't worry, Jo," I smiled as Jonah ran a hand down his face. He glanced over at me, embarrassment engulfing his features. I smiled, before standing up on my tippy toes and pecking a kiss on his cheek.
Jonah froze, stunned.
"Ha! You're welcome, man," Cameron teased.
I laughed as Jonah tried to regain his senses. He was always so cute when he was flustered.
"Are you guys sitting with us today?" Rebecca asked brightly. "I would love to get to know you, Braylin."
Jonah smiled, his face turning to its normal color again. "Of course. I mean, if that's okay with you." He looked down at me in question.
I nodded, feeling like today wasn't going to be as bad as I had expected. "That sounds great."
°•°•°•°•°
(Two Weeks Later)
"Sheylee! Come on! We're going to be late!" I yelled across the apartment from where I stood by the door. It was nearly noon and we had to be over for lunch at Jonah's by twelve fifteen.
"I'm coming!" my aunt screamed back from her room where I was sure she was probably still finishing up her makeup.
I checked the stove clock once again and then pulled out my phone. My aunt says she's coming, which means that she's going to take another ten minutes. We're so going to be late, I texted Jonah.
The little bubbles popped up immediately and then were followed by Jonah's response. It's okay. It's your birthday, so the party won't start until you're here :)
I rolled my eyes, though a smile stretched across my face. This wasn't even a party. It was just lunch.
"Who's got you smiling like that?" Sheylee said after she shuffled in from around the corner. She wore a green pencil dress that was way too fancy for the occasion and five inch heels, but that was just my aunt.
I playfully glared at her. "First of all, you are spending way too much time on TikTok. Secondly, we're going over to Jonah's for lunch, not to a business meeting with an international diplomat."
She ignored my comments, flipping her perfectly curled bright blond hair over her shoulder. "You and Jonah are so cute, you know it?"
I rolled my eyes and tried to hide my grin. Technically, we had been dating for a week and a half now, but Sheylee acted like we were already married or something.
"Let's just go, okay?"
As I expected, we were several minutes late, but Jonah and his mom didn't care.
"Hey, Sheylee! It's nice to see you!" Mrs. Kingsley greeted my aunt. They embraced tightly and I suppressed a chuckle. I thought it was so funny how they had become best friends since Sheylee had moved here.
As my aunt and Jonah's mom talked in the foyer, I slipped around them and found Jonah leaning on the wall in the living room, a grin on his face.
"Hey," I said, biting my cheek.
"Hey." He walked forward and engulfed me in a bear hug. I laughed into his ear, wrapping my arms around his torso and enjoying his warmth. He smelled like spices, which must have been from helping his mom with lunch, and something else that was unfamiliar to me.
"Are you wearing cologne?"
His chest rumbled with a laugh before he pulled away and rested his arms on my hips. "I thought you might like it."
I sniffed deeply. "It's... different."
He feigned offense, slapping his hand to his heart like my comment had hurt him. "But I did it just for your birthday, Bray. You have to like it."
I slapped his chest, though I couldn't hold in my chuckle. "You're such a dork." Before he could say anything, I planted a soft kiss on the end of his nose.
"Aw, aren't they adorable, June?" Sheylee said from behind me, apparently having seen the small act of affection.
Jonah's face turned dark red as his mother cooed, "Adorable. You don't know how long I've been waiting for them to get together."
"Mom," Jonah groaned, throwing his head back a little. "Can we just eat?"
Mrs. Kingsley laughed. "Okay, okay. Let's eat!"
We all sat down around the dining room table as Mrs. Kingsley brought over a giant pan of roasted chicken and vegetables to accompany our salad and bread rolls. The spices that I had smelled on Jonah wafted up my nose and I sighed. "This smells amazing, Mrs. Kingsley. Thank you."
Mrs. Kingsley smiled brightly. "Of course. Anything for the birthday girl."
As we dished up, I was close to devouring my plate of food when the doorbell rang.
Sheylee looked to Mrs. Kingsley. "Are you guys expecting anyone?"
"No," Mrs. Kingsley responding, looking just as confused as my aunt.
"I'll go answer it," Jonah offered, standing from his chair. We all watched as he walked toward the door and opened it. "Oh, hey, Caleb! Long time no see."
I perked up. It was Caleb.
I rushed over to the door, not bothering to push my seat in at the table. When I sided up next to Jonah, Caleb smiled even wider. "Hey, Braylin."
"Hey." I took him in, noticing that he looked like he had been doing pretty well. He had different clothes that were clean and crisp, his beard was neatly trimmed, and he looked happy. But what caught my attention was the white cardboard box in his hands.
"I actually heard it was someone's birthday."
I looked up at him, perplexed. "How did you...?"
He smiled, holding out the box toward me. "Open it."
Jonah took it so I could open the top flaps. At first, I had no idea what could be inside of it, but as I peeled away the top, I gasped. "You didn't, Caleb."
He just beamed.
I reached in, my hands wrapping around the cutest ball of fur I had ever seen. An Australian shepherd puppy. "Hello, precious," I cooed, adjusting to where the puppy was sitting in my arms. It looked up at me, licking my face and giving a little excited yip. I laughed, nearly overwhelmed.
"How did you know?" Jonah asked Caleb as I tried not to burst into tears.
Caleb looked over at me and I, him. "Let's just say Braylin and I had a nice talk before I left."
The dog caught my attention again by squirming in my hands and trying to lick Jonah's hand. He chuckled and set the box down before petting it behind the ears.
"What's its name?" I asked Caleb.
His eyes gleamed. "Her name is Angel."
"Angel. That's perfect." I beamed up at Jonah who smiled almost as wide as I did. "Thank you so much, Caleb. I don't even know how to repay you." Though I was talking about the dog, I was also talking about everything else. How he had changed everything for me.
Caleb nodded. "No thanks necessary. I'm just glad that everything's going good for you, Braylin."
My smile faltered a bit. How did he know that things were going good?
Before I could ask, he turned and started to walk down the driveway. Jonah and I looked after him and when he got to the road, he looked over his shoulder and smiled. I smiled back, hoping he saw all my gratitude for him in the one look.
Then, he disappeared.
Even Angel was still in my hands as Jonah and I froze with shock. We were silent until Jonah whispered, "Angel..."
I met his eyes then we both looked down at the puppy in my hands. She licked my nose and I grinned.
When I looked back at him, I just nodded. "Angel."
A/N Yess! I finished! What did y'all think of the ending? I would love to know! Also, big shoutout to @e2tj2theh for guessing that Caleb was an angel! Good job! Make sure to read the Author's Note after this as well!!