"I don't know how he did it, but he caught the cat! It was in his jacket and everything! I know you don't believe me, because it makes no sense why would a cat steal my purse?"
On the other side of the Discord call, Elise gave a side eyed smirk towards Bullet who was chilling on her bed. "Yeah, that does sound ridiculous."
"But it's true! It happened! Then he brought me to lunch at a sushi place, then we went to a cat cafe, and we just chilled there for hours! For some reason, all the cats came to us! It was amazing! I told him, I definitely want a second date!"
"Wait, how long ago was this again?" Elise asks. Bullet looks at her with confusion, but she puts her finger on her lips.
"About a month ago."
"Have you gotten a second date?"
"Well, kinda."
"Kinda? What do you mean?"
"One day I was ranting to him about my job, how the pay was trash, they don't respect my time, and there's no benefits."
"Mmhhmm?"
"And he passed my resume to his HR, I went to an interview with his company!"
Elise almost fell over her chair. "He WHAT?"
"Yeah! He said that he can't claim to love me and not do everything in his power to make my life better."
Elise turns to Bullet and whispered to him. "Wow, you're right, this is a good guy." And Bullet purrs with pride.
"Anyways, we had our second date during his lunch hour after my interview. I told him I wasn't ready to be in a relationship."
"You said what? Why? If you're not ready then why are you on the dating app?"
"Well, I'm lonely, working from home and being the only child sucks."
"Ashley..." Elise facepalms while trying to think of what to say next. " Okay what did he say?"
Ashley: "He said he'd wait till I'm ready."
Elise: "And it's been a month? How long are you planning on keeping him waiting? Not to be in a relationship by the way, I mean for a proper second date."
Ashley: "I feel bad as well. But I'm just so scared he'll leave. The other guys all left."
Elise: "I understand, but you have to respect his time as well."
Ashley: "I did! I told him he can find other girls if he wanted to and if it's meant to be, fate will bring us together. But he doesn't believe in that, he says only mutual effort can bring 2 people together."
Elise: "I gotta say, I agree with him."
Ashley: "I know, I was surprised as well. I told him about... My ex."
Elise: "The one that took your virginity?"
Ashley: "Yeah, the one that wanted me to delay my period so we could fuck."
Elise: "What did he think of it?"
Ashley: "He said he fell in love with present Ashley, not past Ashley."
Elise: "Okay let me get this straight. This guy is trying his best to improve your life, checks up on you every night so that you wouldn't wreck your sleep schedule. Something which I have been trying to do as well by the way. Is willing to wait for you to come out of your comfort zone, and accepts your past, something which other guys weren't willing to do. What are you waiting for?"
Ashley: "Sounds like I already know what I want huh?"
Elise: "Sounds like!"
Ashley: "Thanks Elise, I just needed that."
Elise: "No problem! Go gettem girl!"
...
"Isaac!" Ashley sent a text over, it could be one of the most nervous text's she's sent since her ex.
"Ashley!" Zack replied. He's used to texting her by now, so he didn't think much of it.
"I know what I want in life!"
"Oh wow, you figured that out faster than lots of people."
"Hahahaha! Isaac! I want you!"
Zack had to double take. He thought he'd had to wait longer, if he's being honest, talking for a month feels mega quick. But they'd enjoyed the dates and all the text conversations. They seem to be a decent fit for each other. "Ashley you need to understand, number one how happy you're making me feel right now, and number 2, this is my first relationship, so I will fuck up. Are you sure about this?"
"Then let's fuck up and find out together!"
Zack smiles at his phone and took a deep breath. "God, if this relationship is your will, please give me a sign." He prayed that night, and the very next morning, he flipped his Bible open on the train on the way to work and landed on Hosea, the story where God have him modelled his love for Israel through his marriage with Gomer. Zack was on cloud 9. No matter how much he tries to ground himself, he couldn't help but feel overwhelming joy. She was always at the back of his head. It motivated him to work harder, exercise more, and even pray more. "Yes, I promise I will model you through this relationship God."
...
If there's one thing that Zack doesn't understand about Christianity sometimes despite being a Christian, is why would God choose the most inefficient way to communicate to his followers. Like, just speak to us in our heads or something man? But he guesses that that would probably be spoon feeding and against the principle of free will. Anyways, he's not God, so he can't communicate that way. Everything he feels, he'll tell her, everything he feels he needs clarity in, he'll ask her.
As a car guy, he describes her as a KTM X-Bow, difficult to drive, but very fast and rewarding when you get the hang of it. He found their relationship paved with many misunderstandings and differences, probably because they got together just after a month. But each time, they were able to talk it out and end on a sweet note. He learned that maybe, he was a bit too religious and over emphasized going to church too much. She learned that sometimes, Zack doesn't need solutions but just comfort. He learned how to talk to people in a more empathetic way, and she learned how her actions, while she doesn't think much of it, affects the emotions of the people closest to her.
Zack's family and friends could see that while navigating his first relationship, he sacrificed a lot. He stops going to his church to go to hers where she feels more comfortable, which starts earlier and is further, so he had to get up earlier. Originally, he was saving for a used 2012 Proton Satria Neo 1.6 CPS, a 120hp sporty hatchback. But brought a used 2015 Proton Saga FLX 1.3 instead, a way cheaper economy compact sedan, so that he could pick her up and drive to dates. They often split the bill, so financially, it wasn't straining on him, but time wise, he wasn't really seeing Jian, Dymo, or Yusarin anymore. But they all understand, they have their own girlfriends.
"Zack guess what!"
"What?"
"I got the job! 3 interviews later and I got an offer letter!"
"Oh my dayz! I want to say I can't believe it, but I believed in you, so it wasn't much of a surprise."
"Waaaaw!"
Part of him was scared though. They say distance makes the heart grow fonder. Will she get tired of him seeing him everyday? Well, to be fair, they're in different departments. She's gonna be a project manager, while he'll stay in the creative studio. So they'll probably only see each other during lunch and after work. Whatever. There's no point worrying about worry until worry worries him.
When she arrived for her first day a month later. Zack didn't immediately run to greet her or anything, but he also didn't purposely pretend he didn't know her. They figured it was a good idea to ease in the fact that they were dating to the rest of their colleagues. They just needed to tell a few people before the rumor will spread itself. He wasn't the most popular guy at the office, and he often ate alone with a cat named Michael, but when she arrived, he tried joining some lunch groups with her so that they wouldn't be going on lunch dates everyday. Not that he has a problem with that, but because he wanted her to establish report with her new colleagues better than he did.
Within a week, they had their own lunch group going, and everyone was aware that they were a couple. But he made sure to keep it professional. No flirting during work, and his productivity has to be unaffected. He felt more motivated than ever, and he looked forward to go to work everyday now.