It was more than his baby-blue eyes that seemed to see right through me or his dimples that I was almost positive he reserved just for me. It was more than his looks, period. He made me feel different. Like I was just finding myself and living for the first time ever.

I couldn’t believe he was about to kiss me in the church kitchen. I’d never been kissed before and, honestly, kissing had always kind of grossed me out, but the thought of feeling those full lips against mine made my stomach tighten in a way it never had before and gave me a breathless dizzy feeling. It was scary and exhilarating at the same time.

I was still feeling high off him when I came face to face with a family I’d never met before. I barely had time to collect my thoughts before my dad was introducing me to them. They’d just moved to town and were thinking of joining our church. My dad told me their names, but my ears were still foggy and I missed it. Still, I reached out my hand to the mother and smiled sweetly.

“And this is Stephen, their son. The Petersons were just telling me that Stephen’s the same age as you, Faith. Isn’t that nice?”

I looked over at Stephen. He was on the shorter side with cropped auburn hair and freckles across his cheeks and nose. When he smiled at me, his teeth were covered in metal, but still, he had a very nice smile. He was khaki covered like me, but instead of feeling comfortable with him, I instantly hated the dreariness of his whole look.

It was even becoming harder for me to put on my boring skirts in the morning. I knew in the back of my head that it had to do with Finn and his comfortable jeans and colorful band shirts, but I didn’t care. He was showing me a thing or two about being comfortable in my own skin, and the prudish cover I’d been wearing my entire life had never felt more restricting.

“It’s nice to meet you, Faith. That’s such a beautiful name,” he said boldly.

I felt my cheeks turn hot as I looked over at my father and waited for the angry look on his face that was always there when Finn said nice things to me… except, there was only a happy smile on his lips.

I didn’t understand it. Daddy had never liked me being around boys, yet here he was introducing me to one and smiling happily as the boy complimented me.

“Thank you,” I whispered softly.

“That’s such a nice thing to say, Stephen. You know, since you’re new in town, maybe you and Faith should catch a movie or something. Maybe she can show you around town and get you familiar with the place before you start your new school on Monday. How’s that sound, kids?” my father said proudly.

My jaw almost hit the floor. My dad was definitely having a midlife something. Perhaps he was in the middle of a stroke and the side effects hadn’t starting showing, because my dad would never say such a thing. He’d never be okay with me going anywhere with anyone besides him and my mom. The idea of him allowing me to go on a date with a boy wasn’t something I’d ever thought would happen.

I looked back over at Stephen and he blushed brightly and smiled over at me.

“I think that sounds like fun. Do you want to go to a movie with me, Faith?” he asked.

I looked around at our parents, who were all full of smiles and crazy eyes. I needed to run to the bathroom and pinch myself. My occasional bathroom breakdowns had stopped, thanks to Finn, but I definitely needed a hard pinch or a nice slap across the face to fetch me back to reality.

I stood there with my mouth gapped open as everyone stared at me and waited for a response. Part of me wanted to say no. I didn’t know this boy from Adam and he looked about as boring as I felt, but then again, what were the chances of my dad practically pushing me out the door and to the movies with some boy? I had to take what I could get, I guess. At least that way I’d have a moment to breathe some fresh air outside of school, home, and church.

I looked over at my dad and asked his permission with my eyes. He smiled down at me and shook his head yes.

“Okay,” I squeaked.

The whole time all I could think about was Finn and how much I wished it were him I was going to the movies with. I really had to stop thinking about Finn so much. Yeah, it looked as if he was about to kiss me not ten minutes ago, but I had to face facts, and the fact was I wasn’t even close to the kind of girl Finn would want. We were friends. I had to really stop thinking that sometimes when he looked at me there was more than friendship in his eyes.

After agreeing to my first date ever and watching as our parents made the arrangements, I stopped by the bathroom at church and splashed some cold water over my cheeks. They still felt warm from Finn’s touch and the last thing I needed to do was go back in the kitchen with hot, embarrassed cheeks and make our friendship uncomfortable.