Is this a Date?

Saturday, the day Nova just got to lay in bed and enjoy the peace of her room. Even as she breathed in the peace she found herself feeling as if something was missing. Not wanting to ruin her morning though, she brushed it off as she thought of the past 2 days. Thursday morning she had been so tired and done, but then the unexpected discovery that evening changed everything. Yesterday hadn't been too bad, and running and walking beside Jay just felt so right.

A calm happy smile filled her face as she stared at the ceiling. A few seconds or maybe minutes passed before Nova shot up straight with wide eyes, "The date." Her voice was quiet, but her heart started to race slightly as she whipped her head to look at the clock on her right. It showed a solid 8:30 and a sigh left her lips as Nova relaxed, letting her head drop backward.

Not even another minute passed before her head lifted back up with furrowed brows, "Wait, did I just call it a date?"

Even though she had asked a rhetorical question, Dawn decided to respond, 'Yes, you did indeed call it a date. Wouldn't you call a set time in which you are gonna hang out with the guy you like a date?'

Nova's eyes widened, 'It's not a date, we are just hanging out. Plus I don't like him, I barely know him.'

'Riiiight, so you don't feel attracted to him and you don't want to get to know him?' Dawn simply stated. Nova wanted to respond, but when she couldn't think of anything, so instead a blush crept onto her face. 'Told you! You like him and it's a date!'

'It's not a date! I didn't ask him on a date...' Nova tried to refute weakly. When Dawn didn't respond, Nova decided to just roll out of bed and start getting ready. Obviously, they were gonna be shifting so she had to pick an outfit that would be easy to change into. She fingered through her dresses before finding a short-sleeved flowery bohemian dress. The base color was blue so it wouldn't turn see-through if it got wet at the waterfall.

The dress brought a smile to her face and Nova quickly put it on. The dress ended at mid-thigh, as all her clothes do, and while the v-neck came quiet low it still didn't show anything. The dress was form-fitting and yet not tight, all in all, it made her feel pretty. Nova looked at herself in the mirror for a second longer before moving to her makeup desk and applying natural makeup while making sure she used waterproof mascara.

'We look good! That boy gonna be drooling!' Dawn's voice proclaimed as Nova stepped back and glanced at herself. She couldn't help the smirk which came to her lips at Dawn's contagious confidence. Nova glanced at the clock and found that she still had 30 more minutes, so she decided to run downstairs for a bowl of cereal.

"Well, Good morning sunshine! Don't you look nice this morning?" Nova almost jumped as her father's voice welcomed her into the kitchen.

She stared at him wide-eyed for a second before breaking into a grin and responding, "Good morning Dad! I didn't expect to see you here?"

Dad chuckled and said, "What, in my own kitchen?" He didn't give her a chance to respond before he commented with slightly suspicious eyes, "So, you seem pretty happy and your all dressed up early on a weekend. Do you, perchance, have a date?"

Nova's eyes widened as she said, "We are just hanging out in a friendly way. It's not a date." When her father's eyebrow simply raised she tried again, "Dad, We are just friends."

Her father simply nodded and commented and said, "Sure, that's what they all say. Just use protection." Nova's face flushed red while her mouth dropped open at his bluntness, while her father just continued as if he hadn't said anything, "Anyways, I am off to the office. So I'll see you tonight... or tomorrow."

Then her father left. As if he hadn't just made a certain suggestion nonchalantly to his daughter. He just left and left Nova standing flabbergasted in the kitchen holding a box of cereal. It took a few minutes for motion to return, but the redness didn't quite fade.

"Why are you so red?" Carter asked when we entered the kitchen wearing only sweats. Nova suppressed rolling her eyes at the luck, that this is the one morning that she not only ran into her father but also Carter. Before she could think of an excuse he asked, "Are you going on a date?"

Nova's eyes widened as she looked at her brother before protesting, probably way too quickly, "It's not a date."

Carter simply grabbed a granola bar and stared at her before turning to leave the room. He called back over his shoulder and said, "Suuuure, just use protection." The spoon slipped from her hand with a small splash as heat once more flooded her face as well as her neck and ears.

She glanced back down to her cereal with a frown and mumbled, "What even...?" Luckily, Nova was able to finish her cereal and escape outback before she ran into her mom. She most certainly didn't want the same conversation a third time.

The second Nova walked out the gate, she looked up to see Jay leaning against a tree in black jeans and a light gray T-shirt. He was holding his hands together with his thumbs against his chest. Even from a distance, Nova could tell that his hair seemed a bit tamer than normal. 'Is he nervous?' Dawn commented quietly.

'If he is that would make two of us. Although, I don't know why.' Nova replied.

Jay looked up at the sound of her gate closing and smiled while instantly pushing off the tree and dropping his hands to his side. He met her partway and greeted simply, "Hey."

A smile had formed the second she saw him, but it changed into a slight smirk when she simply responded, "Hey".

They stared at each other for a bit, which for some reason didn't feel awkward until Jay asked, "Why are you red?" Nova's eyes widened before Jay's did as well and he asked, "I said that out loud didn't I?"

Nova couldn't help the laugh that left her lips as she nodded and said, "My dad and brother both decided to be a little embarrassing this morning."

He smirked and questioned, "Oh, How were they embarrassing? Sounds like a funny story."

The blush returned with a vengeance at the question and Nova quickly took a deep breath, ducked her head. She quickly walked toward the forest instead of answering, causing Jay to chuckle. Without turning, she called over her shoulder, "Are you ready?"