A simple life: Book 4

Chapter 6: Cautious, but curious

As Sophia opened her eyes in the morning, she felt disoriented, struggling to remember where she was. After all, it wasn't often that she spent the night at Asa's place. When she finally recollected where she was, she thought Oh, yeah, and slowly rubbed the sleep from her eyes and yawned. Then, noticing Asa sitting next to the couch, looking at her, holding a plate of scrambled eggs and steak, made Sophia's stomach grumble.

In a soft and gentle voice, Asa greeted her with a warm, "Good morning, lovely," before offering her the plate of food. "You looked so pretty sleeping there that I didn't want to wake you," he said. "Are you hungry?"

Sophia sat up and gave a tired smile, saying, "Boy, am I ever."

Asa handed her the plate. "Here you go," he said. After she took it, Asa quickly went back into the kitchen to grab his breakfast, which was the same as hers. When he returned, he had a drink in his hand and asked, "I poured you some orange juice if you would like it?"

After sitting down next to her, she said, "Yes, please."

He then handed it to her. "Eat up," he said after she had sipped. After she put the glass back on the table, she watched Asa cut his first piece of steak. She immediately leaned over and, without hesitation, plunged her fork into the meat on his plate. "What?" he said.

She smirked, her eyebrows raised. "You know what," she replied.

Asa set down his fork and knife instantly and looked at her expectantly. "Um, you want to say the blessing?"

Sophia shook her head, still smirking. "No," she told him. "It's your turn." Asa swallowed nervously. "It's okay," she reassured him. "God doesn't make fun, and neither will I."

"Uh, um, okay," he stuttered, stumbling over his words. After a moment, he collected his wits and cleared his throat, saying, "Well, I suppose we should hold hands and bow our heads, right?"

Sophia giggled. "If you'd like," she replied.

After they both did so, Asa began praying. At least, he tried to. "Okay," Asa whispered to himself. He cleared his throat again. "Um, dear God. I mean, Father in heaven. Thank you for this meal. Thank you to my lovely lady and her friends. Um, bless this day, and uh, keep us safe wherever we go. Amen."

"Amen," Sophia said after him. "That was beautiful, thank you. Now, it's time to dig in!" After Sophia took her first bite, she couldn't help but say, "Oh, my!" The flavors in her mouth were so intense that she almost forgot to mention her reason for exclaiming.

"What?" Asa said, looking worried. "Does it taste bad?"

"Oh, no!" she replied, her eyes lighting up with excitement. "It's wonderful! Sorry if I scared you for a second there!"

Asa exhaled with a chuckle, relieved. "You did just a little," he said, shaking his head with amusement.

Asa and Sophia were up a little before sunrise that morning, and after finishing their breakfast, they spent a little time on the couch just chatting. They didn't get into anything serious, but they did plan another evening together, watching the sequel to the movie they watched last night. Finally, after an hour, the morning sun shone through the front window, and Asa gathered their dirty plates and went into the kitchen to do the dishes. While doing so, he told Sophia, who was still sitting on the couch, that she could use his shower, but she graciously declined. "No, thank you, Asa. I probably should go home and do that. Would you mind taking me?"

Asa understood her reasoning and answered, "Of course, I don't mind."

They left shortly after that. And after arriving in front of Sophia's house, Asa gave Sophia a quick kiss goodbye then sped off down the street. Sophia watched him until he disappeared. Then, as Sophia entered the house, she found her mother in the kitchen with Gary seated at the table. "Want some breakfast?" her mother asked as she walked further into the room.