Social Distancing

Chapter 9: Last First Date

"Maggie," Noah waved over to me. He was already seated at a table, but stood up as soon as he saw me. His eyes brightened as they took in my appearance.

"You look gorgeous," he said in my ear as his hand slipped warmly onto my back. If it were anyone else that touched me, I'd lean away but I'd gotten comfortable whenever he touched me. His touch was always gentle. He had a habit of swinging his elbows too much when he ran and constantly bumped into me. Once also he grabbed my arms and restrained me from crossing the street in front of a car that hadn't yielded. While I certainly noticed these contacts, they actually didn't bother me.

This time, the tenderness on my back made my heart flip faster.

He likes the dress.

I smiled, from the inside out.

"I like your hair tied back too." His hand lifted off me and held out a chair.

"Thanks." I waited until he sat down across from me before I leaned forwards and admitted with a smile, "I literally just bought the dress. My only other option was my lab coat."

"I like seeing you like this. Smiling so much, I mean." As he casually picked up a menu and glanced at it, I used the opportunity to take in his appearance. He'd shaved, but his hair fell naturally across his forehead and around his ears. He'd opted for a navy blue tailored shirt over dress slacks. A tiny silver cross necklace hung from his neck. Looking at him face to face was different than when I ran by his side, from this view it was obvious how attractive he was.

My mind clicked.

"What's that?" I pointed at his necklace. His fingers reached up to it, he undid the clasp, handing it over to me. It curled into a warm ball within my palm.

"It was my Gram's," he answered in a soft voice. "She sent it to me, said she was praying for us."

"Why?"

"She worries about me being in the city. She watches BBC news on the telly then calls me to recap it. She worries when the wind blows, but this coronavirus stuff has her wound up."

"It's the COVID-19 strain," I corrected him as my eyes lifted from the small cross in my palm to his eyes. "That's our name for it. There's a lot more strains out there than what's currently making people sick."

"Well, that's reassuring. I'll refrain from sharing that with her." I looked at him silently, handed him the necklace back, and waited for him to pick up on the information I'd just revealed. His eyes narrowed slightly.

Here it comes...

"Wait, is that what you're working on!?" His voice sounded a bit higher pitched and louder than I would have expected.

"Shh!" I hushed as my hands fanned between us. "I'm not supposed to discuss it outside the lab but yes. Please... don't share that."

"I won't. No wonder you've been working so much. It must be bloody stressful, I'm sorry." Noah's words warmed me all over when I heard that his initial reaction wasn't he peppered me with questions about the virus and what we did with it, but rather concern for my mental state of mind.

"It's okay," I assured him with a smile. "Just please keep that to yourself. Even from your family."

"I will." He returned my smile. "I've mentioned you a bit, but that would probably just freak them out."

"You mentioned me?" My forehead tensed as my eyebrows lifted.

"A bit." His eyes flickered with amusement as he repeated the phrase. My mind clicked and filled in the blanks.