Dare You To Love (Camren - Norminah - Vercy)

Chapter 16: Perfect Timing

A/N: Refresher: Norminah walk to iHop (Chapter 12). Camila's dad's bike story (Chapter 3).

October 2017

Normani's POV

Over the past few weeks, Dinah and I made a habit of walking to iHop every weekend for a hearty breakfast. We were sitting in a booth, chomping down our food, when my mind started drifting again, like it frequently did when I felt lost in life. Instead of eating my food, I unconsciously stabbed at my pancakes.

"What's up, Mani? Your chocolate chocolate-chip pancakes not good today?" Dinah asked, cutting into her French toast.

"No, they're good," I said moodily.

"Then what's wrong?" Dinah asked, putting down her eating utensils.

I wasn't good at putting my feelings into words, but since Dinah was giving me her full attention, I had to try to express myself. So, I also put down my utensils and said, "I've just...been feeling really lost lately."

"Lost?"

"Yeah. I feel like everyone already knows their purpose in life. Everyone's working in a field they're passionate about. I look at Ally, Zayn, and G every day at the bakery, so full of energy because they're doing what they love. And don't get me wrong, I love working at the bakery with them, but this is just supposed to be a temporary job till I can find something I'm truly passionate about. And...I dunno, I just feel like I'm behind everyone else in trying to make a career in something that I'm excited about."

"What about dancing? Or singing? Have you ever thought about a career in either? You're really talented at both. You'd go far."

I felt light butterflies in my stomach at her compliment and smiled at my wife, "Thank you, Dinah. That means a lot coming from you. But, you see, I'm not the best when it comes to expressing my feelings with words, and music and dance have always been that mode of expression. They've always been an outlet for my feelings. And I just can't see myself capitalizing on something that's so sacred and personal to me. I know it sounds stupid but-"

"It's not stupid. I understand," Dinah said, touching my hand gently, "Any career in something you're passionate about puts a lot of pressure on that passion. Almost to the point where you begin to hate it at times. Happens to me all the time with my company. Sometimes I hate it so much that I think about selling it."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I won't sell, of course, cuz I love it, but my enthusiasm definitely falters from time to time. And I understand that you don't want your enthusiasm or passion for dance or music to waiver, which can happen in a career. That's part of the reason why I chose the business side of music rather than the art side. So, I totally understand."

It was so easy to talk to Dinah that I felt myself falling harder for my childhood crush. I felt really lucky to have her as my life partner, because she was always so helpful and understanding. Not only with me, but also with the people around her. Dinah had her own company to run, but she was so selfless that she'd personally come down to help Ally's bakery. She'd also believed in and encouraged new entrepreneurs, like Don, to believe in their ideas. And when her family or anyone in our church community was going through tough times, Dinah was always there to support.

God. Dinah was perfect.

And the way she was looking at me with the most tender expression and reassuring smile, just made me want to reach across the table and kiss her. But I couldn't. We were still in the friendship stage of our relationship and were still taking things slow, till Dinah felt comfortable enough to take the next step. And besides, it still took me hours of pep talk to just reach out and grab Dinah's hand, so I was way too shy to kiss her unexpectedly. Besides, Dinah wasn't ready, and no matter how eager I was for a kiss, I knew I had to be patient. Something in my gut told me that my patience was going to be well worth the wait.