Nomads

Chapter 7

A few weeks later, Luca found himself contemplating.

He was sitting on the edge of the balcony of the ministry's apartment, staring out at Kypseli square and the rest of Athens beyond it. The sounds of car horns and children saying goodbye to each other rose up to meet him. It was one in the morning, and yet some children were still playing; some people were still lingering on the benches.

Greek people truly do not sleep.

At the sound of the glass door sliding open, Luca looked up to find Naomi holding two mugs of something in each hand, with a box of cookies tucked under her arm.

"Yo." She murmured, making her voice deeper and pulling what she thought was a cool face.

His lips twitched up. "Hey."

She outstretched her arm to hand him a mug, the cookies falling down in consequence. He caught them before they hit the ground, reaching with his other hand to take the mug from her.

"Oops." she grinned. "Nice reflexes."

She carefully settled on the cool concrete beside him, sticking her legs through the holes in the metal railing and letting her bare feet dangle over the square.

He shrugged, offering up no other response.

There was a pause. "So, you're still here. Is something going on at home? Should I exchange some strong words with Γιαγιά?"

He shook his head, bringing the warm mug to his lips for a taste of the mysterious brown liquid. Hot chocolate.

She hummed. "You okay? You've been out here for awhile."

He nodded, staring down into the cup. "I'm alright. Just thinking."

"Oh. Do you mind if I stay then?"

He shook his head, and they were enveloped in the sounds of a city that failed to be loud enough to drown out their thoughts.

"Hey, Naomi."

"Mm?"

"I like you."

"I like you too."

"Not as a friend though. As more than a friend."

"I do too."

He glanced over at her, skepticism shining in his icy blue eyes.

Before he could verbally express his disbelief, she quickly defended herself with a pointed look. "I do, Luca. You shouldn't be so shocked."

"You expect me to believe that you like me?"

"Why wouldn't I?"

"Because..." the tips of his ears turned red. "You're way better than me."

She scoffed. "Wha–"

"Let me finish. You know so much more than me about God, you've been a Christian way longer, you have such a big heart and a clear understanding of your calling. You love so easily and you trust God so freaking much that it's unbelievable sometimes."

He ran his fingers through his wavy brown hair. "Iosif and I were reading together this morning, and he was telling me how important it is for us to be strong enough to lead people closer to God, and like, with relationships, for one person to not distract the other from God but to help draw them closer to God."

"And you don't think you can do that with me because, what? You haven't been a Christian as long as me?"

He blushed at her bluntness, nodding.

She scoffed again. "Luca. You're a real stand-up guy. You have a hunger for godly wisdom that I've never seen in anyone before. You clearly love God and are so passionate about knowing Him more. I've seen you grow all summer long. You've changed a lot from that frumpy guy that I bumped into."

"Frumpy?"

"Yes. Frumpy. As in freakishly grumpy. And, after a good long time and much persistence on my part, you cracked a smile. And you fell in love with Jesus. And you didn't stop there, or backslide. You really persevered. You dove right in and you asked questions and you asked Iosif to disciple you and you didn't give up. And because of that, your faith got stronger and your heart got softer. You have grown in your faith so much and really fast too. And honestly? I don't care one bit how long you've been a Christian. You challenge me and encourage me to go deeper with God all the time." She bumped his shoulder with hers. "I can't believe you would think otherwise."

He shrugged, blushing. "Can you blame me?" He muttered. "Iosif could tell that I like you, and I'm pretty sure he doesn't approve of me."

She laughed. "Iosif doesn't think anyone is good enough for me, which is so wrong that I don't even want to touch on that subject." She turned to face him. "But I like you, no matter what doubts you have about yourself. So deal with it."

Luca gave her a wry smile. "As long as you can deal with the fact that I like you too."

She hummed, resting her cheek on the cool metal barrier. "I'll manage."

They were silent for a long moment, letting these new realizations sink in.

"I'll be going back home when the summer ends."

Naomi slid her gaze to rest on Luca's face, taking in the crease of his brow, the uncertainty in his eyes. "I know."

"And you're going who-knows-where..."

"I know that too."

"So does it even matter then? If we like each other?"

"It doesn't change the fact that you're my best friend. And I'm yours, hopefully."

He smiled at her despite himself. "Yeah, that's a given, but... What does it change?" He ran his hand through his hair again, the smile slipping off his face. "I don't think it would be wise to act on this if we aren't likely to ever even see each other again."

She shrugged. "You're right. We probably shouldn't." She took a sip of her now lukewarm hot chocolate. "We should just stay friends."

"Could we ever be more than friends..?"

"We could always come back to Athens, maybe, after we graduate, and see if we can be together then."

He hummed softly. "What'll I do if you find someone way better than me and fall in love with him before then?"

"Like I said. This doesn't change the fact that you're my best friend. Even if you fall in love with the stereotypical girl next door in your stereotypical small town." she flashed him a cheeky grin. "Let's not make promises to each other that we'll be unlikely to keep."

"Okay." He mulled the idea over before he said, "Then I promise to not go radio silent. And I promise to not stop being your friend."

"Best friend, Luca."

"Best friend. Sorry."

"You should be." She joked, bumping his shoulder again. "I promise... ooh. I promise to always call you and see how you're doing. And I promise to always be your best friend."

"Acquaintance, you mean?"

This time she shoved him gently, causing him to nearly spill his cocoa.

"Hey! I was kidding! No need to get violent, woman!"

She merely grinned in response, laying her head on his shoulder. "Yeah, that's what I thought."

AAHHH they confessed to each other!!

What did you guys think of the confession? Was it what you were expecting?

Do you agree with how they decided to handle their feelings? Why or why not?

Aww they're so cute. And mature.

Thanks for reading! Don't forget to leave a comment!

<3 Ava