I wake up to my mother's slightly pissed face as she stares at me from where she stands next to my bed.

"You sleep like the dead", she exasperatingly states.

I shake my head, waking up my sleep fogged brain and sit up straight against the headboard.

Once my eyes fully adapt to the light that streams in from the outside from the curtains she 'graciously' opened, I finally get a good look at her.

She is dressed up in Plaid Long Sleeved dress. It has an A-line Knee length with a vintage tone to it. She honestly pulls it off especially with the color that the fabric is made of. It's a dark navy blue with the lines in a dark emerald green.

Mom is a beautiful woman, I get my looks from her.

The way her hair is neatly styled into a bun is amazing.

I could never do that with my curly hair. Since she has 4c hair, she does not seem to have a lot of trouble when it comes to having to tame the stray tendrils of hair that always frustrate me.

"Why are you dressed up?", I ask right before my mouth widens as I yawn.

The glare she gives me is so intense, that if I was anyone else I would have cowered in fear. But I've seen that look since childhood, so I am immune to it at this point.

"We're going to church. Get up and get ready. If you didn't sleep like a log then I would not be here dragging you out of the bed."

Oh, I forgot it's Sunday. But that does not stop my stupid mouth to question what she just said.

"Church?".

"Yes church. I see being in the city has turned you into a heathen", her arm reaches for the duvet as she pulls it off my body. "In this house we still go to the house of the Lord so get up".

I groan at the slightly cold breeze that meets my now exposed legs. I slept in only a tshirt and shorts last night.

"If you don't get your heathen self downstairs in the next thirty minutes, so help me Rosalie. I will come up here and drag you by your ears. Whether you are done or naked, I will not be late to church because of your laziness".

Suddenly my mouth becomes dry at the threatening tone in her words.

She reaches for the doorknob. "Oh and also call Alexander and tell him that I'm inviting him to our service."

The door closes and I am left with my mouth hanging ajar and the clock ticking.

Heaving out a sigh, I take my phone from the side table and prepare to make the call.

It's seven thirty so I'm pretty sure that he's already up. Lex is an early riser. Which is the one thing I cannot do, unless I have obligations like work, school or in this case church.

I listen to the ring on the other line as he finally answers.

"Rose...hey", he sounds like he just ran a marathon.

What in the world has him struggling to catch a breath this early on a Sunday morning?

What is he doing in that hotel he is staying at?

Before I let my mind run away with crazy thoughts, I finally speak.

"Why are you breathing so heavily?".

He chuckles, even when his breathing is laboured, his chuckle still sounds sexy.

"I'm actually jogging",he sounds as if he is talking while running.

"Okay. Do you perhaps have a suit with you in your luggage?". I chew on my bottom lip as I wait for him to answer.

The sound of busy traffic in the background flows as he responds, "Miss Jones, I always carry a suit with me".

Really? This is news to me.

"Seriously?" .

"Yes, I never know when I might need it", I can practically hear the grin he has on his face. His tone changed from flustured to teasing in a second,

This causes me to smile, "Well this is one of those times".

"Oh really?", he asks.

I nod even though he can't see me, "Yup", I say popping the 'p'. "Suit up Mr Cain, we're going to church".

"Church?". He repeats the same thing I asked mom a minute ago.

"Yes, so get ready and be here within the 30 minutes".

"Yes ma'am", he chuckles.

We end the call and I swiftly move around my room, setting things.

I start by making up the bed and then moving to the closet to search for a dress. Once again the weather is beautiful so I got one of the recent dresses I had bought a while ago.

A baby blue layered balloon sleeve dress. I then get a pair of white heels.

Running around like a headless chicken, I take a quick shower, get dressed and have my make up done in record time. I leave my curls to be free in their natural state as I don't have time to style my hair.

With only seven minutes to spare, I grab my trusted small, black purse with all the essentials in it and then make my way downstairs.

"Great! You're done", mom happily exclaims the moment I step foot into the kitchen.

She's packing away the dishes she just cleaned since they have already had breakfast while I was getting ready.

"Did you call Alexander?", dad asks from where he sits on the table.

My stomach rumbles, reminding me that I have yet to have food in me. Since I don't have time to make anything, I grab an apple from the fruit bowl and start munching on it.

Thankfully I did not put on any lipstick or this apple would be a color smudged mess.

The doorbell rings. I walk out of the kitchen to answer the door.

Lex stands there looking as handsome as usual.

He has on a dark burgandy suit, with a white shirt. No tie, with the top button undone. The fact that he went for stark white sneakers instead of the traditional formal shoe, nearly knocks me off my feet.

How can one person look so good? It boggles my mind.

How....just how?

The poor soul stands at the doorway while I ogle him to my heart's content.

"It's Sunday Rosalie, can you please stop checking me out?" he says. My eyes look up at his for the first time since he arrived, and I am rewarded with a wink.

Playfully rolling my eyes at him, I lead him inside the house. Once we get to the kitchen everyone's eyes center on him.

His presence really does command a room. You can't help but pay attention to him when he walks in.

He moves on to the table and shakes my dad's hand. My mother shocked all of us by pulling him for a hug when he was going for a handshake.

His frame is slouched over her as she pats his back. I can't help but wonder if that's how it looks when I hug him.

Nana's excitement is just as tangible as Alexander's commanding presence. She damn near squeals as he crouches down in front of her wheelchair.

"Good morning Francis", his rich voice says right before he holds her hand. If his effect on her was not obvious at first, it sure is now. She looks at him with glowing eyes as she practically swoons as he talks to her.

"Rosie you will obviously drive to church with Alex while your dad and I go with Nana". Mom says as she takes her purse and hands dad the car keys.

To be honest I did not pay attention to anything she said after the word 'Alex'.

Now they're on a nickname basis? She literally just met him last night.

The smile on Lex's face is hard to miss as he stands next to me with his arm around my shoulder.

My parents leave first with Nana, while I grab a banana and granola bar from the table as I prepare to leave with Lex. He is using the Mustang from yesterday and it smells like him.

The interior of the car is also black and is totally engulfed with his scent mixed in with the leather from some of the detailing of the car.

I tell him the directions to our church building as he drives. Music fills the silence in the car as he smoothly maneuvers his way through the Sunday morning traffic.

I share the banana and granola bar with him. I called him early so I know for a fact that he rushed over to our house without even eating anything.

It's pretty funny actually because I feed him the banana and bar by moving it to his lips for him to take a bite right after I've done so myself. Since his hands are holding the steering wheel and the car he is driving today is a stickshift.

We arrive at the church with a good few minutes to spare before the service starts. Before we get out of the car I check if we're both presentable.

I fix my hair and remove the crumbs from the breakfast bar on Lex's beard.

The more he grows it out,the more I have to constantly check if he doesn't get food stuck on it. I love the beard but it is a lot of work.

I find it cute when he stands still so that I can reach up his chin and make sure he doesn't have anything stuck on the facial hair.

On the drive to here, I expected people to be shocked at my arrival because I have not been to church in a while. I was a very actively participating child in church. I was in the choir and I was helping in the children's ministry as a Sunday school leader.

Which is partly why a part of me would like to think that the eyes that are in my direction would be solely focused on the previous stated facts. But we all know that they don't care about me.

There's one thing that church people are big on...and that's being gossips. They are the grapevine of all the 'scandalous' things that people commit.

And my appearing back in a long time with a grown man who is currently holding my hand as he closes the car door I emerge from is deemed as such.

I can just hear the words that are going to be spoken about me over cups of piping hot tea and biscuits for the next few days.

The service is as informative and enjoyable as I remember it. The message preached was on kindness and being selfless. I could not help but notice how focused Lex was.

He really was paying attention and at times I would see him slightly nod his head in agreement to what the pastor was saying.

He even sang along to some of the hymns. That kind of shocked me. And at the same time I was not impressed with the part of me that was surprised at how well this man knows church songs.

I mean what type of person is not familiar with church? Surely Lex had attended church before in his life.

The lingering stares from some of the women in church, older and younger were a constant reminder of how attractive the man next to is. My eyes would catch some of the teenage girls giggle as they caught glimpses of Lex.

Our average service lasts about two hours but today the pastor concluded the service thirty minutes earlier.

When I was younger I hated when my parents would stay back and have conversations with other people after the service.

The last thing my young mind wanted to do was stick around for a few more minutes after I spent two hours sitting.

I wanted to go home, eat and watch tv. But now I don't mind waiting while they catch up with friends and community members. A few people greet us as we stand next to his car.

"Rosalie, it's good to see you", Pastors Steven's friendly voice comes from behind me.

Lex and I turn towards him as he walks closer to where we stand.

He shakes each of our hands while I introduce him to Lex. "This is Alexander-"

"-Cain", he finished off.

He smiles at me,then shifts his gaze back to Lex as they shake hands, "It's a pleasure to see the likes of you here. I hope you are treating my Rosalie here well".

He knows.

Of course he knows you've been glued to Lex's hip since you arrived.

"Uh...yes sir. It's nice to see you, great service by the way." Lex says with a slight smile. He is probably feeling awkward.

Pastor Steven's overly friendly personality does that to you sometimes. I've known this man my whole life and I still get nervous and awkward around him.

Maybe it's the Godly aura that surrounds him. It's like he can see your sin by looking at your eyes.

"Glad you liked it. Just doing the good Lord's work", he responds to Lex's compliment.

"Don't be a stranger Rosalie" he smiles at me again.

He turns and walks away to talk with others people as my family comes towards us.

Mom tells us that we're going out for lunch at one of the town's family restaurants, Deedee's. It's a great choice and I have not been there in forever so I am very excited.

Plus they have great food. Lex is a lover of good food just like me so he is in for the treat of his life.

The moment we step out of the car and into the restaurant we are transported into a wonderland of delicious smells.

Deedee's is famous for her soul food. The Sunday lunch special is an item on the menu that is in high demand. Especially from hungry families who are fresh out of a church service like us.

The decor gives off a homey vibe with dark wood and cushioned chairs. The walls are painted an ivory color with grayscale photos inside dark frames. These are photos of Dee's family and people who have come over the years.

One picture in particular makes me smile. It's my family.

Uncle Dom and Grandpa Louis have their arms wrapped around mom and Nana as we celebrated my parents ten year anniversary a few years ago. Dad carried me on his shoulders as we all had big smiles as the camera guy took the picture.

Simpler times...

We all sit at one of the tables in the middle of the busy floorspace. Wait staff moving at speeds that seem humanly impossible, as they take orders from diners and deliver them within minutes.

Just like most of the diners we also get the family sized Sunday lunch special. My eyes nearly pop out at the size of the platters placed in front of us. I really have forgotten how huge these things are.

Creamy spinach, mashed butternut with cinnamon, lamb chops, roasted potatoes, gravy, stuffed cabbage. Basically any artery clogging delicious food you can eat on a Sunday is on this table.

"There is no way we can finish all of this", I find myself saying. This is too much food for five people.

A scoff comes from dad who is already placing food on his plate, "Speak for yourself".

"You are a human trash can so it would not faze me if you ate all of this by yourself", mom says to him with an endearing smile.

"I'm too focused on where to start eating to be hurt by your insults", dad retorts.

Lex chuckles, "Your parents are very odd".

I lean onto his shoulder, "I told you so".

We also plate up food and join the rest of the family in eating. Nana gets the occasional help from Lex since her chair is placed between him and mom at the other end of the medium sized table.

It touches my heart to see how he has accepted my family and how they have accepted him. My heart swells with joy as I watch him converse and share jokes with my family.

This is it.

This is the future I want with him.

Church and Sunday lunch with the family.

Surrounded by people I love. With the man I love.

My heartbeat races a little as I realization hits me.

I love him.

I love Alexander Cain.

Oh my...