It was after a hum escaped her lips that I realized I hadn't said a word. Clearing my throat, I adjusted myself in the car, gripping the steering. Her voice was light, her heavy breathing giving me the impression that she ran.

"Yeah, it is."

I folded my lips so a chuckle wouldn't leave, why on earth did I sound so breathless? She giggled, muttering an affirmative. How long had it been since I'd heard her voice? It wasn't long but it sure felt like it. That did seem weird, I'm sure it did. There was a brief pause, none of us said a thing, What was I meant to say?

The only person I'd been on a call with was either Saffron, my father or the men I served the army with. The call was always short-lived, straight to the point. It would be an understatement if I said I was tongue-tied about what to say.

"How are you?" The question filled the air before I could stop it. Was that a conversation starter? I hoped so. Amelia's hum echoed through the line before she began speaking,

"Well, I'm alright. I didn't do much today, I woke up not too long ago and Papa-- uh..." She trailed off, as though she wasn't meant to slip out that little detail. This wasn't the first time I was hearing of her father. What was he like? As tender as she was?

"Go on sweetheart, I'm listening."

"It's just, Papa and I got into a fight and Abel defended me. Now I think Papa is upset with him too." My ears perked up, fight? Abel? I wanted to ask about who the Abel of a guy was but I decided against it. One step at a time.

"What was the fight about?" Since when was my voice so gentle? Goodness, this girl was having an influence on me already.

"Oh, just the usual. He wants me to get a job, but I don't think I'm ready for that yet. So he got mad and well, yeah." I hummed, taking in what she said. From what her friend Darrick said, she was twenty. If she wasn't interested in college, that was the next step for her to take, so I did understand if her father got angry about her decision.

"What makes you think you aren't ready?" I asked softly, not wanting to sound intruding. Amelia sighed, a shuffling being heard from the other side.

"It's just, I get really anxious when I see too many people. If I do get a job, I'm sure I'll mess it up and be fired right away." She confessed timidly. So she was an anxious one? Seeing how friendly she was, I concluded her to be outgoing and bold. How cute.

"Have you told this to your father?"

She made an 'uh-uh' sound, "He'll just make fun of me."

I pursed my lips, not knowing what to say. Our cases were different, I wanted a job to keep me busy while she had to get one to keep her father happy. Sighing, I relaxed my head on the headrest.

"How about this," I began.

"We can search your neighbourhood for places that are hiring after our lunch date."

"Our lunch date?" She giggled, sounding confused.

"If you want to, of course." I played off smoothly, who said you couldn't kill two birds with one stone? Amelia hummed, something she did quite often.

"You-You want to go on a date with me?" Her melodic voice made my heart clench, was I too direct? From her tone, she seemed conflicted. Stuttering even. Taking a deep breath, I began picking on the leather which coated the steering wheel. Did she not know how infatuated I was already? "I do."

"We didn't get to talk for long, so I want to take you out and get to know you more. Is that okay with you?" There was a pregnant pause, each minute felt like choking, and it almost caused me to rephrase my words. She wasn't giving me anything, just silence. After a while, "Sweetheart, are you there?" I asked.

"Oh! Yeah...I was just..."

"Hey, if it's too soon don't stress. We can just keep calling."

"No, it's not that! I do want to see you again." That was definitely nice to know, the slight smile on my lips stretched out at the assurance. "I just didn't know you'd want to as well." She continued timidly, I could already imagine her nibbling on the bottom of her plump lips, doe eyes peering on the wall.

"I've honestly been wanting to since the time I left."

Hoping my words didn't come off too strong, I drum my fingers on the steering wheel, listening to her giggle. It was light and bubbled against her lips. I hadn't realized how much I missed her face until she picked up my call. Was that too much? It couldn't be because, to be frank, I was just getting started. Sure I was a bit rusty, but I could find my way around this thing called courting.

"Does that mean you miss me?" I couldn't tell if she was teasing me or just wanted to hear me say it, either way, it was fine by me.

"I do, Amelia."

Perhaps my voice lowered on its own, perhaps not.

"Oh..." Her tone was low and hushed, I could almost feel her blush from here. This girl was too cute. "I guess we can hang out...I'm free next tomorrow. Are you?" Even if I wasn't, I'd clear up my schedule if it wasn't too important. "Yeah, sweetheart. I am."

"Cool."

A chuckle escaped my lips at her attempt to be subtle. Nodding my head, the grin twisted up my lips. "Cool," I said after her. After a while, it was clear Amelia had run out of things to say so I told her I'd pick her up the day after tomorrow and drive to the destination.

"Okay, no problem! I can't wait to hang out, Everest."

The way her name sounded on her tongue was intriguing. My name hadn't sounded so soft in a while. I liked that.

Seeing as I needed to get to Saffron's school to pick her up, I needed to start going before she began blaring up my phone. "Oh, I have to drive now Amelia."

"Okay! Be safe..."

Just then, I remembered what I needed to correct her on.

"Amelia...?"

"Yes, Everest?"

"We're not just hanging out, it's a date."