Chapter 5

By the time Nick dropped Naomi off, the night was thick and silent. The car’s headlights cut across the quiet street, and her house was far ahead, dark except for the faint glow of the living room light.

Naomi clutched her sweater, her heart still fluttering from Nick’s words. The way he’d looked at her, speaking like she was the only one who mattered, filled her chest with warmth.

But the warmth shattered the moment she stepped inside.

Her father stood in the living room arms crossed his expression thunderous. Her mother sat rigid on the sofa Bible still open in her lap both turned as the door clicked shut behind Naomi.

“Where have you been?” Her father’s voice was sharp cutting through the air.

Naomi froze guilt crawling up her spine. “I… I was just”

“Don’t you dare lie,” Lydia snapped rising to her feet. Her eyes burned with disappointment. “Do you know what time it is? You walk in past ten like some careless child? Naomi, what is going on with you?”

Naomi’s throat tightened. “I was with Layla,” she whispered fumbling for an excuse.

Her father’s voice boomed shaking the air. “Enough! Don’t insult us with lies, Layla’s mother said She hasn’t seen you all day. Where were you?”

Naomi’s cheeks burned her heart hammering. She couldn’t answer, she couldn’t bring herself to say Nick’s name.

Her mother stepped closer voice low but fierce. “Naomi, after everything I told you last night? About secrets about lies, about letting the world sway you, you walk in here like this? Do you think we raised you for this kind of shame?”

Tears pricked Naomi’s eyes. “Mom, Dad, I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to..”

Her father’s jaw clenched. “Do you realize what people would say if they saw Pastor’s daughter sneaking out at night? Do you want to drag this family’s name in the mud?”

Naomi’s lip trembled. “I just…just wanted to be normal for once.”

Her mother’s eyes softened for only a second before hardening again. “Normal is not disobedience, Normal is not dishonor, You think boys who whisper sweet things care about your soul? About your future? No, Naomi, they care about nothing but using you and discarding you.”

Naomi’s chest ached guilt crashing over her, but still, in the back of her mind, Nick’s voice echoed: I see you, Naomi. Not as the Pastor’s daughter, just you.

Her father’s voice grew quieter and heavier. “Go to your room. No phone, no choir practice until we decide otherwise, maybe then you’ll remember who you are.”

Naomi’s stomach dropped, No choir? The punishment was worse than she expected.

“Yes, Daddy,” she whispered, blinking back tears.

She hurried up the stairs, each step like a weight pressing on her chest. As her bedroom door clicked shut Naomi collapsed on her bed, clutching her pillow to her chest.

#Two days later

Two days.

Two days of silence two days of pacing the length of her room, two days of her parents watching her like a hawk. Naomi’s phone was still locked away in her mother’s drawer and choir practice felt like a lifetime away.

At first, she had been angry, angry at the rules, at the scolding, at the way her life suddenly felt like a cage. But slowly, that anger melted into something else.

Longing.

Her mind betrayed her wandering back to the dinner table with Nick. The way he leaned in when he spoke, the way his voice had softened when he said I care about you, Naomi, the way his laughter had seemed like it belonged only to her.

Each time she closed her eyes, she replayed it, his gaze across the table, the subtle brush of his hand near hers. She tried to fight it, to scold herself with her mother’s warnings but the memory kept tugging at her heart.

And then a Tap, another Tap.

Her head shot up she froze, The sound came again, tap, tap, against her windowpane.

Heart pounding Naomi crept closer pulling back the curtain just a little.

Her breath caught.

Nick.

He stood outside in the night one hand gripping the top of a ladder that leaned against the wall, His eyes flicked up catching hers, and a daring smile tugged at his lips.

Naomi’s chest tightened with fear and something else, something thrilling. She pushed the window open a crack.

“Nick! Are you insane?” she whispered panic lacing her voice.

“Couldn’t stand not seeing you,” he whispered back his grin wide. “Layla told me your parents locked you up. So… here I am.”

“Here you are? Nick, this is crazy, if my dad..”

“Shhh,” he cut in gently. “Just let me in, Naomi, please.”

Her hands trembled on the windowsill, every instinct screamed at her to send him away but her heart, the same heart that had ached for him for two days betrayed her.

“Quickly,” she breathed stepping aside.

Nick climbed in landing lightly on her bedroom floor the small room suddenly felt too small the air thick with his presence. Naomi’s pulse raced as she shut the window behind him.

For a moment, they just stood there, he looked at her like she was the only light in the room, and she couldn’t look away.

“I missed you,” he murmured taking a step closer.

Naomi’s throat tightened. “I… I missed you too.” The confession slipped out before she could stop it.

Her cheeks burned, her thoughts tangled. For two days, she had told herself he was trouble. That her parents were right but right now, with him inches away, she couldn’t remember any of those reasons.

Nick lifted a hand brushing a loose curl from her face, and Naomi shivered at the touch her breath catching.

And then without thinking, without planning, without fear she leaned forward and kissed him.

It was clumsy, trembling, filled with nerves and heat, her first kiss.

For a heartbeat, Nick froze. Then he deepened it pulling her closer until her palms pressed against his chest, feeling the wild rhythm of his heart.

Naomi melted, intoxicated, her world spinning, the walls of her parents’ house, the rules, the fear it all disappeared.

All that existed was the taste of Nick’s lips, the warmth of his hands, and the terrifying wonderful truth that she didn’t want it to stop.