The calm before the date

After a quiet night's sleep, Melanie wakes up feeling rejuvenated. Driven to interact with her faith community and spend time in worship, she gets ready for church. She sensed the Lord quite powerfully in the church, she sang hymns and listened to the preaching her pastor raised that she left appreciatively changed and rejuvenated by the gift of fellowship.

Melanie gets home after church, excited to see Ryan for their regular Sunday hangout that became a routine three weeks ago and she puts aside everything that she would need to get ready for the date night into a duffle bag, then she drives Kalinin's car to Ryans house, knowing that she doesn't want to go through the stress of hurrying down from Ryan's house in the evening when it is time for her date.

Ryan is a very busy man who works two jobs, not because he is low on money but rather because he is so good at what he does, so she packs lightly and leaves the house without Kionna because even though she and Ryan are getting rather close, she still cannot leave Kionna unsupervised in the company of another child while she was going to be on a date with Caleb.

Ryan and Melanie spent the morning lying around, talking, and joking together; then, as the day wore on Melanie starts to get ready for her appointment with Caleb at Bistro Bliss. Fortunately for her, she decided to bring her stuff to Ryan's residence otherwise, She would have been too stressed.

When the time came to get ready, Karen escorted Melanie to her room, got her settled, and knowing that Karen doesn't bite, Melanie was eve eventually able to relax in her presence but it still, seemed rather strange to get ready in Karen's room because Left to Melanie, she thought that she would have most likely gotten her makeup done in Ryan's room, then when the time to change comes, she would change to her dress in the bathroom, but her reality now revolved in Karen's room.

Surrounded by warm, golden illumination and luxurious furniture, Melanie stands before the sophisticated vanity in Karen's room. She finishes her gentle yet sophisticated glam and gushes at her mirror reflection, her eyes glittering with delight while Ryan leans against his mother's doorframe.

"You look stunning, Mel." He watches Melanie with a friendly smile.

“Thank you, Ryan. I'm almost finished.”Melanie's cheeks turn into a slight shade of pink as she lightly coats her lashes with mascara.

Since Melanie is already running late, Karen tells him to leave the perimeter so that Melanie can concentrate on getting dressed, then Karen closes her bedroom door to offer Melanie some type of privacy.

Melanie changes from her casual attire into a black silk dress and then puts on her diamond earrings. The gift is from Alex for her 24th birthday, but according to Melanie and Kalinin’s commandment, they may be allowed to hate the giver of the gift but the gift is innocent.

Next, she sprays her scent for the night, straightens her frock and then she pleads with Karen to lace her corset so that the loose gown may snatch her waist. In no time, the cowl gown with bell sleeves that she has on turns into a snatched gown, with the bodice hugging her curves and the flowy part of the floor-length gown making her look rather attractive.

Ryan knocks on her mother's door to see how Meelah is getting ready, but Karen invites him in before she leaves her room because she doesn't want them to feel weird with her around.

"You are definitely going to knock Caleb off his feet because you have knocked me off mine," Ryan admits as his eyes wander over her, his face grateful.

Melanie smiles, but for a little while she falters as she looks aside, her mind floating to Caleb. She has not seen him in weeks, and she is starting to get worried.

"Hey, you okay," Ryan asks, noting her slight pause.

“Certainly, I'm good…Just apprehensive, I suppose” Melanie nods and gets herself together.

“Mel, you have no reason to be apprehensive,” Ryan tells her.

"You're amazing," he adds as he softly adjusts her earrings with his finger caressing across her skin. Melanie's heart misses a beat at the touch, but she quickly told herself that this was simply Ryan being kind.

"Thanks, Ryan," she says grinning at him.

"You are such a supportive friend," she commends and Ryan's eyes lock onto hers.

Melanie feels a flutter of uncertainty within her as her mind drifts back to what Kalinin said the other day about Ryan being interested in her and she can’t not help but wonder if her sister was right or if what she observed was her just overanalyzing all the gestures he is extending towards her and he was just being nice.

Her phone buzzing breaks the atmosphere, and she finds Caleb texting her as she approaches the vanity to pick it.

“Time to go,” she announces as she reaching out to pick her purse.

"I will drop you off," Ryan says, but Melanie looks at him oddly.

"I came here with Kali's car." She reminds him

"I know you came here with your sister's car but you look too good for me to let you go out without a chaperone," Ryan says, refusing to waver.

"I am already running late; you are not even ready yet." Melanie sighed.

"Just give me ten minutes to get ready," Ryan says but she glares at him.

"now that I think about it, I can also manage five minutes," he says as he bolts from the room, he adds.

Ryan keeps his words, changes into something really casual and they leave the house for Bistro Bliss.

They arrive at Bistro Bliss and it takes a while for Mekanie to locate Cakeb, but when she finally sees him blood drains from her face.

“What is Alex doing in Orion?” she asks herself as her eyes dart back and forth but Alex doesn't attempt to walk up to her.

Melanie tries to put herself together because her face looks like she has seen an actual ghost and she feels like she has been caught-redhanded when Ryan points it out, but she tries to compose herself so that neither Caleb nor Ryan will know that she has any connections to Alex because she doesn't know what she will do if they ask.