“Trace,” Marissa finally spoke. “I really wanted to see you too.”
Trace looked up meeting Marissa’s eyes for the first time as a smile broke out across his face. “Maybe I’m crazy,” he said, “but I like you, Marissa. I don’t want you to have to be here alone.”
Marissa reached across the table laying her hand over his. “Trace you’ve already done so much for me. You’ve helped me see that I can do this, but I don’t want to do it on my own.” She swallowed hard thinking out her next words carefully. “I care for you.”
Trace placed his other hand over Marissa’s. “I care for you too,” he admitted. “At first it was just a means to an end, but since I’ve gotten to know you my feelings have changed.
“Marissa!” A loud squeal shattered the moment like glass. “This must be your husband,” a blonde woman in a too-short dress hustled over to their table gushing. “Oh and isn’t he handsome?” she said leaning over and squeezing his bicep with her hand. “Mmm, brawny.”
“Hello Angel,” Marissa said kindly. “I’d like you to meet Trace,” she continued.
“So nice to finally meet you,” the other woman said. “Marissa has told us so much about you at school. Now if she gets tired of you just whistle,” she added with a wink. “I’ll be waiting right around the corner.”
Marissa shook her head as her friend strutted off in high-heeled boots.
“I’m sorry about that,” Marissa said. “Angel is a bit of a flirt,” she finished.
Trace only shook his head. “She seems lonely.”
“Probably,” Marissa admitted as their pizza loaded with pepperoni and veggies arrived. “She doesn’t have a very good track record with men.”
Trace squeezed Marissa’s hand then bowed his head giving thanks for the food and the time they could have together. He had so much more he wanted to say, but it wasn’t time. Marissa needed to know he cared for her, and not only because of the new life she had chosen to give a chance.
Dinner was a comfortable affair but soon they were headed back to the apartment the leftovers wrapped in foil and tucked into an easy to carry bag.
For the past few weeks, Trace had been trying to figure out how to talk to Marissa more about God and salvation, but he never seemed to be able to find the words. He hoped that this trip might bring them closer than ever before with Marissa coming to accept the love of Jesus, but he still didn’t seem to have the words.
Marissa put her key in the lock and opened the door, taking the bag from Trace and heading for the fridge.
“Why don’t you get comfortable,” she said. “I’ll put these away and then we can just talk.”
Trace smiled, his fingers itching to push that stray lock of hair behind her ear once more. How had he fallen so completely for this woman when he knew she wasn’t in a place where he could make her his?
In a few minutes, Marissa joined him on the sofa and he wrapped an arm around her pulling her into his side.
“Trace,” Marissa began, laying her head on his shoulder. “You realize I only have one bed in this place right?”
“I know,” Trace admitted. “I’ll sleep on the couch.”
Marissa sat up. “But I don’t want you to sleep on the couch,” she said. “We’re both adults here, and I know you have your religious thing, but technically we’re married.”
Trace turned pulling his arm away from Marissa as he faced her. “I don’t have a religious thing,” he said gently. “I have convictions and a commitment to live the way God wants me to.”
“Yes, but what does it matter if legally we’re married?”
“It matters because I know that when you’re ready, you’ll leave me behind, and I still have to live with my actions. God doesn’t want to ruin things for me, but He does want what is best for me. Sometimes it’s hard to know exactly what to do, but if we obey the word, we’re pretty much on the right track.”
Marissa felt the blood race to her head and her temper rising. “I don’t see why you want to live your life based on some old dusty book that doesn’t allow you to do anything. All it ever does is tell people that they’re bad and that they can’t do the things they want to.”
Trace shook his head placing his hands on either side of Marissa’s face. “That’s not what it does at all,” he said. “The word of God gives us freedom. Without God, we’re lost and alone in this world. God loves us, and he knows what is best for us because He made us. His love gives us the freedom to be who we’re supposed to be.”
“How can you believe that? It’s just a way that society established to control us. It has kept women down for years.”
Again, Trace shook his head. “No, it was the guide to making men and women equal,” he said. “The word clearly states that men are to care for their wives as the weaker sex, but that they are also supposed to be willing to sacrifice everything for them. We were made to help each other.”
Marissa wanted to protest but hadn’t Trace given of himself to help her. She had been afraid to carry on with this baby because of how society, her family, her friends, and how she would view herself. Trace had known that in her heart she wanted this tiny person to love more than almost anything, but was simply too afraid to consider going through with it on her own.
“Like how you stepped up to help me and protect this little one,” she finally said.
“Yes,” Trace said. “I have to admit though it hasn’t been much of a sacrifice for me. I’ve had the wonderful opportunity to get to
