The car moved slowly out of the street, and Amara sat with her hands clasped on her lap. Her heart was beating faster than usual, like it wanted to jump into her throat.
Even though they'd said they were just hanging out, now that she suspected he had feelings for her, she felt like this was a date, and the thought both excited her and made her anxious.
Michael kept his eyes on the road but looked at her every few seconds.
How could one person look this beautiful? He wondered, thanking God for choosing such an attractive lady for him.
"Have I told you that you look beautiful?" he said finally.
Amara turned to him, her lips twitching. "No, you haven't."
"Well, you look beautiful. Very beautiful." His voice was quiet and serious.
Amara giggled as her cheeks warmed. "Did you just realise now that I'm a fine girl?"
Michael chuckled, shaking his head. "Is that the thank you that you're supposed to say?"
Amara laughed softly. "Why am I thanking you? Are you the one who made me beautiful? I should tell God thank you, not you. You're only an observer stating a fact. If you said I'm ugly, am I supposed to thank you too?"
Michael laughed as he reasoned it. "You have a point."
"Of course, I do. Can't you see my pointed nose?" She asked, making him laugh again, amused by her sense of humour.
"You're funny. You and your friend," Michael said, thinking of Ada.
Amara laughed. "Ada is the funny one. That girl is just something else."
"Why didn't she come with us?" Michael asked curiously.
Amara shrugged. "I guess she wasn't in the mood to go out today," she said, not seeing the need to tell him exactly what Ada had said.
Michael glanced at her briefly. "How long will she be around? Maybe we can all go out together another time."
She cleared her throat softly. "About that… she will be staying with me. She doesn't have a place to stay right now."
"Oh! What about your sisters? I thought you and my Mom talked about bringing them to stay with you?" He asked curiously.
"We are all girls. We can stay together. They will find something to do, and I can teach them my handwork. Ada gave me a nice suggestion earlier," Amara said, and then told Michael about it.
Michael nodded with approval. "That sounds like an excellent idea. But what about school?" He asked, but before she could respond, he stopped her, "You know what? Let's save this conversation for our date."
Amara's heart skipped a beat. Date.
Soon, they arrived at the mall, and after Michael had found a good parking lot, they got out of the car.
"Wait, let me snap you here before we go inside." Michael stopped Amara before she could start heading for the entrance.
Amara stopped and smiled. She had not thought of taking any pictures.
She posed by the car, and Michael took several pictures of her, asking her to change her posture.
When he was satisfied, he pocketed his phone. "We can go in now."
"Let me snap you first. You look really nice in this outfit," she said as her gaze swept over the black two-piece outfit he wore with slip-on mules.
He looked so casual, nothing like the Pastor or pharmacist who was always dressed in corporate clothes.
"Thank you. Although I look nice in every outfit I wear, I'm not too proud to thank you for the compliment," Michael joked, and she laughed.
"Na so. Please give me your phone. I'm sure your camera quality is better than mine."
Amara snapped him some nice pictures, amused and impressed that he knew how to pose like a cool young man.
They both took some selfies together before heading inside the mall. The place was packed, as it usually was on Sundays, but Michael led her to the cinema area.
"We will see a movie first. Then we can get ice cream. And after that, we'll go somewhere nice for dinner."
Amara laughed lightly. "All in one day? You want to spoil me?"
Michael's lips curved. "Which part of it is spoiling you? The ice cream or dinner?"
Her laugh faded into a small smile. She looked away, suddenly shy. "I don't know… It's just that I'm not used to all this. It's like these outings you see in movies."
Michael shook his head with a small laugh. "Good thing you're not used to it. I'll introduce you to it."
Her stomach fluttered at the way he said it.
Inside the cinema, the smell of popcorn drifted in the air as they walked to the counter.
"What kind of movie do you want to watch? I would have asked you last night and booked it online, but you were…"
"Shey we already settled that matter?" Amara asked before he could finish his statement.
"I was only explaining something, not attacking you," Michael said, laughing.
"Let's see what's showing and choose from it," she suggested.
"Hollywood or Nollywood?" Michael asked as he picked up one of the movie schedule slips.
"It depends on the timing," Amara told him as she leaned closer to see the movie list. "The one showing right now is a comedy, and it started twenty minutes ago. The next one is an hour away."
Michael raised a brow at her. "Forget the timing, which one would you like to see here?" Michael asked, and Amara took out her phone to check the movie synopsis online.
"This one. But it's by 6 p.m., and it's not even 3 p.m. yet. About you? Which do you want?" She asked, since she didn't want it to be all about her.
"Let's get the ticket, then we can go buy ice cream while we wait, just sit and gist while we wait for the movie," he suggested, taking out his card to make the payment.
"Are you sure? The time will be far gone…"
Michael smiled. "I reserved today only for you. So, it doesn't matter," he assured her.
After Michael bought the tickets and paid for popcorn and drinks, he slipped the receipts and tickets into his wallet, and they went to get ice cream.
Once they had their cups of ice cream in hand, Michael took her back to the car and turned on the AC so they could sit there and talk comfortably.
Amara closed her eyes after tasting the ice cream. "Hm. This is ice cream. You know, there is ice cream, then there is ice scream."
Michael laughed. "Which one is ice scream?"
"Don't worry, if you've had ice scream you won't have to ask. Leave it for kpako like us."
Michael shook his head as he laughed. "You're just something else."
Amara smiled as she ate her ice cream quietly, looking straight ahead at people going in and out of the mall.
"So, earlier you said you were not used to this. By this, did you mean going out like this with a guy? Have you never been on a date?"
Amara glanced at Michael, taken aback by the unexpected question.
Michael was staring at her as he ate his ice cream slowly, and she nodded. "Yeah. I've never been on a date before."
Michael raised a brow, "Why? Have you never had a boyfriend?" He asked, not wanting to believe that she'd kept herself only to give her virginity to one of those men.
Amara laughed. "Of course I've had a boyfriend. That was before I came to Warri sha. He was my classmate in secondary school. But our dates did not pass to hold hands under trees or stroll around the village."
Michael looked at her, slightly amused, "Hold hands under trees? Why do I feel like I'm reading one of those olden days literature books? Amara and the palm wine tapper's son kind of story."
Amara laughed out loud, "Palm wine tapper's son, ke. You're not serious. Now that I think of it, Chuks should be done with the university by now."
"Do you want to invite him to join us, too, like brother Emma, your betrothed?" Michael asked dryly, and Amara giggled.
"I didn't say that. I was just thinking aloud. What about you? You look like you've done this hangout thing a lot of times. How many sisters in church have you brought out like this?"
Michael raised a brow, "Why would I want to bring any sister in church out like this?"
"Maybe the same reason you brought me out like this?" She countered, hoping it'd make him tell her what he was thinking.
"I don't go close to them that way. I like to respect myself to avoid see finish," he said with a shake of his head.
"So, why are you not respecting yourself now? I will soon see you finish o," Amara joked.
Michael laughed, "At least I'm not the one who was crying over burnt jollof rice. Me sef have seen you finish."
Amara laughed out loud and slapped his arm playfully, causing the ice cream he was about to eat to spill on his shirt.
"Sorry," she said as they both laughed.
Michael reached for the tissue box in his backseat and wiped off the stain.
Amara turned in her seat to face him fully, "The other day you said you used to be a bad boy…"
"No! That's not what I said," Michael rushed to correct her.
Amara laughed. "You said whatever vibe I was getting was correct. I was getting a bad boy vibe. So, tell me about your life before you became a pastor."
Michael laughed and shook his head. "No. Nah. I'm not ready to tell you that yet."
"Ah! Why not? You know all the worst things you can possibly know about me. What's there that you can't tell me?" Amara asked, confused.
Michael shook his head again, "It's a little embarrassing."
"What's embarrassing about it? Tell me jor," she urged him as she ate from her ice cream.
"You know how they say Pastors' kids are usually spoiled? I was like that. I used to womanise and…"
"Womanise? Who? You?" Amara asked, looking at him more closely. "I knew you had it in you to be bad, but to womanise? Ah! Pastor Michael, you're a very bad guy!"
Michael chuckled, "Why are you being dramatic?"
"See your innocent face. If it's you, won't you be dramatic?" She asked, making him laugh. "How did you end up giving your life and becoming a pastor? Did they almost use you for ritual?"