* I still believe, love covers all.*
   …..
— Evelyn —
“ Evans? ”  The beach was cool and the atmosphere was quiet.
“ Um? ” He raised up his head and his pretty eyes, stared up at me. 
    “ You know, sometimes I find myself not being so confident watching you grow. It's always been my dream for you to, but now? It just feels weird… ”  
“ Why do you say that? ”
“ I want you to grow, yeah… but it sure feels like you'll be taking far away from me when your growth is perfected. ”
Silence reigned between us and I actually thought Evans had fallen asleep, until he spoke up after a long while. 
“ Evelyn, ” The way he said my name brought sweetness to my soul.  “ What you are feeling is absolutely normal, so you definitely don't have to beat yourself up for it. ” 
“ Um… ” I sighed.  “ I honestly don't know what is normal or what's not nowadays… ”
He turned me to himself and gave me a small smile.  “ It's all a part of growth. ” His words were followed by a wink which caught me off guard. 
  For a moment, I actually thought it was Joseph right in front of me,  ‘ Please don't tell me… ’ I started to feel guilty, thinking about another man in the presence of my fiancee. 
Though we aren't dating as of yet, as we figured we still had a lot of growing to do. 
But we've got our confirmation, so… 
“ You know, Evie .... ” feeling his arms wrapped around me felt like heaven.  “ I can't wait to become completely healed so I can love you properly…. Just as you deserved to be loved. ” His words came out solemnly which further increased their intensity. 
“ Me too…. ” I laid my head on his shoulders as the wind blew gently across the vast ocean ahead of us.
“ I promise to work harder on my healing process. ”
“ You don't have to push yourself… you'll heal just at the right time. ” I hated to admit it, but I felt it won't happen in a week or two…. Healing takes a lot of time and patience…
If one thing, I knew God was testing my faith with all of this….
I don't know where all this is heading, but I sure know… it's going to be great. 
….
  “ You know, I had a weird dream last night. ” Evie began as she drew circles on the sand.
“ Dream? ” Evans said amused. “ What's it about? ” He enquired. 
“ Well… I read the book, “ The Fault in Our stars. ” to sleep last night. ”
“ The fault in our Stars? The one about the cancer patients who fell in love? ” 
“ Yeah… ” I paused, turning to face him.  “ I don't know you read books too. ” 
“ Nah. I didn't read it. I simply viewed the trailer on social media. ”
“ Oh…okay. ” 
“ So what was your dream about? ” 
I blushed a little much to my amazement.  “ Well… I'm not meant to tell you. ”
“ Um… but last I heard, we are taking it slowly, so we are technically like best friends now, Kay? ”
“ Yeah… and that's why I'm finding it a bit difficult to tell you, as you know… well, it's kinda weird. ”
“ Weird as it might sound, I'm still willing to listen. ”
I shut my eyes for a minute, pondering whether I should tell him or not.  “ We were pretty intimate in that dream. Like we were literally exchanging pecks and all that. ” 
   “ Oh… ” Evans pulled me closer and for a moment, I thought he wanted to kiss me. But he didn't. 
  Instead, he pulled a lot of my hair behind my ear before releasing me.  “ What did you think of that dream? ” I was kinda disappointed when he released me. 
“ Well… I feel it's too good to be true, since well. We are not even dating and most importantly… We are trying our very best to avoid body contact. ”
Silence reigned between us, as the evening breeze blew across the ocean. “ Do you think I'm not attracted to you? ” 
His question made me pause, as I had to search my inner self for answers. “ Well… I don't think you are. Because of one thing, I believe I'm not as attractive as the girls you've dated in the past and for some reason, I feel you are still in love with your ex as she's your first love. ” 
   I felt him tighten his fists as his eyes went shut and I wondered if he wanted to cry, but he wouldn't do so in front of me… would he?
“ Evelyn… ” The way he said my name made my heart skip a beat. 
“ Yes? ” 
“ Move a bit closer. ” He said and I did. 
He reached out to me and held my waist. Our eyes locked as he stared deeply into my soul.
And just before I could wonder what was going to happen. His lips crashed with mine… 
    I couldn't react out of shock, but eventually I was able to… 
Slurry sounds filled the air as we both fought for entrance into one another's mouth. 
   The kiss lasted for several minutes and I almost thought it would last forever. 
  But it did, when I became almost breathless. 
I laid in his arms, slowly trying to catch my breath. 
   Eventually… I regained myself and realization dawned on me. I had just shared a kiss with my Best friend… Though he was more like my Fiance since we've got our confirmation.
But well… it still feels so wrongfully right. 
What would happen now? 
It doesn't seem so wrong since we are both old enough to be in a relationship. Besides, my Best friend was happily married and now I am?
But still… I never thought it'd happen this soon… like this way. 
My thoughts were interrupted when Evans raised up my head and left a peck on my lips. 
    “ Evelyn… I've never had the confidence to tell you… as I just don't know how to explain it in words. ” 
“ Um… ” I nodded, urging him to continue. 
“ I was never taught what love actually meant, as I wasn't raised with it. But one thing I do know is that you are the most priceless gift to me. Anytime I think of life without you, I realize how much of a waste it would be. Evelyn, you are my umbrella in the rain. ”
He paused to catch a breath and continued, our gaze still locked. “ Evelyn, you came into my life when I was at a point of giving up. I had a lot of issues with low self-esteem and lust. Yet you came and made it all right. By helping me find Christ. ”
“ I was lost, broken and depressed, in need of a savior. yet even in that you didn't despise me. You know the first day you told me that you were in love with me? ” 
“ Um. ” I nodded slowly, my eyes welling up with tears. 
“ That was the best day of my life, though also the most depressing day. ”
“ Why? ”
“ On one hand, I was feeling ecstatic that at last, someone was truly in love with me, but on the other hand. I was depressed thinking of how hurt you'll be when you realize, I can't be the perfect guy for you. 
“ But there's no such thing as a perfect guy. ” I pointed out. 
“ I know, Evelyn. but I'm broken and still need a great deal of time to heal. ”
“ I know… and I'm willing to wait till you are ready. ”
“ Are you sure? ” He inquired to which I nodded.
“ Thank you, Evelyn… ” He embraced me tightly.
“ You are welcome, Evans. ” I paused before adding.  “ I love you. ” I felt the sudden stiffness of his body, the second my words landed. 
“ Um… Thank you. ” Though, I felt a bit disappointed hearing his reply, yet I felt comforted by the fact that… he does love me, but doesn't know how to express it yet.
But eventually he will…
I just need to be a bit more patient with him.
….
A/N : What an emotion packed chapter! What do you think, guys?