A cool woman

When Steve walked in, Maria and Laila were sitting on opposite sides of the table in the dining room. With Maria having changed her regular spot at the head of the table for a seat on the side. Leaving a seat empty right next to her, which Steve assumed was for him. She could have just as easily chosen to take a seat next to Laila and left him to sit by himself. Yet, she didn't. Making this Maria's way of telling him that she wanted him to sit next to her, without ever uttering the words.

When he saw this and noticed her wordless message, he again let out a soundless chuckle. He made his way over to her side, walked past her to hand the bag to the staff member that was standing by the door on the opposite side of the room and felt her eyes on him with each step he took. After giving the young man his instructions, he turned around and instantly Maria turned her eyes back to the front as she waited for him to take his seat by her side. Earning Steve yet another reason to laugh and feel happy about.

After sitting down and folding out his napkin, placing the white cloth on his lap, Steve noticed Maria's fidgeting underneath the table. Hands entwined, fingers clenching onto one another, revealing how nervous Maria was feeling from her own actions. Steve, of course, found this to be too cute and had to fight every urge to not pull her tightly into his arms once more. Instead he settled for something else.

Steve took the opportunity of the many distractions in the room, with dinner being served, to tease Maria a little bit by grabbing her hand from underneath the table. Despite all her pulling and her wide-eyed stare, he continued to hold on tightly as his other hand was leaning on the table. With an ever so calm smile in Laila's direction, as if there was absolutely nothing going on, Steve stared making easy conversation. He asked her, "So, what were you two up to today? You were awake awfully early today". Comforting one friend with his distractions, while distressing the other with the same.

After a short moment of teasing, ending with Maria pinching his hand for him to let go, they got started on dinner while Laila told Steve about their day. Feeling a bit bad that she was telling Steve about her quitting her job and starting something for herself, before she had a chance to tell Noah. But, that was a price that came as much with her decision as it did with the decision Noah had made.

Steve was impressed with Laila's decision. He found strength, decisiveness and an air of independence to be charming qualities in women. So, seeing Laila combine those three in a single decision, made him both impressed and proud. He was proud of Laila for taking that step and for Noah for having a wife like that by his side. It were these small glimpses, that he got at Laila's inner workings, that made him understand what made Noah so deeply infatuated with her to the point that he didn't even notice other women.

Sure, there was the obvious beautiful outside. But beauty alone won't keep a man's attention on you. That won't be what will make him commit fully to you and desire no others. After all, there are plenty of beautiful people in the world. It is that one thing that sets you apart from the other women a man sees and has met, that is what in the end makes him blind for all others. For some that is a nurturing soul, for others it might be an adventurous spirit, but for the two of them it was clearly the same thing.

A cool woman. One that didn't need you by her side but wanted you there to stand by her side, support her and watch as she does what she does best. One with a vulnerable side, but one she does not easily show to the outside world. There was a time where it seemed like Laila had lost those sides of her that made her the charming person she had been when they first met. He had feared that they were gone forever, with his friend still blinded by the image of what she had once been. But these days that Laila had slowly returned, and he for one was happy to see the person he considered to be his friend, to have come back into their lives.

Now, he too had finally found a woman like that for himself and the world seemed perfect for a moment. At this moment things were great, he was as happy as he could be and he had Maria to thank for that. Having found the woman of his dreams, he had no intention whatsoever to let her slip away. But, right now the focus of his efforts weren't on his own romance. Instead he was showing his support for the dream of the woman that had managed to grab hold of his best friend's heart, many years ago, not loosening up for even a second.