“I ran into them on Sunday, and they asked if it was true that we had seen each other. Brett mentioned you had gone on a date Friday night. You know he loves to get a rise out of anyone he can.” Easton takes a step closer, his confidence back in full swing. “Was he right?” His voice drops.
“Yes,” I don’t stutter and wait to see his reaction. His green eyes darken, and his body tenses. Feeling sorry for him, I add, “It was just one date.”
“Will there be a second?” He doesn’t hesitate to ask.
“No.”
Easton’s hand rises in slow motion, moving toward me. I freeze, my breathing coming in spurts, as I wait for his next move.
“Faith… Oh! I didn’t mean to interrupt.” I look over Easton’s shoulder and see Mrs. Norman, a student’s mom, with her hand over her chest. Easton’s hand drops as if it were on fire and slides into his jean pocket.
“It’s okay. How can I help you?” I glance at Easton quickly and then at Mrs. Norman, walking toward her.
She eyes me curiously with a small smile. “I just had a quick question about which product was the best to… you know,” she whispers, not wanting anyone to learn that her child is one of the lice-infested victims. “I’m stopping at the pharmacy from here,” she adds.
I give her the information, and she thanks me before leaving me alone in the aisle. I turn, and Easton is still standing there, staring at me with a deep intensity. Right about now, I wish I had the superpower to read minds, so I could hear what he’s thinking.
“Lice, huh?”
“Shhh…” I slap his arm.
Easton laughs and shakes his head. “It’s not the end of the world. Tons of kids get them. Now, where was I?” His eyes bore into mine, and my heart pounds as I wait. “Go out with me.”
I take a deep breath and slowly exhale. “Easton… I don’t know,” I shake my head.
“I’m just gonna keep asking.” He shrugs with a crooked smirk. I don’t know what he expects. For us to pick up where we left off? Is this just a trip down memory lane where we think we could have what we had back then? That’s impossible.
“Maybe once you own a real car and not that toy of yours.” I tilt my head toward the front of the store where the parking lot is.
He lifts a finger and points at me. “I’ll hold you to that, Faith McGraw.” Walking backward, he smiles as his promise lingers in the air between us.
I want to say yes, jump into his arms, and kiss him silly. But I remember how hard it was to lose him. To walk to class without him by my side. To visit that stupid barn and stare at our carved names without him there.
I remember missing him, crying at night because he was no longer mine. Fear stops me from jumping feet first into another romance with Easton. He’s a big-time lawyer. Will he really get used to life in Everton again, or will he eventually want to move back to a city?
All this time, I buried memories of him and me so I wouldn’t get caught up in the past, so I wouldn’t allow what I felt for him to taint my present. Seeing him has only opened up that box, spreading out all my feelings for Easton as a showcase for anyone willing to take a peek.
We were together most of high school, and I always thought we’d go on to be college sweethearts, too. Life doesn’t always give us what we want.
…
“I have never been happier to see a week come to an end as I am with this one,” I tell my friends as we sit in Abbie and Finn’s house for our book club meeting.
“Technically, you still have tomorrow,” Averly points out.
“Why do you have to burst my bubble? Fridays are usually easy days.”
“Or they feel easy because we know the weekend follows,” Ainsley points out.
“Yeah, that’s probably it, but still,” I shrug and take a sip of wine.
“I feel like you’re flaunting that glass of wine at me,” Ainsley glares. She’s three months pregnant, and we couldn’t be more excited to have another baby in our circle of friends.
“It will be worth it,” Averly assures her, having already gone through a pregnancy.
“I know,” Ainsley smiles, rubbing her belly. “Anyway, what has happened with Easton? Last I heard, y’all had coffee on Sunday.” Ainsley’s southern twang makes an appearance.
“Nothing. I ran into him at the grocery store on Tuesday, and he asked me out a second time, but I haven’t given him a straight-forward answer.”
“Well, why the hell not?” Ainsley shrieks.
“Because I’m scared,” I shrug, admitting my weakness.
“Did he ever hurt you? I thought you broke up because he moved away,” she questions. Her eyebrows furrow with concern.
“No, no, he never did. You’re right, it was because of his move. No long-distance relationship in your teens would ever really work out, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t hurt to lose him.”
“It was tough,” Abbie speaks up. “But he’s back now and staying for good from the looks of it. He went with Gavin and Finn to look at horses yesterday.”
“Yeah,” I sigh.
“I think it would be adorable if you two got back together. What a romantic story—childhood couple reunites years later, and the same sparks still fly,” Poppy smiles.
I laugh and throw a piece of my crust at her. She catches it and eats it. “Yum!” We all laugh and get back to discussing the book we’re reading this month. Ironically enough, it’s a second chance romance. I internally roll my eyes. Who would’ve guessed Easton would be back in town when we voted on this story? The universe has a funny sense of humor.
Fear or no fear, I kept hoping to run into Easton again yesterday and today. I thought in a town the size of this one, it would be easy to catch a glimpse of him, but I was wrong.
I realize that no matter what my brain tells me, my heart is searching for him.
“Earth to Faith,” I hear someone say, giggling in the background.
“Huh?” I look at my friends, all laughing at me. “Assholes. What happened?”
“We were waiting for your comments on this scene, but it seems like your mind is somewhere else,” Poppy says.
“Or with someone else,” Abbie adds.
“Ugh,” I clutch a pillow to my chest and fall back on the couch, my head landing on Abbie’s lap.
“I’ve got an idea,” Ainsley speaks up. “We’ll go to Clarke’s tomorrow, and Finn can call Easton and invite him. You’ll be in a bar, having drinks so you’ll relax, and then you can dance together and bam!” She claps her hands. “You’re reigniting the flame.”
“Reigniting the flame?” I ask with raised eyebrows.
“Yeah, you know,” her eyebrows waggle.
“You’ve been reading too many romance novels,” I tease.
Ainsley glares at me teasingly. “My plan is fool-proof.”
“I actually think it’s a great idea,” Poppy nods.
“Okay, fine,” I cave, not able to hide my smile.
“Aw, you’re blushing and all!” Ainsley cheers. “Fool. Proof. Plan,” she promises, not like I need a plan when it comes to Easton. He already asked me out. This will just make it possible to see him sooner rather than later.