“You already have a horse?” I lift my eyebrows.
“Not yet. Mr. Prewitt has his in the barn, and I told him he could board it there. No sense in finding somewhere else when it’s been the horse’s home for years.”
“That’s nice.”
Easton shrugs. “It’s what anyone would do.”
I shake my head and smile. He’s always been oblivious to his kindness, and he acts upon it unconditionally. It’s in his nature.
When we stand outside of Cup-O-Joe, Easton turns to look at me. “How soon before people start talking about us?” He chuckles.
“You’re too late. They already are.”
“What?” His eyebrows pull in, and I hold up my phone to show him a text message from Abbie. Word about Easton and me having coffee has been let loose. Someone even took a picture of us, and it’s circulating around town. Let the fun begin.
“Damn, that was faster than I thought. Sorry about that.” He runs a hand down his face.
“No worries, it’s Everton.” I shrug and start saying goodbye when he interrupts me.
“Maybe we can… Once Camden leaves—he leaves in two days—we can grab a bite to eat?” He stumbles over his words, and I bite down my laughter. I would’ve thought he’d gotten better at asking girls out with age.
When we were younger, he fumbled over his question similar to now before he finally asked me if I wanted to go with him to the Labor Day Festival the year we were starting high school. We were inseparable since then…until he moved away.
I smile. “That could work. I’m sure I’ll see you around town soon.” I walk backward and almost slip. Easton’s arm is immediately around my waist, keeping me upright. He holds me close to him, our breaths mingling as I search his eyes. The proximity makes my heart thunder like a wild storm.
“Go out with me,” Easton whispers, his breath tickling the tip of my nose.
I wiggle it and look up at him. “You practically saved my life, so I guess I owe you one, right?”
His body relaxes, and an easy smile covers his mouth. Easton takes a step back and runs a hand through his hair. “You had me sweating,” he teases.
I shrug nonchalantly and pat his shoulder. “I’ve done worse,’” I wink and turn around, making it to my car with no more mishaps.
Easton stands by Cup-O-Joe’s door, hands in his pockets, as he shakes his head and looks at me with a slanted smile. I’ve missed him more than I admitted to myself. Thirteen years without seeing Easton felt like an eternity, but we’ve changed in those years. Is a second chance really possible when so much time has passed?
My phone is blowing up with calls and messages from my friends by the time I pull into my apartment building. I answer Abbie’s call as I slip out of my car and walk up the stairs, thankfully indoors.
“Okay, what is going on? You had coffee with Easton.”
“I was at that old barn we used to go to when we were in high school. You remember?”
“Yeah, your spot,” she sighs.
“Anyway,” I ignore the swoon in her voice. Abbie always thought it was romantic that Easton and I would meet at that barn and spend time together. “I was there, and he showed up, we talked for a few minutes, and he asked if I wanted to have coffee and catch up, so I said yes,” I breathe out as the words spill out of me.
“And?” I hear the question in her voice.
I lie back on my couch and cover my face with a pillow. “And… Ugh.” I squeeze my eyes closed, causing the pillow to tremble with the force.
“You still love him,” she states.
“I don’t love him. I haven’t spoken to or seen him in years. I can’t love someone I don’t know anymore. I loved the boy he was, but this Easton isn’t the same. He’s a lawyer, for crying out loud. Would you have ever imagined him as a lawyer? And, get this, he drives a Porsche.”
“No way.” I can imagine Abbie’s eyes widening. Easton was all about fixer-uppers, starting with his beloved motorcycle. He loved old cars and big trucks, not shiny Porsches.
“Right? So weird. Anyway, we had coffee. Did you know his dad passed away a year ago? Of course, you didn’t. How would any of us have known?” I respond for her before she has a chance to speak.
“Wow, I can’t believe that. Was he sick?”
“Yeah, heart problems. Easton decided to move here now, after losing his dad. You know, come back home to your roots and stuff. I’m sure losing a parent must put life into perspective.”
“I bet. I can’t imagine going through that. Did anything else happen?”
“He asked if I wanted to grab a bite to eat sometime this week after his friend leaves. It was casual, so I don’t think he was asking me on a date.”
“He probably was,” Abbie interrupts me. “The way he looked at you last night was as if he was staring at a miracle. He couldn’t look away from you. Easton still has it bad for you, and now you guys can have another chance!” Abbie squeals.
“Hold on… What if we’re too different now?” The pillow that was over my face now lays on the floor next to the couch, and my teeth bite into the side of my finger.
“Only one way to find out. When are you going out with him?”
“I don’t know. I told him I’d see him around town. I panicked.” I tug at my roots, my long hair spread around me in a mess.
“Did you seriously tell him that?”
“Yes,” I whisper like a small child who was just caught stealing a cookie after brushing her teeth.
“I can’t even judge you because I was getting dating advice from my now fiancé, but I do know that you still care about Easton. I know you, Faith, and you would regret never giving this a shot.”
I let her words sink in as I take a few deep breaths, relaxing my body as it melts against the warm couch. I would regret ignoring Easton and pretending I have zero feelings for him. I’ve spent all my adult life trying to find a replacement for him, with no success, because there is only one Easton Locke, and he stole my heart when I was fourteen and never gave it back.
“I hate when you’re right,” I sigh.
“Yeah, yeah, but you also love it,” Abbie laughs. “Get to know Easton again, learn about the man he’s become without holding on to the boy he was. We all grow and change, but in his core, he may still be the same person despite his career or car he drives.”
I smile as I listen to Abbie speak. She’s completely right. I’m not the same person I was back then, yet my core is the same, my beliefs and morals are the same. If that’s the case with Easton, then maybe, just maybe, we could have an opportunity at a second chance.
“I’m sure adult Easton would be a lot more fun, too,” Abbie’s voice rings with her innuendo.
“I already did that with him,” I remind her.
“Yeah, but imagine him as a man, knowing more than he did at seventeen.”
“Ugh, Abbie, I don’t want to think about where his experience came from.” I cringe. Although it would be perfectly normal for him to have had sex with more people over the years, I don’t want to think about that.
“Okay, sorry!” she giggles. “I didn’t mean it like that, but it could be fun to get reacquainted.”