The curves of her mouth turned up. Joy danced through her heart. She was taking risks and having her own adventures. While it may not have been extravagant, it was out of the box for her. She did something on her own. She was working toward discovering herself.
Cole’s kind words to her played through her mind. Know who you are. It warmed her heart. She had so much fun with him during their shoot. Despite the heat that curled through her spine when they had danced, or the sensation in her fingers when he held her hand. He had caught her off guard when he held at her waist, and his eyes blazed with deep intensity when he stared at her. Did he notice her breathlessness or the sweat on her palms?
It repeated in her mind a hundred times since that day, but was it true? Her brain scrambled to find a logical reason. She hired him to do a job. How did the photos turn out? She licked her lips as she compared the prices of lactose-free milk.
“No almond milk?” a baritone voice asked.
Leah pivoted to find Seth Parsons smiling at her. She returned the gesture, taking in the sight of his deep brown skin, clean-shaven face, and his coffee brown eyes. They were the same eyes she had ogled along with the other girls at Piedmont High.
“No, no almond milk,” she replied.
“How are you?” he asked.
Leah tapped her fingers on the handle of her grocery cart. She purposely avoided Seth around town. Whenever they saw each other, they kept to the basic pleasantries of hello, great to see you, and goodbye. While she had been over him for years, him being in front of her brought back bittersweet memories.
“What do you mean you’re leaving?” she had asked, while standing on her parents’ front porch.
Seth had stuffed his hands in his pockets. “They have recruited me to play football at the University of Georgia. If I play my cards right, babe, maybe I can go to the NFL.”
At a loss for words, her expression went blank. “What about us?”
He stepped forward and cradled her face. “Leah, if I didn’t have to go—”
“Then don’t.” She had jerked away from his embrace.
“I can’t pass this up, Leah. I love you, but I can’t. This is my dream.”
She had released a shaky breath. “So… I’m not a part of it.”
“We’re too young to think like that. Can you honestly say you want to be together forever? You don’t graduate until next year.”
Leah’s pulse sped. She heard enough. “Go, Seth. You’re already gone.”
That night would be forever etched in her mind. Even thinking about it now still stung. Yet, the corners of Leah’s mouth turned up at her former high school sweetheart. “I’m okay. How are you?”
“I’m doing great.”
She eyed him. “Are you going to lead Piedmont High to a fourth championship this coming school year?”
Seth cocked his head. “Fourth?”
Leah pushed her cart farther down the aisle. “Besides the three you got during our high school days.”
Seth kept up with her stride. “I would hate not to keep up with my reputation, even if I’m not playing.”
She joked, “Such an overachiever.”
He stopped in his tracks and stared at her. “I thought something was different.”
Leah raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”
He pointed to her hair.
She brushed her side bang away from her face. “Yes, this is new.”
“I like it. What made you change it though?”
Leah gave a half shrug. “I wanted something different. No harm in trying new things.”