Page 16 of Love You Still
“Are you going to keep the classes going?” I blurt out, wanting to keep her talking and prolong our time together.
“Yes.”
I reach up and rub the back of my neck. “Can I at least getsomethingmore than one-word answers from you?”
“Yes,” she replies, and her cheeks pink in embarrassment. “I’m sorry. This is a lot harder than I imagined it would be.”
I smirk and take a step toward her as she backs away and bumps into the locked door. Tears collect in her eyes, but she quickly bats them away.
“Do you want to get some coffee and catch up?” I question, not bothering to hide the longing in my voice.
“I don’t think that’s such a good idea,” she whispers as she walks past me.
Our shoulders brush slightly, and an electric current runs up my arm and directly to my heart, igniting the love I once had for her all over again. It’s been years since we’ve seen each other, but in some way, it feels like she never left.
“It was nice seeing you,” she calls over her shoulder before hitting the unlock button on her key fob and climbing into her car.
I stand as still as a statue as she pulls out of the parking lot and drives off toward her parents’ house without a second glance.
I tried to move on, to be with someone else,anyoneelse, but I finally admitted it to myself: There is no one else on theplanet that I’ll ever love more than Selina Grymes. And based on her reaction to me a few moments ago, I’d wager she still feels something for me, as well.
“You got away from me once, Seli. I’m not about to let it happen again,” I whisper into the wind as I stride to my truck.
Chapter 8
Selina
“That did not just fucking happen,” I mumble to myself as I aimlessly drive toward my parents’ house.
I knew deep down the moment Connor walked into my dance studio that Vance would end up there eventually, but I didn’t think for a minute it would be so soon. I haven’t seen him since my parents dropped me off at Connor’s after Lydia passed away, the night that changed the trajectory of my life forever. Okay, maybe I’m being a tad dramatic, but the moment I saw Vance with his arms wrapped around some random girl, it felt like the world was ending.
“Why are you sitting in the car, staring off into space?” Leia says through my open window, causing me to jump slightly.
“Holy shit, Leia! Are you trying to make me have a heart attack?” I grumble, shutting off the car and pulling the keys from the ignition.
“That’s not something to joke about.” Leia’s voice softens as tears pool in her eyes, and she steps away from the car.
“I’m sorry, hun. I didn’t think before speaking, as usual.” I immediately climb out of the car and wrap my arms around her.
Not only does Leia have to deal with all my emotional baggage about being back in town and seeing Vance again, but she also has her own family drama. Her dad has had a handful of health scares over the last few years, and now it seems he also has kidney failure. He’s never taken the best care of himself, claiming that he’s been on this earth long enough that when it’s his time to go, he’ll be ready, but he hasn’t once thought about what it might do to his children. After her mother passed away a few years ago, it’s like he has given up. It’s as if he’s only biding his time until he can see her again.
“Sorry. I’m not usually this weepy,” she huffs out before stepping out of my embrace. “But enough about me. How did it go with seeing the love of your life for the first time again?”
“He isn’t the love of my life,” I grumble, brushing past her as I walk to the front door.
“Yeah, keep lying to yourself. That’s why you haven’t done anything but dance since the day of Lydia’s funeral.”
I wince slightly before turning the handle and walking inside. “Can we not talk about this right now?”
“Talk about what? The fact you saw Vance this morning at the dance studio?” my mom chimes in as she comes around the corner, her silver hair piled high on the top of her head, a sly smile on her face. “Does he look as good as you imagined?”
He looks better than I imagined, but there’s no way I’m going to tell my mother that. He’s no longer the same baby-faced teenager he was when I left Tyson’s Creek. A chiseled jawline with a perfectly groomed beard covers his face. Although he works in construction, he isn’t as muscular as I had imagined. His arms are really the only difference I noticed. His dark brown hair is a lot longer than I remember, making it almost impossible for me not to run my fingers through it. His chocolate-brown eyes still seem to be able to stare into my soul,exposing all my secrets and making me wish I had more time to prepare before seeing him for the first time after all these years.
“I haven’t been imagining Vance in any way. But how do you know that we saw each other already?” I question, dropping my bag and key onto the small entryway table near the door before striding into the living room. “I only saw him maybe ten minutes ago.”
They both scurry after me, neither wanting to let me out of their sight for fear that I won’t tell them about my conversation with Vance. My mom grips my arm, pulling me toward the couch and forcing me to take a seat.
“Well, Mrs. Jenkins saw the two of you when she was coming out of Just the Drip and texted Connor’s mom, who called me.”