Today’s topic is first love. I’ve written about folks who were once in love – or at least dated – and now aren’t. When I think “first love” I think about a hero and heroine who were a couple in high school and something dragged them apart. I think my novella in the GIFT OF LOVE anthology fits:
Heath held up a hand. “Wait a second.”“I know this is difficult for you to understand.”
“Not really. You want me to tell my son he has to text back to some girl he’s not interested in because she might otherwise get sad, is that about it?”
A steady pounding started over Serena’s eyes. The headache came screeching in right about the time Heath’s attitude kicked up. “Well, sort of.”
“And Nate is supposed to do this thing he doesn’t want to do because his English teacher said so? Like it’s part of his grade or something.”
Her request sounded ridiculous when Heath said it like that. “This has to do with the man you want Nate to be.”
“He’s twelve.”
Serena rubbed her hands together hard enough to draw blood. “And he has the power to hurt a little girl.”
Heath leaned down with his fists on the edge of her desk and a knowing smile tugging on the corner of his mouth. “Are we talking about Nate or are we talking about something else?”
Serena refused to dignify that with anything other than a denial. “I don’t know what you’re referring to.”
Oh, but she did. She’d moved away for a few years, got married only to get divorced when her idiot husband cheated, and then eleven months ago had come back to Glen Ridge, the cozy bedroom community just outside of Washington, D.C., to rebuild her life near her sister. But she never forgot Heath. The same handsome senior who had lived across the street and whom she dreamed about marrying in that way only a sophomore girl lost in the confusing space between infatuation and true love could do.
All these years later she still blushed when she thought about the awkward fifteen-year-old version of herself and the way she threw herself at Heath. Despite the shyness, she had made a pass and off ered him something precious and special . . . and he’d laughed at her.
“You sure we’re not dealing with something else here?” he asked, his mouth twitching as if he wanted to laugh at her again.
The adult in her had survived all sorts of heartbreak. With her accomplishments, she should have been immune to the insecurities. If the tumbling in her stomach were any indication, she wasn’t.
“We were talking about Nate,” she said.
“You sure this isn’t about you?” Heath leaned in closer. “Us?”
At this brief distance she could smell the crisp coolness of the outdoors on him. That was enough for her to push back in her chair. If she wanted the scent of sunshine and changing seasons, she could walk outside and take in a big whiff of October. Inhaling the air around this man could only lead to trouble.
“There is no us,” she said, ignoring the old sadness that descended over her heart when dealing with that reality.
“Serena, come on.”
“I’m a grown woman.”
His gaze never left her face. “Obviously, but according to you, these things wreck girls and cause all sorts of problems for years to come.”
“Well, they can. Yes.”
He slid his thigh on the edge of her desk and let his hand wander closer to her locked palms. “So, is this about Nate or is this about me?”
“My job is to watch over your son. To help guide him.”
Heath started shaking his head before she even stopped talking. “Your job is to teach him English. As his father, I can handle the rest.”
“We’ve gotten off track.” She tried to push her chair back but the rollers got stuck on something. Stupid chair. “I’m worried about Lexy’s feelings.”
Heath’s eyes narrowed for a second before he pulled his shoulders back again. “If you say so.”
“I do.”
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Don’t forget to check out the other Snippet blogs:
Lauren Dane
Mari Carr
McKenna Jeffries
Shelley Munro
Taige Crenshaw
Vivian Arend
Ashley Ladd
Shelli Stevens
Lissa Matthews
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