Maya tried to focus on her work.
She lifted her camera, adjusted settings, captured the soft flare of lights over crystal glasses—
but her hands weren't as steady as they usually were.
Because she could still feel him.
Leon's presence lingered in the air behind her like a memory her body recognized even if her mind tried to forget. She had walked away — she knew she had — but the echo of their conversation stayed close, humming under her skin.
Every now and then, she glanced across the room.
And every time, without fail…
He was already looking at her.
Not with the distant politeness she remembered from high school.
Not with the cold restraint of businessmen at these events.
But with something intent.
Focused.
Deliberate.
The kind of attention that made her pulse skip.
Maya forced her gaze away, exhaling slowly. She needed to stay professional. She wasn't that girl anymore — the girl who let hope make her foolish. The girl who mistook kindness for destiny.
She had learned better.
But then—
"Everything alright?" a voice asked gently.
Maya turned to see Mrs. Davenport, the event coordinator, leaning toward her with a knowing smile.
"Yes, I'm fine," Maya said quickly. "Just taking a moment."
Mrs. Davenport followed Maya's line of sight… and smirked.
"Ah," she said simply.
As if that explained everything.
Maya almost choked. "It's not— I mean— he's just someone I used to know."
"Mhm." Mrs. Davenport patted her arm. "Darling, men don't stare at photographers like that unless they want more than a picture."
Before Maya could respond, the woman drifted away to greet a guest, leaving her flustered and very aware of the eyes still watching her.
---
Toward the end of the event, Maya slipped outside for a breath of fresh air. The balcony overlooked the river, city lights shimmering across the water like fallen stars. Cool night air brushed against her skin, calming her heartbeat.
She closed her eyes, letting herself unwind.
A moment.
Just a moment of peace.
She opened them again—
and froze.
Leon was standing in the doorway.
Hands in his pockets.
Tie slightly loosened.
Expression unreadable.
But there was no mistaking the purpose in his posture.
He had followed her.
Not accidentally.
Not politely.
Intentionally.
"Maya," he said softly.
She swallowed. "I thought you'd left."
"I was going to." He stepped onto the balcony, the door closing quietly behind him. "But I didn't want the night to end without clearing something up."
Her pulse quickened. "Clearing what up?"
He moved closer — not invading her space, but close enough that the city lights threw soft gold across his features.
"You were important to me in high school," he said quietly.
Her breath caught.
He wasn't looking at her like a memory.
He was looking at her like a truth he had run from—and finally stopped running.
"I didn't know how to handle it back then," he continued. "Everything was pressure and expectations. Anything real… I avoided it."
She forced her voice to stay steady. "Leon, you don't owe me—"
"I know," he cut in gently. "But I'm telling you because I want to."
The night seemed to hold its breath around them.
"I wasn't blind," he said. "You noticed me. Cared in a way no one else did. And I…" He hesitated, eyes softening. "I cared too. I just didn't know how to show it."
Maya's chest tightened painfully, unexpectedly.
He stepped closer — just a fraction.
A question, not an assumption.
"Maya," he said, voice softer, deeper, almost vulnerable,
"Will you let me know you now? Not the girl you were… but the woman you are?"
The world seemed to tilt — not dramatically, just enough for her heartbeat to shift in her chest.
Maya lifted her chin slightly, grounding herself. "People don't just show up years later and pick up where things left off."
"I'm not trying to pick up the past," he said.
"I'm trying to start something new."
His honesty hit her harder than she expected.
She looked away for a moment, staring at the rippling river below.
"You can't just say things like that," she whispered. "Not after so long."
"Then let me prove them," Leon replied.
Silence.
Heavy.
Warm.
Charged.
Maya finally looked at him.
Really looked.
The boy she once adored was gone.
But the man standing before her…
He was someone she could choose.
Someone she might want to choose.
But she wasn't going to make it easy.
"Start with something simple," she said carefully. "A conversation. Coffee. Something normal."
Leon's lips curved into a slow, relieved smile.
"Tomorrow?" he asked.
She exhaled — not yes, not no — something in between.
"Send me the time," she said.
Leon nodded, a spark of something bright flickering in his eyes.
"Then tomorrow," he whispered.
He stepped back, giving her space, but his gaze lingered — warm, steady, certain.
When he walked away, Maya let out a breath she felt like she'd been holding for years.
And for the first time in a long time…
she wasn't sure if she was imagining the beginning of something,
or standing right in the middle of it.
---