Of course, then there were the Cosmo articles that taught women to take charge and go after what they wanted and how to seduce a man. I chuffed as I wove through the crowd. I was not the seduction type. I was the one who thought everything through. I was the cautious one.

Until Lex.

I couldn’t help a little snort. It sounded like such a cheesy line. Except he hadn’t delivered it like one. Though, I had a good idea of the kind of adventure he wanted to lead me on. The way his lips had slid over mine expertly, coaxing me into compliance. That was a man who had experience with a lot of women, certainly more than his fair share. It was like he made kissing a personal pastime.

Faith said he was part of the R&B crowd, and there was probably no shortage of women ready and willing to be with him. Heat flooded my cheeks, and the irrational flare of jealousy irritated me. Not to mention he was rich and probably had the feeling of entitlement to go with it. If something happened with us and it went bad, it would probably get ugly for me.

I finally found the source of the music and grinned. A group of young kids had taken over a corner of the market with an impromptu dance battle.

Grinning, I snapped several photographs. One by one, the kids came over after krumping their way to their friends and checked out the images I’d captured. With every click, I’d stopped time on a particular emotion or feeling. Their live energy. How they moved. How alive they were. I’d born witness to it all.

As the kids grinned and attempted to tug me into the dance battle circle, I laughed and shook my head. There was no way I was going to krump, but my new friends and fans didn’t want to take no for an answer. They dragged me in and immediately surrounded me. I closed my eyes to let the sounds of Sean Paul and the voices fuel my movement as I enjoyed my moment in the middle of the dance circle.

With the music blaring, my body moving, the smell of fried plantains in the distance, and the sounds of laughter coming from my new friends, I knew I'd made the right decision. No matter how scary, no matter how stupid it seemed. No matter what everyone said, I'd made the right choice in leaving. My family didn’t know or understand me. Easton certainly didn’t understand me. All I had to do was let go and open myself to every new experience here.