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  “Evan’s never been speechless in his life,” I said, fidgeting with the hem of my dress. “Besides, he doesn’t like me in that way. We’re just friends.”

  In the last week, Evan had shown an odd amount of interest in me. He had taken me to a hockey game, invited me to hang out with his friends, and we’d gone to the movies together twice. I’d spent almost all my free time with him, but he’d never given any indication that he was interested in me as anything other than a good friend. So when he had asked if I wanted to go to his school’s winter dance, I was sure it was just another friend activity.

  Stephanie was less convinced. “No thirteen-year-old boy invites a girl to a dance unless he likes her, Noelle. That’s just a fact.”

  “Evan is too cute and popular to be interested in a girl like me.” I looked down at my skinned knee. “This was a dumb idea. He’ll probably just abandon me by the punch bowl and go dance with the pretty girls.”

  “That doesn’t really sound like Evan.” Stephanie pushed me in front of the mirror. “Besides, now you are the pretty girl.”

  It was my first time looking at myself since Stephanie had started working on my hair and makeup. I didn’t recognize the reflection I saw in the mirror. I was only a few weeks past my thirteenth birthday, but the person staring back at me looked much more mature. Stephanie was right– the girl in the mirror was a pretty girl.

  The doorbell rang and I jumped. The girl in the mirror jumped with me. Stephanie smiled and said, “That’s your date.”

  My date. I was going on my first official date. None of my friends back home would believe this. No one had asked me to our school dance back home and I had been too shy to ask anyone myself. Instead, I had sat at home and worked on my painting. Now, I was headed to a dance with the most popular boy in town.

  “Are you sure I look okay?” I asked Stephanie.

  “Not okay. Perfect.” She gave me an encouraging smile. “You better go. Don’t want to keep your date waiting.”

  I felt an odd surge of affection for my brother’s girlfriend. At first, I had been reluctant to like her because of how her presence was affecting our family dynamic. But Stephanie had won me over with her gentle nature and kind heart.

  “Thanks for doing this, Steph,” I said, gesturing to my new look. “I would have been lost without you.”

  “Have fun tonight.” She gasped when I threw my arms around her. It was an awkward hug, but for me it was a big deal. It was my way of telling her that I approved of her and David’s relationship.

  My entire body was shaking as I headed to the front door. I could hear my mom talking to Evan. My heart was doing that fluttering thing again.

  “Hey,” I said, creeping into view.

  Evan stopped in the middle of whatever he was saying to my mom. His eyes registered surprise and he slowly smiled. “Hey.”

  “We should go.” I grabbed my coat from the hook by the door and opened the front door. “I’ll be home by ten, Mom.”

  “Are you sure you don’t need a ride?” she called after us.

  “Evan’s mom will pick us up.” I wanted to be gone before she could make us pose for a picture. When Evan didn’t move, I shoved him out the door. “Bye, Mom.”

  Evan’s mom greeted me happily and then proceeded to ask a hundred questions as she drove us to the dance. Evan’s younger sister sat in the passenger’s seat and he sat in back with me. I noticed that he couldn’t stop bouncing his leg and it was the first time it occurred to me that Evan might be nervous, too. When he offered me his hand as we were walking into the school, I knew that Stephanie had been right. Evan liked me.

  I hoped that my hand wasn’t clammy as I took his. “This is your school?”

  “Starlight Junior High,” he said with a grimace as he looked at the dreary brick building. We had stopped walking a few yards from the entrance as dozens of other kids streamed past, dressed for a night of glamour and dancing. “Just a few more months until my sentence is up.”

  “Oh please,” I said with an elaborate eye roll. “Do you really expect me to feel sorry for you?”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” he said with surprise.

  “Evan. Come on.” I searched his eyes for any sign that he was only pretending not to understand. I only found genuine confusion. “You’re pretty much the most popular kid in school. You have dozens of friends.”

  “So?” He continued not to understand.

  “So, you don’t get to complain about school.” It was hard to stay annoyed when he was looking at me so adorably.

  With a grin, he said, “And you’re going to the dance with me, so that means you don’t get to complain about school either.”

  “Fair enough.” I returned his smile. “But that means we need to actually go inside.”

  “Alright. I should warn you that this dance is going to be pretty lame.” He held my hand tighter as we walked through the entrance. “It will just be a stuffy gym, silly decorations, and bad music.”

  “That’s alright. It still beats sitting at home with my family and playing Scrabble.” I noticed a group of girls standing next to the gym doors that were watching us and whispering. “Friends of yours?”

  Evan glanced at them and frowned. “Just a clique of mean girls. Avoid them.”

  “Gladly,” I muttered, attempting to ignore the glares being sent in my direction. “I didn’t think Starlight was capable of having mean girls. I thought it was the perfect town.”

  “There’s no such thing as perfect.” Evan’s cheeks flushed and he couldn’t meet my eyes as he added, “Except for maybe you.”

  I sucked in a breath so sharply that I nearly choked on it. I couldn’t remember how to form words with my mouth which was probably a good thing since I had no idea what to say anyway. No one had ever said anything like that to me.

  “Evan! Noelle!”

  Some of Evan’s friends were waving at us from the other side of the gym. I had only met them over the last several days, but it was starting to feel like they were my friends, too. I had never been good at making friends, but with Evan it somehow felt easier. He brought out a better side of me.

  “I love your dress,” Emily said after giving me a surprising hug.

  “Thanks.” I smiled shyly. “I like your hair.”

  Emily was the kind of cool girl that I had never felt comfortable around. Her hair was always perfect and she wore makeup like a pro. At my school, the two of us never would have crossed paths. Starlight let me be a different kind of person and I was still getting used to that.

  “So, what’s the deal?” she asked when Evan turned to talk to his guy friends. Emily looked down at our still interlocked hands. “Are you two together?”

  “I don’t know,” I admitted in a whisper.

  “It looks like you’re together,” she said with wide eyes. “You know what they say about couples that get together at the Snow Ball.”

  I shook my head. “What do they say?”

  “The legend around town is that if a couple has their first kiss at this dance, they stay together forever.” She paused for dramatic effect. “My aunt kissed my uncle at this dance and they’ve been married for twenty-five years now.”

  Another girl had been listening to our conversation and she nodded emphatically. “My sister and her fiancé kissed at this dance eight years ago.”

  “That’s a lot of pressure for a first kiss,” I said in a panic.

  “Try not to think about it,” Emily advised. “Just have fun.”

  That was easier said than done. I was so nervous that I could barely concentrate on anything, let alone have fun. Anytime Evan looked at me, I wondered if he planned to kiss me. If he did, it wouldn’t just be our first kiss. It would be my first kiss ever.

  When Evan left to get us some punch, I could finally breathe regularly again. Emily and her friends were going out of their way to be nice to me and make me feel included in the group. Not for the first time, I wished that they were my actual clas
smates and not just a group of people I would only be seeing over the holiday break. Starlight was beginning to feel more like home than my actual home. But then Emily gasped.

  “Oh no,” she said.

  “What?” I started to turn around to see whatever had caught her eye, but she stopped me.

  “Don’t look.” There was a pleading in her eyes.

  I turned anyway and my heart dropped into my stomach. Evan was on the dance floor, arms around one of the mean girls we had passed on our way into the dance. His back was to us, so I couldn’t see his face. I could see the girl’s face though, and she was staring adoringly at Evan.

  “Who is that?” I asked, somewhat breathlessly.

  “Taylor Green.” Emily put a hand on my shoulder. “She and Evan used to be a couple.”

  I could feel tears prickling at my eyelids and I bit down on my lip. “Used to?”

  “They broke up a few weeks ago.” Emily’s voice was full of sympathy. “I can’t believe he is doing this.”

  I watched as Taylor leaned in to kiss Evan and suddenly couldn’t watch any longer. Just as they turned enough that I could see Evan’s face, I whirled away and hurried toward the door. I could hear someone calling after me, but I didn’t stop. I felt so stupid and I couldn’t face anyone. How dumb had I been to think that a boy like Evan might really be interested in a girl like me? It was obvious now that he had just been using me to make Taylor jealous.

  In my eagerness to leave the gym, I had forgotten to grab my coat. Now, I stood in the cold shivering as I contemplated my next move. I had no way to get home and didn’t even know who I would call to pick me up. I could never tell my mom or Stephanie what had happened. It was too humiliating.

  “Elle!” Evan burst through the doors. “Where are you going?”

  “Home.” I crossed my arms over my chest for warmth and started walking.

  I didn’t get far because he grabbed my arm. “Home? Why are you leaving?”

  “Why do you care?” I snapped. “You really should get back to Taylor. She’s the one you want to be with tonight anyway.”

  “Are you crazy?” He looked at me in bewilderment. “I came with the person that I want to be with– you.”

  “It didn’t look that way.” I faltered. Had I misinterpreted what I had seen?

  “I’m not interested in Taylor. We dated for like two weeks and I broke up with her. When she asked me to dance tonight, I couldn’t think of a polite way to decline.” Evan’s eyes searched mine. “You believe me, don’t you? I need you to believe me.”

  “Why?” I realized that I did believe him.

  “Because I like you, Noelle. You’re different than these other girls. You make me laugh and you’re always saying smart things that challenge me. I like that.” He noticed that I was shivering and shrugged out of his suit jacket. After putting it around my shoulders, he said, “I was hoping that maybe you like me, too.”

  “I do like you, Evan,” I said. Then, before I could stop myself, added, “Maybe a little too much.”

  He smiled hopefully. “Really?”

  I nodded, all-too-aware of how close he was standing. When he put his hands on my shoulders, it felt perfectly natural to lean into him. His head dipped and I felt a rush of excitement knowing that he was about to kiss me. Music drifted softly through the doors, surrounding us in a perfect backdrop.

  I said, “You know what they say about kissing at this dance?”

  “I’m aware,” he said with a half-smile that made my heart jump.

  “What if it’s true?” I was holding my breath.

  “I’m hoping it is,” was his answer just before his lips touched mine.

  CHAPTER SIX

  “E wwww!” Tommy declared emphatically.

  I laughed and ruffled his hair. “I promise, it wasn’t gross. It was very sweet.”

  “It’s perfect,” Madison declared with a dreamy look in her eyes. “But the legend must not be true because you and Evan didn’t stay together.”

  When I cautiously looked at Evan, he was staring right back at me. As much as I had always loved the memory of our first kiss, it also hurt like hell to remember it. We had been so convinced back then that we would be together forever.

  “We stayed together for a while,” Evan said, sounding sad. “It just didn’t work out.”

  “How long did you date?” Madison said, oblivious to pain we were trying to bury.

  “Eight years.” I could still remember the look on Evan’s face when we said goodbye that day twelve years ago.

  “Whoa,” Madison breathed. “That’s a long time. Why did you break up?”

  I couldn’t answer that question. It was the same question that had haunted me for twelve years. Evan said, “Sometimes you have to lose the best thing in your life to realize that it was the best thing in your life.”

  “That’s very true,” Norma said with tears in her eyes. “It’s a very sweet story.”

  Story. It wasn’t a story. It was my first kiss and my first love. It was real and wonderful and at the time, it was everything to me.

  “It’s late. We really should be going.” I avoided looking at Evan as I stood. “Dinner was wonderful, Norma. Thank you so much for having us.”

  “Anytime, dear. It’s wonderful to have company.” She smiled happily at Madison and Tommy.

  Evan stood, too. “I can walk you home.”

  “That’s really not necessary,” I said coldly. I wasn’t trying to be rude, I just couldn’t be around Evan anymore. For every good memory I had with Evan, I had a matching painful memory.

  “I know it’s not necessary. I could use the chance to stretch my legs.” He sounded as annoyed with me as I was with him. Old habits died hard.

  The kids ran ahead, kicking pinecones at each other, while Evan and I fell into a comfortable stroll next to each other.

  “Where are their parents?” he said, catching me by surprise.

  “Dead.” I hated talking about what had happened to David and Stephanie which was why I always lied and told strangers that Madison and Tommy were my kids. It was just easier. “Car accident last year. I’ve been raising them ever since.”

  “I’m sorry.” Evan surprised me again by taking my hand. “I know how close you were to David. I can’t imagine how much that loss hurts.”

  I felt a lump rising in my throat that held all the pain I had been pushing down for the last year. I hadn’t allowed myself to properly grieve, opting instead to be strong for the kids. They needed me to be strong. “We’re doing okay,” I said, not sure if that was true.

  Evan didn’t say anything more until we had reached the house. The kids had already run inside. For some reason, I was hesitant to join them. It turned out that even at 33-years-old, I still enjoyed having Evan hold my hand.

  “Why did you come back to Starlight?” Evan asked, guarded hope in his eyes.

  “Because this is the only place that ever really felt like home.” I shook my head as I stared into his eyes. “That’s not true. Being with you is the only place that truly felt like home, but Starlight is a close second.”

  “Elle.” He was looking at me the same way he had the night of the dance. Again, I wondered if he would try to kiss me and I wondered if I would let him. Then he seemed to remember that we were adults now, strangers even. “Can I see you again tomorrow night?”

  “Like a date?” I said doubtfully.

  “I don’t know. Do people our age date?” He laughed. “I just want to spend more time with you.”

  It was such a loaded proposition. Spending more time with Evan would only increase the flood of returning feelings I had for him. Spending more time with him would only increase the chance that I would fall in love with him all over again. But I couldn’t say no to that possibility, just like how I could never say no to Evan.

  “Alright. A date.” I almost smiled and then remembered something. “Wait. I can’t. I’ve got the kids.”

  “Aunt Norma will watch them,” h
e said confidently as he slowly backed away. “I’ll come by around seven.”

  “I’ll be here.” I felt the flutter in my chest growing stronger. “Hey, Ev?”

  He smiled. “Yeah?”

  “For what it’s worth, I really hoped the legend was true, too,” I said.

  He tilted his head and said, “Who says it isn’t true?”

  “We didn’t end up together,” I reminded him.

  His smile grew. “Yet. It didn’t come true, yet. Don’t give up on us, Elle.”

  I heard those words hundreds of times as I tried to fall asleep. Twelve years had passed since the last time we had seen each other, but somehow it felt like just yesterday. I’d moved to New Orleans, dedicated myself to a successful career, and dated at least a dozen men in that time. Three of them seriously. One had almost led to an engagement. I hadn’t spent the last twelve years pining for Evan, and I doubted he had done so for me. We had moved on.

  But did that mean we couldn’t also find our way back to each other?

  Madison sure seemed to think it was possible. She couldn’t stop talking about Evan the next morning, even after I begged her. Something about our story had gotten under her skin.

  “But he kissed you at the dance. He knew what that meant and he did it anyway,” she said as we strolled the aisles of the Starlight Market. My first order of business now that it was daylight was to stock our kitchen. “He wanted to be with you forever, Aunt Noelle.”

  “He was a thirteen-year-old boy, Mad. He just wanted to kiss a girl.” I started to reach for a box of cereal. “You guys like this kind, right?”

  “No.” Madison reached for one on a lower shelf. “We like the kind loaded with sugar.”

  I frowned as she added it to our cart. “Fine, but we’re getting some oatmeal, too. And fruit.”

  “Why did you break up? Did Evan cheat on you? Did you cheat on him?”

  It was the most talking Madison had done in over a year and part of me didn’t want her to stop. I missed this Madison, the one that jabbered away about nothing for hours.

  “No, no one cheated on anyone.” That actually would have made things so much simpler. “We just grew apart as we got older. We wanted different things in life.”