Today for Memories Monday, we have tenners author Amy Brecount White talking about her high school first love. Let’s see what she has to say. Enjoy!!
I actually dated one guy for two years, Tom, but I don’t think I ever really loved him. He was fun and cute, and my best friend was dating his best friend. It just worked. Also, he cried every time I tried to break up with him. In retrospect, I should have moved on my earlier, because I think high school is a time to test out lots of guys and see what works for you and what doesn’t.
I didn’t start dating the first guy I truly loved until the spring of my senior year. I was the straight A, yearbook editor, class president type, and Tommy – yes, I had a thing about that name apparently — was a soccer goalie who hung out more on the fringes of our class. He had the most beautifully reflective brown eyes and an earnest way of looking into me without saying a word that made me melt.
The two of us dating was like an experiment, because we didn’t really travel in the same circles. We started by meeting almost every night after our practices (I played tennis) to watch the sun set over a golf course down the street from my house. We sat on a hill behind a wall of bushes, so no one we knew would see us and just talked.
Sometimes we held hands. Sometimes we kissed, but it was the freedom to say anything and the desire to just be with him that I remember most. I walked down to watch the sunset every single night. He wasn’t always there, but I remember the rush of emotion when I’d see his ratty little car pull into the parking lot. I don’t remember what we said, but there was something about him that went to the heart of things. Of me.
We had a great time through graduation, the Beachcomber’s dance, and most of the summer. He needed a summer job and worked as a janitor at our school, doing fun stuff like picking the pins out of the carpet in the home economics room. I was waiting on rich folk at a local pool club. In the fall, I went off to college and he came to see me once. Everyone called him my HTH (home town honey). I loved seeing him there, but we both had a new life. We knew it was time to move on, even though I still dream about him sometimes.
To this day, I’m grateful to him for several reasons:
1) He never took advantage of me physically. He was always respectful of any boundaries I needed to set.
2) He knew I had big dreams and wanted to move away, and he didn’t try to stop me or tie me to him.
3) He truly cherished me, as I still cherish my memories of him. Hope life is good wherever you are, Tommy. J
Thanks, Amy! What a beautiful story. If you guys want to read more about Amy or her debut novel, you can check out her website here. Thanks for joining us on Memories Monday! Until next time!
