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//The last thing Adam Robertson ever expected was to love and be loved in return by Bethany Sanford. They had next to nothing in common, save for the fact that they grew up in the same town and attended the same high school. They were from two completely different worlds; Bethany, the daughter of a wealthy businessman, and Adam, a poor young man from the wrong side of the tracks. He was a loner, intelligent but almost always kept to himself. She was popular, but quiet, a beautiful girl who never thought of herself as such, with more ex-boyfriends than she could count. Separately, they were fire and ice, polar opposites. Together, they sparkled and erupted, a combustible force to be reckoned with.\\

***

//Thirteen year old Bethany carried her lunch tray to an empty table in the middle of the cafeteria. She had nobody to sit with, her best friends, Catherine Cutler and Hope Krandall, were in the next lunch period, so she sat by herself, either reading a book or watching enviously as the other students talked and laughed and ate. There was nothing she wanted more than to be one of those laughing students. But they never let her into their group.

She sat down and picked up her grilled cheese sandwich, preparing to take a bite of it. As she raised it to her mouth, a balled-up piece of notebook paper hit her sandwich, and an eruption of laughter followed.

"Blubber Butt!" someone called. "Time for a diet, don't you think?"

Bethany took several deep breaths, trying to keep her emotions under control. No way did she want to show them her fear or her anger. 'Ignore them and maybe they'll go away,' she told herself.

From the table of students directly in front of Bethany, Melanie Robertson turned around to face her. "Hey, Princess, didn't you hear him?"

"Shut up, Melanie," Bethany croaked out.

"You know, they say if you stop eating altogether, your body feeds off its fat stores. Given a couple of weeks, you might lose enough weight to fit into a size thirty!"

She hung her head. It wasn't her fault she was overweight. But every time someone made fun of her about it, she would go home from school and eat until the pain and humiliation went away.

"Melanie, that's enough. Leave Bethany alone," a boy's voice said from the other end of the table. "If I were you, I wouldn't talk. You're not perfect either."

It was Melanie's brother Adam who was sticking up for her. Adam Robertson, the smartest boy in the eighth grade; Adam Robertson, with his dark brown hair and chocolate eyes; Adam Robertson, the boy Bethany had dreamed about every night since she was five years old.

He picked up his lunch and sat down at Bethany's table, choosing the seat across from her. "I'm sorry about Melanie."

"That's okay. I'm used to it by now."

"Can I sit with you?" he asked.

"They'll make fun of you, too."

He smiled. "No they won't. Not if they know what's good for them. Besides, right about now, I don't want to be seen with my so-called friends. The stuff they are saying is downright mean and untrue. You shouldn't listen to them."

Bethany shook her head. "No, they're right. I'm fat."

"No, you're not. Nobody's perfect, you know."

"I don't know about that. Your sister seems pretty close." 'I wish I looked like her.'

Adam leaned his head toward hers. "I'll let you in on a little secret about Melanie. She has to wear head gear at night because her teeth are so crooked."

She laughed. "You're joking."

"Scout's honor." He looked closely at her. "You have a really pretty smile, Bethany. You should do it more often. Smile, that is."

"Thank you," she replied shyly.

"You're welcome. Trust me, when we get into high school, you'll be breaking hearts left and right. I bet you'll even be Prom Queen when we're seniors."

She shook her head once more. "I doubt it. I'll never be Prom Queen. I'm not pretty enough."

"We'll see about that. Are you going to the eighth grade dance? It's the last dance before we graduate."

"I don't know," Bethany responded. "Catherine and Hope want me to go with them, but I haven't decided yet."

Adam smiled at her. "Well, if you do decide to go, would you save me a dance?"

"Sure."

"I'm giving you fair warning, though, Bethany. I have two left feet and I might step on you. Truth is, I can't dance to save my life. Melanie gave up trying to teach me. Guess I'm not perfect either."

"That's okay. I can't dance very well myself."\\

***

//He was filled with both passion and dread. Never before had two such different emotions clutched his heart at the same time, both with equal strength and vigor. Part of him was panicking, fearful of what was to come. Another part was perfectly content, blissfully happy about the recent turn of events.

They'd only been together for three weeks, hardly a drop in the bucket when compared to the amount of time he had been with Kristine. And it was less than twenty-four hours since he and Bethany expressed their feelings for one another. She loved him; had for thirteen years and Adam had never known. Hell, he never even suspected she had those types of feelings for him. He himself was shocked when he realized he was in love with her, too. And now they were about to culminate their love for one another by making love for the first time.

That was what filled Adam with such dread. Certainly he loved Bethany with all his heart and soul, and wanted to share that experience with her. He couldn't deny that. But he was terrified, despite the fact that he loved Bethany. There was a reason.

He was a virgin.

After dating Kristine for three years, they had never gone all the way. It simply wasn't something he wanted, or needed. And it drove his first love into the arms - and bed - of another man. With Bethany, though, he wanted and needed to physically show her how deep his love for her ran. What terrified Adam was the mere thought of doing something wrong and disappointing her.

Bethany had had other lovers before him, that he was sure of. For years, he'd heard the guys at school talking about their experiences with her. Her talented mouth, roaming hands, arousing body; she was experienced in matters of sex. Adam was not.

'What if I mess up?' he asked himself as he felt Bethany's hands run up and down his bare back, still wet from the rain outside. 'How can boring old me compare to some of the guys she's been with? There's no way I can. I'll disappoint her and lose my true love forever, I just know it.' \\

***

//Across the crowded dance floor, he caught sight of her. Her back was to him, but Adam knew it was Bethany just by the long blonde curls cascading down her back. He had to see her, had to say something to her. Had to tell her.

"Beth?" he said when he stood behind her. He was close enough to touch her, close enough to physically turn her around and crush his mouth to hers.

She turned to face him. "Adam," she whispered. Her heart fluttered upon seeing her love.

The ten years that had passed since their heart-wrenching breakup hadn't changed her all that much. Bethany's hair had grown several inches and she'd lost any semblance of baby fat she'd once had. If anything, she had grown more beautiful in his eyes.

Adam held out his hand to her. "Would you dance with me? For old time's sake, of course."

She nodded. "I'd be honored to."

Guiding her to the dance floor, Adam found an empty space and pulled her into his arms. With her body moving as one with his, he felt like he had returned home. Right there in her arms was where he was meant to be.

"How have you been?" he wanted to know.

She shrugged. "I'm okay. It's been a rough few years."

Adam frowned. "I heard about your husband. I am sorry about that. A plane crash, how awful for you. And for him. You have my deepest sympathies."

"Thanks. I'm fine now. Michael had just filed for divorce when it happened, we were having some major problems at the time."

"I had no idea."

"Not many people did. We kept up a happy facade for my father's sake. But there was no love there," she told him. "What about you? Have you had better luck in the marriage department than I did?"

Adam shook his head. "Nobody else has ever captured my heart like you did. And nobody ever will."

"Adam…"

"No, Beth, let me say this. There's been nobody else. I never got over losing you. I loved you ten years ago, I love you now and I will love you until the day I die. Whether you feel the same way or not."

She lifted her head from his shoulder to look him in the eye. "Me, too. That's why Michael was divorcing me, because I was still in love with you. And I still am."

"Why?" he asked. "If we love each other still, why didn't we make it work?"

"Long distance relationships don't work out, Adam. It was a longshot, we both knew that when you left town. Distance tore us apart."

"Do you still love me?"

She nodded her head. "Yes. I never stopped, not for a minute."

"Then what is stopping us from trying again? Absolutely nothing. If we love each other, we can make it work. I can move back to town, or you can move to New York with me. You are the only reason I even came to this reunion. And I won't leave without you."

"I love you. I don't care where we are, as long as we're together. What do you say we leave this place and have our own private reunion at my house?"\\

***

Angel tried to gauge Julia's expression when she put the last page of his book down on the bed, on top of the other pages she had just finished. "Well? What do you think?"

***