Winter Formal.

I keep a giant, expandable folder of notes, journal entries, cards, ticket stubs, and all things that might jog my memory as I attempt to write this book. Over the next few weeks, my assignment is to write and organize all of my “Adam” information—my first love. I can hear the singing from the angels already…Err, anyway. Many of my readers don’t know who Adam is yet, but you will. Below are some notes I wrote in September of 2008, specifically for my book. I don’t know if it will make the cut yet, but we will see!

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My first impression of him was that he was a typical, good kid. Adam lived on California Street—the street my family had lived on years ago. But his family lived on the nice end of the street. His house was like a museum—quiet, clean and crisp. Everything was white. Their dining table was a giant slice from the middle of a tree and their fireplace was off-center.

Adam and I’s friendship started off casual, but we grew close very quickly. I told him about the guys I liked at school and we talked on the phone nearly every night.

During the first half of our friendship, I was going on dates with different guys at our school, but also had a crush on Adam and I’s friend Wil. I confided in Adam and merely saw him as just another one of my close guy friends.

My junior year, Adam, Wil and I all worked at the same place—Outback Steakhouse. The guys were busboys and I was a hostess. Much like two girls, Adam and Wil gossiped about everything: each other, girls, coworkers, the works. By the middle of my junior year, I was fresh out of a breakup. Our high school’s Winter Formal was approaching, and as usual, I didn’t have a date.

Not long before the dance, Adam and I decided we would go together. Our friends were a little surprised. Adam and I had spent the entire year before swearing up and down that we were just friends, and here we were going to a school dance together.

As parents always say, “What’s the big deal? You can go to a dance together as friends!” Which is true, but in high school, everything is a big deal.

We made plans to meet up and eat dinner with our friends beforehand. When Adam picked me up, my corsage was so pretty. Since I’d told him my dress was coral, his mom had helped him pick a suiting corsage—a small bunch of three white rosebuds, white with silver trimmings. We met up with Wil and his date, along with a few of our other Outback coworkers. The dance was fun, like most were, and I remember being surprised when slow-dancing with Adam wasn’t as awkward as I had expected.

After the dance, we drove to Outback to find our coworkers just closing up and cleaning the kitchen. They let us inside, still wearing our formal attire, and lead us into the kitchen. We pulled up our dresses to avoid the sludge of the kitchen floor. The chef treated us to dessert: cheesecake. It felt exclusive to be in the restaurant after-hours, sitting in one of the wooden booths, eating a free dessert. After dessert, all of us ventured to Columbus’ own hot spot—Adam’s hot tub. This particular hot tub, in Adam’s backyard, was rumored to house the germs of many ladies. All ladies who were not Adam’s—but those of his friend’s.

Even after the fun, and somewhat romantic night, I stood by my strong feelings for Adam as a friend; one of my best friends.