The lights all around Chris blind him. He tries to recall what hadhappened that night. Only a few hours earlier his life had held suchpromiseIt was the day after the big game and Chris was preparing for theHomecoming Dance and the night ahead."What a night I had last night!" he whispered to himself. He had scoredthree touchdowns last night. The last one came with forty seconds leftin the game and gave his team, the Holton Tigers, a three point lead.Not bad for his last Homecoming game, he thought. When the game wasover and the Tigers had won, Chris' teammates lifted him onto theirshoulders and carried him through the onrushing crowd and into thelocker room. As he remembered the night before, he smiled.He buttoned the last button on his shirt. Then, he tied his tie and satto put on his shoes. He did this with a ceremonial tug on the knots asa signification of his readiness for the dance. Even though he wascompletely prepared for the night, his stomach still fluttered as hethought of his secret.He checked his watch. Only 6:41. He had nearly twenty minutes to waitfor his girlfriend, Amanda. Thinking of her made his mind shiftmomentarily to his secret and then back to her again.He still remembered the first time he had seen her.It was the first day of school during his freshman year. Chris wasmeeting new people now that the town's smaller schools funneled theirgraduates to Holton High School. The exact moment stuck in his mindlike a picture taken with the sharpest camera imaginable and blown up ahundred times.He was sitting in the lunchroom talking to his best friend, Drew, aboutthe freshman football team. They couldn't wait to put their mark on thehigh school team. The he had seen her.She was putting a dollar bill into the vending machine in the corner.Her blond hair hung down to her shoulders and when she turned with herjuice in her hand, the hair swung gently about her face. She brushedthe hair away from her eyes that were so beautiful a shade of lightblue that hey appeared clear. From this moment on, anyone who askedChris if he believed in love at first sight was answered with animmediate and emphatic "yes".Despite his feelings for her, Chris couldn't bring himself to talk toher. Contrary to his confidence on the football field, he was very shyaround girls.One day, Chris mustered up the courage to ask Amanda to a movie. Sheaccepted, even after he nearly spent five minutes stuttering out theinvitation.Their first date went better than Chris could have hoped for. He couldremember almost every moment of the time they had spent together sincethen. The memories were nothing but great. The nervous, scared feelingin his stomach as he leaned towards her searching for the first kiss tothe first time that he told her he loved her.Chris also remembered the exact moment that the secret came about andthe day, only weeks before Homecoming, that Amanda's parents presentedher with a brand new sports car commemorating her full scholarship toDuke University. The look on her face when she saw the car with its redribbon upon red paint stuck in his mind. He replied with an immediate"no" when she asked if he cared if she drove them to the HomecomingDance.The honk of a horn brought Chris out of his trance and he lookedthrough the window as Amanda was walking up to the door.She looked so beautiful in her sequined blue dress that for a momentChris could not move. His feet stayed glued to the carpet as hisstomach was filled with the same feeling that he felt that day he firstsaw her in the lunchroom.When Chris pried himself from the floor and walked down the stairs, heposed for pictures with his parents. During one of the poses, hewhispered into Amanda's ear, "Have I ever told you that I loved you?"She smiled because, of course, he had many times. And he smiled becausehe was comforted by the fact that the feeling was mutual.At a stoplight on the way to the dance, Chris leaned over and kissedAmanda on the lips, as he was known to do sometimes. He placed his lefthand on her elbow and lightly touched her cheek with his right. Hekissed her with all the intensity that he could gather. His lipspressed against hers and they might have never parted if the car behindthem hadn't blared its horn.At the next stoplight, Amanda leaned over and kissed Chris on the lips,as she was known to do sometimes. She gazed into his eyes for a momentand smiled. Then she kissed him gently on the lips and rubbed her cheekagainst his. The physical kiss ended but Chris could still smell herfragrant scent and he kept his eyes closed for a few extra seconds.The dance was all that they had hoped for. They cherished every dancetogether as if it were their last. Neither would ever forget the waythat the other looked under the light on the dance floor.The only people that were surprised at the choice of Homecoming Kingand Queen were Chris and Amanda, who accepted their award with theirnatural modesty. While on the stage, Chris could only think of hissecret.After the dance, Chris' memory began to get a little bit fuzzy.They had gone to a party at Drew's house only a few blocks away fromthe dance and were celebrating. There was alcohol at this party, asthere was at most of the parties in their town. Along with their othernuances, Chris and Amanda were known to drink a little but never knownas hard-core drinkers.Chris took his third can of beer, since he wasn't driving, and wentinto the other room to find Amanda. He could no longer hold his secretto himself and he had to tell. The thought of it filled his mind andmade his stomach curl up in a ball, such as is love.Amanda was sitting on a couch talking to her friends, holding a can ofbeer. She said that she only had this one and a wine cooler, but Chrishad suspicions about the four cans sitting on the table. He dismissedthese cans a moment later as her friends' drinks.Chris walked up behind where Amanda was sitting and put his hands onher shoulders. She knew his touch. He bent forward and whispered hismessage into her ear. He didn't go into great detail; he only told herthat he needed to talk to her. She immediately knew what he meant andshe reached for her car keys.Amanda could tell that Chris wanted privacy. Evidently, he hadsomething important to talk to her about. There was one place that theyalways went to when they needed to be alone and talk. It was a placenot far off in the woods that overlooked a large pond. Once, Chris hadtold Amanda that he loved her while they sat there. She put her head onhis shoulder and he wrapped his arms around her. Before she fellasleep, she told him that she loved him too. They stayed that way untilhe awoke her at sunrise when the light reflected off the pond andturned the water the same shade of gold as Amanda's hair.Chris thought of his secret.The last thing that Chris remembered was the car floating into theother lane on the way to their special place. Amanda, being too slow toreact due to the alcohol, could not swerve in time and he lookedtowards her face as they struck an oncoming car. She turned towards himimmediately before impact. He looked into her eyes. She looked intohis. In the headlights of the oncoming car, they looked like they hadlooked on that dance floor. He reached for her hand but couldn't findit.Chris shifted his weight under the lights and lightly kicked a beer canthat lay upon the edge of the road, looking innocent enough. He hadbeen spared the majority of the impact of the crash and had no injuriesbut a cut along the side of his face."That's.that's all that I can remember," he sobbed to the policeofficer with the notebook.Over the officer's shoulder, he could see the other officers zipAmanda's body up in a dark bodybag and in his right pocket he fingeredhis secret-the velvet covered case that held the engagement ring he hadbought and planned to give to Amanda