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The boy I couldn't forget

Two broken hearts, and one amazing love story...


Published by: Laura Casewell and Laura Hinton
Published on: 17 November 2011

A girl never forgets her first love. And I'll certainly never forget the moment I set eyes on mine...
I'd been in French class when the teacher decided to pair me up with Nick, 13. Chucking his book on to my desk, Nick had flopped down beside me.
‘Bonjour,' he grinned, green eyes sparkling.
‘B-bonjour,' I mumbled.
‘Erm... au revoir?!'
Ooh-la-la! He was gorgeous!
It was like I'd suddenly noticed him for the first time, even though we'd been in the same class all year. But I was so taken back, I'd forgotten my words, and my palms were sweating beneath the desk.
The next day, I decided I had to ask him out - before any of my classmates got their hands on him. So I passed a note across in class.
Yes! was all he wrote back, but it was enough. Our future was sealed, I'd love him forever more. We'd get married, have babies...
That night, we walked home together, holding hands. He chattered away about Aston Villa, his favourite football team. I just nodded in agreement, totally smitten.
Over the next year, we went on dates to the cinema and shared a sneaky little kiss. I even went and bought the new Premier League sticker book to impress him.
Then one day, he passed a note to me in our RE lesson. Think we should go our separate ways, I want to spend more time with the lads, playing football. I couldn't believe what I was reading!
Heartbroken, I cried for days. I called him constantly, wrote love letters sprayed with my perfume, and also sent a single red rose to his house every day for a week.
Over the next 10 years, I had other relationships, and even moved in with one bloke, but it was always Nick I thought of. It just felt like there was something - or someone - missing in my life.
Of course, my friends found my infatuation with him hilarious.
‘I tell you what, if Nick Hawkes asked me out again, I wouldn't say no,' I giggled to my girlfriends.
‘We know!' they all chorused.
It wasn't even like I saw him that often. Sometimes I'd spot him out in town but, ever since the day he'd dumped me, we'd never spoken. I'd heard he had a girlfriend, and I genuinely hoped he was happy.
I was discussing men with my pal Jo, 30, one night, when the topic of cheating came up.
‘One of my friends got in such a pickle recently,' Jo confessed.
‘She was dating this lovely guy called Nick, but she
stupidly cheated on him.'
‘How silly,' I tutted. ‘If I was ever given a chance with the Nick I know, there's no way I'd blow it by cheating!'
And then something clicked. Me and Jo had a different circle of friends... the two Nicks couldn't be the same person, could they?!
‘What's his surname?' I asked.
‘Hawkes,' she replied.
‘It's the Nick I know! Can you get his number?' I quizzed. ‘I have to text him.' It might sound strange, but it just felt like the right time to reach out.
He'd broken my heart, but I couldn't bear the thought of him being broken-hearted, too.
Just 10 minutes later, she'd got hold of his number.
I wrote a message, saying who I was and that I was sorry to hear about the end of his relationship.
Sounds crazy, but if you need anyone to talk to, I'm here, I added, sealing it with a kiss.
Moments later, I got a reply. Great to hear from you, he wrote. Fancy meeting for a drink tomorrow? My heart almost skipped a beat!
So the next night, I nervously dolled myself up before going to wait for him at the pub.
Just as I'd got myself all cool, calm and collected, he breezed in... and I went to pieces.
‘You look fantastic,' he said.
‘Th-thank you. So what do you do? Where do you live? How are things?' I asked.
‘It's just like an interrogation,' he chuckled. ‘But I'm an aerospace engineer and I have a place in town...'
Soon I'd relaxed, and we began chatting about his ex. ‘I knew she wasn't the one anyway,' he said. ‘But look, more importantly, I'm sorry how silly I was at school...'
‘Water under a bridge!' I smiled, as if it had never meant anything.
If only he knew!
Suddenly, I realised how late it was. We'd had such a fantastic evening, the night had just swept away.
‘I've had the perfect evening,' he smiled. And leaned across for a kiss! It was like I was 13 all over again... but even better.
Soon, we were seeing each other every day. And before I knew it, we were a couple. I'd won back my man. A year after being reunited through my text, we were at home one night when Nick got down on one knee.
‘Will you marry me?' he asked.
‘I've been waiting 11 years for you to ask!' I whooped, slipping the diamond ring on to my finger.
The following year, we had a lavish ceremony at a huge house in Bath before jetting off to Miami for our honeymoon.
Now we've been married five years and have two daughters - Maddie, five, and Lexie, one.
‘Remember how you broke my heart?' I'll tease him sometimes.
‘I know,' he'll laugh back, rolling his eyes. ‘And I've been making up for it ever since!'
In a way, I'm grateful Nick had his heart broken, because only then would I have sent that text. It's true too, that you never forget your first love - I'm just super lucky because I got mine back!
Jody Hawkes, 31, Frome, Somerset