The Last First Touch

What's it like to look back on your dating life and not cringe, I wonder?

When I think back over the guys I've dated, all I come up with is a list of regrets going all the way back to making out with Jeremy Stevens at the end of summer beach party our senior year.

Talk about cringey.

Memories like that are the reason I went all-in with my girlfriends last spring when we started the do-over pact: no more flings, no more go-nowhere losers, no more broken hearts when the guy you've been in love with since you were kids doesn't call you back.

The pact is my way of making sure I never regret another kiss again, and it's working– until I get my first look at the new music teacher in town.

As I stare at the guy playing the guitar, I can't help but admire the dark hair, the wide shoulders, the bulge of obvious biceps under an otherwise loosely fitted flannel shirt.

When he raises his head to look up at me, the view gives way to a chiseled jaw and a wide smile and I feel my heart stop as I find myself staring into the deep brown eyes of my very first regret.

Jeremy Stevens was my first crush, my first kiss, and my first broken heart. Now he's back in town and he's telling me I'm the one that got away.

Is this my chance for a do-over with the only man I've ever really loved? Or will cringing be the only thing I end up doing over?

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Welcome to Landsburg and five girlfriends who make a pact to step back, slow down, and get a do-over on their dating history.
 From here on out, they're saving themselves for someone special.

The Do-Over Pact is the new series of short stories featuring a group of close girlfriends and the third-pitcher-of-mimosas decision they make during one Sunday brunch that ultimately kicks off the chain of events that leads them all to their happily ever afters.

It's amazing how fast the Right One shows up once you're done wasting time on all the wrong ones.