Dawn of the Dance by Marianne K. Martin

Moni Matteson is a young woman too old for her years and too young for her dreams. At seventeen, she has known for some time her happiness would come from the love of a woman. She finds it first in the arms of Paige Flemming, a woman with an unknown past and questionable future. Through the rhythm of the dance, Paige teaches her to want and need and love. Then, in a lonely morning after, without a word, she leaves her. Devastated, Moni goes on to college, where for three years she struggles to maintain her belief that there could be one person with whom she can share a lifetime.

Among her varied careers, Marianne K. Martin has been a public school teacher, a photojournalist and collegiate field hockey coach. She currently resides in Ann Arbor, Michigan.