A First Kiss

I was reminded yesterday of the wonder that is a person's first kiss. Ah yes, you're thinking about your very own right now, aren't you :)

A coworker was sharing her daughter's terrifying first kiss story with me yesterday. Her poor daughter (who's only 11 by the way) had gotten her first real kiss over the weekend - from a pimply-faced, braces-wearing, red-headed teenager, during a school dance nonetheless, in front of all of her friends. The daughter didn't really like the boy much and it was a dare. But it was still her first kiss. THE big first kiss. I couldn't help but laugh a little. Poor girl. You only get one first kiss, afterall. That made me think about my own and the fact that it really wasn't all that much better than this girl's.

My first kiss happened in the seventh grade. I had been "dating" the same boy for almost a year (which is quite significant by middle school standards I suppose). He was a year older than me, getting ready to go to high school (and eventually dump me, the "little" middle schooler). We had been teased by his friends for a while about the fact that we hadn't kissed yet. I remember one girl teasing me about this, saying that after nine months of dating we could have had a baby already (clearly that wasn't on my radar). We were harassed by so many of our peers. I was naive and innocent and I'm pretty sure I was still trying to move out of that "boys are gross" phase. I certainly didn't want to kiss a boy. Couldn't we just keep holding hands and talking on the phone? That had worked well so far.

Apparently not. He couldn't handle being harassed by his friends any longer so he decided it was finally time for us to have our first kiss. His timing couldn't have been more off. One afternoon, after school, we were hanging out at his house when his mom said we needed to come with her to pick up their dog. We pulled into the parking lot of the Port Washington Small Animal Hospital and his mom said we could stay in the car while she ran in to get the dog. There, in the backseat, with the middle seat between us, he decided it was time for that first kiss. I wish I could remember what he said (I bet I thought it was something incredibly sweet at the time) but I can't. All I remember is him leaning over, across that empty seat, and kissing me right in the middle of my lips. I'm pretty sure my eyes were open and I'm pretty sure I had a huge smile on my face. Not a few seconds later, his mom opened the car door and in jumped his furry little pal. It was over. In a matter of just a few seconds.

I remember thinking on the way home, "That was it? That's what I waited forever for? That's what I was so nervous about?". I also remember that I was on cloud nine. That first kiss sealed the deal - I was smitten with the boy. Thankfully, word had spread that we had our long-awaited first kiss and the harassing stopped. Yes, our first kiss was overwith. And apparently so was the relationship. He dumped me a few weeks later, after he finished the eigth grade. After a few tears I realized I was a woman with experience now. It was time to move onto the next boy and the next kiss. Certainly they could only get better from there.