« A Bad Ending | Main | May 1971 - Washington, DC »

Wednesday, 02 April 2008

My First Kiss

By David Wolfe of Ageless Marketing

Along the mile-long road running from my house to the bus stop lived a family of little means. Walking past the house, you could capture a glimpse of a privy. However, despite the lack of graciousness, shall we say, this house was home to a 10-year-old princess named Laura.

It was about a quarter of a mile from Laura’s house to the bus stop. Day-by-day from the first time I saw her, feelings in my gut that I had never before experienced grew stronger and stronger. The same thing was happening to her.

One day one of us – I don’t remember who – brought up the idea of kissing. I’m guessing it was her because I was shy to the point of physical distress at times. Over the course of some number of days, the subject of kissing came up time and again. Each time I was titillated.

On one frigid morning, when snow covered the ground and our walk down the country lane was made treacherous in spots by a cover of ice, Laura and I made a date. That afternoon, after we got off the bus, we would find the opportunity to kiss before we reached her house.

I vividly remember that I could not stop thinking about that kiss all day. The feelings were a more consuming distraction than any I had ever had in anticipation of Christmas. I had never wanted anything so much in my life as a kiss on the lips of sweet Laura.

Finally, a school day that seemed interminably long ended and we boarded the bus. The trip to our bus stop was about three miles, so it took us perhaps 15 minutes or so to get to the bus stop.

I never knew that my heart was so strong. It felt as though it would break through my chest. What was happening to me? I had never had feelings as strong as those I had as I stepped off the bus. Within the next 10 minutes or so our lips would touch. I would have my first kiss.

As we moved along the road toward her house, the right moment for kissing seemed to never arrive. In retrospect, Laura was waiting for me to take the first step. However, because of my shyness I could not bring myself to do so.

Finally, we arrived in front of the lane leading down to her house. There was a long stretch of ice just before reaching that lane. Suddenly, Laura bounded away from me and slid across the ice, laughing and beckoning me to follow her. I did. For the next few minutes we slid back and forth across the ice, sometimes together, sometimes coming toward each other.

Then, came the moment I had waited all day for. I was sliding toward Laura and she toward me. Suddenly she reached out for me, grabbed my arms, held on and kissed me squarely on the mouth. It is a moment forever etched into the memory traces of my mind. My first kiss.

[The vault of new stories is running low again. If you are interested in contributing, the guidelines are here.]

Posted by Ronni Bennett at 02:30 AM | Permalink | Email this post