So, it's Valentine's Day. Whatever. But I was thinking, today, about how much the idea of love, falling in love, falling out of love, all that has affected and directed my life.
Then I got to thinking about first kisses, mostly because I'm working on "Fresh Ice," and in romance, the first kiss is a tremendously big deal. That lead me to my very first kiss. I'm not going to mention names, dates, or places, because thanks to Face book I'm still sort of in contact with my very first real boyfriend, but I can tell you this:
I was nauseous after my first kiss.
I was fourteen. He was seventeen. It was lunch, and we were talking (and I think that was pretty much the last time I spent time with a boyfriend when we were seriously, legitimately JUST TALKING) and suddenly he just laid it on me. Bam. And there was tongue.
I was really not NOT expecting that.
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| See, when they make a movie of my life, I'd like these two people to play Hubby and me. |
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| Nice approach... |
When you're young, you see kisses on TV and in the movies, and it's usually some ridiculously handsome guy and an equally ridiculously good looking woman (I always think of David James Elliott and Catherine Bell. Seriously, those two should just be the kissing couple in every TV show and movie.) and there's this first little kiss and then the kiss gets bigger and bigger. And the lighting is always perfect and there might be a mist of some kind, or candles.
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| And there we go! Whew! I need to go watch JAG on DVD now. |
Bonus, I had gym right after, and it was baseball. I hated baseball, which is why they put in way out in the outfield. At least my very best friend was also there with me. Not because she was terrible, but because she could seriously field a ball. While we were standing there I told her about the kiss. (a very John Hughes moment for me.) She's not a girlie girl, so there wasn't a big hugging scene or anything like that. But I remember just telling her, "He kissed me...and I feel a little sick to my stomach."The kissing got better, of course, and that relationship lasted until my parents moved me to another town and another school. (I doubt it had anything to do with the kissing, but whatever.) I always think fondly of my first boyfriend, like most of us do.
I have several "first kisses". There is (of course) the first kiss from someone I wasn't related to. I was in first grade. Her name was Erica. We used to play with Barbies. There was the first "real" kiss... you know, the one after you knew what kisses were. Her name was Jennifer. We were dating in high school. We used to meet outside her english class after lunch. One day, she surprised me with a kiss. The whole rest of the time we dated, I would meet her by her english class hoping for another kiss. Sometimes yes, sometimes no.
ReplyDeleteThere was my first "grown up" kiss... again, in high school, but that was the first one that was sensual. The first one where it was more than just lips. Her name was Genine. We had been dating for only a few weeks. I was braver then. I leaned in to make my big move at the end of the night on her doorstep. I went to plant the kiss on her and was utterly shocked and surprised when she trumped me! I did my best to be cool about it, but I'm sure it didn't come across that well for her. I recall heading back to my car and thinking "Oh my god. I just got french kissed."
Then there's the one. The one first kiss that was my last first kiss. The first kiss that counted. The future Mrs. Mark and I went out to a school dance. After the dance, we were walking to my car so I could drive her home. She had more ambition than I did. She grabbed me and kissed me. It was her first french kiss as well. It was like a goldfish had been turned loose in my mouth. Being older (and slightly more experienced) than her, I knew what was going on so I just rolled with it. A couple of days later, we went to a park and "practiced" kissing.
Several years later, we returned to the park. Under the moonlight, I asked her if she recognized where we were. She did. I sang her a song and then proposed.
The rest, as they say, is history.
Awwwww! Mark! That's beautiful! You know, you have a flair for romance and for writing...have you ever considered a career? Thanks so much for sharing!
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