First Kiss

by Richards

  “It’s beautiful!” Kirsten said, taking the bow from Becca.

  He really was the worst. Seriously.

  Becca opened the box and pulled out a stuffed bear with bright red fur and a smile that would have looked perfect on a creepy killer-clown doll. The moment she hugged it to her chest an even creepier voice spoke: “Let’s cuddle.”

  “It’s a Cuddle Bear!” Carly shrieked, running to Becca and pulling the creepy killer-clown bear from her grasp.

  Becca giggled uncontrollably, watching her sister hug the bear as if the bear were real, and actually cuddly.

  “You have to understand,” Becca explained to the group. “Jackson and I have to watch the show every afternoon because our sisters love the Cuddle Bears. I told him all I wanted for my birthday was a Cuddle Bear of my very own.”

  “And you got your wish,” Jackson added.

  “It’s perfect,” she replied, still giggling.

  And then she got up, walked over, and gave him a hug. An actual hug right in front of everyone. And that’s when I knew: I had been right all along. They really were going out. And I really was nothing more than the butt end of a bad joke. The sort of joke where a spindly kid gets tricked into believing he might actually be studly. But I wasn’t Harley with his greasy mustache, black leather vest, and fairyland barn. There would be no happy ending to my story.

  I should have known.

  “Okay, is that everyone?” Becca’s mom asked.

  No one spoke, but more than a few eyes strayed my way. Actually, everyone’s eyes strayed my way. Everyone’s except Becca’s. She ignored me as if my lack of a present was no big deal, which hurt most of all. I could withstand a few accusing stares, but being ignored by Becca left me feeling cold and empty—as if my insides had been slurped out.

  After that, Becca’s dad brought out a cake and everyone sang “Happy Birthday.” I mumbled along trying not to notice Jackson standing next to Becca or the way he helped her blow out the candles after her first attempt failed.

  “Dude, even your lungs are ripped,” Ben joked after Jackson’s gale-force breath nearly tore the last candle out of the cake.

  If only I had a wooden stake and a hammer. We’d see whose lungs were ripped then.

  After eating cake off paper plates, the party turned into a lot of hugging and awkward standing around. The hugging referred to the way Becca kept thanking everyone for their thoughtful presents. The awkward standing around mostly referred to me while I watched all the hugging taking place. Not to mention watching Ben continue to joke around with Jackson. And Jackson continue to hang around Becca. And Ryan continue to avoid being anywhere near Gretchen. And Tyler—come to think of it, where was Tyler?

  That question got answered a moment later when he and Annie slipped out of the woods and rejoined the group. He gave us a shrug. He hadn’t kissed her, had he? They weren’t even going out anymore.

  “How does he do it?” Ben asked, also staring at Tyler.

  “I don’t know. But I’m really starting to hate that guy.”

  “I’m with you. He’s a menace.”

  “A menace with pouty, irresistible lips.”

  “You got that right.”

  By this point, the sun had gone down, the fire had burned low, and goose bumps covered any skin not covered in pants or a sweatshirt. Which included my arms and legs since I hadn’t thought to bring either pants or a sweatshirt.

  Finally, parents began arriving and everyone lined up to give their goodbyes to the birthday girl. Mostly everyone. My parents were late as always, so I stood off to the side shivering while waving to the lucky souls who had brought presents, received hugs in return, and were now going home in warm cars.

  “Want to walk down to the pier and look at the water?”

  I turned to find Becca next to me. How had she gotten that close without me noticing?

  “My parents will probably be here any moment.”

  She headed for the trail that led to the water.

  “Don’t worry, my parents will get us when they arrive.”

  Honestly, the last thing I needed was to go for a walk with someone else’s girlfriend. “Sure.”

  Maybe just a short walk.

  The trail wound down through the silhouetted trees. In the distance, we caught glimpses of the bay and the moon reflecting off the dark water.

  “It’s kinda creepy,” Becca said.

  She reached out and took my hand. An electric current prickled up my arm.

  “Yeah,” I squeaked.

  What exactly was going on here? A whirl of confusion swirled in my brain. Would she be holding my hand if she and Jackson were really going out? Should I just ask her and get it over with? Or should I keep my mouth shut and for once in my life let a moment be a moment? In truth, I desperately wanted to ask, but my lips refused to open far enough for any words to get out. Smart lips.

  We slid down a short steep slope and reached the pier. It stretched out about fifty yards into the bay held above the water by wooden pilings. Overhead, a full moon gleamed in all its nighttime glory. Murmuring waves lapped rhythmically on the rocky beach.

  “C’mon,” Becca said, tugging my hand.

  Leaving the covering shadows of the trail, we skipped down the pier until we reached the far end. We huddled together against the cold staring out at the murky waters.

  “Isn’t it beautiful?” Becca asked.

  I had to admit looking at the bay lit only by moonlight was pretty cool. “Yeah, it’s really something.”

  “And it’s a full moon.”

  “Yeah.”

  She turned to face me, her hand releasing mine.

  “Can I ask you something?”

  “I guess so.”

  “Did I do something?”

  “What do you mean?”

  Her eyes lowered.

  “I mean, at the start of the summer, we were hanging out. And then we stopped.”

  The zombie warlord in my chest let out a moan. It wasn’t my fault we stopped hanging out. Was it? “Well, it’s just that—I thought—I’m sorry I didn’t bring a present.”

  Her eyes looked up, not angry, or even annoyed. Just … hurt.

  “It’s okay. It was just a dumb birthday party.”

  But that wasn’t it at all. “No, it wasn’t that. I really wanted to do something nice. I was going to—you know—like—write you a”—I strained to get the last word out—“poem.”

  The last word sounded like about the dumbest idea ever in the history of dumb ideas. But she didn’t laugh. Not even a giggle.

  “Why didn’t you?”

  Why didn’t I? That seemed pretty obvious. “Well—because—you know—you and—Jackson.”

  Her eyes went wide. Really wide. I’m pretty sure I saw China on the back side of one eyeball.

  “You think Jackson and I are going out?”

  And that’s when the zombie warlord fainted right there in my chest. THEY WEREN’T GOING OUT? “Aren’t you?”

  Her face turned from shock to laughter.

  “No! What made you think we were going out?”

  Uh … what kind of idiot would assume something like that? The answer seemed clear. A total blubbering idiot. The sort of total blubbering idiot who would jump to a conclusion simply because the two of them had been hanging out together the entire summer. Wait a minute! They had been hanging out together the entire summer! “But you’ve been hanging out with him all summer.”

  She shrugged.

  “Our sisters are best friends. And our parents are both making us watch our little sisters all summer. We didn’t really have a choice. Don’t get me a wrong, Jackson is a nice guy. But we’re not going out.”

  The zombie warlord gave a weak whimper and tried to sit up. “Oh.”

  “Did you really think we were going out?”

  That answer suddenly seemed pretty silly. “Well—”

  She shook her head, her shoulders relaxing.

  “And I thought you were mad
at me.”

  “I could never be mad at you.”

  Her eyes returned to mine.

  “Really?”

  “Really.”

  A new look crossed her face. One I was more familiar with, her mischievous look.

  “So what sort of poem were you writing?”

  “Um—sort of an—uh—I-kinda-like-you poem.”

  “Really?”

  The zombie warlord got back up and returned to his usual pastime hammering on my ribs. “But I never finished it.”

  Her mischievous eyes glowed brighter.

  “Why don’t you finish it now?”

  Seriously? Here? Right in front of her? If the zombie warlord had been hammering before he was pounding for all he was worth now. And then somehow the words came to me in a rush. Simple, sweet, and from the heart.

  “Roses are red, and violets are blue,” I started. And now for the big finish. “I’m not a dork, when I’m with you.”

  Okay, maybe not a poetic masterpiece, but it did get a giggle. And not just from me. She reached out and took my hands.

  “Less of a dork,” she corrected, leaning in.

  And then before the universe could stop it from happening, our lips touched. Like really touched. I literally felt my head contract and then explode like in the zombie bride scene in Death Intruders. Exactly like Ben said it would. And it was the most awesome exploding-head death ever.

  “C’mon, Becca, it’s time to go!”

  Our lips parted. I looked down to find Carly pulling on Becca’s arm.

  “C’mon, Mom and Dad are waiting!”

  Sure enough, Becca’s parents were standing at the end of the pier. Next to my parents. Of course. How else could my first kiss end?

  “I guess it’s time to head back,” Becca said, sounding disappointed.

  “Ug, gerrh,” I babbled like an infant.

  On the way home, I found my arms still covered in goose bumps, but not from the cold. Something life-changing had happened on the pier. Something mysterious that would probably take a lifetime to unravel. Or to at least wonder if it would ever happen again.

  After we got home, my father stopped by my room to say good night.

  “So, how you doin’?”

  What sort of question was that? “Good.”

  “Good? Is that all?”

  To be honest, I was doing slightly better than good. Something more along the lines of UNBELIEVABLY FANTASTIC! But I wasn’t about to let that on. “Yeah. Good.”

  He shook his head and headed for the hall.

  “Just one thing,” he said, pulling the door closed behind him. “At some point you’re gonna want to wipe that silly grin off your face.”

  He gave me a parting wink.

  “But take your time. And hold on to the memory. You don’t want to let go of that one.”

  That was for darn sure.

  I found my grandmother’s store buzzing with activity the next morning. An impromptu party seemed to be taking place, complete with a buffet of scrambled eggs, bacon, and a pile of donuts covered in sprinkles.

  “Betty at the Sunshine Café brought all this over,” Elsa announced. “She wanted to do something nice for us the day after the show.”

  My grandmother handed me a paper plate.

  “Help yourself,” she said. “You deserve something special after everything you did to make the show a success.”

  I piled a mound of bacon on the plate along with a couple donuts. I guess I did pretty much single-handedly save the show. My hand slipped, and half my bacon slid off onto the floor. Okay, maybe single-handedly was a bit of an overstatement.

  “Seemed like everyone had a good time,” I suggested.

  “Seemed like?” Diane asked.

  She took a slurp from her coffee mug.

  “All I keep hearing is how much people loved the show!”

  Elsa put an arm around Diane and squeezed. “What was not to love? We had the very best models on the very best stage in the very best venue ever!”

  Aiko wrapped an arm around Diane from the other side.

  “Will the show use local models again?” she asked.

  “Absolutely,” my grandmother answered. “After watching this year’s show, we’ve decided from now on only local talent will be used. And Stefan is on board to be an official sponsor next year.”

  Harley stopped in, followed by Kirsten, Becca, and Ben.

  “Looks like we got here just in time,” Harley said, giving Elsa a hug and me a high five.

  Ben also gave me a high five while his other hand stole the remaining bacon off my plate.

  “Quite the party happening here,” he said, munching down my bacon.

  “Sounds like we left Becca’s party a little early last night,” Kirsten added, giving me an all-too-knowing smile.

  Becca elbowed Kirsten’s side.

  “Ignore her,” Becca said, her cheeks flushing. “She’s just being annoying.”

  Ben froze, a piece of bacon half jammed into his gaping mouth.

  “Did I miss something?”

  Did he ever. “Nope.”

  He tilted his head back and eyed me and Becca. I prayed my cheeks weren’t burning as hot as hers. At last, he let out a breath and bit down on the bacon.

  Whew. That had been close.

  A moment later, he pulled me aside.

  “You dog!”

  What?

  “You and Becca kissed, didn’t you?”

  “What? No—never—well—you know—maybe.”

  “I knew it. I knew it was gonna happen.”

  No, he didn’t. Except I guess he had called it from the start.

  “You the man!”

  True, my self-esteem had gotten a pretty good boost in the last couple days. But I wasn’t the only one. I looked around at Elsa and Harley chatting together. And Diane and my grandmother walking to the back of the store with their arms entwined. When you thought about it, maybe girls weren’t really so different from guys. And maybe adults weren’t so different from kids. Everyone has fears. And insecurities.

  A piece of bacon and half a donut jammed into my gut.

  “Dude, cram the bacon and donut in your mouth at the same time,” Ben demanded. “It’s the best!”

  And occasionally a moment when everything fits together perfectly. Like a salty mouthful of bacon mixed with the sugary goodness of a donut. Or when your girlfriend shakes her head in disgust at you but her lips are smiling.

  And somehow you know, at least for a while, that everything is going to be all right.