judecorp | Memorable First Kisses (Reply)

A couple of days ago,

selfpreserve mentioned something about first kisses that were as first kisses should be - knees weakening, stomachs fluttering, etc. The sort of first kisses that people describe in text and art, so that other people can observe them, hold their own experiences up to that standard, and wonder, "Is it right? Is it real?" Sometimes we're lucky enough to have artful experiences, too.

On 28 December 2001, Jennifer and I spent about half an hour holding hands in her Jeep, and then about three times that amount of time discussing why we couldn't/shouldn't/wouldn't be together. The end result was silent walking to a brewpub, a miserable dinner with a hefty side of lamenting, and a resolve by both of us to get drunk. Separately. I succeeded, several pints of beer on

jost's lap and

scirocco's delivered screwdrivers later. A bunch of us were sitting in Jen's and my bedroom on the second floor of the "Party House" in Rehoboth Beach, arm wrestling, laughing, and carrying on. Jennifer and I were across from each other,

siercia on my side,

prunesnprisms on hers. Dory was there,

kungfoogirl was there, and for the most part, it was "girls only." (Yes, Virginia, there was giggling.)

Somewhere in between the gossip and the laughing and the inside jokes, I decided that enough was enough - I was through with "we shouldn't" and "this is for the best" and "I don't know where to go from here" and I stood up. With alcohol as my copilot, I announced, "I'm going up on the roof. You're coming with me." And she did.

siercia's voice followed us out ("My brother's up there - go scare him...") with a coda from Dory ("...by making out!")There was enough giggling remaining in the bedroom - exit was easy. We ascended the thin spiral staircase and I remember the blast of cold, ocean air.

siercia's brother was already in my area, drinking Jaegermeister (gross!), and we were honestly worried, in his state, that he was going to fall off the roof. Somehow I convinced him to leave.

There were a few deck chairs on the small porch area, and I pointed at one of them. "Sit there." Liquor is the best assertiveness training sometimes. She sat straddling the chair and I moved in front of her, chest to chest, face to face. I pressed into her body, into her warmth, and for a few moments, I forgot that I was freezing. She told me that she wanted to kiss me, and there was definitely the idea present that if something were to start there, on the roof, in the cold, there would be no turning back. I had wanted her to kiss me since we argued on the shore, and I knew that there would be no arguments - not that night.

We kissed, and I'd like to say that I saw fireworks or heard explosions or felt the ground move under my frozen butt, but those would be exaggerations. I don't remember the details of the kiss itself - who did what, where our hands were, how many seconds or minutes - but the emotion was burned into my memory. As we stood against the railing, post-kiss, watching the waves crash and trying to regain feeling in our frostbitten bottoms, I vocalized words for the recent emotion.

"I saw the future when you kissed me."

~//~

Tell me your memorable kiss stories. Come on, it's Monday.