"Kissing Lady Killers" by Lexi Smith

Kissing Lady Killers

Easter morning this year felt like any other Sunday morning, at first. Bonnie is up making breakfast and Dad is reading the paper. Uncle T is sleeping soundly on his bed that is one side of our couch while my brother watches a movie on the other side.
I wake just in time to be first in line for breakfast, which is important if you actually want to get more than a bite of eggs or a strip of bacon. After I have grabbed my usual three pieces of bacon and spoonful of eggs, I make my way over to the couch to steal my brother’s seat and see what he’s watching. I press play on the DVR and the movie Lady Killers resumes. It takes me a minute to realize why I have a sudden feeling of déjà vu.
It takes me back to my first kiss…four years ago. I was in 8th grade and it was my first official date, at least, my first official date that my dad knew of. I was going out with a boy from Caroline named John. He was cute and Puerto Rican. I had met him at the restaurant my family frequented weekly, where he was a busboy. For a few weeks all we did was stare at each other from across the restaurant, averting our eyes when ever they happened to meet, and when he occasionally asked if I’d like a refill. Even if my glass was full I batted my eyelashes and said, “Yes, thank you.”
Finally when the waitresses, who knew us both well, got tired of him not doing his work and me not paying eating the dinner they brought me. They pushed me up to the counter and forced us to talk. All I remember about the entire situation was his smile and that at the end he asked me to the movies. I nodded and gave him my number; then rushed out the door so I wouldn’t be left in Ladysmith.
We decided to see Lady Killers on Easter so that there wouldn’t be much of a crowd. We both hated crowded theaters. My dad drove to Lake Land’or to pick him up. We ended up being there an hour early. We had some extra money so we stopped for lunch at Burger King and then walked the rest of the way to the theater. Since we still had some time, John won me a stuffed dog out of the claw machine. It only took him six tries.
Finally, we took are seats in the very back of the empty theater. I was so nervous that my stomach could have won the gold medal in gymnastics three times over. It only got worse when he took my hand. Slowly, as my nerves calmed, my head slid to his shoulder. At some point, I actually started paying attention to the movie rather than how much my heart was pounding, but that was what led to me flinching and holding his hand too tight and hiding my eyes in the crook of his neck. He chuckled and tilted my chin up. He leaned in halfway and left the rest to me. I wasn’t sure if I should kiss him. It would be my first kiss and I didn’t know if I was any good at it.
In the end, I leaned in.