Now that we’ve established that I am single, I think it’s important to inform you all that I haven’t been single my whole life. I totally dated the coolest boy in all of fourth grade.
Unfortunately, nasty rumors of us kissing in the playground tunnel still haunt me today. Truth be told, when he asked for a kiss, I told him no. “Not until high school,” I said. What a goody two-shoes, am I right?
Funny enough, my 9-year-old self wasn’t lying to her popular, fourth grade boy toy. It wasn’t until high school that I experienced my first kiss. And boy, was it awkward.
Honestly, I can’t imagine having a first kiss that wasn’t awkward. It’s just so weird. I mean, why the heck should my lips touch yours? Haven’t you heard about cooties? What if they transfer?
I’ve heard many a story from my friends about their own experiences. While a few have had fantastic staged events leading up to the kiss (i.e., flowers, romantic dates, teddy bears, etc.), some of us are less fortunate. Now, that isn’t to say that it’s the fault of the other person. I’m just as much at fault for my shy, uncomfortable encounter as my first kisser and “boyfriend” of the time.
Henry (his name isn’t Henry) and I began our relationship in December of my freshman year of high school, when I was only 14 1/2 years old. Henry was a junior at the time, he had just gotten his license, and he was a part of the in-crowd. We had been childhood friends who thought taking things to the next level was the right thing to do.
We were much better as friends.
No more than a week into my “relationship” with Henry, our youth group hosted a movie night. I think the movie had to do with time travel, but that is only relevant because time travel would have been nice to prevent this. We decided to go together. It was our first date. (Oh. Em. Gee.)
As the movie began, I snuggled into the couch packed with friends and Oreos. Of course, being the super mature freshman I was, I sat by my new boyfriend. We held hands. It was magical.
About halfway through the movie, Henry decided that tickling me was a great idea. First of all, I loathe being tickled. I took Taekwondo in my younger years, and if you tickle me, the black (orange) belt inside me will plot revenge. Second, the couch was way too crowded for a tickle fight. Third, unbeknownst to me, this was my big moment.
Henry stopped tickling. He looked at me straight in the eyes. I was terrified. Then the unthinkable happened. I was pecked. I was pecked right on the mouth. That was it! I lost my first kiss to a peck on the church sofa!
I didn’t know how to react, so I just turned back toward the movie. I knew my friends had seen. I was mortified. I was an advocate against public displays of affection, yet I had just partaken in the most public of displays. My first kiss.
After the movie, Henry drove me home in his Jeep. We held hands, but I still wasn’t sure how I felt. Kissing made our relationship seem real whereas I wasn’t remotely close to understanding what it meant to have a boyfriend.
As I reached for the door handle and turned to Henry to say goodnight, I was given another spontaneous peck. Bewildered, I opened the car door and headed for my porch. As soon as I reached my kitchen, my family knew. They teased me about my first kiss, and I was so ashamed that I only “kissed” Henry two or three more times over the span of our three-month relationship.
Looking back, I feel silly. Everyone has that awkward first kiss and first relationship. Regardless of whether you have your first kiss under the slide in fifth grade or on your wedding day, it’ll be awkward. The good news is, we all know how you feel.