Pretty much everyone will be kissed at some point in their lives. Everybody who is kissed has a story. Sometimes that story is romantic, or gross, or unexpected, or any number of things really. This one is mine. I was seventeen, shy, and not the kind of girl who was looking for a first kiss any time soon. I was busy with my girlfriends, and work, and just enjoying being young. That being said, I was typical in that I had crushes on boys I knew, and celebrities of course. Jonathan Taylor Thomas and Leo DiCaprio were my favorites. It was the aftermath of Titanic, and it was inevitable. I had some friends who were going to a school dance. It was the girl-ask-guy dance at the beginning of the year. I hadn't been on more than a few dates at most, and I didn't know anybody I'd want to go with. I kind of had this idea in my mind that I would love to go out with a jock. I wanted an athletic guy that was handsome and good at some kind of sport. I didn't know anyone though, and time was running short. My friend Jenny really wanted me to go, and so she asked her cousin Brendon if he would go with me. We had never met, nor spoken with each other, but he agreed to go... and he ran track. He went to a different school, but Jenny and Brendon's other cousin Rebecca was also going with a guy from another school so I guess that was normal. The morning of the dance the whole group of twenty or so dates gathered together for our day date. I came in and was introduced to my date. He was very nice, and very tall. He was muscular, and slim, and seemed to be easygoing and very easy to talk to. Then Rebecca's date arrived. I had heard the girls talking earlier about Travis, but didn't know much other than he was "so awesome" and "gorgeous". Awesome, probably... gorgeous, no doubt... and he was wearing a Letterman's jacket. I watched him out of the corner of my eye, and how could I not? He had dark hair, an infectious laugh, and commanded the attention of everyone in the room. This was exactly my idea of that jock in my mind. Everything about him fascinated me in that moment. I was intrigued, but he was Rebecca's date, and therefore off limits to even consider being interested in. Besides, he obviously liked Rebecca if he was going on the date with her. Through the day, the cousins stayed close, so the six of us got to know each other better than the rest of the group. We talked and laughed and played together for hours. Then, just before we split up to get cleaned up and ready for the dance, we decided to take a group photo. I sat to the left of Brendon, and sitting to his right was Travis, and then Rebecca. We got situated and Travis put his hand on mine behind Brendon. I didn't think much of it, being that there had been no indication of any interest between us. Several pictures were taken, and somewhere in there he squeezed my hand. Then I got it. What I would give to see that expression on my face at that moment! We went our separate ways for a few hours, and then got back together for dinner and the dance. Glances were stolen, and smiles exchanged with an eager look from him and a blush from me. I didn't know the first thing about flirting at the time, and I was just trying not to show that I was aware of his interest. I really was enjoying my date, and Jenny would kill me if I hurt Rebecca. I had no intention of gravitating toward Travis, being the situation was what it was, and I didn't want anything to happen that would make it awkward. Thankfully the evening passed very pleasantly for everyone, and eventually the six of us bid the rest of the group good night, and piled into Jenny's mom's minivan. Brendon lived the furthest away, so he was first to be dropped off. As I was walking him to his door to say goodnight, the minivan drove away... no doubt to give us "privacy". Well that was awkward. It became even more awkward when Brendon leaned down to kiss me and I turned my head away. I apologized and told him I hadn't ever kissed anyone before and wanted to kiss someone I loved when it did happen. He was totally fine with that, being that he had never kissed anyone before either. He went in the house and I sat down on the curb and waited for the minivan to come back. It did a moment later, and I climbed back to my spot in the very back seat behind Rebecca. Travis waited not three seconds before he was next to me. Jenny eyed us from the rear view mirror as she and her date chatted. Rebecca was involved in that conversation too, so Travis had me mostly to himself. He asked me if I had kissed Brendon. I shyly said no. He didn't believe it, and asked if he had kissed me then. I again said no. He was teasing and laughing as he asked if we had held hands as we walked up to the door, if we stopped before he went in and stared deeply into each other's eyes like this, and realizing that we were mad for each other, didn't he put his hand to your face (as he put his hand to my face), and kiss you like this? And then he leaned in and kissed my lips. It was little more than a peck, but it felt like magic. My lips tingled with the sensation of his on them, and the whole world melted away for a moment and became just us. His teasing stopped as soon as he kissed me and he paused for my reaction. I was surprised of course, and only said quietly that I had never been kissed before. He said he wouldn't have kissed me then, like that, if he had known it was my first kiss. At the moment I didn't mind. Shortly the world came back abruptly as Jenny's voice broke in asking for directions to his house. He looked apologetically as he went back to his seat next to Rebecca and gave the directions. We arrived at his house and the two of them walked to the door to give their good nights. I couldn't see them and wondered if he was the kind of guy who just kissed girls because they were in front of him. A moment later Rebecca got back in the car and reported that there had been no kiss at the door. I smiled to myself realizing then that he must have meant it. That night I fell asleep still replaying that kiss. That stolen, magical kiss that I will never forget because it was my first.
