The First Kiss
The heat shimmered off the street in visible waves, but endless summer days beckoned them outside with promises of freedom. Street ball, bikes, and strolls along the neighborhood canal fueled their growing independence as they crossed from the safety of childhood into the mysteries of adolescence.
New to the neighborhood, Victoria, Vicky to her friends, reveled in her newfound freedom, making friends easily despite her sheltered upbringing. Her new friends included boys as well as girls. And Vicky was learning that boys interested her most. One especially.
His name was Mark Stingone. He was Italian, olive-skinned with wavy black hair and a slight New York accent that was foreign and exotic. He was the first boy who made her feel different inside.
The street ball game had disintegrated, as most street games do, into silliness and laughter, illegal steals and questionable calls. Needing A/C and cold drinks, they all trailed off to the Stingones’ house.
Armed with tap water in Dixie Cups, the gang sprawled in front of the corner TV to catch an old rerun as they cooled off. Vicky sat in what she assumed was the dad’s recliner, its faux leather cooling her skin despite its stickiness.
Mark came over and squeezed into the recliner beside her, their bodies pressed together almost full length.
The room stilled.
The jolt of the contact sent flutters through Vicky’s stomach. Her face flushed. Her heart raced. It felt glorious.
She became acutely aware of his scent, his warmth, the pressure of his body against hers. She never wanted this contact to end. She tried to act normal, hoping no one could see the sudden transformation happening inside her.
And then it happened. He turned to her, his beautiful brown eyes meeting hers.
He bent his head and he kissed her.
It wasn’t long. It was both innocent and the end of innocence.
The kiss was sweet. And electric. She wanted, no, needed to replicate that feeling.
It was the beginning of a lifetime of desire, exploration, and discovery. And whenever she remembered that first kiss, she thought of those beautiful brown eyes and smiled.
