Single in Stilettos

My first kiss

I wasn't unpopular in junior high or high school. I dated a couple of boys, but I never could let them kiss me. I didn't understand why, I just didn't let it happen. Many had tried, but all had failed. I had become quite the escape artist when it came to avoiding the dreaded kiss.

I was 15, I had started "hanging out" with a guy, Andy, that I had met at the Youth Conference over the summer. I use the term "hanging out" because I wasn't allowed to date until I was 16, so he and I would get together in groups, thus we were never alone. We had been hanging out for a couple of weeks, and he suggested that we go to the local fair. I was up for it, so we met a group of friends there and did all the ghetto fair rides. It was getting late, but Andy insisted that we do the ferris wheel. I protested (I'm afraid of heights) but eventually gave in. So, it was just the two of us. The ferris wheel gets to the top.... and stops. Yes, it stopped.

I'm looking around frantically, convinced that something has gone wrong and we'll have to jump. At that moment, as we sat at the very top of the ferris wheel something miraculous happened. Fireworks went off. Literally. It took my breath away. I sat there staring at the fireworks, knowing that no one had a better view. I looked over at Andy, he took my hand.... he leaned in.... and I gave him the shaft. Yeah, it would've been a perfect moment in time, but I shafted him. To this day, I'm still not sure why I did that. Needless to say, we "broke up" a few weeks later. We were together 3 months and that poor boy never got any lip action out of me. My Virgin Lips remained intact.

Okay, here's the honest to goodness story. While I was in college, I worked the summers as a camp counselor with a camp that was run by my church educational system called Especially for Youth. The counselors were single young adults between the ages of 19-26. Each week every girl counselor was assigned a guy counselor to be in a partnership. Together we were expected to care for 18-25 kids between the ages of 14 and 18. I was working at a camp based in SW Virginia, I had been working a couple of weeks and had already gotten to know most of the counselors. Every, we would each chose a C.O.W. (Crush of-the Week), usually another counselor or someone working at the campus. Well, I had developed two C.O.W.s, so I was keeping my fingers crossed that I would be paired up with one of them. And I was.

His name was Craig. He was shy and sweet, but after a week with me, he became loud and outgoing. He and I just fit. The way we taught and interacted complimented each other. It was amazing. The other counselors referred to us as the "perfect couple." Whenever we could steal a moment away from the kids, we would. We just walked around the campus, talked, held hands. I was in heaven. But it all came to a sudden stop at the end of the week because he was transferred to a camp in Kentucky and I was to remain there. I met his parents, we exchanged addresses and phone numbers and that was it.

He lived in New Jersey and went to school in Utah, and I was going to school in Virginia. It was doomed from the beginning. But we made it work. We talked on the phone every week. Emailed. We agreed to date other people since we obviously couldn't be together. I didn't date. He did. He got himself a girlfriend, but continued to call me regularly. When they broke up, I was the first person he called. He suggested we get together when he came home for the holidays. So we set it up. New Years in New York.

I drove up to New Jersey and stayed with his parents, we went on our first "official" date, where he took me to a movie, and to see the Jersey shore. He even bought me a Jersey hot dog. I was in my giddy mood, so I took my shoes off and ran down the beach. Yes, he thought I was crazy. When we went back to his house that night, I helped him elaborately wrap a Christmas present for his brother. Our time together was a bit stiff, we didn't even touch.

The next morning, we hopped on the train for NYC. As we ran up the stairs from the station into the city, a bum on the street said, "You all look like something straight from a movie." My heart skipped a beat. I felt certain he meant a romantic comedy, in which we'd live happily ever after. As the day progressed, he took my hand, we cuddled in Central Park. We saw all the sights and around 5 we went to Times Square to begin the long wait for the big countdown. We stood with strangers and laughed and had a great time. We took pictures and called all our friends to rub in their faces that we were in Times Square. We stood for hours and had to lean against each other for strength. I wore his sweatshirt. I thought this was it.

After hours of waiting, the final countdown began. As soon as the ball dropped, tons of confetti was dropped over the crowd like a blanket. He turned to me, and said, "Well, don't I get a kiss?" My heart jumped into my throat as I got on my tip toes and kissed him. Just a peck. But it was all I had ever imagined a first kiss could be. Fireworks went off inside of me. As I pulled back, this is what I saw:

I didn't realize until later that he had been shocked by my prudence. Then he grabbed my hand and we ran 20 blocks to the train station.

I had my perfect moment in time. It was all I could've ever hoped for. I don't regret a moment of it. I didn't lose my VL until I was 21, and I'm so glad that I waited for my perfect moment.

posted by Me @ 9:24 AM