Free The First and Last Kiss by Julius St. Clair

 
     
    This is it. She thought. This is when he finally does it.
    But he wasn’t doing it. He was just leaning in for the popcorn sitting on her thigh, and after they had been talking so much about what a great time they were having. So what was the hold up? They were in the dark, alone, on the couch in her parent’s basement, after he had met her mom and dad and they gave the okay.
    The movie was romantic and s he was leaning back onto his chest under a warm comforter as the snow fell gently from the night sky. The roads were silent, and their hearts were beating fast. She knew he wanted to kiss her. It was all over his lips and the words he said. The way he kept looking at her mouth and not her eyes. He had been thinking about it for hours. So why didn’t he just do it?
    He was shy sometimes at school but never around her. He was confident. Except for when it pertained to this one thing.
    “Where’s the remote?” she asked him, still leaning against him. “I want to pause the movie.”
    “Behind me on the nightstand. I got it.”
    “No, let me,” she said mischievously. She turned around and faced him, their lips were so close that all he had to do was lean in a couple inches. She paused for a second, giving him time to think, and then she reached forward, pressing up against his body and grabbing the remote behind him. On her way back she slowed her descent, ensuring he took in every whiff of her perfume, every touch of her skin.
    But he just wouldn’t move. Yes, he watched. But he didn’t budge, staying quite frozen despite her not so subtle advances. Frustrated and with a heavy sigh, she sat up on the couch and shifted over to the far end.
    We’ll see how he likes this. She thought. I’m sure he’s all hot and bothered by now.
    But he stayed where he was, and to her dismay, started watching the movie again as if her distance was meaningless. All that mattered was the stupid film. And it wasn’t that romantic anyways…
    “Whatever,” she huffed under her breath, pressing the power button on the remote, shutting down the television, blu-ray player and sound system in one fell stroke. Without the glow of the television lighting the room, they were stuck in relative darkness, the light hum of the moon and the off-orange illumination outside providing their light. Neither of them moved for a few minutes until finally, he dimmed the light on the nightstand. Erin was furious.
    “Do you care at all what we do next?” she asked, slightly snapping at him.
    “Of course I do,” he replied, a little too meek for her taste.
    “Do you want to go home?”
    “No.”
    “Then what’s wrong with you?”
    She could see him sigh from where she sat, even without the light brightening his face. Was it her? Was it something she said?
    “I want to kiss you, Erin. More than anything in the world.”
    “Then why don’t you,” she said quickly, then changed her tune. “I mean, you don’t have to know…I was just thinking that…I really wanted to kiss you too.”
    “ Is it okay if we wait a little longer?”
    “Um, sure. That’s fine with me,” Erin said, trying to swallow her disappointment. “I’m sorry I tried to seduce you earlier. Usually the guy’s the one who wants to get the relationship moving.”
    “I wouldn’t say increasing our physical activity takes our relationship to another level. I think it’s how we feel about each other that matters the most.”
    “And…if you don’t mind me asking…how do you feel about me?”
    “That’s hard to say,” he said as she shifted her eyes to the floor. “No, I didn’t mean that in a bad way. It’s just that I don’t know how to act around you. To be honest, you kind of make me nervous. I get butterflies just talking to you.”
    “Me?” she said in disbelief. Before he could continue speaking, she found herself nudging closer to him. “But you’re the big football star. Quarterback of varsity. How could you be nervous around me? I’m so