Page 17 of Kiss and Tell
I went up exactly like that, like his mouth had lit me on fire, all my senses suddenly tuned to the sensation of heat. Just heat. So hot, I gave a tiny gasp.
He tensed like he would draw back, but I pulled on the hoodie strings. He kissed me harder, his lips parting the seam of mine, deepening the kiss until I had to slide my hand around the back of his neck and lean into him for support.
What was happening?!?!
I did not know. I did not care. And it did not stop for a long time. I wasn’t even sure how long it was before faint catcalls from the fire ring reached us, and Sawyer pulled away and straightened.
We looked at each other. Or tried to as best we could in the dark. I thought he blinked a few times.
“Um, I’m—”
If he said he was sorry, I’d…I’d…knee him in the crotch. I didnotwant to hear that he regretted it.
“We’d better get back.” I turned to the lake.
“Right. Let’s go.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll tell them you were great.”
“Thanks.” He sounded bemused. “Wait, what do you mean you’lltell—"
But a clamor of “So? How was it? Did you do it? What happened?” questions poured out as the other counselors caught sight of us.
“Tell usssh,” Brinley said.
“She won’t,” Natalie said as I was about to answer. “I’ve known her for years, and she doesn’t kiss and tell. Good luck getting anything out of her.”
“Boo!” Brinley said. “Then you tell us, Sawyer.”
He only shrugged, and we took our seats again, but I noticed he sat a couple of inches farther away than before.
Oh no. Was I bad at kissing? I was nineteen; he wasn’t my first kiss. I hadn’t had gobs of practice, but I thought I knew what I was doing.
“Your turn, Sawyer,” Ben said.
Sawyer dared Natalie to sing the camp song while standing on her head, but I barely paid attention to the rest of the game. The fire was starting to burn down to embers, and I stared into them, trying to divine the truth: did I suck at kissing?
Soon the group broke up, everyone leaving to grab at least a few hours of sleep before the next day of cleanup and traveling home.
I walked beside Natalie to our cabin in silence, thinking over that kiss.
As soon as the door closed behind us, she whirled on me and grabbed my arms, giving me a shake. “So? Kiss and tell, right now. How was it?”
“I…don’t know?”
Her jaw dropped. “You didn’t kiss?”
“We did.”
She squealed. “And?”
“And it was amazing?” Another squeal. “Maybe? I’m not sure what he thought. I think he almost apologized for doing it, and when we got back to the fire, he sat farther away from me.”
Maybe guys didn’t notice details like that, but girls did. Natalie would take it seriously. She tapped her lips, her expression thoughtful. Then she snapped her fingers. “He was too turned on. He couldn’t risk sitting too close to you or he'd gobble you up like a s'more.”
My cheeks warmed. “You think?”
She tilted her head. “You could always ask him.”
