“Oh, Dean Anderson? We were just flirting; we do that. We’re not an item, you know, and he’s not here anyway.”
We caught sight of Aria and Jack, swaying to the music. They melted into each other as Aria played with his shoulder-length hair. He held her by the small of her back, pulling her as close as he could get away with by the chaperone’s standards.
“So, tell me what else happened with Kyle.”
“Well, I’m embarrassed to admit it, but I sort of asked him out on a date,” I whispered.
“You did? That’s awesome! I’m hearing a ‘but’ in there.”
“Well, that’s the thing. He didn’t really answer me. His friend called him over and he left.” Krissa bit her lip, mulling over what I’d just told her. She didn’t say much and appeared to be deep in thought. Like a true friend who knows when to let it go, she didn’t comment any further on the situation. I’m sure the look on my face had something to do with her reaction as well. Eventually, the fast music came back on and we were able to rejoin the dancing ranks.
After the dance, Krissa and I found ourselves waiting outside by Kylie’s car and dancing around to keep warm. Krissa soon spotted Kylie up by the school, but she was not alone. I strained to recognize whose body Kylie’s was entangled with, and was shocked to see that it was the guy who had picked Kyle up after lunch. I told Krissa as much, but she had no idea who he was.
“His name is Jon.” I spun around, caught by surprise. There was Kyle, walking toward us with a smug look on his face.
“Were you at the dance?” I asked, trying to be casual. “I wouldn’t have pegged you for the dancing-type.”
“No, Jon and I were just in the area. Kylie said she’d be here, so we stopped.”
“Are they dating?” Krissa asked.
I had almost forgotten Krissa was standing there, so her voice startled me and I jumped a bit. That’s what Kyle did to me for some reason. Whenever he talked or was nearby, it was like no one else was around.
“Yeah, something like that,” Kyle said. “Looks like they’re wrapping up,” he added, lifting his chin toward them.
I looked and saw what he was talking about. Kylie and Jon were kissing each other passionately; Jon’s hands were holding her face tenderly.
“Wow,” I said under my breath. I coughed right away so Kyle and Krissa wouldn’t hear my longing to have someone kiss me like that … someone like Kyle.
“See you later,” Kyle said and began to walk away.
“Yeah, see you later,” I called after him. Kyle began to jog across the street just as Kylie came running over.
“Sorry, guys, but Jon wanted to see me.”
“About time, geez! We’re freezing our butts off over here!” Krissa scowled. “I didn’t know you had a boyfriend. How do you know him?”
“I think the more interesting question is; how you two know Kyle?” Kylie countered.
“What do you mean?” I asked, climbing into her Talon. “What’s wrong with him?”
“He’s trouble, and kind of a player,” she informed me. “I’d stay away from him. Definitely not like Jon. I’m not even sure why they’re friends.”
I could feel my stomach sink, but I wanted to know more about Kyle—good or bad. Krissa saw my mouth pulling down into a frown and poked me to get my attention. “She doesn’t really know him,” she assured me, “it’s just rumors. Don’t put too much stock into what Kylie is saying.”
I wished Krissa’s assurance made me feel better, but I couldn’t stop thinking about Kylie’s words. People always say there is some truth to the grapevine, but I couldn’t get her comments out of my head. The guy didn’t have a good reputation and it felt like every time his name was mentioned, bombs would go off in my face. If they’d been real, I’d be full of shrapnel by now.
I didn’t see Kyle at school the following Monday and decided that instead of wasting time looking for him after school, I’d go spend some quality time at the downtown library to get what I needed for a report that was due the next week. Once there, I searched the non-fiction isles and found a certain title that would help me get started that didn’t weigh ten pounds.
Flipping through the book and stopping to read every few pages, I noticed someone walking toward me. At first, I figured it was the librarian, coming to tell me to stop leaning on the books, so I straightened up. As the person came up right next to me and slowed, I looked up. It was Kyle. What in the world is he doing in a library?
“Hey, what are you doing here?” I asked, but Kyle only answered me by suddenly grabbing my face with both hands and kissing me. I was caught by surprise, but my body knew what to do.
The kiss was no longer than ten seconds, but it seemed to last forever. Kyle’s lips were soft and warm against my own. I could feel the temperature on my skin rise a few degrees as his tongue danced lightly along my lips, eventually intertwining with my own. When it was over, he turned and walked away, leaving me there feeling dazed for some time. What had just happened?
I knew I had to tell someone before the euphoria that I felt wore off, so I called both Aria and Krissa from the nearest pay phone—neither answered. I couldn’t believe they weren’t available when I had such news to share! I grunted and roughly hung up the pay phone’s receiver outside of the library. I decided it was time to go home. I tried Krissa and Aria again that evening, but no dice. I would just have to wait until the morning to tell one or both of them.
That whole night I tossed and turned, trying to make sense of Kyle’s kiss. Around two o’clock, after finally drifting off, I dreamed about Kyle and being in his arms. His touch was as soft as his kiss, and he traced his fingers along my neck, murmuring his feelings for me. The dream could not have lasted long enough.
The next morning I woke up feeling pleasant, but exhausted. The clock read six-thirty and I rolled out of bed and hopped into the shower. At least I had a few moments to myself under the hot water to think about where my dream possibly may have led to next.
I didn’t see Aria before math, so afterwards I waited for her just outside of science class. I was a bit annoyed when she showed up just before the last bell, but that didn’t keep me from telling her that my crush of all time had kissed me.
“Details, I need details!” she screamed.
“Well, if you had come just a bit earlier, I’d have time to share,” I teased, pulling her along with me into the classroom.
As luck would have it, we had a substitute for science class, and to top it off we were to watch a movie. Aria and I whispered back and forth in the back of the room as I gave her all the details that I could recall. It seemed so surreal and I was sure I had them right, but I also felt like my mind went a little wild and imagined part of it. Aria was as excited as I was.
Between classes, I made it a point to walk near the areas I thought Kyle would be. I wanted to see if he’d show some kind of reaction when he saw me. At least that would give a better idea of where we stood. I didn’t have any luck, that is, until lunch time when I spotted him walking across the overpass towards the school. My heart raced and I grabbed Aria by the sleeve of her jacket. She ran out the door and raced ahead of me to Kyle. I held back just a bit because I didn’t how he would act toward me.
Aria and Kyle exchanged a few words before