Alone, we sat in his small car, around 4:00 or so in the morning. The lights of the day were just beginning to seep through the sky. High school prom had consumed all hours of our night with dancing, laughing, and terrible singing. We had been around noisy crowds as we all mingled and played games during post prom. Now it was just the two of us, in the peaceful silence of his parked car during the post prom of the post prom.
We talked and laughed hysterically, drunk and high on our exhaustion from the ceaseless celebration. If cops were to drive by, they probably would have questioned us because we were so far off in our own world. We were both a mess, frizzy hair out of place and eyelids sporadically drooping. I have no recollection of half of the things we had discussed that morning, but I do remember one thing. It was his first kiss.
The laughter and conversation had died down, but we still lingered. My mind was poisoned with worries as to why he hadn’t tried to kiss me yet. I was sure I must have been doing something wrong until I noticed his body language. His face was flushed a light hue of pink, arms crossed, fidgety and quiet. He had never had his first kiss. He didn’t know what to do. He didn’t want to embarrass himself. This was a sacred moment to him, and I didn’t want to ruin it. I would feel remorseful if I brought him regret or stress. I didn’t want to steal his first kiss; I wanted to give him his first kiss.
I felt his consent through his nervous smile and leaned over cautiously, making sure this was what he wanted. Our lips faintly brushed and slid into place, locking the moment into memory. Feeling his warm breath between kisses it reminded me of the precious thing that life is, and I was now a delicate brush stroke in his mind’s portrait. Life is full of firsts; each should be approached with the same caution, enthusiasm, and respect. As a society, we do not value enough the importance of firsts. It’s always a constant rivalry for more. We rush through life so fast that we fail to embrace the first steps, first attempts, first oppressions, first perfections, first wishes, first kisses.