The Kiss

        Imagine loving someone but never being able to tell him.  This sums up her Junior year of high school.  She was already dating someone when she met him; however, his geeky sense of humor made her stomach hurt from laughter, and his kindness was comforting.  She was torn between what she had and what could be.  It was one year before they could finally have their moment.

          It was a June night, and there was a warm breeze.  The stars illuminated the sky, and the moon poured its radiant light, filling every crevice of the landscape.  The air smelled clean, and the night echoed with the songs of crickets.

         Teenagers were running through the fields and rustling in the bushes, playing a game of manhunt.  This was an end-of-the-year party for a group of students finally happy to have completed Junior year. 

         Amidst the commotion of the game, one pair could be seen forgetting their surroundings and anticipating a moment that had been too long delayed.  Standing in waist-high grass, he held her hands, and she looked into his deep blue eyes.  Nothing was said, but the smile she wore showed that she couldn’t wait any longer.

         He kissed her.  Although he had kissed her before, this felt different.  This was passionate and embracing.  The night seemed to sing as he held her close.  Her insides fluttered restlessly as he held her face in his strong hands, adoration present in his eyes, and whispered, “I love you.”  A short, lingering glance at each other, and then they kissed again. 

         Her hands ran through his hair, down his back, along his arms, across his face, and around his waist, affirming that he was not a dream.  She didn’t know what to make of this fire he was igniting within her.  She had never felt anything like it.  His lips continued to caress hers, and she didn’t know where she was.  She wanted to laugh and cry and shout and dance and sing and do every other thing that a girl does when she is happy.

         Shouting in the distance brought them back to reality.

         “I think they’re looking for us,” she sighed.

         And so it was done, the kiss.  They both left the party that night believing that what they had was perfect and that it would last forever.  It was so innocent.  No inhibitions, no second thoughts.  Just a kiss, carefree and liberating, full of love.

          The summer came and went and, so did their love.  She should have known that something that seemed so flawless wouldn’t last.  Perfection isn’t possible.  Although she hoped that for some reason it wouldn’t happen, she knew that one day he would reach that age where he would realize that he didn’t want to be attached to any one person. 
         
        Even though she looks back on it and longs for another moment, she knows it could never happen.  It’s painful, yet she would never give up that memory for anything in the world.  She is lucky to have had her moment under the stars.