Fifteen Feet Ahead

Chapter XIII

Chapter XIII

That had not been my first kiss. That was my second kiss.

"You what I really don't get?" Duncan began, slurping his McDonald's milkshake.

"What?" I echoed, sucking on my yellow and red striped straw. It was rare occasion that our moms got us McDonald's, but of course when they finally did, it was the time they were giving out the Bratz toys for girls. I hated Bratz more than I hated Barbies. Lucky Duncan sat there on a branch of my banyan tree, clutching his new glow in the dark Hot Wheelz car in his hand.

"Kissing." He tossed the toy up in the air and caught it.

"What about it?" I asked, leaned up against the tree trunk, and debating whether to throw my hideous Bratz doll up at him or not.

"What's the big deal about it? Why are they always the huge and important part of the movie?"

"I don't know." I had never really thought about it.

"Sanders had his first kiss yesterday."

That's when I was interested. I didn't think kissing was even allowed when you were ten. I didn't think anyone would even dare to do it. And of all people, Sanders?

"Who was it?"

"I don't remember, but that doesn't matter. She doesn't even go to our school."

"Oh. But what does it feel like?"

Duncan shrugged, "He just said that it was weird."

"A good weird? Or a bad weird?"

"I don't know. I didn't ask." Now I was really curious. What was the big deal about a kiss anyway? I kissed my mom and dad every night before bed. How would kissing a boy be any different?

We remained silent for a minute or so, a million questions running through our naïve little minds.

Suddenly it hit me, "Hey, I have an idea!"

"What?"

"Let's try it, just to see what the big deal is?" I thought I had the most brilliant and clever mind that a fifth grade girl could ever have.

Duncan was hesitant, "Really?"

"Yeah, c'mon don't you want to know what it feels like?!"

"Yeah, I do." He climbed down from the tree, and plopped his skinny body right beside mine. I smiled big and bright, charged by the adrenalin of the thought that I was doing something that was off-limits.

"Okay, on a count of ten." I scrunched my eyes shut.

Together we counted, "One, two, three, four." Duncan was nervous, and his voice twitched more and more as the numbers increased.

"Five, six, seven, eight."

He took a deep breath, "Nine."

I closed my eyes even tighter and began to lean forward. "Ten."

Our lips touched for less than a second, but I can still recall the touch of his mouth. It was the weirdest thing I have ever felt in my entire life.

We instantly jumped away from one another.

"That was so weird." He shrieked. "A bad weird."

"Ew, I know," I was disgusted with myself that I once thought it was a revolutionizing idea to kiss Duncan.

"Let's never ever ever do that ever again."