Kiss List (Book I of the List Series)

Chapter 3 - Sam

Chapter 3 – Sam

The girls wasted no time picking out our first target.  Figuring we should start out with the easiest get on the list, they decided that the first lucky guy would be Sam Queen.  He was just a sophomore, they reasoned.  The idea of making out with an older girl probably appealed to him and my age would give me and air of experience and authority.

Olivia came up with the plan.  “Boys love to tease each other and egg each other on.  It’s a socially-acceptable means of challenging each other that I personally believe stems from a concept in psychology known as the Challenge Hypothesis.  Anyway, here’s my plan.  We get you dressed up and help you with your makeup and then you walk down the hallway with us past Sam and his friends.  You flirt a bit with him as we walk by, just enough to get his and his friends’ attention.  That’s all you have to do.  The boys’ testosterone will do the rest.  The boys will see how pretty, popular, and athletic you are and will begin teasing Sam about making a move on an older girl.  He will be motivated to rise to the challenge to show them up.  I don’t think you’re going to need to play hard to get with this one; he probably won’t have the patience for it.  Just take him somewhere a little quieter – not too quiet, he probably wants to be seen – and give him a smooch.  If we’re not around to take the picture have him take one with your phone.  He’s not going to object to having the proof out there.”

“Are you sure?” Alyssa asked.  “That sounds risky.  Shouldn’t Sadie take charge and just kiss him?”

“No way,” Oliva said.  “Like, think about it.  Sam needs to feel like the hunter.  As long as he feels in charge he’s going to be on the offensive.  If Sadie takes charge, her air of authority and mystery from being older is going to become overpowering.  Sam’s not going to be in the mood to make out if he feels like a little boy who is having his strings pulled by an older woman.  Let him be the man and think he’s in control of the relationship.”

“She actually has a good point,” Payton said.  “It’s a fine line to walk but if you do it right, he should be all over you.”

“Fine, the less I have to do the less chance I have to mess up,” I said.  “But what do I wear?”

“I think a girl’s first kiss requires something special,” Payton said.  “It’s time to go shopping!”

The following day after school we all squeezed into Alyssa’s beetle and drove to the mall.  We spent over three hours trying on clothes.  We all had to try them on, of course.  Finally, however, it came down to one outfit.

“I’m not wearing that,” I said as I stared at it critically.  “There’s no way my dad would let me out of the house in it.”

“So sneak past him when he’s not looking,” Payton said.  “Come on, it’s gorgeous.  We’ll all chip in.”

Alyssa came over to my house the following morning while it was still pitch black out to help me get ready.  She expertly wielded my curling iron as I blended my foundation.  I didn’t want too much makeup on.  I would not be comfortable if I didn’t look natural.  Then, too soon, I was ready to put on my new outfit.  I nervously slipped it on and zipped up the zipper. 

“Well?” I said to Alyssa as I fidgeted nervously.

“Wow,” Alyssa said.  “That sophomore boy won’t know what hit him.”

“Stop,” I said flatly, though I was secretly pleased.

“Seriously,” Alyssa said.  “I’m going to follow you two around with the defib paddles in case we need to restart his heart.”

When we got to school, I knew Alyssa was right.  The first person we saw when we entered the building was Katie Eaton, another junior and a cheerleader.  When she saw me her mouth dropped open.  Then she walked into a pole in middle of the hallway and dropped her books.  “Umm, I...” she said as she knelt down to pick them up.  Alyssa rushed to help her but I kept walking.  I knew there was nothing I could do.  There was no way I could kneel down in what I was wearing.