TANGLED PLANS

23

Going out on a date with Justin is not that scary, as he takes me to a movie. There is a new summer movie that has come out, and so when we get there, despite it being a Sunday night, the theater is packed.

Now, I'm not only stressed about being on a date, but I'm also having slight anxious feelings related to the number of people around us. The good thing was that after we grabbed our popcorn and a lot of candy, we headed into the theater to find that we were seated in the middle row. The good thing about this is that we are surrounded by older ladies.

If at least none of the people on our rows were our age, I would've been nervous. Too nervous. Justin gives me a smile as he hands me the candies that I ordered. "You know, sugar is kind of bad for you," he says with a teasing grin, and I roll my eyes playfully at that.

"I love candy too much to care about their side effects," I tell him as I put a small handful of popcorn in my mouth. He shrugs at that and then turns his head to the movie that was about to start. Justin had picked me up late for the movie, and it was a shock that we had enough time to get the food and drinks. The movie had just started as we came in, and once I'm looking at the screen, I'm completely engrossed in it.

I feel Justin's hand rest on my arm rest, so I put my hand in his. The feeling that I was dreading (clammy hands and a fast-paced heart) doesn't come. I'm not sure if it's a good or bad thing; I'm leaning more toward the former, but I can't help but ignore the frown that had wanted to make its way to my face. Maybe I'm just overreacting; I didn't need to feel so much in order to like something.

The fact of the matter is that I started to like Justin, and I like his hand in mine. I like it when he interlocks our fingers as well. Toward the end of the movie, I feel that he has leaned even closer to me, his shoulder resting against mine. I also found that his head was leaning toward mine, and my mind started to fill with thoughts of him wanting to kiss me.

Maybe this was it. Maybe this was the feeling that I knew to look for. He was super close to me, and why would he be leaning toward me if he didn't want to kiss me? The sudden excitement of knowing what to look for when approaching a kiss leaves as quickly as it came. Now I'm left with the fact that he was going to kiss me.

His lips were going to touch mine! That thought and the words Max shared with me yesterday come back to me. This was not going to be my first kiss; I didn't have to be nervous. Max's kiss had been expected, and he had been the one to take initiative, but what was different with Justin's? He was the same. I knew that he was going to kiss me, and if luck was on my side, he would take initiative with it.

"Daisy," he whispers as he turns his head toward me. He has a slight smile on his face, and even in the dark of the room, I saw that his eyes had a lightness to them. This was it. This was the moment that I would be kissed by a guy who genuinely liked me.

Justin's face even comes closer to mine, and I know it's going to happen. I want it to be good. I want the kiss to be something I remember for at least a little bit of my life. With my heart hammering in my chest and all that I've learned about this topic, I move my rather relaxed hand to slip it underneath his jaw.

"Daisy," he whispers, and I close my eyes and tilt my head toward him. The feel of Max's lips comes back to me in a flash, and while I'm kissing my date, I can't get him out of my head. I remember the little smile Max gave after he pulled away from the kiss. I remember his praise for me doing such a good job. I remember his shout of wishing me good luck.

I remember all of it, but the feel of lips on mine. Wait...

I open my eyes to be met with blue eyes that are darkened. Justin is staring at me with lowered eyelashes, and my eyes shift to the fact that the sky has become brighter. No, no, no.