Sweet Tea and Gods Graces

4

Annabelle was over at the Swifts' house for the night, at 13 and 11, the girls' friendship was still going strong, Annabelle had spent the past couple years ignoring the fluttery feeling she gets in her stomach when Taylor is around, and Taylor did the same for Annabelle. Annabelle had always been honest with her parents, about everything, so they had been aware of the feelings their daughter had for Taylor since the beginning. They were aware as well that those feelings hadn't faded over the years.

Elenor and Mike had planned a cookout for this afternoon, the 4 kids were playing in the pool, Mike and Scott chatting by the grill, and Elenor and Andrea seated at the patio table after making a batch of lemonade for the kids and cocktails for the two of them.

"Taylor stop! I'm gonna beat you up!" Annie yelled with a laugh after one to many splashes from the younger girl.

"You're not gonna beat me up." Taylor responded cockily.

"You wanna bet?" Annie said with her best threatening voice. She never did it though.

The 4 of them continued playing for a long time, with a small popsicle break in between. But after dinner, they found themselves alone in the basement, talking.

"I can't wait to fall in love." Taylor said. The two of them lying on their backs on the floor. Annebelle looked over at Taylor.

"Me either." She said. She was thinking to herself in that moment, what falling in love even felt like. She wondered if maybe she had already been in love with Taylor, or if 13 is too young to know.

"All the boys in my class are gross though, I wouldn't kiss any of them."

"I don't think you have to be in love to kiss." Annie said.

"Yes you do." Taylor giggled.

"People kiss all the time without being in love."

"Do you believe in true love?" Taylor asked.

"Yeah, I do."

"Would you ever kiss someone you don't love?"

"Sure, why not." Annie shrugged.

"Kiss me then." Taylor laughed.

"What?" That caught Annie off guard.

"Well you don't love me, so if you really think you kiss someone without loving them, kiss me." Taylor thought that made sense.

"Your first kiss is supposed to be special even if it's not true love." Annie said nervously.

"Well if you think about it, it would be special because we're best friends." Again, it made plenty of sense to Taylor.

"I can't kiss you Taylor."

"Why not? Are you scared?" Taylor said with a hint of mockery.

"No don't be silly why would I be scared?"

"Do it then, I dare you to kiss me, you said you don't have to love them." Taylor repeated.

"Fine, I will." Annie said matter of factly. And she really would.

"Fine." Taylor egged on. But she did get scared, what if she liked kissing Annabelle?

Annabelle did only very slightly lean in, it would be a hardly noticeable movement, if they weren't so close, or nervous. But just then Taylor sat up and ran to the couch.

She didn't say anything when she ran. Annie tried to brush it off as good fun.

"See you're the one who's scared." Annie laughed, although she was sad. Was it wrong that she wanted to kiss Taylor? Would Taylor think she's weird? She knows her parents told her it was okay, but they also told her that Taylor might not like her back. They said a lot girls just like boys. They said she could just ask Taylor, but she thought that would be weird too.