The Endless Kiss

Chapter 1

It wasn't that Esmeralda didn't like parties. There was nothing she liked better than celebrating a birthday or anniversary or even the occasional housewarming. What Esmeralda had an issue with was the kind of parties that people had for no reason at all. The kind where a bunch of people were just sitting around at home and one turns to the other and says, "Hey, we've got nothing to do, lots of alcohol, tonnes of snack foods & my IPod stacked with tunes. I know, let's just invite hundreds of people over and see how much trouble we can get up to." And then the other bored buddy says, "Sounds awesome. I'll go order some pizza."
It wasn't that Esmeralda was a killjoy either. She really enjoyed being with her friends and having a laugh. It's just that she didn't enjoy the way people lost control of themselves as soon as they had a bit to drink.
And that's how she found herself standing; practically trapped, in the kitchen of somebody's house. She had her back wedged into the corner of the kitchen counter and all around her were people drinking, eating, swaying and shouting over the music blasting from some speakers in the other room.
"Come on Ezie, come and dance!" Jasmine had encouraged her before shrugging and disappearing through the kitchen door. That had been about twenty minutes ago and although Esmeralda was getting a bit worried about Jas, she didn't want to move at the risk of losing her safe place in the kitchen.
A guy pushed his way through the mass of bodies and approached her. She looked up at him cautiously. He smiled kindly at her and then leaned over so his mouth was near her ear.
"Do you have any more corn chips?" He asked her. She could smell the stale, yeasty aroma of beer on his breath.
"It's not my house." She told him. He smiled again and shrugged. Esmeralda thought he would walk away in search of some other kind of food, but he leaned down again.
"You're cute. Wanna dance?" She felt like he was leaning closer this time. Esmeralda knew she was probably the biggest prude that ever lived, but she knew that this guy wasn't interested in dancing. She could tell by the way he was looking intently at her mouth. She took a microscopic step back.
"I've got an ingrown toenail." She told him. He looked confused for a minute and then shrugged his shoulders again. With a nod of his head he launched himself back into the crowd and disappeared.
Watching his retreating back, Esmeralda could hear Jasmine's disapproving voice in her head. Ezie! Why didn't you dance with him? He's cute! You're not doing yourself any favours by hiding in the kitchen...
For a moment, Esmeralda wondered where Jas was. Probably pushed up against the wall somewhere with some random guy's tongue down her throat, she thought bitterly.
She wondered how she always let Jas talk her into coming to these parties when she disliked being at them so much. But Jas always promised that this party would be fun and they'd have such a great time... And Esmeralda seemed to fall for it every time. She sighed and felt bad. Jas was her best friend in the world and Esmeralda knew she couldn't ever let her down so she always said yes, even if it meant hours of standing in strange people's kitchens fielding questions about snack foods.
Esmeralda reached for the plastic cup of lemonade and took a sip. It was going to be a long night.
As she put the cup back and looked up she felt her eyes drawn to the crowd in front of her. The people might have changed but they were still all doing the same things. She was focused on a guy who seemed to be trying to drink a bottle of beer without breathing when she noticed a movement in the crowd.
It was as if the mass of bodies was parting; slowly widening to create a path...
Curious, Esmeralda watched to see what would happen next.
Just then, a guy emerged from the crowd and the first thing the Esmeralda noticed were his eyes.
Dark, mysterious and focused intently on hers. She felt a tingle run down her spine.
The boy stepped forward and walked over to her as if he'd been seeking her out.
Standing in front her; still holding her with his thrilling eyes, Esmeralda waited to see if he would speak. Instead, he stepped right up to her, reached up and placed his hands up into her hair, behind her ears. Esmeralda felt a surge of panic, but only for second, because then he leaned down and put his mouth on hers. Gently he began to kiss her. Esmeralda was overcome by barrage of feelings and sensations; all of them exploding in her brain as the kiss lingered on and on. She felt her arms reaching up for his neck of their own free will. He stepped closer so that their bodies made contact.
Esmeralda thought that hours must be passing while she kissed this stranger and somewhere deep inside she hoped that it would never end...
But, just as she felt like her whole body might catch fire the boy suddenly pulled away and stepped back.
She looked at him; surprised, confused, exhilarated.
He smiled broadly.
Esmeralda smiled back.
Then he turned around and stepped back into the crowd in the kitchen. Esmeralda watched stunned as he melted into the bodies and the darkness.