The Bucket List

☑ #11: Kiss A Boy

            Oliver hadn’t been kidding when he said that Blue owed him.

            “How the hell do you bake an ice-cream cake?” she squinted at the recipe book.

            “I dunno,” he shrugged, propping his feet on the kitchen table, which Blue swatted down immediately. “You’re the one who has to bake it.”

            “Why are my making me do this anyway?” Blue whined. “Of all the things you could’ve made me done, you choose something as stupid as this? I overestimated your brain, Oliver,” she shook her head as if disappointed with him. He just smiled at her brightly and brought the front two legs of his tipped-back chair to the ground. It screeched as he moved to the island stool, set his elbows on the counter, and rested his chin in his palms. Oliver stared at Blue expectantly and she huffed, rolling her eyes. “Fine.” She threw the recipe book to the side and brought a big mixing bowl out from her cabinet (Mama was a huge believer in food that tasted good and cooked all the time—much to the distress of her very much health-aware wife), “Men. So demanding,” Blue muttered, pouring the needed dry ingredients into the bowl. Oliver smirked as he watched her.

            When Blue tried cracking the egg open the shell wouldn’t break, which didn’t help in reducing her annoyance. “Goddamn,” Tap. “Egg.” Tap. “Won’t.” Tap. “Fucking.” Tap. “Crack.” Tap. She got a few more taps in before Oliver sighed and made his way around the island. He grasped the egg around Blue’s fingers and she tried her best to ignore the warmth seeping into her from where his chest barely brushed her shouler. His hands were big and cold and she loved it. Tap. He tried cracking the egg against the bowl’s rim. Tap. Against the counter’s edge. Tap. With his [short] nail. He groaned in annoyance and let go of her hand to reach for a different egg. But somehow his sleeve snagged the corner of the brown egg carton and pulled it to the gound, causing seven eggs to crack very effectively.

            “Shit,” he muttered and Blue couldn’t help but laugh.

            “Wasn’t how I was expecting you to crack the egg, but I guess it works,” she teased and he made a face at her. “I should clean that,” she decided out loud and took a step, expecting to find linoleum floor, but instead her socked foot met something wet and slimy. Blue’s leg went out from under her and with a yelp she grabbed Oliver’s arm. Surprised, he couldn’t prepare himself, so in the heat of the moment he grabbed the closest thing to his hand—which just so happened to be the bowl of flour. Because of the cliché factor playing in every event of Blue’s life, she landed with white hair and Oliver on top of her. At the last moment he braced his arms on either side of her head so he didn’t crush her under his weight. “Uh,” she mumbled, unsure what to do and very glad that the white powder coating her face obscured the blush that was no doubt spreading across her cheeks as she spoke.

Blue hadn’t meant to be in this position. She hadn’t meant to like the feeling of his body pressed against her, his sweet, lollipop breath rustling the stray hairs in her eyes. She was being stupid and reckless; she knew that. But she couldn’t help it. Oliver cleared his throat a bit awkwardly but made no sign of moving.

“You know,” Blue’s eyes were trained on his lips. So close. So far. Fuck it, she thought. Life was too short to not act on impulses. “If you kiss me right now, I could check that off my list.” Only after speaking did she find that it was the truth—it was on her list.

☑  #1: Hug the first person I see on the streets

☑ #2: Sleep under the stars (no tent or anything; just on the grass)

☑ #3: Learn to play the piano

☑#4: Go skinny-dipping

☑ #5: Trespassing and have a picnic there

☑ #6: Finish a book under an hour

☑#7: Go to a concert

☑#8: Get drunk

☑#9: Get a tattoo

☑#10: Climb a hill so high that I can see the entire city and just scream.

☐ #11: Kiss a boy

Oliver’s eyes widened. “You’ve never been kissed?”

“Would I have said that I haven’t if I have?” she asked, finding it a bit hard to roll her eyes because of how their close proximity was affecting her.

“Well.” His voice became low and took on a slightly rough undertone. “I guess I should kiss you then.” Oliver’s smile was teasing. Blue had always thought breathing was an unconscious process but somehow her lungs woudn’t expand right now.

“I guess you should.” It came out as a near whisper.

“I’ll just kiss you now.”

“Okay,” she breathed.

“Okay.”

Her eyes shut and then he was leaning down to kiss her. Blue smiled against Oliver’s wonderfully chapped lips. Blue had seen kissing multiple times. On the screen, her parents, she had even walked in on Jane and Brody once (but she was forced to promise with wide eyes and an equally as large grin to never speak of it again). She had read countless stories with it. But she found that kissing wasn’t at all like they had described it. No sparks, no swirl of emotions in her heart. She had always wondered what was so special about kissing but now she realized that there really was nothing special about two lips touching. No, it was whose lips her’s were touching. 

Her stomach felt funny and her cheeks were no doubt bright red under the white coating. And she liked kissing Oliver, she decided. It was exciting in a way different from skinny dipping and getting drunk. It was one she craved, one she could get used to—one she wouldn’t mind not checking off her list just so that she could keep doing it over and over again.

“I guess you can check that off now, then,” his voice was raspy when he pulled away just barely. Their warm breaths mingled and noses touched. He smelt heavenly.

 But Blue just hooked her arms around his neck and pulled him back to her mouth, muttering a “Not yet,” against his lips. 

A/N:

Blue and Ollie sitting in a tree. 

Dedicated to NerdyBirdie for her wonderful works and for the fact that I'm already so devoted to Looking For His Lips and it's only had two parts for, like, the last year. But I still love it. I think that means something.

And I know that the stereotypical thing to put on all bucket lists is stuff like having sex and losing your virginity but I wanted to keep this more simple and innocent, if you will. Because I just don't picture Blue (or Oliver, for that matter) wanting to do that before she dies.

Vote? Comment?

-Nova.