Monty’s bedroom door flew open and Sebastian stumbled in.
“She wants to kiss me!” he exulted, throwing himself down on Monty’s bed, face down.
“Who does?” Monty asked, setting his book down on his writing desk and turning towards his friend calmly.
“Gretchen.” Sebastian mumbled into the sheets. “Help me.” He rolled over and stared at Monty. “What am I supposed to do?”
“Do you want to kiss her?” Monty asked.
Sebastian nodded enthusiastically. “Yes! But I have no idea what to do. What’s it like?”
“It’s like you said before. Girls are soft. They seem almost breakable honestly.”
“Okay. Breakable. Got it. What else?”
“I don’t know. What do you want me to say Seb, it’s different for everyone, and hard to explain.”
“I’m screwed. There is no way I’ll be able to do it right. I’ll make a fool of myself.”
Monty glanced back at his desk for a moment, sighed and got up from his chair to walk over to Sebastian. “Do you want me to show you?”
“What?”
“Just once for practice. Kissing a guy can’t be that much different than kissing a girl.”
“Just one kiss?”
“Unless you beg for more.” Monty chuckled, but Sebastian only rolled his eyes.
“This is not a time to joke.” Sebastian murmured, lips set in a straight line.
“Okay, well first thing’s first, try to loosen your lips a little bit.” Monty teased. “no one wants to kiss someone with tight lips.”
Sebastian sighed, and tried to relax as Monty leaned in closer to him. “Okay,” he whispered. “Now what?”
“Now, I’m going to lean forward and press my lips to yours. Close your eyes and do what feels natural and we’ll go from there. Okay?” Monty’s voice was soft, and encouraging, and his warm breath drifted over Sebastian’s cheek.
He nodded, and let is eyes drift close like Monty told him to, but something brushed his cheek and his eyes flew open again.
“What?” Monty insisted, his hand resting gently on Sebastian’s cheek. He pulled his hand away quickly though when he saw the surprise on his face.
“Your hand. I wasn’t expecting your hand. Do we have to do hands?”
“Hands generally come into play.”
“Oh okay. I guess I just needed some warning.”
“Okay. I’m going to put my hand on your cheek. That’s a normal thing to do when kissing.”
“Okay.”
Sebastian closed his eyes again, and this time only jumped slightly when Monty’s hand slid over his cheek. It was hot, as if he’d been holding it over a candle just seconds before. Or maybe it was Sebastian’s cheeks that were burning up.
“Is this okay?” Monty’s voice was breathy and soft, and Sebastian nodded. “I’m going to lean in now.” His breath was already so close that Sebastian had a hard time realizing that he hadn’t already pressed their lips together.
That is, until their lips actually met. Monty was soft, and his breath was sweet like peppermint, and his lips were parting, and Sebastian’s heart was hammering in his chest and he didn’t know what to do, and he couldn’t move and he couldn’t breath.
He pushed Monty away, and stared down at his hands in his lap. His heart was hammering and pressing on his lungs, making it hard to catch his breath.
Monty laughed.
Sebastian shot him a glare. “It’s not funny; I’m doomed.”
“It was your first kiss. It’ll get easier. I promise.”
“How many girls have you kissed?”
“A few. How many girls I’ve kissed isn’t what’s important. It’s how many times you’ve kissed someone that’s important; how many kisses you’ve had.”
“How many kisses have you had?”
Monty chuckled again, and replied, “a few.”
“That’s not a good answer.” Sebastian moaned, and flopped down onto his back, making the bead creak. “Maybe we should practice again.”
“That’s up to you.” Monty replied, being careful to stay very still.
“Just once more?” Sebastian murmured.
“Just once more.”
