My first kiss ever wasn’t nearly as awkward as you might think
The awful DJ was playing mid-90s pop songs, the sort that we all have been trying to forget for ten years. I don’t know what his deal was. It wasn’t like I hadn’t helpfully given him my Temple of the Dog and Live CDs (labelled with my name so they wouldn’t get mixed up with anyone else’s Live or Temple of the Dog CDs). If there’s one thing a dance party in 1996 needed, it was a healthy dose of alternative rock.
It was late evening, December 31, 1996 in London, England, and I was impatiently looking around a New Years Eve themed London hotel ballroom for my at-the-time favorite girl in the world. We were there on a high school marching band trip, which intelligently incorporated opportunity for inter-genderal socialization for the same reason that you have a fuse on circuits in your house. The girl was only the cutest and most ticklish blonde flute player in the universe (I think it is okay to admit that tickling was a key component of my game back when I was 15), but despite a heavy amount of apocalyptically inept flirting, she wasn’t my girlfriend yet.
Honestly, at 15, I had no idea what girlfriends really were. Like with quasars, I knew the word had meaning and described a thing that exists, but only for other, cooler people than me.
It didn’t matter. I wasn’t even thinking in those terms, I’m sure. I knew that I felt best when Cute Flute Girl was close by, and that I was absolutely sure that I would get to dance with her for the first time on New Years Eve. But as I turned to look out the window into the snowy London night, I started to doubt. Maybe she wasn’t coming after all. But at some level, I knew not to worry. It would be okay. As if to reassure me, the DJ put on a song by The Cranberries.
I turned away from the window, and there she was in the doorway, framed against the brightness of the hallway. She didn’t have to look around. We instantly made eye contact, and as The Cranberries surged in the dim ballroom, I felt like flying as I closed the distance to go stand next to her.
I can’t remember a better New Years Eve than that one, dancing 1996 into 1997 with a girl I didn’t honestly know what to really do with.
—
The evening at its close, we stopped at CFG’s hotel room. She leaned against the wall to the left of the door, and I looked at her, knowing instinctually that something needed to be said.
“Do you want to be my girlfriend?” was what I came up with. Honestly, compared to everything I’ve said in the intervening 10 years, I don’t know if that isn’t the best and least awkward thing I’d ever said to a girl.
She whispered back: “Yes.” And before I could help myself, with absolutely no clue that I was even remotely about to do this properly, with no preparation or warning, I leaned in slowly and kissed her. It couldn’t have been more innocent if we were Disney characters. I also practically passed out.
That was my first kiss.
March 7th, 2007 at 11:48 am
So freakin’ cute of a story! I melt…
Of course, this makes me think of my first kiss. Since I so advertise how “behind” I am, it was pretty late in life. It was nice, not Disney, and kinda awkward. I do remember laying in bed that night with pitter patter heart and a nostalgic blushing smile.
March 7th, 2007 at 1:02 pm
Lucky… my first kiss was during a trashy game of ‘truth or dare’ when I was 11. He was a few years older and had more experience than most 14 year olds should have. He shoved his tongue down my throat. I never wanted to kiss him again. He was my boyfriend for a week after that. I never did kiss him again after that first time.
March 7th, 2007 at 7:58 pm
That’s awesome. I have to say, mine was pretty good too, although in a slightly different way. Like Matilda, I was eleven, and we still had the teachers give us behavioral reports at the end of every week. I was a very well-behaved eleven year old, and so I always received E’s for excellence. There was a cute girl in the class – so cute, in fact, that there was another boy who had a crush on her. She decided to kiss whoever had the better behavior report grade at the end of the week, and he was known for being a troublemaker. That Friday during recess, we went on the playground behind the biggest tree and she kissed me right on the lips. It was surreal.
March 8th, 2007 at 2:16 pm
I really like your blog, you have me hooked on your seemingly endless supply of stories that make me say, “Awwww!” Do you mind if I mention you in a post on my blog and include a link on my sidebar?
March 8th, 2007 at 2:22 pm
Ha! Thanks so much. Sure, go ahead.
March 9th, 2007 at 12:47 pm
Aw! I love the innocence of Disney kisses! :)
March 14th, 2007 at 9:23 pm
Yeah, well I missed on my first kiss. Being the loser I am/was, I didn’t have a car or a license, and so she drove me back to my house after our date. We sat in awkward silence for a moment out in the dark driveway, and after stuttering about for a few moments I haphazardly threw my head in her direction, eyes shut, hoping to catch something.
I caught her headrest.
It was OK, though, she kissed me back.
March 22nd, 2007 at 11:13 pm
That is the cutest, sweetest first kiss story in the history of life, the universe and everything.
Mine was so dull and boring in comparison but with a bit of a sad ending; my first (and only) year at sleep away camp at age 12. He was my boyfriend for one and a half out of six weeks of camp- we kissed once, at the camp dance. People pointed us out to each other and they made fun of me because they all knew it was my first kiss. He dumped me the next day; I thought for years it was because I was a bad kisser!
Now, I know it’s just because he was a silly boy. ;P
March 29th, 2007 at 4:16 pm
That is the CUTEST story ever. Sometimes, when guys think they need to say something smooth and charming, they will actually get better results if they just bluntly ask what they are thinking. This is a perfect example.
I will NEVER forget a guy i dated in high school. He is the ONLY guy who has ever asked me if he could kiss me. I totally melted. And i’ve been waiting for a guy to ask permission ever since. So shy and unassuming. I fall for that every time.
My first kiss? Not especially interesting. I was at my first boyfriend’s house, we were standing in his basement, talking. We had just started dating, and his parents had left to run some quick errands. I just remember it was pleasant. And I wanted to do it again. ASAP.
Our relationship lasted on and off for about a year. It was based mostly on making out in the back seat of his car…..LOL
July 10th, 2007 at 5:04 pm
Gah. I missed my first kiss too, but in a different and definitely lamer way. I was at a small party of about 10 people at a friends house, and, as most groups of thirteen year old girls do when they are the majority, the girls at the party set up a game of truth or dare.
Now, this girl I liked at the time, I had liked for almost half a year, and had, in fact, been narrowly beat in asking her out by a kid who had a better idea of how these things ought to be done.
He was also at the party, and they were still together. And, of course, the fact that I liked this girl was common knowledge among the girls at the party.
So, of course, my first dare was to kiss her.
We moved to a corner of the room, (or rather, she moved. I was in shock, and ended up getting practically dragged) and two other girls held up towels (this was a pool party) to block the rest of the party from viewing us.
We stood there for a second, and while I was busy being nervous, she practically leaped across the space between us, kissed me, and skipped back to the group.
In possibly one of the most embarrassing moments of my life, I failed to register any of this until she was sitting back in her chair.
>.
July 16th, 2007 at 12:09 am
Aww, gosh. That’s soooooooooo cute.
September 11th, 2007 at 3:17 pm
My first kiss was at the age of 12, he was abit older, and alot more experienced than me at the age of 16! we had been really close all summer, we had been working volounterely together. And there was one night, we were lying on the beds talking and we went quiet for like about a minute, he lent over and gave me a little kiss, which wasnt unusual, then we ended up snogging each other, i just happend! but then after afew seconds there was a bright light in my eyes, one of the other guys working there had caught us, shined a torch on us and announced to everyone what we were doing, everyone sat up, we hid under our sleeping bags, but they were going on ‘ Jemz! your only 12, hes 16!’…’ oi shes only a little girl!’ and 3 months on and they still havnt let it go! But Then again…i got a few more kisses off him overthe rest of the summer :P xxx
January 14th, 2008 at 3:47 pm
Aww. That’s a true Disney kiss :) So cute!
My first kiss was early last June. I had barely turned 13, and I was dating this a 16-year-old. We were sitting on a log in a strip of woods near my neighborhood, and I was kinda sitting on his lap. Suddenly he just did it. It lasted like half a second, but it was so sweet. He broke up with me like a week later, though. I’ve dated a couple guys since then, but no one can kiss like him.
February 21st, 2008 at 11:54 pm
Aw!
Yes, I am almost positive that every boy who has hit on me thus far in high school has at least attempted to tickle me.
It’s cool though, cause I secretly LOVE it.
February 21st, 2008 at 11:59 pm
And my first kiss? I don’t remember the first bit of it. I had an out-of-body experience/blackout. It was the strangest thing. I remember falling back to earth and thinking, “warm, wet….OH!”
June 16th, 2008 at 10:58 am
i enjoyed how the first kiss stories went from nostalgic 20+ year olds to immediate experience stories from 13+ year olds…lol
September 25th, 2008 at 4:23 pm
I just melted, completely. Such a beautiful, beautiful story!!
Thank you for sharing it!
Christy
October 1st, 2008 at 2:46 pm
Adorable.
For my first kiss, I was 18, he was 20, and he was my cousin’s best friend. Since we live in a pretty middle-of-nowhere town, he and I decided to watch a movie together since there really wasn’t anything else to do. Admittedly, I had a pretty huge crush on him at the time and wanted to “get to know him better.” Well, we started watching the movie, but that quickly turned to tickling (it really is endearing) and play-fighting on his couch. We stopped and he told me that he knew I liked him, and he liked me back. He said “I would kiss you, but I’m sort of in a complicated situation right now and don’t want to give you any wrong ideas or end up hurting you in any way.” So, crushed, we continued to talk but still kept flirting a lot, and at the end of the night, he said that he liked me very much and would try and figure his situation out quickly so something could happen between us. Then he asked if I still wanted to kiss him.
(I said yes, of course.)
I used to hate that I hadn’t kissed anyone until I was 18, but now I’m glad it happened the way it did.
October 2nd, 2008 at 2:13 am
OH MY GOD! You’re the cutest thing in the entire world!!! Be my boyfriend?
October 2nd, 2008 at 5:04 pm
My first kiss was about as good as they get. I was at a friend’s house for a party, and we were all sitting around a fire, fairly late at night. We were talking about the presidential nominees for the Democratic party (this was back in 2003), and me and a girl I didn’t know somehow ended up talking to each other rather than the rest of the group. In the middle of the conversation, she suddenly stood up and asked me: “Do you want to catch fireflies?”
I joined her, not awkward about being approached by a cute girl for once in my goddamned life, and we chased fireflies for all of 30 seconds before sitting down to “watch the stars” at my suggestion. Next thing I knew, her head was on my shoulder and our lips were touching.
October 6th, 2008 at 6:48 pm
My first kiss was typical teenager first kiss. I was 13 and on a double-date with my girlfriend whom i had been going out with for about a month, and my friend and his girlfriend. It was about halfway through the movie and she put her head on my shoulder and i kinda moved in. I was scared to death of being rejected even though I knew i wouldn’t be. But before long we were hooking up, and we take a 2 minute brake, and i look over and see that my friend and his girl had taken the cue as well.
October 8th, 2008 at 6:53 pm
wow. I’m almost 19 and still waiting for it. stumbled btw
October 10th, 2008 at 4:46 am
My first kiss happened one night when I was 12. I was big for my age and my 16 year old babysitter noticed. That was the best night of my life.
She sat down close to me on the couch and I remember we were watching “Top Cat” cartoon. After awhile she put my arm around her neck and gave me a big smile. Then we spent the next hour kissing until my lips were numb.
Since we’re only talking about first kisses I will end the story there.
November 25th, 2008 at 12:02 am
My first kiss came when I was fourteen. About a month earlier, my best friend and I had confessed our love for each other, and after our eighth grade field day, she and I went to see a movie. After that, we came back to my house, had dinner, and went up to my room. We sat there on my bed, talking. Then, I looked at her, placed my hands on her cheeks, and asked her, “Should I do it?” She looked me in the eyes and said, “I don’t know. . .” Obviously she knew. So I leaned in and did it. I was surprised by how it kind of sucked on my lips. Haha. Before long, we were laying next to each other on my bed, making out for about an hour. I remember thinking at the time, “Yes! I had a good first kiss!”
She broke up with me a few days before high school started, leading into the most miserable period of my life up to that point. She stopped treating me like a friend, and would later change into my least favorite person in the whole world. I’m a freshman in college and I haven’t had a real girlfriend since then. In the past year, I’ve started actually asking out girls and going on dates. Despite two very promising starts, I am still single, but haven’t given up hope.
I feel silly for writing that here, but maybe I just needed a place to say it.
December 23rd, 2008 at 1:00 am
I was 15 when I had my first kiss, too. My “boyfriend” (I use the term loosely, because it was one of those you-like-me, I-might-like-you, we’re-best-friends-so-let’s-try-this-out-awkwardly sort of things that you seem to understand so well) and I were the last two left waiting for rides home after the dress rehearsal for our winter concert, sophomore year in high school (yes, another band kid kiss!). We hadn’t been “dating” for very long and neither of us really had a clue about how these sorts of things were supposed to work.
It felt like our rides were never going to arrive; the bad weather was no help. It must have gotten late, because the lights in the auditorium got shut off. We made our way out to the stairwell by following the light from underneath the side entrance door. The stairwell had a floor-length window, right outside of which was a light post. It had started snowing while we were rehearsing and it was still falling. We stood close together talking as we waited for our rides, and suddenly we both went quiet at the same time. He reached for my hand, leaned down and kissed me – soft, short and sweet – brushing my lips in the most innocent way you could picture a first kiss.
Sadly things went downhill shortly after that and our friendship was never the same – to this day we can’t seem to stay friends, which is a real shame (I’m not even sure he knows that was my first kiss) – but I will always remember that night and that simple little kiss. Thanks for giving me a place to share it. :)
January 1st, 2009 at 2:19 pm
This is the sweetest first kiss story I have ever heard. Ohhhhhh it sounds like it was amazing :). I won’t share my first kiss story since it was pretty boring and I didn’t even like the guy that much. Honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever gotten that butterflies, fireworks kind of kiss ever. I’ve kissed a lot of people, but they’ve been more hook-up kinds of kisses than “i really like you” kinds of kisses. How sad :(. I guess i’ve just never kissed someone I really liked.
February 2nd, 2009 at 6:10 pm
Well, that was adorable. =]
My first kiss was interesting. I was about 12 and it was with my boyfriend of the time. He was 15 or 16. Not sure. We were in a silly long distance relationship and didn’t see each other much. One day we went to the GA Renaissance Festival together. After getting sunburned and standing under a tree for a while watching all of the people in costumes, he asked me if he could kiss me on the lips- he would always kiss my cheeks and shoulders. I thought it was weird but I said yes. Then I had to turn around and actually do it. So I kind of turned it into a hug but when I pulled away he kissed me anyway.
It was interesting. He was a decent kisser. But I am much happier with my current boyfriend. haha
June 7th, 2009 at 9:38 pm
I am 16. I will be 17 in about a month. I have never kissed a guy before. There was this one time when it was supposed to happen, but somebody started walking down the hallway and we both chickened out. Another time it was suppossed to happen, but i turned my head and ended up with his spit on my cheek.
September 25th, 2009 at 3:02 pm
me and my best friend both liked each other a lot, and were lying on the grass in my garden in the sun and talking with our faces really close together and I just decided to do it.
September 26th, 2009 at 12:39 am
Dear Louise,
This is the kind of post that makes me happy that I have this blog.
From,
Justin