Kale

November 23, 2010. That was the day I officially fell in love with Marjorie Blake.

I’m not exactly sure why I loved her. Maybe it was that her name was French even though she was one hundred percent Irish. Maybe it was that she had eyes so big and blue it was as if you were looking up at the sky when in reality you were staring into those beautiful owl eyes. Maybe it was how she was taller than all of her guy friends except for me, on account that I hit puberty early. Maybe it was a lot of things, but I was positive I loved her.

We were all sitting around the fire pit in Marjorie’s backyard. There were ten of us. Marjorie, Aly, Ashley, Emma, Dana, Ian, Alex, Brandon, Marcos, and then there was me. We were all sitting down, “criss cross applesauce,” as Aly had put it.
Marjorie held a bottle in her hand. She placed it on the ground, and we all watched as it spun. I was pretty sure every guy there was crossing their fingers behind their backs, hoping it would land on them. I’m not gonna lie, I was hoping too. As the bottle slowed down, I started to get a little panicked. I don’t know if I was more grateful or upset when it landed on Alex, who was sitting next to me.
I saw Ashley giggle when she saw who Marjorie had to kiss, and I almost laughed too. Alex was 5’4, a good six inches shorter than Marjorie, and he was probably the cockiest guy at our school. He hugged, flirted, and kissed up to over half the girls at our school, including most juniors and seniors.
Alex jumped off the ground and practically ran over to where Marjorie was sitting. She slowly stood up and was practically glaring at Ashley and Dana, who were laughing so hard they were crying. Marjorie bent down and Alex stood up on his tippy toes. They kissed. It wasn’t romantic or anything, just a quick peck, and the look on Marjorie’s face was priceless. She looked mortified. Alex skipped back to his seat next to me, and grinned for about twenty minutes straight.
No one talked the whole time. The bottle slowly got passed around the circle, and as time flew by everyone had been kissed except for me. Ashley and Ian. Aly and Marcus. Ian and Dana. Alex and Emma. Brandon and Dana. Emma and Brandon.
Finally it was my turn. I spun the cold green-glass bottle with my right hand and waited. I could feel a few small drops of perspiration beginning to form or my forehead as I waited anxiously. The bottle began to slow down as everyone watched intently. I exhaled and almost gasped when I saw who it had landed on. Marjorie.
I stared at her for a minute before standing up. She stood up too, faster than she did for Alex. I walked over towards her and stopped when I was about a foot away. She was looking at me curiously, and I couldn’t help but stare. She looked gorgeous tonight, with her hair hanging down in blonde ringlets and some nude lip gloss on her big vulnerable lips.
She started to lean her face in and I did the same until our lips both met in the middle. I could smell her strawberry lip gloss as I slid my arm onto her back. She parted her lips a little, and I could feel her tongue slip in and out of my mouth. Too soon she pulled away and it was over. I removed my hand and walked back to my spot on the ground. I can imagine I looked like Alex had after kissing her, the taste of strawberry lip gloss evident on my lips.


After my turn had passed we all decided to play truth or dare. It sort of felt like we were in middle school playing all these games, rather than high school sophmores. I went with the flow though. I laughed when Ashley had to eat a spoonful of salt. I laughed when Marcus had to dance around like a monkey for five minutes. I laughed when Dana had to lick Ian’s chest from bottom to top. I laughed when Brandon admitted to masturbating in the shower. I laughed when Emma denied ever making out with someone. I laughed when Alex admitted to having a crush on Marjorie.
I didn’t laugh when it was my turn, though. Of course it was Marjorie that had to ask me. “Truth or dare?” she asked me, staring at me with purpose in her expression.
“Truth,” I said, feeling like a chicken for not saying dare.
“Is it true….” She stopped, pondering for a minute. “That you want to kiss me again?”
“Yes,” I whispered. I looked up from the fire and into her eyes. I would give up a leg to kiss her again.
“What did you say?” asked Ashley, staring at me dumbly. “I couldn’t hear you.”
“I heard him, Ash,” Marjorie said, the hint of a smile on her lips.
“My turn!” exclaimed Aly. Ian dared her, and the chain continued. I wasn’t really paying attention though, because Marjorie and I continued to stare at each other across the fire.

As it got later, and everyone started going home, I found that it was just Ian, Marjorie and I left. We sat on the huge brown leather couch in her living room. Marjorie was in the middle, and she was sitting so close it sent an electric current throughout my body. I wanted to reach over and hold her hand, but I didn’t because it would have been awkward with Ian there.
“How long ‘til your mom gets here?” Marjorie asked Ian.
“I dunno,” Ian answered, “probably in a minute or two.”
“Oh.” Marjorie seemed uncomfortable, and I could tell she was just trying to make conversation.
“What about you, Kale?” Ian asked me.
“Not sure exactly,” I answered. “About five minutes.”
Angie, my mom, said she’d be here in twenty minutes, though that was half an hour ago. She wasn’t the most reliable person I knew, and I would have been surprised if she was there in less than another half hour. For all I knew, she could be having sex in some dark alley with her new boyfriend, Rex.
“Hmm,” Ian mumbled.
We sat there in silence for a few minutes until we finally heard a honk outside in the driveway.
“That must be my mom,” Ian said, jumping up. Marjorie got up too. She hugged him goodbye, and he gave me a small nod before stepping out the door.
Marjorie came back over to me and did something I never would have expected. She sat on my lap. The hottest sophmore at our school, the girl I’d been in love with for years was now sitting on my lap. She was sitting sideways, her legs draped over me, and her face was just about three inches away from mine.
“So Santa, for Christmas I want a pony,” Marjorie said, grinning.
“And I want Red Sox season tickets, but that’s not gonna happen either, little girl,” I said, grinning back at her.
“Hmm, fine then,” she said pouting.
“What about a date instead? Friday night?”
“Santa, I'm appalled!” she said, but then did something I thought would never happen again. She kissed me, wrapping her arms around my neck. I kissed her back, more forcefully than before. She opened our mouths and our tongues began doing that funny wrestling thing that tongues tend to do. Too soon, she pulled away again.
“Hold on,” she said getting off of me. She got back on though, so that she was straddling me this time, her knees tight on the sides of my stomach.
“Better?” She asked, pursing her lips in this sexy way that made me go hard immediately.
“Much,” I said, putting my hands on her hips and pulling her towards me again. This kiss was fiercer, hotter. It was fast, and my head was spinning. I felt her pull away again though.
“Kale, we were just kissing for twenty minutes,” Marjorie said.
“No way,” I said, looking at the clock on their cable box. She was right. “Geeze Mar, I have no idea where my mom is. I'm sorry.”
“It’s alright; I can give you a ride home, if you want.”

“Sounds good,” I said, smiling.

She got off my lap, holding out her hand. I grabbed her hand and let her pull me up.
“Well, that was fun,” she said, smiling, and let go of my hand.
“Definitely,” I said. She grabbed her keys and I followed her out to her car.