First Time for Everything

by Andrea Speed

  I break free from his hand, though in truth I just want to hold on as long as I can. He has such a strong grip, and he makes me feel so comfortable and protected.

  I go to the black T-shirt that has the big pink mustache across the chest, and Frankie is right. It isn’t cheap. Thirty dollars could be considered a bit steep in some circles. I pick up the shirt in my size after searching through the rack and grin, looking back at E.Z.

  “Whatcha think?” I say to him as I hold it up to me.

  “I think if you want it, get it.” He winks at me and I melt. Damn, he’s perfect. Full lips that I want to have a taste of. I want to lean over, in that moment, and kiss him. I can’t afford this shirt. My mom is on a limited income, and I need to deal with school. My mom won’t let me get a part-time job because she says school is important, she says I’ll thank her one day for just having me do school.

  “It’s kinda pricey, E.Z. Are you sure?”

  “Very sure. Now, if you want it, let’s go. We have only so much time before we have to go see the movie.” He turns to Frankie.

  “Is there anything you need, Frankie?”

  “Naw, E.Z. I’m cool…. My dad got me a shirt almost like it the other day. You just get it for our girl right here.”

  Heat suffuses my face. I feel so hot when she calls me their girl. My God, does she know how badly I want to be that? I mean, of course I’d take baby steps. I’d wait to see if we all clicked, even to see where we would go with all this. All I want is a kiss, a special touch of the lips from my two most favorite people in this whole world.

  “Why is your mouth open like a fish, chica?” Ezekiel asks with one of his brows raised.

  “Oh.” It’s all I can think to say, as I don’t realize my mouth is hanging open like a fish. I grab Ezekiel’s hand with the one that’s holding the hanger and grab Frankie’s with the other.

  “Come on, like you said, we have to get to that movie. You know I can’t wait. I love fantasy.”

  “Yeah, we know… we all love fantasy.”

  We make our way to the cash register, Ezekiel grabs the T-shirt and pays, and we head past the cashier into the main mall. It’s so nice how you can go in through the front doors and then be connected to the inside of the mall. We walk around, checking out storefronts as we go, though we do it a little quicker than normal, as we want to be at the theater so we can get popcorn, drinks, and candy.

  It’s opening night for the movie. We head out of the mall to the theater entrance outside. We’re smart enough to come extra early and use the kiosk to buy our tickets so we won’t have to wait in a long line. I look up into the sky and am surprised at how clear the night sky is. It is beautiful, and just then a falling star streaks across the sky. I smile and close my eyes, and I make a wish.

  The silence and peace I’m feeling is broken by a slight cough and clearing of a throat. I gaze directly into E.Z.’s beautiful eyes.

  “Let me guess, you’re wishing upon a star.”

  I give him a crooked grin.

  “Yes, I am. You know me so well.”

  “Yep, and I think I know what you’ve wished for. But let’s get into the movie, and the three of us can talk about it once we’re done.”

  “You do? Oh my God, you’re gonna make me wait three hours before you tell me what you think I’m wishing for?” I frown at him and cross my arms as we get up and head inside the theater. Handing our tickets to the ticket taker, we do as we always do and head for the food court.

  “Yep,” he chuckles, staring straight ahead, making sure he isn’t making eye contact with me, though I know he knows I am trying to get him to. Every once in a while, I hear him laugh, and I poke him and huff.

  “Can you believe that, Frankie? He’s straight up going to leave me hanging.” Inside, though I’m joking, I’m a quivering mass of nerves. I mean, what if he knows what I want, but he doesn’t want it? Oh my God, I want to die. When I turn my attention to Frankie, she just has this mysterious expression that makes me even more nervous. Sighing, I move forward in the line with them and try to act as if nothing is bothering me. If there is any such thing as butterflies in the stomach, I sure have them right now.

  Ezekiel hands me the large tub of buttered popcorn he ordered for us and grabs the carrier that holds all three drinks and the three different boxes of candy, then he takes the bucket from me, and we all head into our theater. As we settle in our seats, way at the top of the theater so our backs are against the wall, the excitement of sitting with my two best friends wins out, and I find I’m not nervous anymore. I’m in the middle of the two of them in the dark. Not like it hasn’t been that way plenty of times. Since I’m in the middle, the popcorn is in my lap so all of us can eat from it. I dare to glance to the right and then to the left, and both of them are caught up in the movie previews.

  Frankie gives a small laugh and then leans forward to speak to Ezekiel.

  “Should we put her out of her misery?”

  Blink. What the heck is she talking about? Put me out of my misery? There go the crazy butterflies again, dancing as if we’re at a hip-hop concert and I’m the star on stage.

  “What are you two up to?” I frown and sit back in the chair, casting my gaze from one to the other yet again, trying to see if I can decipher what the heck they are up to. I can’t keep the suspicion out of my voice.

  “I think we should let her stew a bit,” Ezekiel says in a slow, purring roll.

  I can’t help looking at him as if he’s lost his mind. Frankie and E.Z. both laugh. The people in front of us turn back to eyeball us, and the woman holds her finger up to her mouth and shushes us. It’s only the previews, and we’re being shushed. We quiet down, though of course we don’t totally stop. We’re kids. Kids have fun; adults don’t seem to have much.

  “Tell me what you two are talking about.”

  Ezekiel gestures to Frankie, and they lean in close to me. “I was going to wait to tell you this when we got out of here,” he whispers, “but we can see it’s driving you crazy. So we’ll put you out of your misery.”

  Ezekiel takes my chin in his hand and turns my face slowly to his. He looks deeply into my eyes, and I can’t breathe.

  “We know that you want to kiss us both.”

  “H-h-how?” I croak out.

  “Well,” says Frankie, “that notebook you let me borrow a few weeks ago? You scribbled it on some back pages. I guess you forgot you’d done that. I read it, and I told E.Z.”

  I feel heat suffuse my skin, and I swallow hard in embarrassment. “Why didn’t you tell me? Oh my God, you guys let me go around all this time, and you didn’t tell me.” I try to jerk away from E.Z., to stand on legs that are feeling like Jell-O. E.Z. doesn’t let me.

  “No… we were waiting for the right time to have the kiss we want to.”

  “But… you guys never said anything about wanting to kiss me. I mean, like, never.”

  “I never thought you’d want me like that,” Frankie states, and she takes my hand in hers and gently squeezes.

  “E.Z.?” Oh my God, this, this is crazy!

  “I knew you liked girls and boys. I wasn’t sure you liked this boy.” He points to his chest.

  “What does this boy think now?”

  “That I’m going to give you a kiss, and we can go from there.”

  Whoosh.

  The air leaves my lungs, and I’m staring blankly at E.Z. as he still has my chin. He strokes his thumb across my bottom lip, and I know this is real. I’m going to get my kiss. Not just from him, but from my wonderful Frankie.

  E.Z. doesn’t give me a chance to say anything. In the next instant his lips are on mine, and I’m in heaven. I sigh softly as his lips move over mine. It’s as if he wants to eat me up, and you know what? I’m going to let him.

  Whimper.

  Ezekiel is pulling away, and I know it’s my turn to get a kiss from Frankie. I turn to her, and because we are the same height, all I have to do is lean in and take what I want, what I know s
he wants. We meet each other halfway, and as our lips touch, E.Z. grips my other hand. This is what I consider perfection.

  The kiss is tentative. I know Frankie has kissed boys, and she’s kissed girls. The slowness is on my part. I want to savor the kiss. Finally, she pulls away when the sound of the previews dies down and the movie gets ready to start.

  I breathe and settle back into my chair, still holding their hands in a death grip. It’s amazing that the popcorn hasn’t tumbled over. My heart, though, is filled with such awe of the moment, and all I can do is whisper to them both.

  “Thank you.”

  All through the movie, I’m on cloud nine, and I can’t really say I remember everything that happens in it. I’ll have to watch it again, but what I can say is, I will remember that I received their kisses at this movie, and it was the best moment of my life.

  KEVAY GRAY is a mother of two, whose love of reading at the age of twelve urged her on to write characters finding their own romances. She loves to read, write, game, and spend time with her children.

  She belongs to Romance Writers of America National, OCC RWA local chapter, Young Adult Chapter RWA online, the Beau Monde online RWA chapter, and Rainbow Writers online RWA chapter.

  www.AuthorKevayGray.com

  SUMMER CRUSH

  SR SILCOX

  YOU KNOW when you like someone so much that when you see them, you totally forget what you were doing, like walking, and crash into a pole, and then everyone looks at you like you’re a complete and utter idiot? That kind of thing has happened to me ever since I first met Ellie Preston in first grade.

  Thank God for my best friend Ben, who steers me around those poles that jump out of nowhere. Plus, he bought me some really cool sunglasses to wear, because Aussie summers are perfect for subtle gawking. Short shorts, tank tops, bikinis….

  “Lusting after straight girls is so not a good look,” Ben says, pulling off his T-shirt.

  “I’m not lusting, I’m just—”

  “Drooling,” says Ben, pointing at my face.

  I wipe my hand across my chin but find no trace of drool. Ben laughs. I’ve really got to stop being so obvious.

  “You should just tell her, you know.”

  “What? No way!” Stupidest idea ever. I’m happy just liking Ellie from afar. Mostly.

  “What could it hurt? You’re out and proud, right? Any girl would be flattered to find out that you like her.”

  God, Ben has no idea. “It’s not the same for me, Ben, and you know it.”

  “You never know if you don’t try is all I’m saying,” Ben says, rubbing sunscreen into his chest.

  “Speaking of telling people, when are you going to ask Jules to the formal?”

  “Soon,” Ben says.

  “It’s only a few weeks away. You’re running out of time.”

  “It’s a delicate operation,” Ben says.

  “Yeah, right. If you don’t ask her, maybe I will.”

  “Whatever,” Ben says. Jules is the new girl in school. She arrived just before exams started and has had all the guys following her around like little lost puppies. Most of them would have asked her to the formal except they got in early with the other girls. Ben and I were going to go together, but when I saw how much he liked Jules, I let him off the hook. So far, he’s chickened out every time the topic comes up.

  “So, still on for the weekend?” asks Ben, changing the subject and turning for me to put sunscreen on his back.

  “I guess.” I finish rubbing the sunscreen onto his back and then wipe the bit he always misses on his ears.

  “You guess? Come on, Jess, this is the last one ever. Plus, it’s tradition. You can’t mess with tradition.”

  He’s right, as usual. This is like the preformal formal party that everyone gets to go to. Not everyone gets an invitation to the formal after-party, and it’s safe to say that I’m in the “not everyone” category.

  “I tell you what,” I say. “I’ll come to the party if you ask Jules to the formal.”

  “How about if I ask Jules to the formal, you tell Ellie you like her?”

  “You’re such a pain.”

  Ben smiles. “Come on, Jess. It’ll be your last chance. Besides, everyone will probably be too drunk to remember anyway.”

  I sigh. He’s right about the too drunk to remember part. “Where are we having it?”

  “Zac’s dad’s place down at Trinity Bay. We’re camping out the front.”

  Great. On my list of Things I Want to Do on My Weekend, camping isn’t even in the top twenty. And camping on the beach? On sand? Ugh.

  “When are we going?”

  “I’ll pick you up around four tomorrow.”

  “Whatever.”

  “Way to sound excited,” Ben says, punching me on the arm. He stands up. “Last exam, here I come. You staying to watch?”

  I glance over to the pool where Ellie’s doing some stretches. “Sure, why not? I have to help Emerson clean the lab, but I can watch for a little while.”

  Ben shakes his head, and I can tell he wants to call me a suck-up, but instead he heads down the hill, takes two steps off the concrete, and leaps into the pool.

  Today is phys ed test day. I don’t do phys ed, but Ben does. And so does Ellie. She walks around to the end of the pool, bends down to scoop some water onto her chest and wet her hair down, and then dives in. She surfaces just in front of me, shakes the water out of her hair, and wipes her face with her hand. If this were a movie, it would be happening in super slow-mo, just so I could get the full affect. She sees me looking at her and gives me a quick wave.

  Before I can wave back, she turns to start her practice laps. Just as she turns at the far end of the pool, her boyfriend (and my nemesis) Zac runs across the concrete and bomb dives, just in front of Ellie. She comes up spluttering, and Zac grabs her around the waist. She tries to push him off, but he holds fast. Trust Zac to spoil a most wonderful moment. I take that as my cue to head off and help clean up the lab. I need to work out how to get out of my agreement with Ben. Drunk or not, I am not telling Ellie I like her.

  BY THE time we reach Trinity Bay the next afternoon, I’m feeling like my teeth have been rattled out of my head. My dreams of a mansion on the beach are dashed when Zac’s dad’s place turns out to be a tin shack. Ben must sense my dislike because he says, “It’ll be fine. You’ll see.” He beeps the horn and gets out of the car. Zac leaps down the stairs of the shack, chest-bumps Ben, and takes the cartons of beer Ben has brought from the back of the ute. “Thanks, man,” he says and then nods at me. “Jess.”

  “Zac.”

  I help Ben unload the ute and take the box of food we’ve brought inside the shack while Ben takes the camping gear out and picks a spot for the tent. The windows in the shack are all pushed out and held open with pieces of wood. It’s a great view of the water from here, and I can see some girls I recognize from school on the beach in their bikinis, watching some of Ben’s football mates crash tackling each other into the surf. Very mature.

  The room I’m in has some old cupboards and a sink as well as a weathered table that looks like it might fall over under the weight of all the booze on top of it. Ellie’s at the far end emptying a bag of ice into an Esky. She stands up and turns around. She smiles when she sees me and says, “Hey, Jess. You can put that stuff under the table. Not much room on top.”

  I place the box on the floor and say, “That’s a lot of booze.”

  “I think most of our class is coming, so it’ll be shared around.” Ellie wanders over and starts rearranging the bottles on the table. She opens a box of beer and starts ferrying the bottles to the Esky. I do the same. It gives me an excuse to be close to her. We haven’t spent a lot of time together since she started going out with Zac.

  “You don’t drink?” Ellie asks, pushing the bottles down into the Esky and scooping the ice over the top. If we were as close as we used to be, she’d know the answer to that question.

  I shrug. “I don’t re
ally like it that much.”

  “I didn’t like it at first either,” Ellie says, wiping her hands on a towel. She comes back over to the table and sits down on a rickety chair.

  “You do now?”

  “I discovered Cruisers. They’re like drinking cordial, except they give you a buzz.”

  “I’ve never tried them,” I say. “I’ve only tried scotch before, and I didn’t like it that much.”

  “You can have one of my Cruisers later, if you like,” Ellie offers.

  Before I can answer, Ben appears in the doorway. “We’re all heading off to get some wood for the bonfire. You want to come and help?”

  “Sure.” I stand up and look at Ellie. “Do you want to come?”

  She says, “I should stay and get the food and drinks organized.”

  I say, “I guess I’ll see you later.”

  THE BONFIRE is bigger than the last one I went to, fueled mostly by textbooks no one will ever use again. I threw my maths and English books in, but held on to my science ones. I figure they might come in handy when I go to uni. Someone brought a stereo, and the music’s blaring, making it hard to hear much of anything. There are a few people wasted enough to dance, but I’m not one of them.

  Ben drops down beside me on the sand, sloshing his drink over the side of his cup. “Three guesses what I just did,” he says.

  “You punched Zac in the mouth.”

  Ben laughs. “No.”

  “I’d love you forever if you did.”

  “You love me forever anyway. Try again.”

  Someone turns the music up, and I have to raise my voice for Ben to hear me.

  “You ran to the lighthouse and back.”

  “Nope, but I could totally do that.”

  “You… won the beer-drinking comp.”

  “I totally did, but that’s not it.”