Kiss Kiss

by Various Authors

  What was I talking about?

  Oh yeah. I was saying that I’ve made a few drunken mistakes, but for the most part, if I was with a guy it was because I thought he might be the one. Or at least someone who I thought I might want to try to make into the one.

  After being with Phillip, I can tell you that I could put absolutely anything on in my closet, and it would look perfect.

  Well, except for the bridesmaid dress I had to wear for Katie’s wedding. Nothing could help that!

  And not because of the outfit, but because of how I feel inside.

  I am positively, one hundred percent, completely complete.

  It’s like the line from that Jerry McGuire movie, “You complete me.” I always thought it was some cheesy movie line. I know that every girl, me included, melted when Tom Cruise spoke those wonderful words.

  But, come on. You complete me? Get real!

  And that’s how you feel when you don’t understand. All this time I’d been going through life not even knowing that I was incomplete.

  I’m telling you, this is something they should teach you in school.

  I’m a college graduate, and I didn’t even know that I had been walking around all this time, slightly defective.

  But I don’t care anymore, because I know it to be true.

  With Phillip, I am complete.

  I yawn, snuggle up closer to him, and fall into a blissful sleep.

  I’m awakened at dawn.

  No kidding.

  By Phillip, kissing the back of my neck.

  Okay, so maybe things with Phillip won’t be totally perfect after all. I mean this morning boy thing is probably going to drive me crazy. He’d better not expect me to start getting up early with . . .

  Oh.

  Phillip starts doing something to me that I am too polite to talk about, but I can tell you this. It’s worth being woken up for.

  Oh!

  Maybe I will become a morning girl after all.

  It’s almost nine and we’re still in bed, trying to get motivated to do something besides stay here all day. The Nebraska game starts at eleven-thirty, and everyone is due to arrive around eleven.

  Speaking of arriving, I realize I still don’t know if Monica is coming to the party.

  So I ask bravely, “Um, Phillip, what about Monica?”

  He looks at me kind of funny.

  “Look, I know you’ve gotten kinda serious with her lately, and well, I just need to know if she’ll be here today. You know, so I can prepare myself.”

  Phillip pulls me close and runs his hand through my hair. God, I love it when he does that. Then my mind wanders to all the other things he does that I love and, I swear, I blush just thinking about them.

  “Why in the world would you think Monica and I have gotten serious? I was just telling Danny the other day that she’s been driving me nuts.”

  I blink my eyes.

  Hard.

  I am going to kill Danny.

  He told me that to make me jealous!

  He manipulated me.

  And it worked!

  Now he will try to take the credit for us being together, and he will never let me forget it. We’ll be sitting in wheelchairs at the old folk’s home, and he will still be telling me that I owe him. And I don’t think I can take that!

  Shit.

  “Danny told me.”

  “Danny lies,” Phillip says, smirking.

  Yeah, I know.

  “That little ……” I start to say a bad phrase about Danny, but Phillip just laughs and kisses me.

  I’m back in dreamland.

  “We really need to get up and get things ready,” I tell him.

  “Nah, I think we should just lock the door, turn off the lights, and not come out all weekend.”

  I am tempted. Very tempted.

  But our consciences get the best of us, so we get up and do everything on Mrs. Mac’s list. While Phillip runs into town to get beer, I take a quick shower and get ready.

  I’m looking at myself in the mirror and am now thinking that I really wished I hadn’t waited so long to get together with Phillip. Aside from all the fun we may have missed out on, I think about how many days I could have looked like this!

  I mean, I look beautiful.

  Incredible.

  And I never look this way. Kind of cute, maybe, but not this!

  Whatever this is, if I could bottle it and sell it, I would be very, very rich.

  Quite frankly, I don’t know how I’m going to get through the party today. I feel like people are going to take one look at me and know. There’s a permanent grin on my face, my knees are weak, and my eyes are smoldering, like there’s a fire in them that can’t quite get put out.

  I might as well be wearing a flashing neon sign. I slept with Phillip. Flash. I slept with Phillip! Flash.

  I don’t think anyone will be able to miss it.

  And I’m worried about this because I really don’t want people to know yet. I don’t need any coaching, or advice, or pressure.

  I want to savor this.

  Oh. And I have a big confession to make.

  I think I may have found my prince.

  I always knew I would, and I know, technically, he’s not a prince, but I don’t think you necessarily have to be royal to be a prince.

  I mean, he acts like a prince, and he treats me like a princess.

  He always has. What more could a girl ask for?

  I’m half tempted to look at the sky and yell up to my parents, I told you so!

  But then I remember they always hoped I would marry Phillip, so I guess we’re even.

  I can’t believe that I’m actually thinking about marrying him.

  It is way too soon to have thoughts like this.

  Phillip gets back with the beer, and I don’t get to attack him again because people started showing up early.

  Damn them!

  What? I missed him.

  And surprisingly, no one notices my neon sign.

  This is amazing to me because every time I look at Phillip, I swear it flashes all the dirty little thoughts I’m having about him.

  I have fun catching up with Katie and her husband, Eric. They just bought a new house and are all excited about it. Lisa brought her new boyfriend, Parker. I like him a lot, and they seem really good together. Other than her big crush on Danny, she hasn’t always had the best taste in men.

  I’m happy for her.

  Hell, I’m happy for everyone today.

  I can’t seem to wipe the happy off of my face.

  Brandon, Joey, and Neil are here too, and a bunch of other old friends.

  I get the big spread of food out onto the kitchen island. While I’m doing that, I can’t help but watch Phillip. He’s talking and laughing. He’s got such an easy way about him. He makes everyone feel comfortable and welcome, and he’s so sweet and so handsome and so . . . everything I need.

  Pretty soon the game gets started.

  After getting everyone else situated, I realize that there is nowhere left to sit, except the floor. So I get brave and plop down across Phillip’s lap. He’s sitting in a big cushy chair, and I sit across the arms in the opposite direction. I figured this move would surely blow our cover, but no one seemed to think it was all that unusual.

  I am really worried about my friends.

  They are not very perceptive people.

  A little before halftime I run to the garage to get more ice out of the dreaded freezer. As I come around the corner I nearly collide with Phillip, whose hands are filled with bottles of beer. He sets the beer down, grabs me around the waist, and kisses me wildly.

  “Do you know how badly I've been wanting to do that?” he asks, when he finally stops kissing me.

  “Yeah, I think I do.”

  He caresses my cheek and declares, “I love you.”

  Shit. Those three little words have woken up my previously dormant brain.

  “Phillip, don’t say that. Okay?”


  “Why not? I mean it.”

  “Phillip, I know you love me. I love you too, but do me a favor.” He starts to roll his eyes at me, but I give him a stern look and say, “This is important to me. Please don’t tell me that you love me until you’ve spent some time with me, and we have a better idea of whether this will all work out.”

  A flash of irritation crosses his face. He thinks I’m looking for a way out, but I am so not.

  “Look, I just want you to wait until you can honestly tell me that you’re in love with me. And I’m not talking friend love, either.” Then chicken shit inside of me goes out onto a big and scary limb. I bite my lip and say, “I’m talking real love, like the forever kind.”

  He smiles at me and kisses me again, very sweetly.

  “I can live with that. Mostly because it means you’re serious about this, about us.”

  He kisses the tip of my nose.

  “It also tells me you’re actually thinking about forever with me. I really like the way that sounds.”

  “We should probably get back in there,” I tell him, but he ignores that.

  “So you were desperate to be with me last night, huh?” He teases, then flips my hair behind my shoulder, and kisses my exposed neck. He’s never gonna let me live this down.

  “Yeah, I was prepared to beg,” I say flatly, trying to keep my cool. But what I really want to do is kick everyone out of the house, drag him upstairs, and see if I can make him desperate.

  “You know, I think I definitely heard some begging last night.” He gives me a huge grin.

  I laugh at that, because I know exactly what he is referring to.

  And, uh, I was begging.

  He’s got his hands up the back of my Husker shirt, and I swear my skin is practically sizzling. I’m tempted to look over my shoulder to see if there is smoke, but instead I come back with, “Oh, really? Well, what I want to know is when you got so religious? I haven’t heard God’s name spoken that many times in church.”

  We laugh at each other and Phillip says, “You know, I keep wishing this game would just get over so all these people would go home. I couldn't care less if they win or lose.”

  Phillip doesn’t care if the Huskers win or lose?

  Wow!

  Now that’s saying something.

  In fact, that may be the best compliment I’ve gotten in my entire life.

  Sunday morning, Phillip and I are awoken around ten by my loudly ringing phone. Yeah, it’s unusual for Phillip to sleep in, but I did keep him up late last night.

  I grope around for the handset and can’t find it, so I hit the speaker button on the base.

  “Hello,” I say groggily.

  “JADE!” Lori’s screaming voice echoes into my room.

  My God, she can’t possibly know about Phillip and me already.

  Can she?

  “You don’t sound awake. Are you still in bed?”

  “Uh, yeah, but that’s okay. What’s up?”

  “AAAHHHH. I AM SOOOO EXCITED!!!!!! OHHHH. I JUST CAN’T BELIEVE IT. YOU’RE. NEVER. GOING. TO. BELIEVE. IT!!!!!”

  “Believe what?”

  “I. AM. PREGNANT!!!!!!”

  “Oh, Lori, that is so awesome!” I look at Phillip, who just rolled over toward me when he heard the news. He has a great expression on his face, and I’m so excited I start to say, “Phil—.” Then I stop quickly.

  Because I am not in bed with Phillip right now, as far as my friends know.

  “What did you say, Jade? Did you say . . . ?”

  I interrupt her. “I said that’s awesome, filipping awesome.”

  “No, you didn’t, you said Fil . . . Oh my God! Is Phillip there? Am I on speakerphone? Phillip, if you’re there, you’d better answer me.”

  I shake my head no at Phillip, but he doesn’t do as I say.

  Sure, now he’s a rebel.

  “Yeah, I’m here, Lori,” Phillip confesses. “Congratulations, this is so great. I bet Danny is just ecstatic.”

  “Um, well, he doesn’t exactly know yet.”

  “He doesn’t?” I ask surprised.

  “No!” she says, and starts talking very fast. “I know I should have told him first, but after he left for the game this morning, I was getting ready and realized it’s been a long time since I’ve had my period, and I looked at the date and saw I am like two weeks late! I’ve been so busy trying to get this house all painted and decorated that I hadn’t even noticed. So I ran to the drug store and bought a home pregnancy test. I was standing here alone when it said “pregnant”, and I just had to tell someone! And I didn’t want to call Danny right before his game and just tell him on the phone, like I was asking him about the traffic or something. I mean, I want to do something special.” She pauses for a moment. “Hey, wait a minute! Did you say you were still in bed?”

  Damn!

  I am so busted.

  “Uh, yeah,” I admit sheepishly.

  Shit.

  “Finally! It’s about time! Phillip, how did you finally talk her into it? I told you it would work out. She is just so stubborn.”

  “Hey! You’re on speakerphone. I can hear you.”

  Phillip kisses me and says teasingly, “I didn’t have to do anything, Lori. She just couldn’t resist me any longer and begged for me.”

  Uh, that’s not exactly right.

  So I stand up for myself and say, “I probably shouldn’t bring this up now that you’re pregnant and stuck with him, but you should know your wonderful husband is a manipulative liar.”

  An evil laugh fills my room. “You mean the little Monica exaggeration? Oh, Jadyn, honey, that was all me.”

  Phillip laughs. He thinks this is just hysterical.

  I shake my head. “So you’re both liars. It’s no wonder you’re perfect for each other.”

  I see I’m not going to win this one. It’s a rare thing, but I know when I’m beat.

  I give up.

  Where’s the white flag?

  Lori sighs peacefully. “This is almost the perfect day. I’m pregnant. You guys are together. Now, if Mark Conway could just get bonked on the head again, Danny could . . . Oh. My. Gosh. I can’t even believe I just said that, or even thought it! I’m so awful. That is just awful!”

  She sounds like she’s going to cry.

  And then she does.

  She’s an emotional wreck. She’s never like this.

  “I would never want that to happen to anyone. Oh my God, what is wrong with me? Can hormones mess with your brain like this? Please forget I said that.” She takes a big loud breath. She is in control and businesslike again.

  Man, pregnancy must be an emotional roller coaster ride, because she has gone through like four moods in less than two minutes.

  “Anyway, so does this mean you two can share a room next Monday night after the game? That would be great, because then I’ll only have to get one guest room done. These construction workers are just moving so slow.”

  “Sure,” I say, “and if we’re not still together by then, Phillip will gladly sleep on the floor.”

  “You guys are going to watch the game today, aren’t you?” she asks.

  “Yeah, you know we wouldn’t miss it. And you know Phillip, he always spoils me, so we’re going to Hooters.” I laugh.

  Phillip grabs me because he thinks I am a naughty girl for saying that. And when he starts kissing my stomach, I have a hard time thinking, but I do hear Lori say, “Cool. Maybe you’ll see me on TV. I’ll wave to you. And when Danny calls to tell you the good news . . . ”

  “We’ll act surprised,” Phillip and I say at the same time.

  Phillip and I go to Hooters and get a table right in front of the big screen. We order a bucket of beers and drummies, hot and extra crispy.

  I know most women hate Hooters, but they really do have good wings.

  The Chiefs aren’t playing very well, even though they have most of their starting players in for this last preseason game.

  About three minute
s into the second quarter, the Chiefs’ defense intercepts a Broncos’ pass, and the offense rushes back out onto the field. On the first down, the play gets totally blown up and the quarterback, Mark Conway, gets sacked.

  He goes down, hard.

  And doesn’t get up.

  Lori must be going crazy. She’ll be convinced that she somehow caused this.

  While the trainers are out on the field, the camera shows Danny warming up on the sideline. They go back to the picture of the quarterback on the field. He tries to sit up, looks like he doesn’t know where he is, and is laid back down.

  The game announcers say it looks like He got his bell rung. Again.

  Evidently, he has a history of concussions.

  Danny runs out onto the field and stands with the rest of the team.

  It takes a few minutes for the trainers to look at the quarterback and get him carted off the field.

  During this time, the commentators talk about Danny’s career at Nebraska, and then they flash on Lori. His wife, they announce.

  Lori waves.

  At us, I know!

  I stand up and wave back.

  On TV, we see her grab a sign from a lady next to her, flip it over, and furiously write on it.

  The commentator starts to say, “I wonder . . . ”

  But before he can finish, she holds up the sign. It says, I’M PREGNANT!

  The announcers love this, and you can see that she is now up on the jumbo screen in the stadium.

  The crowd is clapping and screaming.

  The TV cameras flash back to Danny in the huddle, and we watch as one of the big linemen pats Danny on the back and points up to the screen. Danny looks up at it.

  Unfortunately, we can’t see the look on his face, but I just know he is smiling at that!

  The ref blows the whistle, and play resumes. Danny claps his hands once, and everyone takes their formation. Danny immediately throws a beautiful, deep, 52-yard pass straight into the end zone.

  Touchdown, Chiefs!

  The crowd goes wild. So do Phillip and I, and pretty much everyone in Hooters. All of a sudden, many Husker fans are now Chiefs fans.

  Everyone loves a winner.

  The Chiefs’ defense is pumped and is feeding off the noisy crowd, who feel hopeful about the 17-7 score. They cause a fumble, and Danny is back on the field. He leads the team sixty yards straight down the field, where the running back takes it in from the 6-yard line.