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.