"Why do you always kiss your friends goodbye?" my brother asked me, his head tilted to the side.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, you'd never find two guys doing that. Giving each other a peck on the lips whenever they leave."
"Why not?" I said with a grin. "It might be hot."
Arnold's eyebrows shot up at that.
"So you do it to be hot?"
"Of course not," I replied, rolling my eyes. "It's just a friendly gesture."
"Girls are so
kissy
," he said with a strange look, before falling silent.
I went up to my room - Kristine had just been over to drop off some homework that I'd missed, and I was keen to get it over and done with.
A few minutes later, I looked up to find Arnold standing at my door, an odd gleam in his eyes.
"What's up?"
"Nothing," he said, his eyes flicking around the room, landing everywhere but on my face. "Just wondering when Kristine was coming over again."
"Why?"
A small smile appeared on his face.
"Oh my
god
," I said, sitting up and letting the book fall from my lap. "Are you
into
her?"
"No!" he said unconvincingly, and I shot him a knowing look. "Maybe a little. Do you want to see if she wants to come around and watch a movie some time?"
"Sure thing," I said.
I returned to my work, but he was still standing there, looking at me oddly.
"What?"
"Maybe...maybe you should be there."
I'm not going to lie - it was tempting to make fun of him, but it was obvious that he was nervous.
"Sure thing," I said, and when I next looked up he was gone.
###
I didn't think about it again until a few days later - my brother and I were watching that movie about Drew Barrymore going back to high school, when I noticed that he seemed to be watching me more than the film.
"What's up?" I said, never moving my eyes from the screen. I wasn't even a huge fan of the movie, but when my brother had gone to all the trouble of ripping it to DVD, I felt like it would be rude to not watch it with him.
"I was just wondering..."
He trailed off. With a sigh, I gestured for him to continue. When that didn't work, I prompted him more obviously.
"
What?
"
"I was just wondering if you'd had a chance to talk to Kristine."
Truth be told, I'd had a bunch of opportunities - it had just completely slipped my mind. As I watched David Arquette coach his sister on how to be cool, I felt a bit bad.
My brother liked a girl. Shouldn't I be doing whatever I could to help him out?
"Of course," I lied. "She's coming over this weekend. Are you free?"
"Oh! Oh, yup. Yeah! Oh that's great," Arnold stammered, and for the rest of the film he just watched me in silence as I watched Drew finally get the man of her dreams.
At the end of the film, something that my brother had said struck me. Something he'd said a few days ago, actually.
Kissy.
He'd said that girls were so
kissy
.
I wasn't sure if that was necessarily true. I mean, me and Kristine give each other a quick peck on the lips to say hi or goodbye, but I don't think it's a universal truth or anything like that. It's not like all women are the same.
No, it's not all girls who are kissy. Just me and my friends.
Or maybe just me.
Once the credits began to roll, I leaned over and gave my brother a quick peck on the lips.
"Thanks," I said with a warm smile. "That was really fun."
###
Fortunately, Kristine
was
free that weekend. She didn't even question my invitation to come over and watch a movie, and so on Saturday morning, I was delighted to find that my brother had actually scrubbed up a bit - he wasn't in a suit and tie or anything like that (it would've been weird if he
was
) but he'd clearly put a bit of effort in.
I was in a yellow sundress I'd found in the back of my closet. A little more frippy than what I normally wear, but I guess I was just in a good mood. My arms and shoulders were completely exposed, and my dress ended just above my knees.
Every time the breeze hit me, goosebumps ran all over my body. It felt nice.
I greeted Kristine at the door with a little kiss, and practically dragged her into the living-room where Arnold was already waiting. He'd remembered that Kristine liked Val Kilmer, and burned a copy of that movie where he's teaching Iron Man how to be a private investigator.
To my surprise, Arnold didn't make a move during the whole film - he didn't even sit next to her! I wanted to be annoyed at him, but the movie was surprisingly good, and so I happily sat next to my friend as the story unfolded. I don't think either of us took our eyes off the film once.
When it was done, it took both of us a few minutes to come back to reality. As we did, I saw Arnold sitting to the side, staring at us with an odd look on his face.
Then I saw the strange way that Kristine was staring at me, and it was like my brother faded away entirely.
"Did you enjoy it?" I asked nervously, and Kristine just nodded, biting her lip slightly as her eyes flicked down to my lips.
Kristine was wearing her normal kind of outfit - black jeans, a white tank top under a black jacket. One hand reached out and stroked my arm; a shiver ran through my whole body as soon as she made contact.
"Thanks for coming over," I said, and it must have sounded like I was asking her to leave, because a hurt look came across her face...and she puckered her lips slightly, in preparation for her goodbye kiss.
It didn't look like my brother was going to make his move today (and I had stuff to be getting on with), so rather than explain what I'd meant, I just leaned forward and pressed my lips against hers.
Normally when two girl friends kiss (distinctly different from two
girlfriends
kissing, I should point out) it's just a quick peck and we're on our way. But today, I was...
I dunno. I guess I was just feeling kissy.
Rather than pull away immediately, I kept my lips pressed against my friend's. She didn't draw back either, but just kept running her arm up and down my bare arm. Instinctively, I moved my hand to her waist, and she wrapped her other arm around my neck, as if bringing me in closer.