First Kiss

It was a crisp October night as the two looked into each other's eyes. It was late and they were both tired, but going to sleep meant being apart, and although they both needed rest, neither wanted to be apart from the other. Neither had ever loved anyone as much as they loved each other, nor had felt as in love as they felt that night.

It was nearly six months earlier that they met. She was twenty-two, and he was twenty-three. Both had dated others, but their convictions and God's protection had protected their virginities and their sexual innocence.

Within the first three months after meeting, they both grew to mean more to each other than they ever expected. They were in the midst of a fairy-tale romance that neither had experienced previously. All during this time, they kept any physical expressions of their budding love at bay. She had been hurt in a prior relationship that involved a modest degree of physical contact, and although God intervened in that relationship to protect her virginity and sexual innocence, that relationship left her extremely guarded in that area, determined to protect her heart and her purity.

Meanwhile he was falling deeply in love with her, and he valued their blossoming relationship so highly, that he was patient and sympathetic of her concerns. He too was a virgin and was committed to physical purity, but his would have been a quicker timeline. Yet because of his love for her and his respect for her dignity he gladly adopted her time line as his own. This woman, destined to be his soul-mate, already meant more to him than any desire he had for physical intimacies.

And so, their relationship grew, free from any sexual activity but with a growing sexual tension between them. Month after month they grew closer, with the mutual understanding that they would not start down the path of exploring each other's sexualities. Although at the time they didn't fully understand how this would affect their relationship, it allowed their hearts to grow close without the complications that sexual expression brings to a young relationship. With no need to give any mental or emotional energy to those things, no need to worry about what to do and how soon, or how things were being perceived by the other, they were free to devote all of their efforts and time to getting to know each other better, enjoying each other's company, and falling in love. And so, their love for each other grew deeper each day.

They had known each other for six months and had dated that entire time. During those six months they grew to mean more to each other than anyone else ever had. They spent most of their available free time together. During the most recent two months they spent time together nearly every day. The question of what they would do during their discretionary time no longer needed to be asked or answered. They both assumed that they would spend all of their free time together, and they did. They both wanted it that way. Their relationship was growing deep roots that, even though unknown to them at the time, would hold them together for a lifetime.

It was a crisp October night as the two looked into each other's eyes. It was late and they were both tired, but going to sleep meant being apart, and although they both needed rest neither wanted to be apart from the other. Neither had ever loved anyone as much as they loved each other, nor had felt as in love as they felt that night. They relaxed in the living room of her parent's home. He reclined on the couch while she sat on the floor in front of him. They talked long into the night. Not about large memorable things, but rather just things that were on each of their minds. His jokes made her smile and his ability to share himself in conversation made her feel safe and comfortable. They spoke of concerns, and fears, of interests and shared experiences. They each expressed the wonderful love that they found in each other.

Her father snored quietly in his recliner a few feet away, having fallen asleep some time ago. Eventually their conversation diminished. The pauses between thoughts expressed grew longer. They starred deeply into each other's eyes. The love they felt that night was not mere fleeting romance or momentary sexual tension. Rather it was rooted in half a year's shared experiences. They had already laughed together and cried together, played together and prayed together, learned to support and encourage each other and to build each other up. It was in these things and others that the love they shared that night was rooted.

Finally their conversation ceased entirely. There was nothing left to say which seemed appropriate to the moment. They looked into each other's eyes and both felt love from the other that neither ever experienced before. He reached forward and with his left hand gently touched her temple, pushing a few stray hairs back into place. He let his hand linger, caressing her temple, behind her ear, finally holding her cheek in his hand. Though innocent and non-sexual, this touch felt intensely intimate and yet completely comfortable to her. His touch left her feeling at ease, trusting, safe and secure.

Their lips parted slightly and their breathing increased. A desire for each other, present all evening, grew stronger. Kim looked into his eyes and saw his desire for her, but behind it saw a love like none she ever experienced.

Slowly Mark moved his hand from her cheek and cupped her chin gently. She responded not by pulling away but by allowing these intimate touches to continue. He saw love and desire in her eyes. His heart beat faster as this woman he loved more than any other allowed these intimacies to continue. He wanted to kiss her with every fiber of his being. Unknown to him, she wanted that every bit as much as he did.

He felt a bit lightheaded. He reached forward and touched her lips with the tip of his middle finger. Her mouth opened slightly as she breathed heavily. While looking into her eyes he slowly traced a circle around her lips with his finger. Her eyelids appeared to grow heavy, as they closed ever so slightly. Across her upper lip, back across her lower lip, and back again across her upper lip his finger lightly grazed.

She responded in kind by reaching her hand to his mouth and tracing across his lips with her finger. It thrilled him to have her respond to his touches with touches of her own. Her touches, like his, were light as the touch of a feather, and carried with them the thrill that comes only with shared openness and intimacy.

He dropped his fingers down away from her mouth, and took one final look deep into her eyes. He saw love, trust and a complete lack of concern. He tilted his head slightly to the side and leaned toward her imperceptibly. She did the same.

He closed his eyes as their lips touched for the first time. Her lips felt warm and soft to him as they engaged his. Her lower lip slipped briefly between his before they pulled slowly back from each other. They looked into each other's eyes again momentarily. Both smiled loving smiles and brought their mouths together again, this time with a bit more urgency and passion.  His lips felt warm and moist against hers and the feeling made her heart stir.

They continued to kiss for several more minutes. A feeling of sexual excitement began to rise in them both. This was the first time they kissed, and the first time they stirred sexual arousal in each other. Although usually held beneath the surface, they lived with a low level sexual tension between them for months, and now, their first kiss brought it to the surface.

She had never experienced a kiss with this level of meaning, or excitement. Not a first kiss, not any kiss. She had looked forward to this for months, sometimes realizing it and sometimes not, and now, finally experiencing it, it felt wonderful in her body, and perfect in her heart. It was, without a doubt, worth the wait.

-THE END-