Fate's First Kiss

Iris heard it said that you never forget your first love. She always thought that was just something old people would say to keep teenagers from going too far too soon. Then she met Donovan George. Everyone at Kent High School knew Donovan. All the girls swooned over his dark eyes, unkempt raven hair and athletic build. He was a defensive star for the KHS Tigers, a junior already committed to playing for South Carolina State University. He didn’t have a steady girlfriend, but he did have plenty of applicants for the position.

Except for Iris McClelland. While the natural beauty of her Irish ancestry was well matched for Donovan’s good looks, years of moving from place to place due to her dad’s job left her shy and awkward. That awkwardness walked right into Donovan George one Friday morning before the pep rally, causing them both to fall to the hard tile floor of the school hallway. 

“I am SO sorry!” she exclaimed, mortified as Donovan was pulling himself up from the ground.

“Are you okay?” Donovan asked politely. 

“I’m fine, are you?” she inquired.

“Oh sure, I’ve been hit harder than that, on the field.” he laughed

As he watched her pick up her freshman Algebra book, he took the opportunity to see what or who he had been tangled up with. He took in her long strawberry blonde curls, fair skin and curves just where he appreciated them, and decided to turn on the charm. 

“I’m Donovan George,” he said as he lifted his right hand to her in greeting. “But my friends all call me Dodge.”

As she lifted her eyes to him, he felt his breath catch in his throat. His brown eyes were staring into the most mesmerizing green eyes he had ever seen. He couldn’t stop his heart from beating quickly. 

“I’m Iris McClelland,” she replied taking his outstretched hand. Instantly she felt as if she had been walking on carpet in the middle of winter. The shock pulsed through her veins quickly and hard. One look in his eyes and she could tell he felt it too. 

“I better get to class.” Iris said.

“Will you be at the football game tonight, Iris?” Donovan asked

Something about the way he said her name made her stomach turn over, like the feeling she got before a big test, but then realized she knew all the answers simultaneously.

“Wouldn’t miss it,” she murmured as she walked away. 

For the next six months they were inseparable. She would watch him practice after school and he would help her babysit her little sister. They would go for ice cream, to movies, and long walks around her neighborhood, holding hands wherever they went. 

He was aware of how much younger Iris was than him, so he didn’t want to scare her away. He had been with other girls before, but no one had made his heart feel this way. None that had this sweet innocence of liking him for who he was, instead of for being a football star. He could tell her about his fears, about playing college ball, and how his dad’s heart attack last summer made him stay awake at night, fearing that another one could happen at any time. He could laugh with her while at the pet store at the mall, letting all the puppies jump and lick all over them. He could be himself. He had fallen in love with her. 

He decided he would tell her after their regular date of ice cream and a walk after Friday’s big game. With any luck, he would be celebrating the win that would take the KHS Tigers to the state championship, and hearing that Iris was in love with him too. He couldn’t wait for Friday. 

Donovan waited to see Iris before the game, as usual, but she didn’t show. Several times during the game he would look up in the stands for her, and she wouldn’t be in the spot where she always sat to watch him play. Worried something was wrong, he rushed to her house as soon as the game was finished, and the coach had finished his congratulatory speech. They were headed to the playoffs. 

Before he made it to the front steps of her house, Iris was walking out the front door, those amazing green eyes red rimmed from crying. Sniffling, she grabbed his hand and said, “Let’s go for a walk.”

They walked silently for a block or two until Donovan couldn’t stand it any longer. 

“Iris, please tell me what’s wrong,” he implored with heartfelt concern.

“Dodge, I don’t know how to say this,” she cried.

“We can say anything to each other; it’s one of the reasons I love you. So just tell me.”

She couldn’t let his words pass.

“One of the reasons you love me?” She asked, her green eyes wide.

“Yes, Iris. I do. I wanted to tell you tonight after we won our game. Only now you weren’t there, and you’ve been crying. Please tell me what has happened.” 

Iris looked down as the tears started flowing freely again. This time she couldn’t stop. 

“Dodge, my dad’s boss is moving him again. We are leaving Kent and moving to Phoenix!” she cried. 

“What?  Moving? When?” he asked

“My family is packing now. There is a big promotion on the line for my dad, and he needs to be there on Monday. We fly out Sunday morning.” Iris began to cry harder. Seeing her heart breaking made Donovan’s heart feel like a vice was clamping shut around it. It was all happening so fast, and at this moment he realized that there was no one else for him but Iris. He couldn’t let her leave without showing her how he felt about her, how much he loved her. 

Donovan pulled Iris close, her strawberry blond curls resting underneath his chin as she wept. For a moment he just held her, breathing her scent that he had come to know so well. Slowly he took his hand and lifted her chin so he could gaze into her amazing green eyes one more time. 

“Somehow, Iris, and I don’t know how or when, I believe fate will bring us back to each other. That’s how much my heart feels for you,” Donovan whispered as he tucked one soft curl behind her ear and he gently leaned in for their first kiss. 

Before his lips could press against hers, they stilled at the sound of screeching tires and a car honking. The surprise of seeing one of his football teammates hanging out the window yelling for Donovan had thwarted their first kiss.   

“Dodge! Dodge!” the young player yelled as the car pulled up alongside Donovan and Iris. 

“Dodge, we have been looking everywhere for you. You need to get home man. It’s your dad. Your mom needs you, “the driver of the car yelled through the window.

“What? Why?” Donovan asked frustrated at the missed opportunity with Iris.

“Something with your dad, man, it looks bad. The ambulance is there. It looks really bad.” 

Donovan looked at Iris with fear in his eyes.

“Go, go. I will be praying he is ok.” She said

“I will call you as soon as I can,” he called as climbed in the car with his teammates.

Iris gave him a hopeful wave. 

Donovan never got a chance to call, as the phone was disconnected for their move. The McClelland family left for Phoenix and Iris tried to forget about Dodge, fate and the first kiss that never happened.

Iris completed high school in Phoenix, thinking often about Dodge and wondering how he was doing. She would write him long letters when she first arrived but stopped after the first few went unanswered. In her heart, she knew she had to try to forget him and move on with her life. She knew it was silly to harbor feelings for what was likely just young love, but she just couldn’t shake Dodge’s words that one day they would be together again. She spent her time with friends, going on a few dates, but never finding anyone who made her stomach turn like Donovan had. She had plenty of first kisses by the time she graduated, and yet she still couldn’t stop thinking about the one that never happened. 

Iris was thankful that she was able to remain in the same high school after they moved from Kent. Once she graduated, she continued to the University of Nevada at Las Vegas where she obtained her master’s degree in healthcare administration. Her success in her graduate program had secured her a wonderful position at a small hospital in north Vegas. Even so, she still missed the small town of Kent and the charm and comfort she felt while living there. To her, it was the only place that felt like home. True, she had made friends in Phoenix and Las Vegas and enjoyed her life, but to be honest, at night when things were quiet, she missed the slow pace and calmness that Kent offered. She often wondered if she would ever get back to the place she thought of as home. Many nights, she would find herself searching for homes for sale in Kent. Was she brave enough to give up what she has known for ten years now?

Back in that small town of South Carolina, Donovan George was just starting to put his life back together. He lay in bed, looking up at the ceiling, and as he did most nights, he took two shots of tequila to help him sleep. Then he thought back to his last night with Iris. What was supposed to be the start of something so good turned into his life being turned upside down. When his teammates got him back to his house that night ten years ago, he was too late. The ambulance was leaving, and the coroner was pronouncing his father dead from another heart attack. He could barely stand yet somehow found the strength to hold his mom upright as she screamed. A sound he has never been able to get out of his head. They laid his dad to rest two days later, since all the family lived here in Kent or nearby. To prove just how strong he was, he opted to play in that state championship football game. The coach didn’t expect him to, even asked him not to, but Donovan insisted that it was what he needed to do. 

Both teams were undefeated, and tensions were high both on the field and in the stands. When the opposing team came onto the field KHS Tigers fans booed so loud it sounded like thunder to Donovan. The Leland Rangers won the coin toss and chose to receive, so Donovan was up. His first few blocks went well. The smell of the dirt and sweat from the game took his mind off everything in his life that had been going wrong. For that he was grateful. As he got in position for his next block, his head turned for a moment. He didn’t know why, but he had to see if for some reason Iris might be there. He glanced at the spot where she always sat to watch him play, and for a moment he swore he saw her there. Strawberry blonde curls, mesmerizing green eyes, smiling and waving encouragement to get him through the next play. He blinked in confusion, and when he looked again, she was gone. The next thing he knew he was on the ground, extreme pain shooting through his left knee. What the hell had happened to him?  Donovan jolted awake in a cold sweat. He was back in his bed, ten years older than the kid who was hurt in that championship game. He’d spent ten years being angry at the loss of his dad, the loss of football, and the loss of Iris. He had spent years of drinking too much and sleeping around. Angus, his faithful German Shepherd, jumped up to console him. This dog had helped him get his life together. If it weren’t for Angus being dumped by his house as an unwanted puppy, Donovan would never have something he was responsible for that meant he had to stop drinking so much. He never would have met kids playing football at the park that wanted to stop and pet Angus. Kids that he gave football tips to which made him fall in love with the game again. Yes, he owed Angus everything about getting his life back. Tomorrow, he owed him a trip to the dog park.

Three months later Iris McClelland walked out of the small yellow and white bungalow that she had purchased and grown to love.  She had left all she knew in Nevada to go home to Kent. It was 1pm and time to take Max and Molly, her sweet new Staffordshire’s, to the dog park. She had fallen in love with Max first and then couldn’t take him without seeing how sad he would be without Molly. They just seem to be a pair. They kept her busy and gave her plenty of snuggles and sloppy kisses to keep her from being lonely. Twice daily trips to the dog park wore them all out pretty good. 

As Iris entered the gate of the dog park, Max saw a new dog friend that he was super excited to meet. A beautiful German Shepherd that was running in fast circles around the park. Max became so eager to meet a new friend, he completely pulled himself out of his collar and barreled toward the new dog. 

“MAX! Come!” Iris cried out

It was at that moment that Max decided to get the zoomies. Like a maniac, he zoomed around Molly and the German Shepherd, stopping fast, barking, then running in circles again. Thankfully, other than the new dog friend, the park was empty. Some owners could get pretty frustrated with dogs that are less tutored than others.

Iris looked around for then owner of the German Shepherd and saw a man walking toward the dogs. From this angle, she could see he had longer rumpled raven hair and an athletic build wearing a plaid button down, jeans and boots. Just seeing the back of this man made Iris’ stomach turn in a way it hadn’t since she been at KHS. She knew it was impossible that Donovan would still be in Kent. 

“Angus,” the man hollered, “come”. Immediately Angus the German Shepherd stopped, his ears perked up on alert and he turned and ran to the man. 

“Clearly this German Shepherd was educated well beyond Max and Molly,” Iris thought. As if Max could hear her thoughts and to prove a point, he got his second wind for another round of zoomies, this time running straight for the man with Angus.

“Max, NO!” Iris shouted.

The man laughed as Max jumped to greet him and he began to pet him in his favorite spot behind his ears. Max instantly calmed down. Iris rushed right over.

“I’m so sorry! Looks like you found his kryptonite though. Ear scratches are his weakness,” Iris blurted as she walked up behind Angus and his owner.

Slowly the man in the plaid shirt turned around and his brown eyes were staring intently into the most mesmerizing green eyes. Eyes that he thought of every night before he fell asleep. Green eyes and strawberry blonde curls that he hadn’t seen since high school. A pink mouth that he longed to finally kiss that was currently wide open in disbelief. 

“Dodge?” she asked.

“Hmph, no one has called me that in years,” he laughed. 

“But it is you? Donovan George?”

“It’s me, Iris McLelland.”

“How are you? How are you even here?” she asked

“I live here. In Kent, not at the dog park,” he joked

She smiled. “Funny guy. What about football?” she asked

His smile faded. 

“My dad had another heart attack the night my friends came and got me. He died before I made it back home. I felt like I couldn’t let my team or myself down at the championship game that week, so I played. My head wasn’t in the game, and I kept making stupid mistakes. I was injured. My knee was damaged beyond repair, at least for football. So, no South Carolina State. I stayed here and went to community college, got my degree, opened a sports shop and started a travel league for young football players. It’s been a lot of fun with these kids.”  He left out all the drinking and damage he had done before Angus.

“Oh Dodge, I am so sorry,” Iris said as her eyes welled up with tears.

“Don’t be,” he replied. “I told you back then I believed in fate. That you and I were going to see each other again. If none of that hadn’t happened this wouldn’t be happening.”

“What do you mean, this? What is this?” Iris asked in confusion looking into his dark eyes.

That is when Donovan George pulled Iris McLelland towards him. He breathed in that familiar scent as her strawberry blonde curls lay on his chest. He took his hand and lifted her chin so that he could look again into those mesmerizing green eyes.

“We are going to finally have our first kiss, Iris. We may have gone about it the long way, but we are finally here,” he whispered as he gently pressed his lips to hers, applying just a small amount of pressure making sure she was as certain about him as he was of her. After a heartbeat, Iris lifted her hands to run them through his dark hair as she parted her lips for their first kiss and sighed. She was finally home. 

The End