The Kiss

"Speak now."

Trust me. I tried but to no avail. I was speechless. My mind was all jumbled, and I had no words. There was a vibe between us, and our chemistry made my emotions boil over. It was like I stepped out of my body and was an onlooker as the scene unfolded. My brain began to retrace the events of this past summer, and it all led up to this. She kissed me!

*******************

The year was 1993. I was fresh out of school for the summer break. My freshman year of high school was in the books. This girl, right here, could not wait to drop my bags in my room and head to the park to enjoy the eighty-plus-degree weather. It was a scorcher. Yet, the freedom from the school year warranted me to celebrate.

My family's duplex apartment was situated directly in front of the park. Perfect. I could step onto my back balcony and see when the park was buzzing with patrons. I entered the front door, dropped my bags, and headed out of the back door. On the balcony, I spotted my girl, Pen, sitting at our favorite picnic table.

"Hey, Girl!" I yelled to Pen.

"Come on!!" She yelled as she gestured me over with her hands.

"I'm coming!" I yelled back as I descended the two flights of stairs.

Pen was my downstairs neighbor, so we had so many stories of the mischief we had been through. These days we were pretty close. She was my best friend, in a small group of people that I gave the friendship title. We hung out every day, and today would be the same.

Moments later, I joined Pen at the green picnic table inside the park. There we sat, our butts on the tabletop and our feet on the seat. We kicked it, sharing stories and filling each other in on the last day of school shenanigans. Today's topic of discussion included: last-day good bye's and the inappropriate stuff we signed in people's yearbooks. We laughed until our stomachs hurt, and tears were coming down our eyes. We always had a good time together.

"Hello, ladies," A tall, dark-skinned man greeted us as he walked over to join us at the picnic table.

"Hey," we both replied, turning our heads around to see him towering over us.

"What are y'alls names?"He asked us in his deep voice and southern accent.

"I am Pen," my friend answered.

"I am Sammy," I followed.

"Pen and Sammy, Nice to meet you. Allow me to introduce myself, I am Mr. Wayne, but you can call me Q if you want. Either is fine. I am the director of this year's Parks and Recreation Summer Camp. Will you two be attending?"

"Yes," both of us responded.

"Awesome. Maybe you two can help me set up?"

We agreed and showed Mr. Wayne, excuse me, I mean Q, where the equipment and board games were stored in the shelter. We told him about previous camp counselors, the good and the bad, and shared a list of ideas we would like implemented. We finished setting up the equipment in time for the summer camp students to pile in. Mr. Q introduced himself and went over the first day's procedures. We introduced ourselves and our school year and shared a unique fact about ourselves. The first day of camp went by fast. After we introduced ourselves and played a few games, three hours passed, signaling the end of camp for the day. All in all, I returned home that evening feeling complete.

***********************

On the first day of summer break, you always promise yourself that you will sleep in, but you don't because your body deceives you into thinking you need to be up. I lay in bed, lost in my thoughts, as the sunrise crept into my room. Restless, I pulled myself out of bed, ate cereal, showered, and started my day. I grabbed my ball, and out the back door, I went. It was early, so the court was all mine. I loved the moments when I could spend time alone on the court. It was just me, the ball, and the net. Swish!! I had to admit, I was getting good with the ball. My shot was on point, my footwork was swift, and my stamina was building. I was the ish!

I got so lost in my workout that I did not notice when Pen joined me on the court. She caught the ball as it bounced off the rim and flew past me.

"Good morning, superstar," she said with a grin.

"Good morning, Pen," I replied as I chuckled.

Pen had started calling me "superstar" at the end of the championship game. That night I was on, I had a triple-double and scored the winning shot to win the game. Ever since then, I got some fans.

Pen held on to the ball and walked toward our spot. I followed, joining her at the picnic table. As usual, we started our chitchat session, and as we laughed uncontrollably, they walked up to us.

"Good morning, Pinky and the Brain," Mr. Q greeted us as he joined us at the table.

"Good morning, " we replied in unison.

"What are you doing here so early," I said as we scanned the mini crowd that joined him.

There was a mini Q, a brown-skinned girl close to my age, and a younger brown-skinned girl. They all were dressed for summer, dawning a short and shirt ensemble.

"Early camp starts today. These are my nieces, Skylar and Teagan, and my nephew Colton. They will be staying with me for a month," Mr. Q said as he pointed to each of them.

"I am Sammy, and this is Pen," I said as I pointed to myself and then to Pen.

"Y'all can come and sit with us if you want," Pen replied as we climbed down and sat at the table the right way.

They joined us, occupying the space on the other side of the table. Pen and I shooed Mr. Q away, and he went along fulfilling his daily duties. A-w-k-w-a-r-d silence. Everyone sits at the table, waiting for anyone but them to begin the conversation.

"So, where did your uncle say y'all was from?" I asked to break the silence.

"We are from Mississippi, " Skylar replied.

"Oh my God, I love your accent!" I responded excitedly.

"I love your accent, too," Skylar replied.

She smiled. I smiled, and everyone else joined the conversation. Pen asked if she had an accent too, and they all said yes. When Colton talked, Pen blushed. I could tell she liked him; she was hanging on every word he said. We conversed about likes and dislikes. We covered food, color, music, favorite movies, celebrity crushes, and all the get-to-know-you-better information. They fit right in. Colton was hilarious. He loved cracking jokes and kept making us all laugh. Teagan was Colton's little sister, and she was a girly girl. She loved all things Pink. Skylar was a baller. She was Colton's and Teagan's cousin. She was a basketball fanatic. She loved Janet Jackson, and she was a chill person.

We sat there talking for so long that we missed all the morning camp session activities. Before we knew it, Mr. Q came to retrieve his nieces and nephew to go home for lunch. None of us wanted the moment to end, but we agreed to hang out during the evening camp session.

********************

That evening, Pen and I met at our table. We chatted about our new friends from Mississippi. Yes, they were all cool. We talked about how Colton made us laugh, how sweet Teagan was, and how chill Skylar was. We were so excited to hang out with them again that evening, but Mr. Q returned to the park alone. I have to admit, I was a little sad, and I could see on Pen's face she was bothered as well.

"Where are your nieces and nephews?" Pen asked.

"I apologize, their aunt wanted to spend some time with them, but they will be here tomorrow." He explained.

"Okay, cool," I said.

********************

The next day, I was shooting hoops, and Pen was at our usual spot. I was so into the workout that I missed it when she arrived. It startled me when I heard her voice.

"Hey," she said.

"Oh, hey, Skylar," I replied while tripping over an invisible source.

"You good?" She joked as she chuckled.

"Yea, I'm good," I said as I chuckled a little too."

"You know my friends call me Sky."

"So, what should I call you?" I asked in a snarky manner.

"Sky," she replied softly.

"Yea, so are you saying we are friends now?" I asked, with a smile on my face and eyebrows raised.

"Huh, yes," she said as she pulled my sweat towel from the side of my shorts and threw it at me.

"Aye, Yo, I am just making sure. I like to know where I stand." I said as I laughed.

We cut up for a bit more while playing some one on one. It turned out that she really WAS a baller. Sky had hella skills. The way she moved around the court was effortless. I watched her drain a three. Crispy. Nothing but net. Her form was on point, and her shot range was, oh my God, wide. I think I got hustled; it was the game point, and she beat me with a left-handed lay-up. We talked more as we walked to the table to join everyone else.

******************************

A couple weeks passed, and Sky and I were hanging tough. We did everything together. Pen started acting strange, but she was chill when Sky and I hooked her up with Colton. After that, you could not pay them to care about anything but each other. On top of that, my friend DJ had been bugging me to hook him up with the new girl, Sky. I didn't want to, but I ain't a hater, so I told him I would.

"Sammy, push me on the swing, please?" Sky asked with a big smile on her face.

"You, just a big ole kid," I responded as I laughed at her.

"Come on, Sammy?" She replied with a frowny face.

"Aight, come here," I replied, grabbing the swing to steady it.

"Thanks!" She squealed as she slid into the swing I was holding.

"How high do you want to go?"

"As high as my name," She answers.

I gave her a good push, and Sky moved her legs back and forth to help the swing gain momentum. She swung and swung, laughing every time she got higher. She went so high that the chain of the swing jumped a little. Sky let out a little screech, and I reacted by slowing down the swing.

"Stop swinging your feet," I called up to her. She did, and I grabbed the swing a few times, slowing it down until I could stop it.

"I got you Sky," I said as I secured her and the swing in my hands.

"Wow," she said as she breathed heavily, relaxing on me.

"I got you," I repeated.

"You do," she responded as she lifted her head to look back at me.

"Yea," I said as our eyes met.

At that moment, nothing existed outside of us. It was just me and her. We were stuck. I could feel my heartbeat increase. I could feel her warm back pressed against my front as she rested on me. We stayed like that for what seemed like an eternity.

"So, what are y'all up to?" My friend DJ asked, interrupting the moment between us.

"Skylar tried to jump the bar on the swing," I said as we broke eye contact and looked at him.

"Yes, and I probably would have if you hadn't stopped me," she said, smiling.

"Glad I could save you from yourself," I continued as I laugh.

"Oh really," She said, giving me a nudge in my stomach.

We spend a moment laughing and recalling the swing session. DJ interrupted us again and told me to come to talk to him. I did, even though, I was dreading the conversation. He asked me if I had asked her about him yet. I had not, so he kept begging and pressuring me to ask her, so I did.

"Sky?"

"Yes, Sammy."

"Umm, I have to ask you a question," I said hesitantly.

"What is it?" Sky asked.

"DJ thinks you are cute, and he wanted me to ask if you will go out with him?" I blurt out.

"Well, I don't know. Let me think about it." She said, leaving me on a cliffhanger.

"She said she had to think about it," I said, trying not to reveal my frustration.

"What is there to think about? Either she likes me, or she doesn't. Ask her again." He said with cockiness.

"He said either you like him or not. He told me to ask you again." I said, getting more frustrated.

"No.

"Why?" I said.

"He is not my type." She replied as she left the swing and walked toward the table.

"She said No, DJ."

"Man, why not?" He responds now, sounding upset.

"She said you were not her type."

"That is bogus. Y'all are weird anyway!" He shouted as he jumped on his bike and rode up the street.

I joined Sky at the table. We didn't talk. We sat there in silence. I guess she was trying to process what happened like I was. I don't know why, but I felt so sorry for even asking her that. I didn't want to make DJ mad, but I may have upset Sky. I was confused. I was so unsure about my feelings toward Sky. These feelings felt new and different from anything I had felt before. I wanted her to say anything to me so that I knew she was okay.

"I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay?" Sky said as she stood up.

"Okay," I replied as she walked away.

************************************

It had been three days since I saw Sky. I went to the park every day hoping she would show up, but no Sky. I felt like I could not breathe. I was on autopilot. Pen and Colton tried to talk to me, but I would just leave. Janet Jackson's, "Where are you now?", played on auto-repeat filling my room with despair. All I knew is that I wanted to talk to Sky. I wanted to apologize to her and tell her what I was feeling. I needed her to know, so Friday, I showed up again.

She showed. Sky walked toward me. She grabbed my hand, pulling me up from the table. She did not talk. So, I just followed her. She led me out of the park and then stopped.

"Take me to your house. We have to go the front way, okay?" Sky said as she looked me in the eyes.

"Yes," I said, now leading the way, and our hands never falling apart.

"You can sit on my bed if you want," I said nervously to Sky as I sat on the bed.

"Thank you," she said softly, sitting on the bed.

"Sky, I am so sorry for what I did. It was stup- "

"Speak now."

I tried too, but no words came out. Sky grabbed my face, and she kissed me. I kissed her back. We kissed. Electricity went through my body. Those feelings I had felt that day in the park, came rushing back. I let out a soft moan, and Sky was breathing heavily. We went with it. We let our bodies take control. As we lay, we solidified our feelings for one another.

"Sky, I never felt this way about anyone," I confessed while kissing her.

"Me neither," she responded.

“Remember when I said DJ was not my type?” Sky asked as she paused. 

“Yea, why?” I respond. 

“That is because you are my type,” Sky said as she kissed me again. 

"Is this love?" I asked.

"I don't know, but I like it."

"I love you, Sammy."

"I love you too, Skylar."

"What is going to happen when you leave next week? Will you ever come back?" I asked Sky.

"I don't know. Let's just be present at this moment," Sky said as she took me in her arms again.