Our First Real Kiss

Before I knew it, the weekend was rolling around again. And the big day of Stacy's birthday party arrived.

I hadn't originally planned to go, but after Pamela blackmailing me, there was no real way I could stay home and get away with it. Tim and the others were bound to wonder why I hadn't turned up anyway.

Besides, I wasn't really mad at Stacy anymore.

Okay, I lie. I was still annoyed with her, but she had cornered me the day before and apologised again and I was getting a little sick of her tiptoeing around me. So I told her I'd come to the party as long as she quit acting so weird.

Anyway, the inevitable question of what to wear sprung up, and although I couldn't be bothered to get anything new, Pam's pre-party mood was a bit infectious. So there I was, in my room three hours before the party, trying to find something to wear.

The dress I wore at the Valentine's Day party was an option, I mused, but then I remembered that I'd bought it while shopping with Stacy, so forget that.

After a few minutes, I found a sleeveless, knee-length dress at the back of my cupboard. It was dark green – the colour of Matt's eyes when they were focused on me, I realised with a jolt. Laughing uneasily, I tried it on and realised it wasn't exactly screaming Miss-Sexy and Come-And-Get-Me, but more like I'm-Cute-And-Happy-With-The-Way-I-Look.

And it flattered my waist and legs no end, I grinned as I surveyed my reflection. If I wore it with my silver flats, the silver embroidery along the hem would show up that little bit more. And I'd straighten my hair too, I decided.

By the time 6pm rolled around, I was ready. Pam came over, wearing a sequinned black number and bringing a huge teddy bear as a present for Stacy. I'd chipped in for it too, so it was from the both of us.

This time there was no way in hell she could convince me to wear stilettos, and since it was too late to go and buy me a matching pair, she soon gave up.

Dad dropped us off a while later just outside the hall where the party was at. It was already turning dark, but the place was full of people.

"Wow," Pamela commented. "That girl sure made friends fast, considering she only joined this year."

I nodded, looking around at the unfamiliar faces as we headed inside.

It was a bit emptier inside, since people were still coming, but there must have been close to a hundred of us at least.

Stacy was dressed all in white, with a birthday badge proudly displayed on her chest.

We nodded at her and wished her a happy birthday, handing her the teddy.

"Oh guys, you shouldn't have," she gushed. "Thanks so much though! For coming, I mean. And for the present." She paused and looked around before admitting, "I don't know most of the people here. They just randomly turned up. But I'm glad you two came. Really glad," she added, looking at me.

I smiled at her, rolling my eyes at the dramatic speech, but didn't say anything.

Before long, Pamela and I found ourselves at the drinks table, where the single girls usually ended up. But I didn't mind. We enjoyed ourselves poking fun at the occasional couple or individual with a warped dress sense.

Suddenly, a pair of hands crept around Pam's eyes and Rob said, "Guess who."

"Prince charming," she replied dryly, turning around. "Hello, you."

He grinned, looping an arm around her and nodding at me. "Guess you didn't think I'd be here, huh."

They walked away out of earshot, and I smirked to myself. For all his talk of taking a break, he couldn't exactly stay away from her, could he?

I poured myself a glass of Ribena and nearly jumped out of my skin when I turned around to find Matt standing there like a ghost.

"Jeez," I couldn't help shrieking, then glaring at him. "Way to surprise a girl."

He grinned and grabbed my wrist before dragging me away from the hall to one of the adjoining corridors.

"Hey," I protested, trying not to drop my drink. "What are you doing?"

He didn't reply, until he'd pulled me through to one of the rooms marked off-limits and closed the door behind me.

"Well, doesn't this seem familiar," I said sarcastically. "I'm guessing you want to say something you couldn't say in front of everyone else?"

"No," he replied shortly. "I don't want to say anything." And before I knew it, his lips were on mine and I was falling.

Falling fast and deep, and there was no way I could control myself. For the first time in my entire life, I felt his lips on mine and that swept away my self-control like a furious wave at sea.

There were sparks running through me like I was being jolted with electricity every few seconds. My lips were tingling. My skin was hypersensitive to his arms around my waist and I pulled his head closer, uncaring as I dropped the drink on to the floor.

But most of all, what kept me unresisting to him was the fact that it felt right. So right.

It was Matt who broke the kiss, and as the cool air rushed in, I realised what we were doing and pushed him away, suddenly bewildered.

"Jeez Matt," I said shakily as I sank down to the floor and rested my head on my knees. "What are you doing?"

He sat down next to me, but didn't touch me. "I don't know," he admitted. "But I wanted to kiss you. I've wanted to kiss you for a long time Mel, to finally prove to you that I do, really, love you."

My eyes were suddenly stinging and I realised I would cry if he kept up this bullshit. "Enough," I stated. "I've had enough. Don't tell me that you love me when you don't really. What is it that you want anyway? Do you just want to sleep with me, is that it? I don't get it. What are you after?"

"What am I after?" he repeated, incredulous. "What are you talking about?"

"Ruby," I said firmly, watching a knowing look spread across his face. "Every time that I think you're for real and that we'll be okay, she turns up. What's the deal with her anyway? Are you infatuated with her or something? I saw you the other day, you know," I added defiantly, lifting my head and glaring at him, daring him to disagree. "I saw you with her in your room. I was coming over to get my books and I saw you both."

"How much of our conversation did you hear?" he asked casually, but he was running a hand through his hair, betraying his nerves.

"Enough," I replied coolly. "There wasn't much conversation to hear anyway."

"Yes, there was," he replied, annoyed. "I didn't have sex with her, you know."

"Oh really? Maybe my eyes were deceiving me, but when I left, you sure were headed that way!"

He shook his head and sighed. "Listen Melissa, I started up with Ruby all those years ago to make you jealous."

I gaped at him, getting ready to interrupt but he threw me a look that told me to shut up.

"I was annoyed that you wouldn't talk to me, and I wanted to make you listen. So I started going out with Ruby, hoping you would finally do something – say something to me. But all you did was calmly step back and let me get on with it." He shook his head, disbelieving. "I know it was a stupid plan... A plan with many flaws. I was stupid then... I didn't realise you would rise above it all and let me leave, and not say a word. I told myself I was being stupid, thinking I was in love with you. And that there were plenty of other girls. But there never were Mel," he said sincerely, grabbing my hand. "There was no one like you."

I rolled my eyes, even though my heart was pounding in my chest. "If there was no one else like me," I commented sarcastically, "how come Ruby's still around?"

"She's been stalking me," he said, dropping my hand.

"What?"

He nodded. "Ever since she heard I got back, she's been after me. At first, I thought it was just a case of meeting old friends, but even when I told her I didn't want anything more, she didn't back off."

"She's been stalking you?" I repeated, suddenly feeling the pieces of puzzle fall into place. I remembered his angry tone every time he answered her calls.

"That day when you heard us, I..." he hesitated before continuing, "I was feeling angry at you... For not believing me when I say I really do love you. For everything that was wrong between us." He paused and I didn't say anything, holding my emotions in check. "I was low, and she turned up. Yes, we kissed but nothing happened, Mel. I told her to leave, and well, she wouldn't, so I called the cops."

"What?" I gaped. "You called the cops on her?"

"Yeah," he said. "I didn't want to. Not really. But she wouldn't leave, Mel, and it was winding me up how she turned up everywhere I was."

"God," I said, bewildered. "What happened to her?"

He shrugged. "I don't know... But then, I didn't really ask."

There was silence for a moment while we stared at each other, and the full impact of his speech finally hit me.

"I know about the valentine card by the way," I said as I stood up, my voice carefully controlled. "Stacy told me."

He nodded but didn't say anything, his green eyes focused on me as he too, stood up.

They were eyes you could get lost looking into, if you let yourself.

And I decided to let myself do just that when I closed the distance between us, and wrapped my arms around him, pulling him down for my first real kiss.

It was everything that I had imagined it would be, and yet, everything I had never expected.

It was perfect.