First Kiss Magic

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Yeah…I know it’s Thursday.  I’m not an official participant in the blog carnival from YA Highway (but think maybe I should be) because this topic really got my mind spinning.  The prompt was:  Compare your first kiss with your favorite character’s first kiss.  Pretty much everyone who commented said their first kiss sucked.

Really?  Everyone?  Is that why you’re all writers? You want to relive your first kiss through your characters?

It’s cool.  I get it.  There’s nothing like a first kiss with someone new. The electricity, the tension, the anticipation…oh yeah (says the Twix guy in his super deep voice). 

I guess I’m lucky because my first kiss rocked.  It took a lot of other kisses to compare with that one.  Let me set it up for you:

It was late October.  Snow was beginning to drift from the heavy, gray clouds.  The white flakes were a stark contrast against the black sleeves of Hayden’s letterman’s jacket.  It was much too long for me — brushing the middle of my thighs as we walked to the horse enclosure at the back of his family’s property. 

I climbed onto the bottom slat of the wooden fence and watched as the horses came at his call.  They nuzzled his shoulders begging for the treats they knew he snuck from the house.  Hayden spoke to them, his dimples deepening as the roan mare pushed her nose into his neck, snuffling loudly.  

“Do you want to feed them?”  He offered a few apple slices and stood behind me as I gave them to the horses from my open palm.  Hayden wrapped his arms around my waist, steadying me so that I could pet their muzzles.

His breath was warm, stirring my hair.  I shivered, but it was a pleasant feeling.

“You cold?”

“Just a little.”  I stepped down from the fence and turned around, right into his arms.

And I’ll leave the rest to your imagination ( because if my husband reads this post and all the magical-ness of my first kiss it might be a little weird). 

Given my affection for first kisses, it’s pretty interesting that I started SAW IT COMING after the main characters had their intial kiss. But the first kiss is an integral part of my WIP, actually a major plot point (Hint:  My main character is sort of a biological weapon and kissing is against the law).  Here’s a little snippet from that scene:

His hand stroked my cheek, moving slowly to the back of my neck. The caress started something I didn’t want to stop.

Leaning forward, I closed the gap between us and pressed my mouth against his. I’d seen a couple of people kiss—my cousin on her wedding day and in one of the movies the government let us watch during the county fair. But I had no clue what it would feel like.

Jake’s lips were warm, a little bit dry, and so…right. His hand tightened on my neck, but he didn’t push me away.

It wasn’t enough; I wanted to know how he tasted. I opened my mouth intending to draw his full bottom lip between mine. Our tongues brushed and he broke contact, jolting back like he’d been shocked by a cattle fence.

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean…” He let out a ragged breath. “You need to go. I’ll help you home.”

I pressed my lips tightly together, trying to savor that little bit of sweetness, the flavor of Jake.

There is a lot more kissing to come, a lot of teasing, a lot of anticipation. Have I mentioned that first drafts can be so much fun to write?

What I really want to know is WHY everyone’s first kisses were so bad and how that helps you write better kisses for your characters?

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