beneath you; all inside you; and youre floating。 Floating in midair。 And the only thing keeping
you from drifting away is the other persons eyes。
Theyre connected to yours by some invisible physical force; and they hold you fast while the
rest of the world swirls and twirls and falls pletely
away。
I almost got my first kiss that day。 Im sure of it。 But then his mother came out the front door
and he was so embarrassed that his cheeks turned
pletely red; and the next thing you know hes hiding in the bathroom。
I was waiting for him to e out when his sister; Lyta; saw me in the hallway。 She
seemed big and mature to me; and since she wanted to
know what was going on; I told her a little bit about it。 I shouldnt have; though; because she
wiggled the bathroom doorknob and started teasing
Bryce something fierce。 “Hey; baby brother!” she called through the door。 “Theres a hot
chick out here waiting for you! Whatsa matter? Afraid shes
got cooties?”
It was so embarrassing! I yanked on her arm and told her to stop it; but she wouldnt; so
finally I just left。
I found my mother outside talking to Mrs。 Loski。 Mom had given her the beautiful lemon
Bundt cake that was supposed to be our dessert that
night。 The powdered sugar looked soft and white; and the cake was still warm; sending
sweet lemon smells into the air。
My mouth was watering just looking at it! But it was in Mrs。 Loskis hands; and I knew there
was no getting it back。 All I could do was try to eat up
the smells while I listened to the two of them discuss grocery stores and the weather forecast。
After that Mom and I went home。 It was very strange。 I hadnt gotten to play with Bryce at all。
All I knew was that his eyes were a dizzying blue; that
he had a sister who was not to be trusted; and that hed almost kissed me。
I fell asleep that night thinking about the kiss that might have been。 What did a kiss feel like;
anyway? Somehow I knew it wouldnt be like the one I
got from Mom or Dad at bedtime。 The same species; maybe; but a radically different beast;
to be sure。 Like a wolf and a whippet—only science
would put them on the same tree。
Looking back on the second grade; I like to think it was at least partly scientific curiosity that