A Traumatic Life Lesson on How to Flirt

Chapter One

Full disclosure: I have never been very good with flirting. Some girls are born to flip their hair and shove their boobs in the direction of boys. Then there are some others, the rare ones like me. Unfortunately, I have yet to meet another girl who has never kissed a guy.

It was normal back in middle school, but in sixth grade we were all still concerned about catching the cooties. But all the single girls began dropping like flies once high school and the hormones kicked in. Soon enough, I was pretty sure I was the last girl standing. Although no one actually knows. It's become my little secret. I've lied to cover it up at slumber parties when girls would ask who my first kiss was. Tony Wasp was my made up kisser, and apparently he was fantastic with his tongue. But I've always known the embarrassing truth. I hate to even admit it to myself.

Back to when it was normal to have not been kissed, I would always assume it would come within the next year. Time kept passing me by and once the middle of my Junior year hit I knew I was getting desperate. I guess I always assumed the guy would make the first move. Obviously not.

It's rare for boys to talk to me. Being the introvert I am, I rarely talk in school at all. Only my close friends are graced with my voice. But even my friends are super extroverted, that's the only reason we ever became friends. I doubt I would've even befriended them if they hadn't come over to talk to me back in elementary school. So when hot boys like Gabe Trinket actually make conversation with me, it's an event.

My mom found a date the week after she and dad got divorced. The week after. Then two months later they're getting married? I'd barely met the guy, let alone liked him. Suddenly I had a new daddy and unfortunately a sister. I'd been an only child and an introvert my entire life and now I have two new 'family members' moving into my house. Fantastic!

Great move, mom.

Now, I am hoping it's my turn to finally find a date. I daydream as I watch Gabe Trinket's head move in front of me. His light blonde hair blowing from the fan in the corner of the classroom an I imagine him on a beach with his hair blowing just so. I had finished my final exam minutes ago, and decided to concentrate on the back of his gorgeous head, it's better than watching any movie star I know flaunt across a movie screen. He runs a hand through his hair and I imagine my own hand running through it. It's so shiny, I wonder if he conditions. He shifts in his seat as he continues to write his American Lit essay. I smile. He's been finding excuses to talk to me during class for about a month now. Indie says that he's definitely been  flirting with me. With me.

As I have mentioned many times before, a boy acknowledging my existence is a very rare and very big deal. Let alone, the cutest guy in my English and French classes. I can't blow this and I definitely can't leave for the summer without getting his number.

I glance at her across the classroom. Her long black hair falls down her back gracefully as she scribbles down the rest of her essay. A lock of hair falls out from behind her ear and into her eyes. She sighs and sets down her pen before twisting her long hair into a bun with her spare pen. She sees me looking and wiggles her eyebrows and looks between me and Gabe. I smile and look back to the beautiful boy in the desk in front of me.

Much like my stepsister Brynn, Indie has never had any trouble getting guys to swoon over her. Her long thin legs and her emerald eyes make her practically irresistible. Being my best friend, she knows my humiliating history with boys. But she still sticks by my side, and gets really overexcited when I actually find a boy who seems willing to love me.

Gabe stretches, and I happen to notice the outline of his toned back muscles through his red t-shirt. Swoon.

He scratches his head with his pen, and I wonder what I'm going to say to him at the end of the test. I've been trying to prepare to ask him for his number for days. I can't think of anything that won't make me sound stupid or creepy.