Zalfie - How to Live

4. First Kiss

So we drove.

I had another $45 from Tyler in my wallet, along with a set of keys to Tyler's car (Troye had those too).

And I really felt like a burger.

"Mind if we hit a McDonald's?" I asked. The corporation wasn't so evil if you were a costumer instead of an employee and if you managed to forget the ingredients inside the food.

"Yeah, sure," Zoe said from the backseat.

I drove to the first one I found and opened my door, with Zoe following in suit. Together, we entered the plastic restaurant, a gush of warm air welcoming us in.

I ordered a classic: a Big Mac and fries with a fountain drink, but Zoe asked for only a kid's meal.

The cashier's face wrinkled in confusion.

"I love the toys," Zoe explained, dimpling with laughter.

Those dimples were adorable.

Our food was ready in no time and we sat down and ate, hardly talking.

I finished my meal before Zoe even ate half of hers. She was too busy looking around the restaurant.

"I'm sorry!" she said, blushing when she noticed I was watching her. "I'm still not hungry."

I looked at her incredulously then shook my head. I just wanted to enjoy her company tonight.

"It's fine," I said, and she threw away the rest of her food.

"Let's go to the playground!" she said enthusiastically, already running to the back of the fast food place.

I followed her.

We kicked off our shoes and ran on the springy mat. Luckily, no one else was in the restaurant.

Laughing, we tumbled up the hard stairs, now playing tag. I was 'it'.

I chased after Zoe, sliding down slides in an effort to catch her.

She was fast, but I was faster.

I was waiting for the right chance to tag her.

It finally came along when we were inside the tunnels made out of hard cloth. You know, the ones with holes in them?

She began to crawl, but looked down as she was and then couldn't go any farther.

Zoe, it turned out, had a terrible fear of heights and was claustrophobic.

So this was exactly the best predicament for her.

"It's alright," I said comfortingly, while she sat, crouched, breathing heavily.

I began to slowly crawl towards her, causing the building to sway. Then I awkwardly crouched besides her and, still more awkwardly, began patting her on the back.

She placed her head in between her knees and said, sounding strained, "This would be an excellent time for you to use your last ten minutes." Then, suddenly, her mouth was crashing into mine and our lips were pushing against each other.

It stayed that way for a few minutes, our lips just corresponding with each other's, when I felt her tongue on my lips. Without hesitation, I opened them a little further and she darted in like a minnow, her tongue pushing against mine. My spine tingled and I realised what an amazing kiss it was ...

And then, too soon, she was pulling away.

"Hmm," she said, mock-thinking. "You were good. Let's do this again sometime."

And then she was crawling away from me, off the bridge, and sliding down the slide with me trailing behind her.

She got into the backseat and I got into the front and I drove.

Back to the Lusty Leopard and away from my first kiss.

~~~~~~

I dropped her off, the taste of her cigarette-y breath still in my mouth.

"Let me see your phone," she ordered, before she got out of the car.

Without question, I handed her my crappy flip phone. I heard the beep of buttons as she typed something and then she tapped my shoulder and I turned and she handed me back my phone.

Without a word of farewell, she hopped out of the card and briskly walked back into the strip club.

Curiously, I opened the phone and it pulled up my contacts, the place Zoe had been.

I scrolled to the very bottom of the names and smiled when "Zoe xx" appeared.

I opened the contact and her simple, 10-digit number was there.

Without warning, Troye and Tyler opened the car door, still making out. I grinned at them through the rear view mirror.

"It's been a helluva night, boys," I told them as I backed out of the parking lot.

They paid me no attention.