Naomi and Kieran walked hand-in-hand down a path beneath cottonwood, elm, and Manitoba maple giants. Her grin and giddiness refused to fade. She and Kieran hadn't experienced a first-date blunder yet. Their meal was delicious, and he was the perfect amount of affectionate. Enough to make her blush often but also too much that she worried about his expectations. He claimed he would let her take the wheel.
That meant she decided when they had their first kiss. In her twenty-five years on this planet, she'd never initiated a first kiss. Greg had rushed to it the second he found out she had feelings for him. Luke had waited until their third date, brushing her hair aside and kissing her tenderly. Her first boyfriend had rambled on about how gorgeous and amazing she was before a sloppy drunken kiss, which turned into a make-out session since she'd been similarly tipsy.
"What are you thinking about?" Kieran wore a coy smile.
"Umm." She pressed her lips together. While she didn't want to lie, she doubted Kieran wanted to hear about kissing other men even if she only longed to kiss him.
He nudged her side. "Now you have to tell me."
She grimaced and looked away. "First kisses."
He raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"
"What was your favourite first kiss like?"
"My favourite first kiss? I've never compared them." He rubbed at his beard with his free hand. "It wasn't my first. We were watching a movie together in the dark, so I missed half her mouth. She wrinkled her nose and scooted further from me like she'd catch something. First and last date."
Naomi chuckled. "Aw, I would have given you a second date."
His stare challenged her. "To a sweaty, awkward seventeen-year-old not quite over their acne, probably not."
"I was a flat-chested tomboy whose close friend intimidated any guys who got past the other two facts."
"For the record, boobs are amazing in every shape and size."
As the leaves rustled overhead, she laughed and leaned into his arm. "You haven't told me your favourite first kiss."
"What if I don't have one?" He blinked adorably, but he wasn't off the hook yet.
"Something tells me you do."
"Fine, it happened on a picnic. She'd made these amazing dishes, bruschetta, homemade potato chips, a spicy pineapple salad, and mini apple pies. She was a phenomenal cook." A wistfulness gleamed in his eyes, and it seemed significant that he remembered each dish. "When we ate the pies, she had a crumb left on the corner of her mouth, so I wiped it away. It'll sound corny, but there was a spark, and we kissed. It was great, but afterward, when she stared at me with wide, adoring eyes, I knew we'd be together. No one had ever been that happy we'd kissed, you know?"
Naomi nodded. She had that sensation at the start of a relationship, but her aceness wore it away.
"So you've always been a flirt around food," she teased to cover her uneasiness.
"Share what you love with the people you value most."
He'd done the same tonight, taking her to a restaurant that reminded him of his family, eating fancy food, and watching a movie in the language he wished he spoke more. This date invited her in more than he ever had before. She embraced him and sighed into his chest.
"Sorry, that's a terrible story for our first date. I should have spared the details."
"It's sweet. It shows you're a romantic at heart." Even she was both jealous of that woman and envious of their relationship. It meant he valued and cherished the women he dated, which mattered. Was it the same person he'd gotten the tattoo for?
"Sometimes, I swear you look at me like that too." Why did his voice have a deep quality that made her stomach flip? Although, she preferred it to jealousy.
"Oh yeah?" She grinned. "I just might, and we had a spark too."
"We did?" He raised an eyebrow in challenge.
"In the kitchen when you crashed the Jets party."
Woodchips crunched as Kieran stopped walking and studied her. "You felt that too?"
Naomi nodded. "I brushed it off because I had a boyfriend, and I'm not that kind of person. But I wished we hadn't left our conversation how we did. I wanted to see if you were alright, but it didn't seem like my place."
He smiled and stepped closer. "So even with your childhood crush boyfriend, you were attracted to me?"
"I was emotionally attracted to you because you're so easy to talk to, and after the grocery store, some physical attraction of wanting to hug and be comforted by you got added and maybe..." She bit her lip. "A hint of romantic attraction."
"You've elevated tonight to my favourite first date."
Naomi grinned and leaned her head against his shoulder as the chickadees twittered above them. "It's mine too." She could be herself without worrying about the pace of their intimacy.
"For the record, I've been attracted to you since the beginning. Your hugs sealed the deal."
"You mean these hugs?" She wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder. Since they'd confessed their feelings, she lingered and snuggled in until their bodies melted into one. Every unpleasant sensation left her in his arms, leaving coziness and bliss in their wake.
She considered leaning up to kiss him but opted to wait instead and enjoy their closeness.
Once they pulled away, Kieran asked. "It's your turn to share your favourite first kiss."
Unlike him, she had compared them. Perhaps her constant search for clues to help smooth her discomfort led her to it.
"On our third date, we were walking outside, and the grey clouds opened up and soaked us. We ran inside for cover, heading to a quiet corner of the second floor. I wouldn't stop shivering, so he held me. When he pulled away, we stared into each other's eyes, and he asked if he could kiss me. It was a sweet kiss: tender, loving, not too intense."
"Something tells me that wasn't Greg."
Naomi shook her head as her sinuses tingled. "Luke." Before she could stop them, the words tumbled from her mouth. "After I told him I was ace, he didn't run. It seemed perfect, but despite him being this kind, amazing guy, he needed more." What if her relationship with Kieran ended that way? Luke had supported her until the reality hit him too.
"C'mere." Kieran engulfed her in a cozy hug that absorbed her tears and shaking. "You'll find the right person to accept you and what you need. They may be in front of you now if that's not too bold to say."
She squeezed him tightly. "Still your favourite first date?"
He kissed her gently on the forehead. "Absolutely."
They kept walking under the graffiti-tagged rail bridge over the Seine River and towards its adjoining section with the Red. In a few minutes, they arrived at the edge of the forest where the sediment-coloured river flowed. Kieran wrapped his arms around her in a bear hug she melted into. She wished her self-doubt and past relationship hang-ups would float away, and she could be freely happy with Kieran.
"Do you ever wish you could change the past?" she asked.
He chuckled. "Every other day, but changing things would mean losing what I have today. It would be a hard trade-off."
"What would you change?"
He sighed and hugged her middle tighter for a minute. Would he mention the tattoo friend? While Naomi longed to know more, she feared how much he may still cherish that memory.
"My parents got divorced when I was a kid. They left it to Jake and me to pick who to live with. My dad wanted to return to Quebec, and my mom planned to stay in Kingston. She put on her mom charm, and I thought with her and my dad separated, our lives would be happier in Kingston. Plus, leaving our home terrified me, so I stayed with her and Jake did too."
"It wasn't better?"
"No, my mom attracts conflict. She and Jake didn't agree on anything. In the end, she only acted with her interests in mind. It was one reason we left. But if I hadn't left, I wouldn't have met you."
"And if I hadn't been chasing Greg, I wouldn't have met you either. Unless fate would have put us at that same party either way."
"It would have. Spark moments are like fate on steroids."
Naomi chuckled and entwined their fingers. "I'm sorry about your family drama."
"It's just Jake and me now, and he is as drama-free as they come until I mess up the apartment or touch his computer." Kieran glanced at his watch. "Shoot, we should double back to catch the movie unless you changed your mind?"
"It's all in French?"
"Yes, but with English subtitles."
"Considering the cute theme you have, we'll make an appearance. French wine, french fries, French movies in the French neighbourhood." If she were bolder, she'd joke about French kissing, but the idea warmed her to an uncomfortable temperature. She could not distinguish if it was attraction, unease, or both, so she kept her words to herself. Would he bring it up?
Kieran chuckled. "You chose the french fries."
"And they were delicious, although so was that fondue."
They returned to the forest to reminisce about the many wonderful restaurants they'd visited and the ones on their bucket lists. Naomi let out a sigh of relief. They crossed paths with a deer on their return, who studied them for twenty seconds before galloping in the opposite direction.
Soon, they sat together in two of Naomi's camping chairs in the open-roofed cathedral. The sunset colours faded into royal blue as the movie 1991 played with English subtitles she struggled to read from their spot.
"I've forgotten how much French I've forgotten since high school," Naomi muttered.
Kieran laughed and ran his hand over her back. "We can bail whenever you've had enough."
Plenty of university students and older couples filled the space and would make their absence unnoticeable.
"Do you understand what's going on?"
"Some of it."
The hero struggled and stumbled on his journey around Italy. The tips of Kieran's mouth quirked into a smile as the crowd laughed at the conversation on screen.
"You understand. Tell me what's happening."
Kieran leaned in to whisper in her ear about how the main character, who had signed up to study in Italy with the woman he loved, lost his money and passport. He had to sleep in a train station. But as Kieran described more, his breath tickled her neck and ears, leaving her unable to focus. She imagined him inching closer and pressing his soft lips to her cheek and her neck, making his way from her jaw to her ear. Warmth spread from her chest to her neck to her cheeks. Thank goodness it was dark because she had to be as red as hot sauce.
None of his words registered as she hazarded a glance at his lips. Would he be a passionate kisser or take his time, or would it be rushed? She'd guess he'd be one of the former. Kieran hadn't rushed to be intimate, though his occasional heated glances when she'd held him tightly told her it lingered on his mind.
Was this a first kiss moment? She felt ready for a sweet, simple kiss, and he was long past it. As much as she longed to close that gap, she wanted it to be more memorable.
Kieran's words became clearer, "Then they were swallowed by a giant squid."
She glanced at the screen, which featured a party scene unrelated to his words. "What are you talking about?"
Kieran laughed deeply, sending more warm air across her burning face. "I wanted to see how long it took you to catch on. You were deep in thought."
Her cheeks burned. "Sometimes I have trouble focusing."
"It's alright. You seemed to enjoy whatever you were thinking about."
"I was."
"Good, it's nice to see you happy."
Naomi smiled then leaned in and kissed him partly on the cheek and beard before nestling into his shoulder. He wrapped an arm around her and leaned his head against hers without pushing for more. Everything was perfect.
Do you have a favourite first kiss moment? It's probably the writer in me and maybe some of the aceness, but my favourite ones have a fun story attached.
The next chapter will be posted on Wednesday. Thanks for your support!