Kissing

I was dared by a fellow author (Julia King) to blog about kissing. It was something that randomly came up on Twitter one night. I couldn't say no to a dare!

I'm not really sure where to go with this one, I'm gonna type whatever comes to mind. No plan, just winging it. I Googled and found plenty of people have blogged on this topic before. I didn't want to copy what I read. (So, this turned out to be about my personal experiences with kissing. This is your warning, you can turn back now).

Kiss - [kis] (used with object) to touch or press with the lips slightly pursed, and then often to part them and to emit a smacking sound, in an expression of affection, love, greeting, reverence. (dictionary.com)

When you think of kissing, what comes to mind? French kiss, blow a kiss, a brush of the lips, butterfly kisses, lip kiss, make out, neck, peck, pucker up, smack lips, smooch...there too many to list. (But if you have a favorite please don't hesitate to list it in the comments section below).

Kissing is a wonderful way of showing affection to someone else. To do this we have to get really close to the other person's face and press our lips to them. Sounds simple, right? It can be, but then there are variables that can make a simple kiss, not so simple.  

My first kiss wasn't bad, actually the kiss itself was really good. Where it happened wasn't. I was fifteen. We were crammed into a small half bath the night after a huge get together, and the room was trashed. The toilet was backed up and it smelled bad. We had to hide in there to get away from some people for privacy. When "he" (who is on facebook and shall remain nameless) grabbed my hand and pulled me in there I knew what was coming. Surprisingly, I didn't panic, I wasn't nervous, and it happened like the most natural thing on the planet. He was a really good kisser. Oddly, we liked each other, but never dated. Just a kiss here and there over a time. I wonder if he knew he was my first.

I was a boy's first kiss at least one time (that I know of). He was nervous (we both knew he'd never done it before). It was pretty perfect. Then he whispered "thank you", and I grinned.

Some disaster kisses of mine?

-Teeth clashing to the point of chipping both of our teeth - totally my fault! (As I run my tongue over it, yep there it is LOL. I wonder do you still feel yours?).

-There was Mr. Long Tongue trying to play tonsil hockey - yuck.

-Then the "let me stick my tongue in your ear and kiss you guy" not my cup of tea.

-The dude who thrashed his tongue around like those strips in a car wash.

-The PDA kisser, now he was a good kisser, but he only wanted to kiss when we had a huge audience. That was tacky, but my fault. I was using him to make someone jealous, and he took it to the extreme. Joke was on me though I fell hard for Mr. PDA.  

-Drooly boy. Ick.

-I'm gonna open my mouth as wide as I can guy (I mean come on, what do you do with that?).

-Open mouth, tight lips. (Um, no).
-Did you ever sneak a peek while kissing someone to find them staring at you wide-eyed? Ack! What is that all about? Then you find out they always do that - Creepy!

*side note - most of the guys on my list are on facebook. *Giggles madly* at the thought of them trying to figure out if one of these is them, because I didn’t list everyone.  

-I had braces for just over three years, and my then boyfriend, who is my husband of twenty years now, was the poor guy who had to deal with that mess. But let me say, our “first-kiss” (pre-braces) was the kiss every girl dreams of. Perfect in every way. We were at a party and my back was to him; he turned me gently and lowered his mouth to mine. Our lips met soft and sweet, molded around one another’s as if we were meant to be. Our tongues danced a familiar dance even though they'd never met before. Time froze; there was no one there but us. I melted and was weak in the knees, my heart fluttered, and my lungs were rendered breathless. I couldn’t stop thinking about it for days. It could be why I married him and kiss him everyday J

Continuing on....

In books, kissing isn't quite like the disaster list above. Actually, it hardly ever is. No one wants to read about that. Especially in stories with a touch of romance. In the books I've read this past last year (mostly Young Adult), the kisses were sweet, passionate and/or swoon worthy.

Let me share some examples:

"I lean in and kiss her lightly on her lips, pulling her in just a little closer. I feel her hands trembling as she puts her arms around me and kisses me deeper and more passionately." -The Legacy of Kilkenny, by Devyn Dawson.

"His lips were soft, softer than I ever imagined a boy's lips would be, but firm underneath where they pressed against his teeth. His warm breath tasted like cinnamon gum. It filled my mouth. I melted toward him, not meaning to, giving in to something amazing and open and pure. I kissed him back. For that brief slice of forever, I forgot everything but the joy of it." -Family Magic, by Patti Larsen

"He kissed her so gently she barely felt it. Her toes curled in her shoes. He pulled away, a question in his eyes. When he saw she was smiling, he kissed her again a little deeper, moving his lips steadily against hers. Her mouth trembled under his, not entirely sure of what she was doing, but knowing it felt good enough to keep going." -Of Light and Darkness, by Shayne Leighton.

"His fingers tightened in my hair as I pressed my lips to his. When our mouths opened together, it was almost like imprinting all over again. I felt a tingling burn start at my lips and move outwards down my neck, a cold in my veins and a hot on my skin. My body zinged with a jolt of tremors and shocks. A heavy fog seemed to blanket the room, like morphine. I was calm, almost too calm, but also enraptured with him and his lips." -Significance, by Shelly Crane.

See? No sloppy drooly boys there. Hmmm, I think I sense a short story coming on...LOL.

Hopefully you marked a book or two for your TBR list from the authors above! If you have a kissing scene from your YA book you'd like to share -  please, by all means, list it in the comments section below.  ><

<3 Natalie

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