Love's Twisting Fingers

Today was going to be the day, Bradley Burkhe thought to himself, while figiting with the colar on his school-uniform shirt. I will kiss her.

Nichole Remington, the love of his life, was sitting next to him, holding Bradley's hand and leaning her head against his shoulder. She kept her hair about medium length for a girl; just about at the shoulders, and auburn in color. She had a few freckles dotting her face, "angel kisses" she called them, and nice, red lips. Her eyes were maple colored, shockingly beautiful and hypnotizing.

Bradley sighed as he thought about this. How did he ever end up with a girl like Nichole? he thought. In his own mind, Bradley wasn't terribly ugly; he had a strong-set jaw, nice, calming eyes, and beautiful, long (for a boy anyway), soft hair. However, the blemishes of puberty were clear upon his face, and, although there were not many and they didn't stand out very much, he was still ridiculed for them. And the bad thing was that he was allergic to nearly all of the acme-removing creams known to man. So he consistently berated himself over his looks.

But Nichole didn't look for a hot body in a guy, he knew. What she cared about was what was in the heart, who the guy was, not how good of a kisser he was. How compationate he was.

Again, Bradley sighed. If Nichole heard him say that, she would probrobly call him a "master of cliches".

Nichole squeezed his hand lovingly, earning a smile from Bradley.

"What time is it?" she asked, knowing all too well she wouldn't like the answer. Bradley lifted his arm and checkedhis watch. With a grimace, he lowered his arm and said, "It's 3:46..."

Nichole groaned, and pushed herself closer to Bradley. "I don't wanna go home yet!" she whined, making it intentionaly sound as if she were a seven-year-old. "I wanna stay here... with you..."

Bradley smiled and hugged her tightly, causing Nichole to giggle.

"We all gotta go home sometime, Nichole..."

Nichole shook her head and sighed. That doesn't mean I want to though... she thought to herself.

Soon, at 4:00 the bell to dismiss classes rang out, and people began to pile out of the room. Nichole and Bradley gathered their backpacks, andgrabbed each othershands, givingthe other a wistful look.

Outside, the teens all ran to thir respective "pick-up zones" as the principle called them.Some kids waited outside the school for their parents to pick them up, while others took the bus home. Bradley was the former. Nichole was the latter.However, there was about five minutes before the busses started loading, giving Nichole and Bradley more time to be with each other. Normally, they would hug and hold hands, swapping love stories, as they were both talented writers.

But today won't be normal, Bradley thought. Today's the day I kiss her...

There was a small bench underthe trees not too far from the front of the school, and that was where the couple went everyday after classes. It was their favorate hangout spot, and they both loved sitting under the trees.

Before Nichole reached the bench, Bradley stopped her, and turned her so that she faced him. Nichole raised an eyebrow, and waited for a second, staring at Bradley.

Bradley let out a puff of air and said, "It's a little hard for me to kiss you when you won't even tilt your head up to look at me." Nichole laughed and turned her back on him. Admittedly, Nichole was a good few inches shorter than him, but that didn't stop her from badgering him about never kissing her.

"Chicken!" She said, playfully accusing him. "You're just too scared to kiss me!"

For some reason, Bradley got flustered. "Oh yeah?" He said, challenging his girlfriend. "I'm chicken?"

She smiled and nodded. "Well you did just fail to kiss me, now didn't you?"

The last word only came out halfway, as Bradley had placed his lips against hers, effectively silencing her. She closed her eyes and placed a hand on his cheek, pulling him closer.

This is wonderfull! Bradley thought. He hadn't kissed Nichole (or any girl for that matter) yet, and he was incredibly pleased with the way it was going. Her lips tasted like... something out of a wonderful dream. He just couldn't pull himself away from her!

Nichole giggled, and it made a rumbling sensation go between them. Bradley like it.

Eventually, Nichole pulled away, and squeezed his hand once more.

"I have to hurry to the busses now, Bradley." She said, winking at him. "I'd love to stay, but if I'm not on those busses, I'll be late." She let her hand slip out of Bradley's as she jogged away, back towards the school.

"I'll call you tonight!" He yelled after her. She waved a hand in response.

After Nichole was gone, Bradley sat down on the bench by himself, and put his hands behind his head. He was pleased with himself, for finally kissing his love, for having her kiss back.

But for some reason, Bradley noted, he felt as if that single kiss would land him in more trouble than he had been in in the past year.