Hump Day Crush: The Prom (Part IV)

June 5th of 1992 was by far one of the most insanely adventurous and potential-filled days of my life up to that point.

I was hundreds of miles from home on a weekend-long double date that kicked off with a prom. They girl had asked me and things were going wonderfully. The night even wrapped up at the town’s version of Inspiration Point.

It was also one of those nights that proved I am the king of missed opportunities.

The night ended not with the make-out session most would expect (that was all confined to the front of the car) but with Vicki and I talking. About what, I can’t even begin to remember.

Matt and I returned to the place we were staying and the girls went home. There were plans the next day for breakfast. They were put off in favor of having some fun helping clean up after the prom. It really was a lot more fun than it sounds. Especially since it gave me a chance to reclaim any ground I may have lost the night before. I do much better in active situations, it gives me material to work with.

The morning stretched into afternoon and we grabbed some burgers for lunch and had a nice walk along the river. We caught a movie (Encino Man, which I still think is pretty darn funny). At least Vicki and I caught the movie. Our two companions spent most of their time attached at the lips. Vicki and i left holding hands.

That evening, we did what was perhaps the least traditional thing to do on a date–we headed out to a Lion’s Club dinner and Honor Society induction ceremony. Dawn was being inducted, so it wasn’t completely random. And there was food. But it most certainly did not satisfy the fun quotient for the evening.

We decided we were in the mood for another movie. But not one in the theaters. So we made the trip back to Vicki’s place, grabbed a video and high-tailed it to Dawn’s to watch it. Just as we were ready to settle in, parents appeared to let us know the guys were expected to be gone by 11 p.m.

It was about 10:30 when we heard that. Needless to say, the idea of watching the movie was scrapped.

But other ideas crept in.

As soon as her parents were off to bed, Dawn and Matt got right down to making out some more.

Me? I talked. I always talk. Sometimes it gets in the way. It’s a result of perceived pressure–a release of nervous energy. When your a guy in high school, there’s a lot of both to go around. Especially where girls are involved. Even more so if you’re awkward to begin with. Social outcast? Triple the amount. Had to recently break someone’s heart and still didn’t understand why? You can’t even measure that.

At that point it’s less talk and more just senseless babble. It may not even have been words. I’m pretty sure it wasn’t sentences. I could feel my brain just spinning and my mouth spewing out whatever fell loose. Each movement just upped the anxiety more. Each half-formed thought added to the internal tension.

I knew I was making a fool of myself. I knew that someone with more social grace would know what to do to make things better. I knew I was close to just imploding… to just vanishing right there for lack of a reason to continue existing.

And then it happened.

I’m not sure how. But it did. Somehow, during all that babble, Vicki and I had moved closer and closer together. Somewhere along the way, we had both leaned in. At some point the words stopped.

We kissed just before 11 p.m. that night.

For a moment, everything stopped. All noise in my head faded away. There was nothing in the universe but her and I. Eternity could have come and gone for everyone and I would not have noticed.

It wasn’t the first time I’d been kissed. But it was my first kiss. It was the first kiss I had initiated. The first one I willingly entered into. And, for me, it was perfect.

Then, moments or days later, that kiss ended and I had to leave.

The next morning kicked off our final day. A day of closeness and distance, of revelation and the beginning of a new journey. A day… I’ll talk about more next time.