Keyana badly wanted to know how the date between her two friends went. She had known Isabella for years and she had known Jackson for a while. At one point, she thought about dating Jackson but it just hadn’t been the right circumstances. Actually, to be honest, the real reason she couldn’t get into Jackson was that he wasn’t a good kisser. For Keyana, everything was about kissing. It didn’t even have to be French kissing, just kissing in general. It was the best part of sex for her. Hell, she would be just as happy making out with a guy as she would if she got to have sex with him. She would even be happy just making out for the rest of her life. Most guys wanted more than that though and she was willing to go further, but if a guy wasn’t a good kisser, that was as far as it was going to go for her.

But she knew that Isabella wasn’t into kissing the same way Keyana was so it might work out between the two of them. Jackson was a nice guy overall. So there Keyana sat on a Thursday, waiting anxiously to hear how the date went. It felt like weeks since the blind date she had set up but it was barely more than a day.

Finally her phone rang. She saw on the caller ID that it was Isabella. Finally! “How did it go?”

“Well hello, Keyana. How are you?” Isabella asked pointedly. Keyana realized that she was probably being rude by not beginning with pleasantries but she didn’t care.

“Yes, hello. I’m fine. How was your date?”

“One track mind,” Isabella muttered. “It was all right.”

“All right?”

“Yeah, all right.”

Keyana didn’t know what to say. Usually dates were excellent or they sucked. ‘All right’ just wasn’t a good enough response.

“I see why you won’t date him.”

“What do you mean?” Isabella knew that kissing was Keyana’s favorite thing but Keyana hadn’t told her friend that it was the reason she wouldn’t date Jackson.

“Don’t play dumb with me. You’ve been my friend for too long for that.” Her words were harsh but her tone was light. “He isn’t a very good kisser.”

“Ah, no,” Keyana admitted. “You caught me. He’s a really good guy though!”

“I’m sure,” Isabella said.

“Besides, just because he isn’t a great kisser doesn’t mean you can’t date him.”

“I know,” Isabella said. “It’s not the kissing. I just don’t know that I feel the right kind of connection with him.”

“That’s too bad,” Keyana replied. “I was hopeful for you.”

“Obviously,” Keyana could hear the eye roll, “otherwise you wouldn’t have set us up on a date.”

“Touche,” Keyana replied. “Well I am really sorry it isn’t working out. Please let him down easy.”

“I will,” Isabella replied. “I think the big thing for me is I’m really into this other guy.”

“Who!?” Keyana was shocked. She didn’t know Isabella had anyone else in her life.

“His name is Holt.” Keyana listened as Isabella filled her in on the surprise date she had had with Holt. “I kind of left him hanging,” she admitted. “Well, he left me hanging but only because I practically ran out on him. I just needed to get ready for my date with Jackson. I would have canceled the date, but I thought that would be worse.”

“You’re probably right. Keep me posted on this Holt guy. He sounds nice.”

“Yeah, I’m excited,” Isabella said.

“So…” Keyana changed the subject. “I have a date tonight.”

“Oh?” Isabella’s tone brightened. “That’s exciting. Who’s the lucky guy?”

“His name is Leo Lasko. I met him at a bar the other night. He seemed really into me.”

“Awesome!” Isabella said. “Maybe we can double date sometime.”

“Maybe!” Keyana said with a spark of excitement. “But let’s see if this guy can get through a first date with me.”

“You haven’t kissed yet, have you?”

“Nope.”

“Tonight?”

“I hope so,” Keyana said.

“All right, well, I’ll let you go. Talk to you soon!” The women got off the phone and Keyana went about her day, feeling a little lighter than before the phone call. Even though she was disappointed that Isabella and Jackson hadn’t hit it off, she was happy for her friend that she seemed to be hitting it off with this other guy. Keyana was a little wary when Isabella had admitted he had once been her therapist, but Keyana knew to keep her mouth shut. She wouldn’t change Isabella’s mind so easily. Besides, she had her own evening to focus on now.

Leo had danced with Keyana at the bar almost a week ago. At the end of the night, he had asked her if she would join him for dinner. At the time, Thursday had seemed like a lifetime away but here it was, just a couple hours away. She made sure to get herself all ready to go. She shaved her legs, just in case, and made sure she brushed her teeth again. She had declined Leo’s offer to meet at her place and instead grabbed her purse to head down to the restaurant he had picked. He had promised he would text her the location by Wednesday and he had been true to his word. That was a good sign.

Tonight, Keyara was wearing a dress that was short in the front and slightly longer in the back. It was light blue, like her eyes and complemented her tan skin tone nicely. She had put on two inch heels, not too high, that were silver. She wore all silver jewelry with big hoops in her ears and bangles on her wrists. She pulled her blonde hair back into a twist and pinned it up. It was an elegant looking hairstyle that took deceptively little time to do.

The restaurant Leo had sent her to was one she was familiar with but hadn’t really been to. It was called P.F. Chang’s and she recognized that it wasn’t a terribly cheap restaurant. Things were looking up for this date! She arrived five minutes early and was pleasantly surprised to find Leo waiting for her. “You’re early,” he said with a smile. They hugged and he kissed the hollow right behind her ear. A shudder of delight went through her.

“So are you,” she murmured.

“I always try to be.” He pulled back and smiled at her. “Our table isn’t quite ready yet. Would you like to wait at the bar?”

“Sure,” she said. They wandered over to the bar and she watched as he motioned to the host where they were going. He took her hand as they walked to the bar and she felt a tingle go through her.

They smiled at each other awkwardly. It was odd to be on a date with someone she didn’t really know well at all, but that was the point, she supposed. They ordered drinks and he let her sit on the only open bar stool. She was happy with his decisions. He was really sweetheart.

“How was your day?” he asked as though they had known each other forever.

“It was good,” she replied. “You?” They made small talk while they waited for their table and then the host called his name.

“That’s us,” he said and they left the bar and headed for their table. When they were seated, they started discussing food. P. F. Changs was family style so it made the most sense for them to agree on two dishes so they could share them. They were able to agree seamlessly and the ordered.

They continued to small talk over their drinks and before Keyara knew it, their food was arriving. They shared their food until most of it was gone and then both of them were full. They declined dessert but accepted a box for the leftovers. Leo offered to let Keyara take them home and she gratefully accepted. They decided to walk a while in the city instead of grabbing a cab or getting on a the subway.

He offered her his free arm (the other one was carrying the food) and she gratefully accepted. The night was cool but otherwise nice. After a little while in the evening air, she got cold and he gave her his jacket. It wasn’t that heavy but it was enough to keep the chill off of her.

“Would you like to come up?” she asked as they finally approached her apartment.

“Sure,” he said and she saw the smile in his eyes.

They took the elevator to her floor and he waited patiently while she fumbled with her keys. Why was she suddenly so nervous? She let him into the apartment and set her stuff down on the table inside the door.

“Can I put this in the fridge for you?” he asked.

“That would be nice, thank you,” she replied. He did and she joined him in the kitchen.

“Can I get you something to drink?” she offered.

“Wine?”

“Sure,” he said.”

“White okay?”

“Yes, fine,” he said and she poured two glasses.

They sat at the bar in the kitchen sipping wine. “This is a nice place,” he remarked looking around. Keyana surveyed her own space and she had to admit she agreed. It was nice looking. She kept it neat and tidy. She made sure to wipe down the counters often and she resisted the urge to let the bar they were sitting at get cluttered with stuff. She was careful to sort her mail as it arrived and dispose of junk. She made sure the dishes were done nightly. Living alone, it would be easy to let that stuff go but she refused to live in filth. She had a knack for designing things, and as a Kindergarten teacher, she was able to put her modest art skills to good use in her apartment. Her walls were decorated nicely and her furniture arranged just so.

“Thank you,” she replied. And then it happened. The kiss. Their first real kiss.

It was electric. Their lips touched and the electricity went right down to her toes. They were at just the right angle that they could breathe and not be hitting noses.She parted her lips and he seamlessly inserted his tongue into her mouth. Their tongues tangled in her mouth. He pulled his tongue out and then nibbled on her bottom lip as they pulled apart. He pulled on her lip just lightly enough that it didn’t hurt and she felt herself melt against him. They kissed again and this time there was less tongue and more heat. They were in sync with their movements and both of their breathing increased to a rapid pace. They broke their kisses after a few minutes stood, inches apart, breathing hard.

“Wow,” he said.

“That was intense,” she replied.

“You can say that again,” he murmured and then he was kissing her again. His lips hot on hers, her hands wrapped around his back. His hands felt tentative as they moved up her back. There was no way for him to get into under her skirt without a lot of movement so she felt comfortable with where they were.

He broke their kiss and kissed behind her ear. Then he moved down her throat and even nibbled on her collar bone.

“Ohhh,” she groaned. He kept nibbling and kissing and lightly licking and she would have been a puddle on the floor if it hadn’t been for him holding her up.

He worked his way back up and where he had left a trail of his kisses, she felt cold in the cool air. She wanted him to kiss her there again, but instead his mouth was on hers and she was no longer worried about the cool air on her damp skin. She moved her hands up to wrap around his neck and his hands were wrapped around her body. They were so close, a piece of paper wouldn’t fit between them. “Oh my god,” he said.

“That was amazing,” she panted. How could it get any better than this?

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