Our First Kiss

Yes, 3 new posts in one day. In the spirit of Valentines day I thought I'd post about our first Kiss. Most of you know it, but I'm putting it one here anyway, mostly because I think it's fun.

The year is 2002. Chris and I had literally both ended up in B4 spanish 2 class, (neither of us had wanted to be in that particular class, but it was the only way Spanish would fit into our schedules). I was coming up on 18 and had never been kissed. One of my best friends, who had also never been kissed, and myself made a bet. Whoever of us got kissed first had to take the other one to a fancy dinner at a fancy restaurant. Looking back on it, I can't remember if that dinner happened, or which one of us had lost the bet first....hmmmm.
Anyway, So we made this bet and told all of our friends about it. Well, one of our good friends happened to work with Chris. The two of them were pretty good friends, and one day they got on the subject of me. Apparently, Justin was convinced that we would be a great couple and was trying to convince Chris to ask me out. (Chris and I knew who the other person was, but weren't really friends). When Justin heard about this bet he decided to tell Chris about it, and then the two of them decided it would be so funny if they made me lose the bet. They decided that the next day Chris would just walk up to me in Spanish class and plant one on me before I could react. That way I'd lose.
So the next day I just so happened to leave my friends early at lunch and head into my mom's classroom to get some last minute homework done before class started. It was just me and my mom for a bit, when Chris walked in. He walked up to me, then walked right past me and sat on a desk, just quietly laughing at himself. I ignored him and went back to my work. A couple minutes later one of his friends came in. They talked in hushed voices for a minute, then another of his friends came in, and another and another. Within a few minutes there were a group of boys huddling together in the corner of the room. In my mind, I was thinking the valentines dance was coming up, and this cluster of boys were probably planning on asking a girl out. Then I clued in to the fact that they would talk for a minute, then all look at me, chuckle, and keep talking in their hudle. I asked them "What are you guys talking about?"
"Scheming" they said.
Then a boy named David, who I was friends with, but not interested in, came up to me. He pulled me out of my chair, put his arm around me, and as we were walking he suddenly went in for a kiss. I put my hand on his face and quickly pushed him away saying "What are you doing?" He explained that he really wanted to kiss me. I told him no. He, and many of the other boys spent the next 10 minutes trying to convince me to kiss David. They even offered me money, like $5. I was not interested in kissing David, ever. I liked him as a friend, but that was the extent of it. During all of this, Chris just sat in his favorite blue hoodie laughing to himself quietly in the corner.
When they could tell there was no amount of Money I would take to kiss David somebody said "Well, kiss Chris then!" For the briefest of moments I thought, "that's not a bad idea." Then I said no. They continued to push it while Chris said nothing. Lunch was coming to end, and pretty soon my entire spanish class was there as well as the group of extra guys who had come to watch. They were offering $40, $50 and $55 if I kissed him, but I was standing my ground. Then Billy turned to my mom and said "Senora, tell her to do it!" My mom had been helping a student and had been oblivious to the whole situation until now (if you knew my mom you'd understand). When they explained the situation, and that the pot was up to $65 she said "Rachel, you're almost 18. It's time! Just do it! For $65 you should definitely do it!!!"

Betrayed by my own mother.

Well, all of my arguments were crumbling fast, especially now that my mom was on their side. I started thinking to myself, "it would be a good story, and I do need new mascara." The fact that it was Chris didn't hurt either.
So I finally caved and said yes. I was going to get my first kiss from a boy I hardly knew, in front of my entire spanish class, AND MY MOM.
So I stood up and turned toward him and he planted one on me. The first thought that entered my mind was how soft his lips were, and how I wanted more of it! I think he unleashed the beast. I went from having a 3 foot bubble around my head, to wanting to grab him, take him out behind the school and having him teach me more. :)
After that we became good friends, we always sat next to each other in class, and started liking each other. He, however, refused to asked me out, so after giving him multiple opportunities to ask me out, I asked him out. Ok, fine. Justin actually asked him out for me. But the next date after that I totally asked him. :)

I honestly love our story. There's so much more to it, but I'll reserve it for later. I love that looking back Heavenly Father's hand is so apparent in bringing us together.