I see Maggie striding towards me, golden brown hair flowing in the light breeze of the night. I’m waiting outside because I plan on kissing her tonight, and I don’t want anyone at the party knowing until we are official. As she gets closer, I lean against the door, working my most dashing pose. Then my feet give out under me and I crash to the ground.

From this vantage point, I can see Maggie was crying, but now she’s starting to laugh. “Thanks, Bradley. You always know how to cheer me up.”

“Well, it was unintentional, but I’ll take credit for bringing a smile to your face.”

She lies down next to me. “So why the tears?” I ask.

“Assholes.”

“Any in particular?”

She shakes her head. “I guess guys in general.”

I raise an eyebrow. “Present company excluded?”

“No. Present company definitely included,” she teases.

I feel like the time is right. I pull Maggie to me and kiss her. I’m quickly pushed away. “What are you doing?”

“Kissing you?”

“No. Yes. I mean, why?”

“The moment was perfect.”

“But me and you? It can’t happen.”

“Why not? Remember when you kissed me last week?”

“I’m sorry about that.” She rises and turns her back to me.

I stumble to my feet. “You don’t need to apologize for that.”

“Yes, I do. It was a mistake.”

“There are no mistakes in love.”

She turns to face me without realizing how close I am, knocking me down in the process. “Oh my god, I’m sorry,” she gasps.

“Now, that’s something you can apologize for.”

Maggie kneels down and rubs my forehead, cooing in a soothing manner. This has been happening a lot lately. It must be love. “This isn’t love,” she says. “I just felt bad for you.”

Oh well. At least, I have a nice view down her shirt. That also has been happening a lot lately. It must count for something. “Sometimes good things come from people feeling bad for each other.”

“Not likely. At least not in this case. I have a boyfriend.”

“A boyfriend that breaks your heart. The way you break mine.”

She’s on the verge of crying. I must’ve gotten to her. Our lips teasingly approach, but right before contact, Maggie jerks away. “No, no, this is all wrong.”

I crane my neck, trying to steal a kiss, but she keeps retreating. “No, no, it’s all right.”

She nudges my head down, saying, “Imagine the scandal.”

“What scandal? At worst, your boyfriend would kick my ass. I’d be willing to make that sacrifice.”

She giggles, in spite of herself. “You’re too cute.”

“Too cute in the little brother kind of way, or too cute in the slip me some tongue kind of way?”

“You know, that’s not a very good way to woo a girl.”

“But it’s not a very bad way.”

Maggie shakes her head. “No, actually, it’s very bad. It’s quite horrible in fact.”

“Brownie points for effort?”

“Brownie points for enthusiasm.” And she gives me a quick kiss on the lips then adds, “Don’t read anything into it. That was a friends kiss” before quickly stressing, “Friends without benefits.”

Well, it’s a start anyway.

About the Author

A. L. Cerda