These are five of my most memorable kisses. They were kind of great.
The "Getting Back Together" Kiss
"Getting Back Together" kisses have to be good, otherwise, there probably won't be any actual getting back together occurring. I can't think of anyone that would take back an ex-significant other after a mediocre kiss, but if you know someone that would, you should flick them on the forehead or something because they are dumb.
Anyway, the best "GBT" kiss I ever had was fairly early-on in my life and set a surprisingly high standard for how these type of situations are supposed to go down. It was with my second boyfriend, Mike.
Mike and I dated from April to June of my eighth grade year and when we broke up, I was devastated. I'm pretty sure this was the first time my heart had ever been broken and I hated it. It was the worst, especially because we broke up over some dumb misunderstanding (which, let's be real, is what most middle school break up's are over). Because we had started out as best friends before we dated, Mike and I tried to hang out after our break up, which was kind of hard because I was still pretty upset that we were no longer together and I also still hearted him big time and I was 99% sure that he wanted to get back together too.
Anyway, a couple weeks after we'd broken up, we were hanging out down at the beach when it started to storm. Instead of being smart, normal humans and looking for cover, we ran toward the water and jumped in. It was there, standing chest-deep in the lake while the rain poured down and the possibility of getting electrocuted was pretty prominent, that he kissed me and we decided to get back together. It was wonderful.
Mike and I had many "GBT" kisses during the two years that we on-and-off dated, but that kiss was the perfect one. It's the reason I like thunderstorms so much and I'm actually fairly confident the memory of that kiss is why we stayed together for so long and kept trying to make things work because, honestly, we had a pretty bad relationship. We remembered it and clung to it's memory when things between us sucked to prove that we at least used to have something.
The last time I saw Mike was right before I left for my freshman year of college. It was in the gynecologists office, which let me tell you, is not the place you would expect to see the first person who broke your heart. I was sitting cross-legged, eating goldfish and waiting for a friend's appointment to be over. He was with his girlfriend, who was eight months pregnant. It probably should have been awkward, but it wasn't. We made small-talk and, before he left to go into the appointment, he mentioned that day in the rain. Our lives went completely different directions and we clearly fell out of love, but it's nice to know that the memory is still there for both of us as the best "GBT" kiss ever.
The "Goodbye" Kiss
This kiss is the worst because saying goodbye to someone you are in love (or in "like") with is never fun.
There are two versions to the "Goodbye" kiss. Both of them suck.
The first is typical. It's when you're leaving and don't know when you will see this person again. I had this kiss probably over a million times with my high school sweetheart, Graham. This is not because we left each other a million times during our three and a half year relationship, but because I was literally unable to let him leave my house without kissing him goodbye in the car, then leaning back into the car to get one last kiss goodbye, then making him open the driver window so I could get one real last kiss. (Being in love in high school is probably pretty obnoxious, but it's also the best).
The last time Graham and I kissed was a "Goodbye" kiss. It was right after I'd moved to Boston and he had come out to visit me for two weeks. I dropped him off at the airport and, as he turned around to give me that one last kiss, the airport security man said, "That is a lucky couple."
He was kind of wrong. I had no idea that this would be our last kiss ever, but life happens and we broke up three weeks later.
The second version of the "Goodbye" kiss is the "Man, Our Timing Sucks and We Would Have Probably Been An Adorable Couple, But It's Summer and I'm Leaving For Boston and You're Graduating Tomorrow, so Goodbye" kiss. It is exactly how it sounds.
The "Hot Stranger" Kiss
On Spring Break, I fell in #PCBLOVE (it's a real thing) with probably the most attractive man to ever exist. His name was Francis.
We met drinking free beer under a heating lamp at an awesome outdoor club. t was the first time since getting back from England that I was at a bar that had different rooms dedicated to different genres of music and I loved it.
Francis and I got along really well and he made me laugh. He told me stories about growing up in the Midwest and I told him about how we accidentally killed a bunny on our drive from Indiana, which he responded to appropriately, so I was pretty sure that he wasn't a mass murderer/psychopath.
When Francis kissed me, he did it so suddenly that I was completely unprepared for how perfect it was going to be. We were switching from the reggae room to the rave room and I was holding his hand, leading the way. I glanced back at him to smile and out of nowhere, he spun me around, pulled me in from the back of my neck and kissed me like it was his goddamn job. It kind of felt like a movie, with everyone else dancing and going crazy as the bass dropped while we were standing completely still, having what could only be described as the best first kiss of all time.
After that epic first kiss, Francis and I accidentally lost each other because the bar was seriously bigger than my home, but we somehow met up in the middle of a huge concert that I am 97% sure was featuring Carly Rae Jepsen. We were clearly meant to be and, after our last kiss goodbye, I spent the entire taxi drive home telling the driver that I'd met my future husband. (He told me he hears that a lot in PCB).
I haven't talked to Francis since that night. I still have his number (I saved it as Francis PCB instead of actually getting his real last name), but that night was so perfect that I don't want to ruin the memory. I'm pretty confident that if we're meant to be together, we'll run into each other again at some point in our lives, kind of like John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale in "Serendipity," because, you know, my life is a movie. Allie thinks this is one of the stupidest things I've ever said and told me if it happens, she will attempt to make-out with a slug. So, that's a thing everyone should look forward to.
The "Forehead" Kiss
I love forehead kisses. I think they are the sweetest things in the entire world and it kind of makes my heart melt when I get them. I'm pretty sure that I react to a forehead kiss the same way I react when I see a tiny puppy or a baby seal or a teacup pig. However, there are standards to forehead kissing. Some guys understand it, some don't.
Once, leaving a bar, one of my best friends kissed me on the forehead as his way of saying goodbye. Adorable. I think I spent the entire walk home telling Allie about how much his friendship meant to me and how much I loved him and then I jumped off a brick wall pretending that I was Rose from the Titanic, so clearly forehead kisses can have a pretty big effect on me.
Another time, the most precious guy to ever attend Ball State walked me home and, before he left, kissed me on the forehead. Super adorable. I'm pretty sure I almost died. When I told Chelsea, she text me back in all caps, which I guess is pretty normal for us because we have very interesting conversations that involve hundreds of exclamation points and emojis, but still, the point is that I loved it.
Then, there was the time I ran into a friend while he was promoting something for his fraternity. I watched him hug another girl, kiss her on the forehead, then walk over to me and kiss me on the forehead. NOT adorable. A forehead kiss is special, bro, you can't just spring it on every girl like it's NBD. Duh.
The "Full Circle" Kiss
This is a special kiss. It's a kiss you have with someone you really cared about, someone you used to be with, but have not kissed in a long, long time.
It will happen the night that you least suspect it. You'll be leaving the bar with this person, happily on your way to go get pizza when you'll look down and discover that you're holding hands. You won't know how it happened, but it feels like before. It feels OK. You don't say anything about it.
You keep holding hands. You're talking: maybe about the past, maybe about the future, when it suddenly happens. It starts to rain, just a little bit, but then more, and you're twirling and laughing when he touches your face and kisses you, just a little bit, but then more and then everything is gone except for the two of you, kissing in the rain.
And, it's just like before. It doesn't matter if it's been two weeks or two months or two years since you've last kissed: everything about it is comfortable and familiar and amazing.
But, at the same time, it's different. You've both changed so much and you're pretty sure it's no longer what either of you want anymore. You know that this is the last time you will ever kiss again.
And, it's the perfect way -- the perfect kiss -- to finally end everything you ever had.