The first time she saw him it was 1982. He had tube socks pulled up to his knees, white with three tan stripes near the top. His Ocean Pacific shorts were made of blue corduroy and were so short it made his legs seem impossibly long. Her eyes were drawn to the small embroidered OP right above his right thigh. It was the same size as the horse sewn on his shirt. All the cool boys were wearing polo shirts with little white horses on the pocket, and Kyle was definitely one of the cool boys. His blond hair was a little long and so straight. Sun-kissed was the word that came to mind. He had that effortless charm of someone athletic and comfortable in their skin. She had never seen a true SoCal boy before and she was smitten.
She wasn't sure what, exactly, it meant to be his girlfriend. Except, of course, that everyone else wanted to be it too. No one explained all the rules to her but she had picked up that she was expected to run away from him at recess and pass notes during class. The oddest part was that they never really talked. Most of their conversations were done through Carl, his best friend. Carl delivered the notes and set up the meetings.
"He'll be by the three swings after lunch" or "meet by the teether-ball after school". The latest communique summoned her to the drinking fountain. The note had said Kyle wanted to kiss. This one really had her flustered. Even worse, word seemed to have spread. All the girls were whispering and watching her with wide eyes. Several had already snuck out of class and gathered around the fountains. It was her turn now. She managed to wheedle a hall pass. That was easy to do. Mrs. Beale liked her and didn't seem to notice that a good third of her class had a sudden unanimous call of nature. Nervous, she rounded the corner and saw the crowd that had formed before her, but there he was. Tube socks, short shorts, covered in embroidered logos and nonchalance. Before she reached him, Carl stepped forward to greet her.
"Um, hey." Carl shrugged and shuffled his feet. "Kyle wants to kiss you."
Titters from the girls. The boys gave high fives and everyone seemed to take a step close. They watched her now.
"OK", she said, trying a shrug on for herself and hoping she could pull it off. She wiped her palms on the culottes her mom had made her and wondered for the hundredth time why her? She didn't get it. Her hair was brown and always in braids. Try as she might, she couldn't get her mom to buy her any Esprit tops or Jordache jeans. But she could kiss, right?. Maybe that was enough?
Carl turned and walked back to Kyle. She followed.
"Um, hey." Carl shrugged again. "She said ok."
"Cool," Kyle replied and pushed off the wall toward her. She didn't know where to put her hands or what to do with her mouth but it didn't matter. Almost before she could think it through it was over. He just leaned forward and pressed his mouth to hers amid the whoops and cheers. Then he smiled and turned away, swallowed up by the back pats and congrats of others.
She stood there for a moment, dazed.
"Um, so, he'll meet you at the back field for chase at recess," Carl told her as he turned away. The show was over and everyone scurried back to their classrooms. Four notes were pressed into her hand as she made it back herself. It was her first kiss. They would share four more in front of a mixed crowd before he broke up with her to go out with Cindy. He would kissed Cindy twice before they broke up too. But for the rest of her life, long after she had forgotten his name and the feel of his lips, she would remember what he looked like leaning against that wall waiting for her. Tube socks. OP shorts. Sun kissed hair.
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