Baby Steps

23

I was desperately trying to get my mind off of things and ended up playing Call of Duty with Emmett. Tonight's the date with Caiden and I'm nervous as hell, so nervous that I jump at every gunshot in the game and in my paranoid state, managed to shoot Emmett every time. Eventually, he was defeated.

"How the...?" He dropped the remote in shock and I actually felt bad for accidentally winning, "You weren't really into the game that much!"

"Sorry." I sighed, "The date's got me messed up. Something that my friends said."

Jamie, Mikey, Kit and Cory successfully managed to stress me up today at school when they brought up the subject of the first kiss. I had no idea that happened on the first date! They kept asking me questions like; do I know how to kiss, do I know what to do with my hands during a kiss, and do I close my eyes before or after our lips touch?

Their advice afterwards didn't help much either, also because none of them had their first kiss yet. Jamie's advice was that I should keep my mouth closed during the kiss, keep it short and sweet so Caiden could want more. Kit said the exact opposite, I should give him full access, otherwise, he'll think I'm not into it. Cory told me to wrap my arms around Caiden's waist when I wanted the kiss to be deeper, while Mikey said the opposite, I should wrap my arms around his neck instead.

What did I learn? Nothing, zero, zilch, nada, dot!

And time's running out. I left Emmett sulking over his failure to make myself a cup of tea. The house was extremely quiet for once. Mom and Dad were still at work, Alice and Jasper went out to hunt, Edward and Bella had a romantic night out and Renesmee and Jake went ice skating. All who were at home was Emmett, Rose and... I stopped just in time before I could crash into Demetri.

"Whoa, there." He smiled and held me steady by the shoulders, "What's bothering you?"

"What?" I asked confused.

"Grace, I can feel when you're not well." He got that distant look in his eyes again, but only briefly before he started speaking again, "Want to tell me what's wrong?"

Tell him, tell him, tell him... I trusted him with everything I had. He's my best friend, and who knows, maybe he could give me some expert advice? Okay, I'm going to tell him.

"I have no idea how to kiss!" I blurted it out.

"What?"

"Jamie said usually a girl gets her first kiss on her first date and I have absolutely no idea how to kiss and then she started giving me advice which didn't really help and Kit said the total opposite and I'm just so confused I think I'm going to pass out," I explained everything in one breath.

Demetri stared intently at me and he actually seemed like he had a plan, "You know, kissing is an instinct, something that can't be taught. It just happens. But since I can see this problem's gotten you all worked up, I might have an idea."

"I'm desperate." That wasn't a lie.

Demetri inhaled slowly, "I can teach you."

I nearly dropped the empty cup in my hand at his words. What was I supposed to say? Should I accept his offer? I mean, I had no idea what to do and Demetri's thousands of years old. He's bound to have some experience with kissing and romance since I doubted he'll continue living on and on without hooking up with some girls over the decades. Maybe I should accept his offer.

"Just tell me one thing." I said sternly, "Will my leg pop when he kisses me? Like in the movies?"

He raised both his eyebrows but nodded slowly, "If it's meant to be, then yes. What do you say, princess?"