And I Liked It?

Seven Minutes In heaven with her best friend, Garrett? Talk about awkward: cute little tale :]

Who was the idiot that decided that doors should be locked from the outside, anyway? I mean really? Who comes up with that kind of stuff and one more question: why would you come up with that? The idea had disaster written all over it, and quite frankly, I just don’t get it. And especially a lock on the outside of a closet- so nobody can peek at all your coats and stuff? So you can lock teenagers in it who get dragged into playing seven minutes in heaven?

 

I mean seriously. That’s the only logical explanation I can come up with.

 

I fluff my bangs a little then sit down in the closet while someone from outside of it yells “turn the lights off or the seven minutes doesn’t start!”. I slunk against the coats behind me and then the light goes off and I can hear rustling in front of me too.

 

It was so dark I couldn’t even see my hand in front of my face anymore, but I wasn’t particularly concerned. I was just nervous. My insides were turning like crazy and I didn’t know what to do.

 

“I hate to say this, Ana, but I think there is only one way to get out of this,” Garrett’s voice says, not even two feet away from me. I wince at the thought and close my eyes, even though I knew it didn’t make a difference.

 

In my right hand I was clenching a tube of lipstick. In this particular game, they had decided that if you’re in the closet then you have to at least make out or else it adds another seven minutes. They were deciding credibility of whether the couple actually did or not by the lipstick smears- one couple had already been caught for just drawing it on. It was easy to tell, and not exactly easy to draw when it was so dark in the closet anyhow.

 

Making out with a boy should be simple and easy right? Just twenty seconds and we could make a mess with the lipstick enough to qualify to come out of the closet and have it all done and over with, right?

 

What’s my problem? The fact that Garrett has been my best friend since the second grade. Kissing him, over all these years, had never even crossed my mind. Sure he was attractive and smart and wonderful in every single way possible, with dark jet black hair and stunning bright blue eyes that make girls die a little inside, but he was still my best friend. The person I went to whenever I had issues, the best friend I dragged along to the bathroom (since we all know that’s a girl ritual- not that Garrett ever came in, of course but you get my point). I’d just never thought about kissing him and I know it probably wouldn’t mean anything and we could just forget about it but… well, quite frankly, I didn’t know how I felt about the whole situation.

 

“Listen, Ana, I don’t want to sound weird or anything but ten seconds and it’ll be over and done with. We don’t ever have to talk about it or anything- you’ll go on with your life and I’ll go on with mine.”

 

“Garrett,” I mutter in a low voice. “Garrett I can’t. I mean I really can’t.”

 

Garrett sighs. “You know I’m not going to pressure you into anything Ana so I wont fight. If its really too weird for you then we can try being better artists than Nicole and Josh or whatever but we’d better start with that now then-”

 

I remembered how perfect Josh and Nicole had theirs- it had me fooled right away. But Sara, the host, knew as soon as they walked out the door. It was as if she was a crazy lady that only studied what people should look like after a real make out session and whatnot. She knew, and they were sent back into the closet. Seven minutes in the closet with my best friend to make out withn him was bad enough. I don’t know if I’d be able to do seven more.

 

I started feeling sick and self conscious all of a sudden.

 

“Garrett, how many girls have you kissed in your life?” I wondered. I mean, it wasn’t like I asked him this every day; usually we never talked to one another about the other person’s relationship. It was just one of those things that neither of us really cared about I guess, but suddenly I had grew curious.

 

“Way more than I can count,” he snorts with a laugh following after. “Pretty much every single girlfriend I had and then some other girls. Why?”

 

I shrug, and then remembering he can’t see it I answer, “Just curious.”

 

That probably meant he was a pro kisser anyhow. He was probably absolutely fantastic at every sort of kiss between pecking and frenching. I shook my head, shaking the thoughts out of my head. The darkness and anticipation was starting to make me go crazy.

 

“What about your girlfriend? I mean, what if she found out that you played seven minutes with another girl?”

 

“Ana,” he laughed pleasantly, lightening the mood. I was still nervous though. “For one, since when have I really cared about what Jess thinks? Not like she isn’t off with some guy right now.”

 

I raise an eyebrow. I didn’t know anything about how he felt about her. “Huh?”

 

“Nothing, forget it. I’m dumping her a week after Homecoming so as to not come off as a jerk so don’t harass me just yet for it.”

 

“Oh,” I reply, that awkward feeling coming back to me.

 

“And you, Ms. Analyn? How many boys have you kissed?”

 

I knew he wasn’t going to believe my answer so I just kept silent, hoping he’d forget that he asked the question or something. I mean, not to be vain but I was very pretty. If Garrett ever gave me a compliment it was usually something along those lines or something, and I’d had about as many boyfriends as Garrett had girlfriends.

 

“Garrett,” I gulp. “We’ve been friends for a really long time and right now I feel really confused and scared and stuff and-”

 

“Ana,” he interrupts. “Nice try. Answer the question. How many boys?”

 

I gnawed on the inside of my lip and swallowed hard.

 

“None,” I practically whispered after a few more moments of silence. “I have never kissed a boy in my entire life.”

 

Now it was Garrett’s turn to be silent and my heart started pumping faster anxiously, waiting for him to say something or make fun of me or laugh or something!

 

“Your kidding,” Garrett says. “I was trying to think of a time I’d seen you but I can’t. You’ve really never kissed a boy in your life?”

 

“Don’t laugh,” I mumble.

 

“What about Jake? You two went out for like, six months. You never kissed him?”

 

“Never,” I shook my head. “He never made the move and I certainly wasn’t going to.”

 

“So wait. All of those flings didn’t come from some random make out sessions at parties or anything? Have you never played spin the bottle, or you know, anything like that?”

 

“No,” I grumbled, embarrassed by my lack of experience. At the same time I was wondering why I was admitting all of this to him all of a sudden: it wasn’t like we’d ever talked about this kind of thing before or anything…

 

“Wow,” Garrett draws out slowly. “Now I feel kind of guilty for being in here with you.”

 

“Why?” I ask, confused.

 

“I mean, assuming we end up actually kissing rather than faking it- you know, I’m not saying that will happen but in the case that it does- I feel like I’m this man-w***e about to steal away the virginity of your inexperienced lips.”

 

It takes a moment for that to sink in and I just shake my head slowly. “I don’t know. I guess a girl has to get her first kiss somehow. And if we did kiss- I mean, not that we will necessarily you know, I’m just saying if it happens- then it would make quite a story to tell people later you know?”

 

“Yeah I guess,” Garrett says. I chew on the inside of my cheek again.

 

“Would it be weird if we actually did it? I mean kissed, that is.”

 

“I’m wondering the same thing,” Garrett says. I imagined that he shrugged then. “What do you think?” he asked.

 

“I don’t know,” I replied honestly. And suddenly a thought came over my head- one that wouldn’t shake off no matter how many times I tried distracting my brain away from it. I felt myself shiver in anxiety.

 

“So… assuming we do this… kiss I mean,” Garrett says quietly. “Like, would it bother you if I was the first boy you’d kissed?”

 

I think about it for a second, starting to feel more comfortable the more we talked about it. More okay with the fact that I was still locked in here with him.

 

“Actually, I wouldn’t care if you were,” I decide, surprised at my answer myself. I really wouldn’t care if he was the first boy I kissed. I mean, not that it would change anything, we’d still be best friends forever, but despite how it should be awkward I honestly wouldn’t mind if Garrett were the first boy I kissed. Who knows why?

 

“Well,” Garrett sighs. “Do you want me to be your first kiss?” he asks.

 

I didn’t know the answer to this at all. It was just so weird to think that he and I were actually having this conversation. Usually we talked about school, gossiped about people, talked about our futures and took strolls down memory lane. But never had we talked about anything remotely related to this.

 

“I don’t know,” was all I could say. “Do you want to be my first kiss?” I ask.

 

Garrett inhales lightly and then says, “As a matter of fact, I do.”

 

I nodded my head even though I knew he couldn’t see it and suddenly I felt his hand touch my cheek. I froze. I was actually about to kiss Garrett… as in my best friend… as in the guy that I’ve known since second grade and I’ve always trusted the most with my life. I didn’t know what to do so I just stood still, closing my eyes and waiting to just get it over with.

 

He scooted over next to me and then I could feel his breath against my lips as he inched closer, then lingered his lips near mine like that. I was starting to feel all sorts of things clutter up in my stomach, but I pushed all of my thoughts aside. The best way to get it done was just to let it happen. Just to let it happen…

 

“I love you,” I blurted. Before I could even think what was coming out of my mouth, before I even knew I was going to say it! But once it was out there, I felt my cheeks flush a deep red and humiliation swept through me.

 

Garrett pressed his lips hard against mine and left them there and I wondered if I had even really spoken or if I had imagined it. I was actually kissing him and it felt… nice. Really good, actually.

 

In no time at all he pulled away. It had been twenty seconds, like he’d promised. But instead of that, we found both of our lips touching again for just a second when suddenly the door opened and we pulled away.

 

Sara looked at us, her eyes adjusting to the dark and she turned the light on. “You guys! You’re in the closet for seven minutes and you don’t kiss once!?” she pouted.

 

“But-”

 

“Ana don’t lie. Seven more minutes.” Grumpily, she turns off the light and closes the door again. Sitting next to each other, neither of us say anything and I unclench my sweating hand, remembering the lipstick tube I never opened in my hand.

 

“Oops,” I blush.

 

Suddenly Garrett starts laughing, and I turn to him and ask, “What?” with horror on my face, I’m sure.

 

“Ana, I love you too,” and before I had time to put the lipstick on we were already kissing again, not wasting a single minute this time.

 

Fourteen minutes in a closet; fourteen months later we were engaged.

 

Reviews

[Alicia™]

Aww, that's a cute story.

[WriterMe]

That was so sweet. It wasnt the Meg Cabot tyical teenage fling either, it was actually really REALLY cute. It was just perfect. Reminds me of my story which you critiqued. I guess falling in love with your guy best friends has to be the most perfect romanctic tale in the world.
Brilliant work =]

This was sweet. I combed your story for errors like I do with every story I review, and I could only find one. When Garret says, "Your kidding", you should have used "You're" instead. Aside from that, awesome story! I really like this. Good luck with all of your writing, and thanks for the review.