Our first kiss actually happened a couple months later. It was right before school let out for summer. Life had turned completely upside down and I missed a lot of school trying to deal with the fall out. During this time my friends had no clue what was happening to me. Some of them thought I was dead.

My first day back at school, I felt like a god walking in. It was the only time that my girlfriend embraced me in front of our friends. Our eyes had connected across the gym and she ran to me, leaping up and wrapping her arms around me as she kissed me hard on the mouth. I didn’t have time to react. I just stood there awkwardly with my arms pressed to my sides. The kiss was short, but electric. It left a permanent smile on my face the rest of the day.

That brief kiss was so monumental to me that I relived it in my dreams for weeks. That kiss gave me hope. I was so sure that she felt what I felt.