Common Threads: Tell us the story of your First Kiss 😘

Ah, our first kiss. Is there another moment in a young person’s life fraught with as much anticipation and anxiety? That crazy awkward moment when we put it all on the line and just hope for the best. For some, it’s a cherished memory, for others it’s full of regret. Some see it as a grand conquest, while others see it as a grand disappointment. Either way, whoever you are, and no matter how forgettable you think your First Kiss was, I think we’d all be interested in hearing it. Let’s share our stories…

This is the first official Common Thread. If you're new here, be sure to check out Introduction to Common Threads to see what it's all about.

FORT COLLINS, CO. It was Fall of 1991, the “smartest” phones were car phones and the Internet wouldn’t be a “thing” for another 4 years. Innocence somehow seemed more innocent back then—especially in my world.

I was 16—which in my family meant I could finally go on dates. I grew up in a very conservative Mormon home. I went to church every Sunday, and in a couple of years I was planning on being a missionary. As for sex, it wasn’t on my radar and I was fully committed to waiting until marriage (no this isn’t a sex story, sorry). I tell you this because I want to impress upon you that not only was I a good Mormon kid, but that I looked at love and romance in a very pure and idealized way. I saw love as something that endured forever and my first kiss was going to be something special with someone special.

It was the first semester of my Junior year at Poudre High School (pronounced locally as “Poo-der”, yeah it sounds better in French). I enjoyed music, dancing and acting so I auditioned for our High School production of “The Music Man”. I was cast as “Tommy”—who in the show is secretly seeing the Mayor’s daughter, Zeeneta. Zeeneta was played by a Senior girl named Tami. I had a huge secret crush on Tami, but I considered her out of my league. We ultimately developed a great friendship that had a very brother/sister feel to it.

In the show, Tami and I had a few scenes together. In one of the scenes, I would stop her on a bridge, bashfully kiss her on the cheek and then we would run offstage together.

Now it’s important to point out that the whole cast (and most of the school) knew that I was a Mormon—that I had never dated a girl and that I had never so much as kissed a girl (on the lips). This is important because I think they were all in on what was coming… On the final night of our show, as we were standing on the bridge and I closed in to kiss Tami on the cheek, she suddenly grabbed my face and gave me a completely unexpected, impassioned kiss on my lips!

I completely froze. I forgot that I was in the middle of a play—I didn’t care. So many things were racing through my mind. Here was the girl who I thought was out of my league—the girl I had a secret crush on—who had just given me my first kiss. Tami, secretly laughing to herself, was already halfway offstage—but I couldn’t move. In my frozen state, I caught a glimpse of the whole cast offstage laughing hysterically. I also found myself staring into the black void of the audience (blinded by the stage lights) wondering what this might look like to them… After what seemed like forever, Tami realized I wasn’t following her off and, with a huge beautiful smile, rushed back to drag me off… In hindsight, it was probably my best, most believable, acting performance.

Now there’s one last thing I failed to mention about Tami. One wrinkle that turns this sweet moment into something slightly more scandalous: Tami… was my older brother’s girlfriend. Fortunately, he was off at college and never saw the play. What’s more is that, several years later, Tami told me she had always had a secret crush on me…

(Note: while this was ‘technically’ my first kiss, I wasn’t really an active participant nor did I initiate it. I have an ‘official’ first kiss story that was actually quite amazing, but we can save that story for another day.)

In every Common Thread, I like to take a moment to highlight people who I think are valuable contributors in the community. I find these people by reading the stories they post in Common Threads. After checking out their profiles and recent blogs, I will usually follow them—and for those who really stand out, I will try and promote them in future Common Threads.

As this is the first official Common Thread, I’d like to just promote a few people who have impressed me in my short time here:

• @chelsea88 – Very actively committed to creating, encouraging and supporting quality content. Recently started a new Facebook group to that end.
• @clove71 – Photographer and very active blogger. I’m really enjoying her Color Challenge series.
• @web-gnar – Painter. You can tell he puts a lot of thought and effort into his posts. Very interesting following both his artistic and thought processes.

Now it’s your turn. The real purpose of Common Threads is to hear from you! I would genuinely love to hear your first kiss story, no matter how boring you think it is—and I think others would, too. If you don’t want to share, then maybe you’ll take a moment to read other people’s stories and encourage them by upvoting the ones you like. Now, without further ado: