48 First Dates (Seeking Romance #1)

The Prince of First Kisses

4

Movie night leads to

finding out that he was the

Prince of First Kisses...

A nother Libby-free day! How about you?” Mitzi asked as she plopped into the chair next to me in chorus class.

“Yep, no Libby for me either.”

The rumor in the hallways was that Libby spent homeroom in the principal’s office. Apparently, there were previous issues. Mrs. Klisnick guaranteed those issues wouldn’t be repeated. She was married to the principal, so her request was granted. Libby didn’t have any other classes with us. All we had to do was avoid her in the hallway, and we were home-free.

“We still on for ice cream this afternoon? I want to play the new vintage Mrs. Pacman they got. Hopefully, Pole Position will be free. Not like last week.” Mitzi rolled her eyes.

“I know. You need to get back on the leaderboard.”

Mitzi put her hands at 10-and-2, revved her mouth engine, and pretended to race around the track. We had become inseparable best friends. We would catch up during the student check-in and the handful of classes we had together. We’d eat lunch at the same table. Sometimes joined by a few other chorus-class friends, sometimes not. And every Friday, Adam would take us to Honeybees for ice cream and arcade games. Our school year settled into a predictable pattern.

Until Tyler walked into chorus class that day and changed everything. With a wink and a smile, he tilted my teenage world on its axis.

“Who is that?” Mitzi said softly as the door creaked open. In walked a boy looking like a sun-kissed hiker straight off the Instagram-worthy trails. He wore green cargo shorts, Chaco sandals, and an “I’d rather be in the backcountry” T-shirt. When he opened the door to the choir room, every eye turned his way. Only the boys turned back to Mrs. Lee.

“I was told to come here and ask for Mrs. Lee to see if I could join the chorus,” the boy said as he handed a piece of paper to the teacher.

“That’s me. Name and vocal range, if you know what those are,” Mrs. Lee answered, taking the paper from him.

To be honest, I didn’t really want to be in chorus class. I sounded like a drowned rat, but my parents required that we do something musical for at least one year. My brother marched in the band, but the idea of holding an instrument while marching around a field? Hard pass. Orchestra was a no-go as I didn’t have any idea how to play an instrument, and no part of me wanted to learn.

Chorus ended up being my only option. But then again, if this guy sang in chorus, I didn’t have a problem toughing it out.

“Tyler Drake. Tenor, usually, but I can reach countertenor range if needed.”

“Oh, so you have sung before. What experience do you have?” Mrs. Lee looked up from the paper. She was all business, but she was fair and talented. When I asked to sign up, she told me the chorus contained plenty of people with good singing voices to cover the ones like mine.

“Yes, ma’am. I was in my old school’s All-State Chorus,” Tyler said with a grin.

Mitzi leaned over and bumped my shoulder. “He looks very smoochable.”

I gave her my best death stare as Mrs. Lee handed the new boy the sheet music for the piece we were working on. “Try this.”

The sound that came out of his mouth silenced the room.

I hated our new song until Tyler sang it.

When he finished, Mrs. Lee pointed to the empty seat next to me. Tyler made his way up the risers, and I pretended to get something out of my backpack.

As he sat down, he said, “I’m Tyler, nice snowman.”

Ugh!

That particular day, I wore my snowman sweater with jeans. I had matching snowmen painted on the toenails peeking out from my sandals. It was Florida-cold out. The kind where you need long pants and a sweatshirt, but you can still let your toes get some sunshine.

I looked up to find a non-sarcastic grin on his face. “Thanks, I wore it in honor of the semi-cool temps.”

“And the matching toes, nice touch, first time I’ve seen that.”

Was that good or bad?

About to ask my mind question out loud, Mrs. Lee cleared her throat. She raised her arms, signaling that it was time to sing. For the next hour, I snuck glances at Tyler as Mrs. Lee led us through our pieces. Thankfully, as promised, the surrounding voices drowned out my mouse squeaks.

As the class wrapped up, I took a deep breath, hoping to work up the courage to speak to him. He leaned in, asking, “So, what’s your name?”

“Adelaide,” I said.

His lashes beckoned me deeper into his eyes. “Adelaide, like the German princess. Cool.”

I nodded. Any more words I hoped to speak got caught in my throat. He had green eyes, the same hue as the Irish prince from my favorite fairy tale.

Could Tyler be my prince?

“Listen, Adelaide, I like your snowman and its mini-toe-cousins. I’d like to keep seeing them as I walk you to your next class.”

“Sure.” I nodded again, swallowing the lump in my throat.

I floated from the chorus room with Tyler by my side. I have no idea what he said as we walked. My mind somersaulted as every eye seemed to follow us. Surely, I was the luckiest girl in the entire school at that moment.

As the weeks flew by, Tyler continued to walk with me from chorus class every day. We talked about our families, where we had lived, and what we liked. The more I learned about him, the more I realized how boring my life had been. I had lived in the same house all my life. He had been all over the world, living in Alaska, Germany, Montana, and more.

I loved fairy tales and hanging out with my friends. He sang, played the ukulele, and loved musicals. Each five-minute walk was a fascinating expansion of the possibilities of teenage life.

One day, I plucked up the courage to ask the question running through my mind. “Tyler, why do you continue our walks through the halls? My life is so boring compared to yours.”

“That’s just it. I love hearing about your normal teenage life. I get to live the life that I’ve missed through your stories.”

It was yet another thing we had in common–thinking the grass was greener in someone else’s backyard. Tyler grabbed my hand, and the warmth from his fingers wrapped around my arm. I stared into his emerald eyes. My breath quickened as we continued to stand there.

Suddenly, the trance was broken as Libby swung out from the end of a bank of lockers. “I wouldn’t do that. She’s got a mucus-filled history that you don’t want to mess with.” Libby stood there, legs firmly planted hip-width apart. One hand at her waist, the other one pointing at our hands.

Was she stalking me, waiting to pop out at the most inopportune moments?

Her stare withered me. I hung my head and loosened my grip on Tyler’s hand.

Next to me, Tyler stiffened. He gripped my hand tighter, not allowing me to let go.

“I think I’ll take my chances.” He said through clenched teeth.

Libby rolled her eyes, ending her circuit with a sneer. “Suit yourself. The last person who went out with Princess Snot-Rocket disappeared.”

She slammed into my shoulder as she walked away. I bounced to the side and almost lost my backpack. Tyler was forced to let go of my hand as I tried to steady myself.

He turned to face me. “What was that?”

My shoulders sagged. “David, she’s referring to David, this kid who came to our co-op several years ago.”

I proceeded to tell Tyler the story of how I got the Snot-Rocket nickname. When I was done, Tyler grabbed my hand. “That is hilariously embarrassing!” He threw his head back and laughed.

“You’re right, it kinda is.” I nodded as I smiled. That kind of hindsight was easier because David had written to me several weeks after co-op had ended. He told me about how his family had to move back to Brazil. His grandfather died without warning. David’s father had to go back and take charge of the family’s sugarcane plantation. He told me he didn’t hate me for what happened, or rather, what didn’t happen on those back steps.

Tyler caught my gaze and said. “It’s not going to keep me away.”

Oh. My. Fairies.

I sucked in a breath as I looked into his eyes. My first kiss could not happen in a mint-green locker-lined hallway. I pulled on his hand and said. “C’mon, let’s keep walking.”

On a gorgeous Friday in March, several weeks later, Tyler and I were holding hands as we walked through the halls. He was going on and on about a new musical that was going to hit the theater that weekend. He stopped and turned to face me.

“Listen, Adelaide, there’s no one else I’d rather see this musical with than you. Do you want to come with me?”

“Sure!” The words were out of my mouth before I could think about them.

“Great, let’s make it a date, complete with dinner. My mom can take us to the mall, and we can get everything we need there. I’ll see you at five-thirty tonight.” Tyler dropped my hand and smiled as we reached the door to my next class.

What just happened?

Did I give him my address?

And when will the class end so that I can go tell Mitzi!?

When I shared the good news with Mitzi, I found out she already knew about the plan. Tyler had asked her if she thought I would say yes to the date the day before. He had also asked for my details.

Now I understood why she had taken so long to go to the bathroom the other day. And why she came back grinning like the Cheshire cat. I wasn’t sure if I should be mad at her for conspiring with Tyler or glad that she had paved the way.

That evening, Mitzi helped me get ready. I alternated between breaking out in cold sweats and jumping around the room, squealing. When the moment arrived, I walked down the stairs. I was confident and completely overwhelmed at the same time.

Tyler and his mom arrived promptly at 5:30. They both came in for a bit of chit-chat. My parents already knew her, so Tyler and I stood around staring at our feet while they talked.

Thirty minutes later, his mom dropped us off at the food court. My first official mall date began!

He got Chinese food, and I got a chicken sandwich with fries. We laughed while we ate. When we finished, he took my trash and grabbed my hand as we walked to the movie theater. He held on for the whole musical. His hand felt warm and sweaty. Different from when he held it on our three-minute hallway treks.

I couldn’t tell you what the movie was about. My nerves focused on the fact that Tyler was beside me. The prolonged pressure of his hand on mine was strange and awkward. I kept shifting the position of my feet without moving my arm. Every time I did, my shoes made a sucking noise as they were released from the sticky floor.

The scent of buttered popcorn wafted from the people in front of us. They looked natural and comfortable as they both stuck their hands into the bucket. Why was this so weird? Tyler and I didn’t look at each other the whole time. And I kept wondering if this was really what a fairytale moment felt like.

After the movie, Tyler held onto my hand as if it was a lifeline. Our hands remained connected all the way back to the car, all the ride home, and all the way up to my front door.

Do you have any idea how awkward it is to get in and out of a car while holding someone’s hand?

I do.

At the front door, he turned. We faced each other. He finally let go of my hand. He stared deep into my eyes.

We’ve been here before. This time, there are no witnesses.

When he was mere inches from me, Tyler whispered, “I had a great time, Adelaide.” I almost stepped back, but the next thing I knew, his mouth was on mine.

Regrettably, it wasn’t the gentle fairytale first kiss of my dreams. It was wet and slobber-filled, more like getting licked by a dog or kissed by a sucking goldfish. Definitely not a beautiful moment between a prince and a princess.

I put my hands on his chest to push him away, but something far worse happened. Right as we were separating, my dad opened our front door.

The one with the huge wavy glass insert.

The one I’m sure he saw every moment of that kiss through.

My feet rooted to the spot. The heat of embarrassment flushed from my neck to my scalp. My hands dropped, statue still by my side. No way I was turning my head to see the look on my dad’s face.

Tyler, on the other hand, jumped and sprinted down the steps.

As he ran down the sidewalk, my dad opened his mouth. Loud enough for the entire neighborhood to hear, he said, “That was like watching Max, the dog from The Little Mermaid , kiss you goodnight.”

Tyler hopped into his mom’s car without looking back or saying goodbye.