The following Monday, Max could not stop smiling as he drove to college. His failure at the Near Impossible Assignment and subsequent near fire were pushed aside for more favorable memories, even though his dad kept reminding him of the other.

  Julie had driven over to attend church with Max and afterward had eaten lunch with him and his parents again. Like the first time, it was a very nice experience, and it was clear that his mom and dad liked her very much, and it would seem they liked that he liked her as well.

  Church and lunch made up a tiny portion of his memory, however. It was after lunch that consumed his thoughts this morning as he replayed every detail in slow motion. After lunch, Max’s parents left to visit a sick elder of the church, leaving Max and Julie there alone. Before leaving, Max’s mom had already dug out several old pictures to embarrass Max, and Julie kept that going after she left. They looked through his school yearbook and several family albums.

  “I’m glad you asked me to come,” Julie said.

  “I’m glad you came.”

  Several seconds of silence followed and Julie asked, “Have you ever thought about kissing me?”

  Max felt his throat tighten. He knew Julie was outspoken and he loved that about her, but this question suddenly made him dizzy. But he managed to answer honestly. “More times than I can count and I’m pretty good at math.”

  Julie smiled a really big smile. “Then why haven’t you?”

  Max shrugged. “I’ve never kissed a girl before, and I was scared that I would be really bad at it.”

  Julie smiled as if never tiring of hearing honest responses from Max. But she couldn’t help but have a little fun at his expense. “So, you think there’s a wrong way that will make a girl not be interested in you anymore?”

  “Well,” Max said as his brow lowered, “I actually thought there were a million ways to do it wrong that would lose the girl and only one right way, and I have no clue how that goes.”

  Julie smiled bigger as if deciding she had picked on him enough. “Okay, I’m going to make it easy for you.”

  Max breathed a sigh of relief.

  “Close your eyes and leave your lips open. For the next ten seconds, don’t do anything at all; just let me do everything.”

  Max did as he was instructed.

  Julie moved the picture albums and sat across Max’s legs with her own legs resting on the sofa cushions.

  Max’s heart was beating very fast. Suddenly he felt Julie’s lips on his, slowly brushing against them, and then both of her lips were on his bottom lip. She slowly compressed her lips, creating a slight vice-like grip on his bottom lip and pulled away, taking his lip with hers and then slowly releasing it. She continued this all around his bottom and top lips.

  Max felt like he was in paradise. He never knew he could feel this way and he hoped that those ten seconds would last for eternity. His eyes were still closed, and his mind was still flowing when he realized that it had stopped. He opened his eyes to see Julie leaning back and smiling at him.

  “How was that?” she asked.

  All he could do was nod; the rest of his muscles seemed frozen. “Should I be doing something?” he asked.

  “Believe me,” Julie replied, “doing nothing already makes you a better kisser than ninety percent of the men out there. Trust me.”

  Max looked confused. “How many boyfriends have you had?”

  Julie laughed. “One, back in tenth grade, and we never kissed. All this is from what I read.” She paused for a few seconds. “Okay, this time keep your eyes closed but try to mimic what I did before.”

  Max quickly closed his eyes. As Julie’s lips touched his, he began to open and close his lips on hers. He was concentrating so hard in the beginning, but his mind slowly became a void as his lips caressed hers with more and more passion. His arms drifted up to caress her back, and his head tilted instinctively to create a better angle in which to embrace her mouth fully. His mind was as far away from his fears and reality as they could be. Only when Julie moaned in pleasure did he snap out of it. He opened his eyes as they pulled away from each other.

  There was no smile on Julie’s face. Her lips were still parted, and her eyes were still half closed. She too was fully swept away in the moment. “Holy moly,” was all she could mutter.

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Max nodded in slow motion to concur.

  “You are a great kisser,” Julie said as she sat up straight and tried to regain her composure.

  I’m a great kisser? Max thought. I’m a great kisser?

  Julie leaned over and put her arms around his neck and placed her face against his chest, the back of her head up against Max’s cheek.

  I’m a great kisser? Max thought.

  ***

  The gravel on the side of the road jumped up to impact the bottom side of Max’s truck, creating an almost machine-gun effect.

  “Whoa,” Max said as he came out of his hypnotic state and eased the truck back into the lane. He realized he better concentrate on the road for the remainder of the trip. That lasted for about seven seconds as his mind wandered back once again to the point where his mom and dad left the house.

  He arrived on campus and went to his first class. He couldn’t wait to meet Julie for their 10:00 a.m. regular cafeteria get-together.

  Finally, the class was over. He and Julie sat side-by-side at the small table. Neither had gotten anything to eat or drink this morning, as it seemed the important thing was simply to be there. As they sat and whispered, they were interrupted.

  “What’s wrong with this picture?” Rollo said rubbing his chin.

  “You’re not in class?” Max guessed.

  “No, no, that’s not it,” Rollo continued. “Hmmm, what can it be? Wait, I got it, you two are not sitting across from each other like normal. Wow. What can that mean?” He sat in the chair opposite them and placed his elbows on the table and formed a V with his hands where he settled his chin. Then he looked at them with quick blinking motions as if awaiting an answer.

  No answer came.

  “Okay,” Rollo said, giving up, “I’m happy for you guys.” Then he looked at Max. “You’re hot as fire, dude.”

  Max smiled.

  Rollo continued. “And we all know fire is what makes things magnetic.”

  Max’s mouth dropped open as he spun around to stare at the only person who could have betrayed him. “You told him?”

  Julie giggled. “I saw him when I came back Sunday night and it just slipped out.”

  Max laughed too.

  “How was church service with Max this weekend Miss Blankenship? Meet the future in-laws?” asked Rollo.

  “It was great,” Julie replied. “Max teaches Sunday School to these small kids. It’s too cute. They call him Mr. Max. Then when the main service started, his dad—”

  “No, no, no,” Max said placing his hand over Julie’s mouth. “You’ve done enough damage.”

  Rollo was laughing now and wasn’t sure why. “Come on, spill it.”

  Max finally conceded and removed his hand.

  “Okay,” Julie began, “His dad came out and walks up to the podium and looks out over the congregation. Everyone is expecting him to start on his sermon, but he does something else instead. He says, ‘I realize that I have been negligent in my duties as far as your safety goes, so let me take a moment to correct that. Please take a moment to familiarize yourself with all emergency exits in case of a fire.’ Max’s face was so red. He just sank in the pew, and people were laughing and patting him on the back.”

  “Now that’s a fun place to go to church,” Rollo said, shaking with laughter.

  “Those weren’t his exact words. That sounds more like what they say at the movie theater.” Max’s attempt at diversion failed and they continued to laugh. He couldn’t help but laugh himself.

  “Oh, did you guys hear about Brad?” Rollo asked as if he couldn’t believe he just remembered.

  Julie and Max both shook their heads, waiting for him to continue.

  “He had a wreck.”

  “That pretty little Porsche?” Julie asked.

  Rollo nodded.

  Max looked confused.

  “Haven’t you ever noticed that black Porsche 911 parked right by the front entrance?” Julie asked Max.

  “Yeah, but I thought it was a teacher’s. Isn’t that the teacher parking spaces?”

  Rollo rolled his eyes at Max’s innocence. “The almighty dollar, dude,” he said, rubbing his fingers across his thumb to signify money. “His dad went to school here and donated the entire science lab.”

  “That’s good,” Max replied. “Everyone should do good things if they have the money for it.”

  “Right. Jesus was all for tax write-offs.” Rollo shook his head to make sure the less-than-subtle sarcasm was understood.

  “Well, is he alright?” Max asked. “What happened?”

  Rollo turned his hand up to mimic holding a bottle while letting his tongue hang out of his mouth. Not the level of a professional mime performance, but good enough to get his point across.

  “Drunk driving again?” Julie blurted out.

  Max couldn’t believe it.

  Rollo noticed the look of shock in his face and said, “Dude, this is like the fifth time.”

  “But he’s okay?” Max asked again.

  “Yeah, he’s fine,” Rollo finally answered. “He’s with his dad in New York while his dad soothes things over again.”

  Max got that Rollo was not that concerned, but he couldn’t help but feel really sad for Brad.

  After the hour was up, they said their goodbyes and went off to their respective next classes. For Max, it was Professor Stoner’s class. He walked into the auditorium-style classroom and started to ascend the middle aisle to assume his seat. He stopped, however, as the professor walked out of his office and called out to him. Max turned to walk back to the professor.

  “I need to talk to you,” Professor Stoner said.

  “Sure,” said Max.

  “Well, the thing is,” the professor continued as he worked his way around the back of his desk and Max moved over to the front, “I have a very important task to assign you. I usually designate one student every semester for this assignment and it’s very important.”

  Max wondered what it could be but felt honored that he had been chosen.

  The professor continued. “First, I want you to understand that this is a volunteer position, and you should feel free to turn me down if you don’t want the added responsibility or think that it might in some way take away from your focus on the subject matter.”

  Max was completely enthralled.

  The professor could sense his curiosity, so he drew it out even longer. “I have others I can ask if you are not interested.”

  “What is it for goodness sakes?” asked Max.

  The professor smiled. “These old buildings are a hazard, so we need someone trustworthy to be in charge of this.” He pulled out a small fire extinguisher and handed it across the desk to Max.

  “Julie?” Max asked, shaking his head.

  “Actually, it was Rollo,” the professor corrected.

  Max reached for the extinguisher, but the professor pulled it away to signify it was only a joke. Max turned and went up the steps to his seat knowing his dad would be pleased at how many miles this silly joke had tallied.