Melinda’s Story

After brunch on Sunday, I brought all my books to the library as if it were study hours. I had to carry a bunch because they wouldn’t all fit in my backpack.

I started with my physics homework. After finishing tomorrow night’s assignment, I decided to do one more night. I was nearly finished when Pat declared a study break.

I looked all around. “What? No. I just started.”

Pat took my hand, leading me to the comfy chairs. As I climbed into his lap, I realized a break might not be so bad.

My heart stopped the second our lips met. A warmth radiated from my belly to the tips of my fingers and toes. I sat back with a smile.

“I have wanted to do that all day. But, I couldn’t find the right time.”

Pat played with my hair. “Me too.”

After about ten minutes, during which time I was not allowed to discuss finals, Pat’s alarm signaled and we went back to work.

When I finished all my physics assignments for the week, I moved on to Latin. Before long, I had finished my homework for all my classes. I went back to my math books and started making review guides for my finals.

Pat didn’t seem to mind the fact that we were spending the day in the library. I looked forward to his hourly breaks. While I couldn’t discuss physics equations or Latin endings, he was okay with me telling him how nervous I was.

After reassuring me with a calming kiss, he would remind me about the notecards we were allowed to bring or the fact that much of my material was cumulative and I had been using it all semester.

I had just finished my physics review when Pat declared another study break. As I snuggled in his chair, I thought about how much time we had spent together that day.

“Hey, Pat?”

“Hmm?”

“Are we neglecting our friends?”

“Probably. But, we’re studying hard and they’re not, so they’ll probably fail their classes and not be back next term. So, really, we’re just preparing them for our eventual estrangement. They should be thanking us.”

I had no clue what he had just said. I sent him a confused look. “Eventual what? Oh, wait. That was a vocab word. I know that. To keep away from or make unfriendly. And, no! That is not going to happen.”

Pat smiled. “Oh. Then, we shouldn’t worry about neglecting them.”

I shook my head. “I just feel bad. I mean, I feel like you’re always hanging out with my friends and you don’t get to see your own that much.”

Pat pulled me close. “I’m friendly with a lot of people, but there are only a few I’m really close with. I’ve had to choose my friends carefully.”

“Kind of how Walter feels?”

“Exactly like Walter feels. Except the blockhead doesn’t seem to get that. Anyway, Frank is one of my best friends. Zach is another. He’s doing a term abroad in Spain right now, but I’ll introduce you next term. While Meghan was here, I liked spending time with her, just like I like spending time with Walter now. Chloe became a good friend because of that.”

I smiled. “Like me.”

“No, not like you. I’ve never wanted to kiss Chloe.” To make his point, he kissed the top of my head.

I nuzzled closer. “So, am I keeping you from Chloe and Frank?”

“Nah. They’ve been busy with their own things. Chloe is freaking out about her college applications. She’s been in the library more than you have this term, working on her essays. Frank is practically camping out in the robotics classroom, building another Franken-creation.”

“He came with us to Checkmate last week. And Sarah said they came to my show.”

“Confession time. When you told me about your performance on Wheeler Weekend, I texted Frank and Chloe when I got up to my Latin class. I thought I would look pretty pitiful if I showed up to your show by myself, so I invited them. Both said no, so I invited Meghan, who liked the idea of visiting for the day. Lo and behold, when Meghan showed up on Sunday, they both decided to join me. They both love Meghan. Actually, I think Frank has a crush on her. Not a movie star crush, but a genuine crush. Where was I going with this?”

I giggled. “I have no idea. So, your friends are okay with you spending time with my friends?”

“I don’t think they’ve even noticed much. I got the impression that while I was in Hawaii, they had both pretty much become hermits. I make sure they both take dinner breaks every day.”

I shifted uncomfortably. “There’s no way for me to ask this without it sounding weird. When Walter was with Ava, he almost had to start eating dinner alone with her because we didn’t like her.”

“I didn’t meet her and I didn’t like her.”

“Anyway, am I supposed to start eating dinner with your friends?”

He kissed the top of my head again. “You’re adorable. I don’t want you to join my friends for dinner. Okay, wait, that sounded bad. I mean, I don’t want you to change your routines just for me.”

“But, you did. And I feel bad about that.”

“I didn’t have a routine. Look at it this way. We already see each other at lunch, right?”

I nodded. He ran his fingers through my hair as he got to his point.  “We’ve spent most of today together. Dinner can kinda be a break for us, especially since I plan on studying up here with you during study hours.”

“Oh, Walter’s going to love that.”

“Walter will have to deal with it.”

“He told me we’re not allowed to make out in front of him.”

I expected Pat to laugh or at least smile, but his expression turned very sober.

“That’s something I meant to talk to you about.”

As he shifted to take his wallet from his back pocket, i got scared.

“What? You’re not breaking up with me already, are you?”

Pat settled back into the chair, pulling me closer to him. “Not planning on it. But, I want to show you something.”

His face and neck were turning red. I had no idea what could be so embarrassing he passed me a business card. On one side was a picture of two people holding hands. Across it read the verse:

Blessed are the clean of heart,

for they will see God.

Mark 5:8

I flipped the card over.

True Love Waits I make this commitment to God and to myself, to my friends and to my family, to those I date, to my future spouse, and to our future children.Believing that true love waits, I make this commitment that I will always live a life of chastity, in my thoughts, words and actions, as a single person, in religious life, or within a covenant marriage relationship.

 At the bottom of the card, Pat had signed his full name and dated it two summers ago. I read through it a couple of times. I had no idea what I was supposed to say. Eventually, I returned it to him.

“I don’t get it. I mean, I understand what it says, but I don’t get why you’re showing it to me.”

Pat returned the card to his wallet, placing it on the arm of the chair before putting his arm back around me. “I’ve never shown it to anyone before. The summer after my third form year, Meghan and I went on this religious retreat for teens. It was phenomenal. I was really disappointed I couldn’t go this year, because of the movie. I probably could have made the time, but.”

He shrugged. “Anyway, during the retreat, there were lots of different talks people could attend, and I went to a few about chastity. By the end of the weekend, I was really thinking hard about what chastity meant for me and when they were passing out these cards, I took one and I signed it. And, it’s not just that I carry that promise in my wallet. I also carry it in my heart. And, well, if you’re looking for a more . . . physical . . . relationship, you’re not going to get that with me.”

That was a lot to digest. There were so many things going through my head. It was one of those times when the differences in our ages was noticeable. I had never given much thought to physical relationships. I was only thirteen. I had just had my first kiss a couple of months ago. I wasn’t ready for the next step.

But, He had obviously given this a lot of thought. And he wanted me to say something. When I didn’t, he moved to the other chair.

“You’re going to break up with me, aren’t you?”

“I’m just trying to figure out how to say what I want to without hurting you.”

“It’s okay.” I could see him trying to smile, but he couldn’t completely mask the sorrowful look on his face.

I rolled my eyes. Why would I want to break up with him. We just got together. “I’m not breaking up with you. I’m just . . . intimidated. Sometimes I get the impression your feelings for me are stronger than my feelings for you.”

“They are. But, that’s because I’ve had a crush on you since I met you.”

“WHAT?” I had to have heard that wrong.

Pat couldn’t hide his smile. He reached over to tug on a lock of my hair. “Still adorable. You realize Walter’s been talking about you since like the first week of school, right?”

“No, but it makes sense. We’re friends.”

“When I met you at Long Weekend, I felt like I already knew you. And, frankly, I was really impressed by the fact that you didn’t start fawning over Meghan and me like an obsessed fan. You treated us like regular people. No one does that.”

“It was so weird.”

“Well, when I finally came home, I told Walter how excited I was that we would have some brother bonding time and he told me you were hanging out with us during Parents’ Weekend.”

“I ruined your time with your brother.”

“No, I was excited. I wanted to spend more time with you. I wanted to see if you would be a good girlfriend for Walter.”

I sighed, putting my head in her hands. “Not you too.”

“He was always talking about you. It wasn’t until I saw the two of you together that I realized that you and him are a lot like me and Meghan. And, I think that’s when I started crushing on you. I kept trying to talk myself out of it. You had a boyfriend. You’re my brother’s best friend. You’re younger than me. But, it wouldn’t go away.”

I nodded. I had a lot of those feelings after the first time he kissed me.

He wasn’t done. “When you broke up with Townie, I almost asked you to the Victory Ball. But, Walter was so excited you were going with him. He didn’t want to go alone and he didn’t want to ask some random girl.”

“He didn’t think it was a date, did he?”

“No. Not in the slightest. Actually, I think he was relieved you guys were going as friends. Frank and Chloe had figured out I had a crush on you before I even had. During the Victory Ball, I saw you dance with Walter and I got jealous. It surprised me. I knew I had to dance with you at least once.”

“But, when you kissed me, you said you didn’t know what happened.”

“I swear, I just wanted to dance with you. No, that’s not true. I wanted to hold you. But, then you told me you felt safe in my arms, and I thought maybe you felt the same way about me. I swear, kissing you was pure instinct. And even then, I thought maybe there would be no chemistry and I could forget my silly crush.”

“It’s not a silly crush, is it?”

Pat shook his head. “I didn’t want to scare you away.”

I needed to be closer to him. I moved to  the arm of his chair, twirling my fingers in his hair. “You haven’t scared me away. Our first night in the dorm—wow. It feels like so long ago now. Our first night, Sally was going over the list of rules and I thought the co-ed rule was silly. Third formers are too young for adult relationships. But, I had never really even thought about kissing boys.”

“Not even a little?”

I shrugged a shoulder. “Well, maybe I daydreamed about kissing this cute guy who’s in a couple of movies I’ve seen.”

Pat smiled and ran his hand through my hair as I continued my thought. “Then, this random guy asked me out. I mean, I literally didn’t even know his name.”

“A total stranger asked you out?”

“Oh, no. We’d been in class together for like a week or two. I just didn’t know his name. I still don’t know the name of half my classmates. I told you that.” I frowned. “Where was I?”

“Random guy asked you out.”

“Oh, yeah. So then, I started thinking about whether he would kiss me and whether I even wanted him to. Then, of course, I found out about the bet and part of me still wondered if I wanted to kiss him, just so I could have my first kiss.”

“Was it magical?”

I glared at him. “We’re not going to discuss it. For so many reasons. I had a point. I forgot it, but I had a point.”

“Co-ed?”

“Oh. Yeah. So, even after kissing a couple of guys, I still never really saw the point of the co-ed rule. But, when I kiss you, I get it. I have absolutely no idea what I’m feeling when I kiss you, but it’s intense.”

Pat put his arm around my waist but I wasn’t finished. “Daphne ran away from Apollo because she didn’t care about him. I was running away from you because I cared too much. I was scared that you were older and would expect a more . . . mature . . . relationship. But, that little card you showed me makes me feel so much better because, well, you’re not going to expect anything from me.”

“So, you’re not breaking up with me?” Pat pulled me into the chair beside him.

I shook my head. “How else am I going to meet Jarrod Handy?”

He didn’t even give me a chance to laugh at my own joke. He brought his lips to mine to silence me.

Melinda’s Journal

Sunday, November 12

 (Author note: I am not sure what this journal entry should be about. Any suggestions? Leave a comment below.) 

Pat’s Story

I spent my night trying to figure out how to tell my brother that his best friend was now my girlfriend. I wanted to tell him while we were running Sunday morning, but there never seemed to be a good time. In order to run outside, we had our faces completely covered. It was really difficult to hold a conversation. After our run, we had just enough time to clean up for church. But, I held him back for a minute outside my dorm.

“About yesterday.” I started removing my balaclava.

Walter smiled at me. “How long did it take for you to realize we had left?”

“I don’t know. When did you leave?”

“After you decided to sit on top of her. I didn’t want to see what would happen next.”

I punched my brother lightly. “Seriously. You didn’t have to leave.”

Walter sniggered. “Did it work? Are you guys actually together yet?”

I nodded. “Are you okay with this?”

My brother shrugged. “It’s weird. But, I think you guys are actually pretty cute together. I’ll catch up with you later.” He turned and headed into his dormitory.

About an hour later, I was waiting for Melinda outside her dormitory. When I saw her, I suddenly was unsure what I was supposed to do. Was I supposed to kiss her? I had a scarf over my face making that a little difficult. Was I supposed to hug her? Usually, I just put my arm around her.

I could barely see her face. Her hat was pulled down to her eyes and her coat was zipped up to her nose. Her hands were buried in her pocket and she was bouncing slightly to stay warm. She stood just out of my reach.

“Ready?” she asked.

I nodded and she turned, heading towards Walter’s dorm. He was just coming down his main staircase. Walking along the sidewalks was a lot different than running. Since I didn’t have to worry about losing my footing or bumping into my neighbor, I was able to walk beside Melinda, even if it meant occasionally walking on the grass instead of the concrete. About a block into town, her hand found mine. I smiled, although no one could see me in my scarf.

As soon as we sat in the pew, Walter started yelling at me in loud whispers over Melinda’s head.

“Take off the scarf!”

“No!”

“You’ve got to get rid of the hat.”

“Fine.”

“And the sunglasses.”

“Do you two have to do this every week?”

Melinda’s question went unanswered as the bell rang and we stood for the beginning of the ceremony.

On the way back to campus, Walter asked about our plans for the day.

“I’m going study for finals,” Melinda said.

“Ditto,” I added.

“Okay. Football it is,” Walter said. “I’ll catch up with you after dinner.”

Unlike Melinda and Walter, I was not comfortable eating brunch in my church clothes, so I went to change while they went to the dining hall. Frank was packing his backpack for the day.

“What’re your plans today?” I asked.

“Robotics lab. You?”

“Studying for finals. When I text you, you better show up for dinner.” The other night, he had lost track of time in the robotics lab and missed first study hours. He probably would have been in detention this morning if his teacher hadn’t found him and given him a pass.

Frank sighed. “Fine. But get Chloe so we can sit in the Senior Section.”

---

When I walked into Melinda and Walter’s usual study room, I saw Melinda unpacking her books. It looked as if she had brought every single book she owned. She arranged them into neat little piles by subject and, unless I was mistaken, in the order she had the classes.

She cleared a spot on the table for me, and I pulled out my physics book. Even though it was an AP class, it wasn’t too hard. The problem was our teacher liked to make our test using old AP exams, and they generally required us to use information from more than one chapter.

I started by looking through my old tests and trying to work out the problems I had gotten wrong. There were still a couple I didn’t fully understand, so I marked those to discuss with a teacher.

The alarm on my phone buzzed. I silenced it and looked at Melinda. She had a highlighter in her mouth and was scribbling something as she read though her physics book.

“Break time,” I announced.

“What? No. I just started.”

“We’ve been working for an hour. We take a ten-minute break. Over there.” I pointed to the leather winged-back chairs. I took her hand and led her to one, where I sat down and pulled her into my lap. She sent me a coy smile.

“So, is this a kissing break?”

“It’s whatever you need it to be. Ten minutes of no studying, no finals.”

She kissed me, her arms on my chest as I wrapped mine around her and pulled her as close as I could. I wanted to stay like that forever, but eventually, she pulled away.

“I have wanted to do that all day. But, I couldn’t find the right time.”

“Me too.”

“So, what are you working on? Are you studying or doing homework? Or am I not allowed to ask that during a study break?”

I smiled and told her what I was doing for physics and she explained she was doing her regular classwork now so she could focus on finals later.

I played with her hair absently. “I don’t know what you’re worried about. You seem to have this finals studying down.”

My timer again sounded and we went back to work. Over the course of the afternoon, we had several study breaks. Melinda told me she was worried about forgetting things, and I again reminded her of the notecards. I also pointed out that most of her classes were cumulative and the information from her first day was stuff she used all the time now. That seemed to calm her anxiety slightly.

---

On our last study break before dinner, we were sitting in separate chairs when Melinda asked if we were neglecting our friends.

“Probably. But, we’re studying hard and they’re not, so they’ll probably fail their classes and not be back next term. So, really, we’re just preparing them for our eventual estrangement. They should be thanking us.”

She wrinkled her adorable nose as she tried to figure out what I had just said. “Eventual what? Oh, wait. That was a vocab word. I know that…to keep away from or make unfriendly. And, no, that is not going to happen!”

“Oh, then we shouldn’t worry about neglecting them.”

Melinda scrunched up her face, but she was too cute to look mean. “I just feel bad. I mean, I feel like you’re always hanging out with my friends and you don’t get to see your own that much.”

I played with the piping on the chair absently. “I’m friendly with a lot of people, but there’s only a few people I’m really close with. I’ve had to choose my friends carefully.”

“Kinda like Walter feels?”

“Exactly like Walter feels. Except the blockhead doesn’t seem to get that. Anyway, Frank is one of my best friends. Zach is another one. He’s doing a term abroad in Spain right now, but I’ll introduce you next term. While Meghan was here, I liked spending time with her, just like I like spending time with Walter now. Chloe became a good friend because of that.”

“Like me.”

“No, not like you. I’ve never wanted to kiss Chloe.” As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I remembered that Chloe had kissed me. Should I tell Melinda? Probably not yet, I decided.

But, I was feeling a little lonely, so I wedged myself beside her in her chair, kissing the top of her head as I slid into the seat.

I put my arm around her and she nuzzled her head into my shoulder. As I rested my cheek on her head, I started playing with her hair.

“So, am I keeping you from Chloe and Frank?”

I wanted to kiss her again, but I didn’t. “Nah. They’ve been busy with their own things. Chloe is freaking out about her college applications. She’s been in the library more than you have this term, working on her essays. Frank is practically camping out in the robotics classroom, building another Franken-creation.”

“He came with us to Checkmate last week. And Sarah said they came to my show.”

I took a deep breath. I might as well tell her now. I didn’t want her to find out later and think I had been stalking her or something. “Confession time. When you told me about your performance on Wheeler Weekend, I texted Frank and Chloe as soon as I got up to my Latin class. I thought I would look pretty pitiful if I showed up to your show by myself, so I invited them. Both said no, so I invited Meghan, who liked the idea of visiting for the day. Lo and behold, when Meghan showed up on Sunday, they both decided to join me. They both love Meghan. Actually, I think Frank has a crush on her. Not a movie star crush, but a genuine crush.” What was it about Melinda that caused me to start babbling like an idiot. It was like I couldn’t turn off my mouth! “Where was I going with this?”

Melinda giggled. “I have no idea. So, your friends are okay with you spending time with my friends?”

“I don’t think they’ve even noticed much. I got the impression that while I was in Hawaii, they had both pretty much become hermits. I make sure they both take dinner breaks every day.”

Melinda squirmed a little, but I held her close. “There’s no way for me to ask this without it sounding weird. When Walter was with Ava, he had to start eating dinner alone with her because we didn’t like her.”

“I didn’t meet her and I didn’t like her.”

Melinda smiled. “Anyway, am I supposed to  start eating dinner with your friends?”

I kissed the top of her head. “You’re adorable. I don’t want you join my friends for dinner.” The words hadn’t even left my mouth when I realized what I had just implied. Way to alienate your new girlfriend, Pat. “Okay, wait, that sounded bad. I mean, I don’t want you to change your routines just for me.”

“But, you did. And I feel bad about that.”

“I didn’t have a routine. Look at it this way. We already see each other at lunch, right?”

Melinda nodded and I started stroking her hair. I loved touching her. “We’ve spent most of today together. Dinner can be a kind of break for us, especially since I plan on studying up here with you during study hours.”

“Oh, Walter’s going to love that.”

“Walter will have to deal with it.”

“He told me we’re not allowed to make out in front of him.”

I couldn’t return her smile. I had never been in a serious relationship before, so I wasn’t really sure when I was supposed to have this talk. But, I figured now was probably as good a time as any. Let her know my intentions before things got too intense.

I leaned into Melinda slightly, probably crushing her as I took my wallet from my back pocket. “That’s something I meant to talk to you about.”

“What? You’re not breaking up with me, are you?” I could hear the concern in her voice.

After all the effort I put into being with her? I wasn’t going to break up with her any time soon. I just hoped she wouldn’t break up with me.

I pulled her close to me as I made myself comfortable again. “Not planning on it. But, I want to show you something.”

I could feel my face grow hot as I took my chastity card from my wallet. I handed it to her and let her read it. She took her time, turning it over several times.

A million thoughts raced through my head. She was going to laugh and think it was a joke. She was going to make fun of me, like Zach and Frank often did. She was going to break up with me because she wanted more out of our relationship. She was going to roll her eyes and that could mean who knew what!

After what seemed like hours but was probably only a minute, she returned the card. “I don’t get it. I mean, I understand what it says, but I don’t get why you’re showing it to me.”

I returned the card to my wallet, mostly so I would have something to do with my hands, but I left the wallet on the chair. No need to crush her trying to put it back right now. I took a deep breath and started babbling. This time, I knew it was because I was nervous, not because of Melinda. I told her all about the religious retreat I had attended after my third form year. I told her about the seminars on chastity and how it was something I firmly believed in. I told her that she couldn’t be in a physical relationship with me. And then, I held my breath.

The silence was palpable and unending. I waited a long time, probably at least a minute. When Melinda refused to speak, I started to get out of the chair. “You’re going to break up with me, aren’t you.”

“I’m just trying to figure out how to say what I want to say without hurting you.”

I sat in the opposite chair, crestfallen. We hadn’t even been together a whole day. That had to be some kind of record. I shrugged, trying to smile. “It’s okay.

Melinda spoke slowly. “I’m not breaking up with you. I’m just…intimidated. Sometimes I get the impression your feelings for me are stronger than my feelings for you.”

She wasn’t breaking up with me? I could have jumped for joy. Instead, I told her she was right. “That’s because I’ve had a crush on you since I met you.”

“What?!?”

“Still adorable.” I smiled, leaning to her chair to tug on a lock of hair.  “You realize Walter’s been talking about you since like the first week of school, right?”

“No, but it makes sense. We’re friends.”

“When I met you at Long Weekend, I felt like I already knew you. And, frankly, I was really impressed by the fact that you didn’t start fawning over Meghan and me like an obsessed fan. You treated us like regular people. No one does that.”

“It was so weird.”

“Well, when I finally came home, I told Walter how excited I was that we would have some brother bonding time and he told me you were hanging out with us during Parents’ Weekend.”

“I ruined your time with your brother.”

“No, I was excited. I wanted to spend more time with you. I wanted to see if you would be a good girlfriend for Walter.”

“Not you too.” Melinda put her head in her hands with a sigh. It was absolutely adorable.

“He was always talking about you. It wasn’t until I saw the two of you together that I realized that you and him are a lot like me and Meghan. And, I think that’s when I started crushing on you. I kept trying to talk myself out of it. You had a boyfriend. You’re my brother’s best friend. You’re younger than me. But, it wouldn’t go away.”

Melinda smiled at me, but didn’t interrupt. “When you broke up with Townie, I almost asked you to the Victory Ball. But, Walter was so excited you were going with him. He didn’t want to go alone and he didn’t want to ask some random girl.”

“He didn’t think it was a date, did he?”

“No. Not in the slightest. Actually, I think he was relieved you guys were going as friends. Frank and Chloe had figured out I had a crush on you before I even had. During the Victory Ball, I saw you dance with Walter and I got jealous. It surprised me. I knew I had to dance with you at least once.”

“But, when you kissed me, you said you didn’t know what happened.”

“I swear, I just wanted to dance with you. No, that’s not true. I wanted to hold you. But, then you told me you felt safe in my arms, and I thought maybe you felt the same way about me. I swear, kissing you was pure instinct. And even then, I thought maybe there would be no chemistry and I could forget my silly crush.”

“It’s not a silly crush, is it?”

I shook my head. “I didn’t want to scare you away.”

Melinda came to sit on the arm of my chair, touching my cheek. “You haven’t scared me away.”

She went into a long story about not understanding the purpose of the co-ed rule when she first moved into the dorm. It was cute to hear her babble.

“Third formers are too young for adult relationships. But, I had never really even thought about kissing boys.”

“Not even a little?”

“Well, maybe I daydreamed about kissing this cute guy who’s in a couple of movies I’ve seen.”

It was such a casual reference to my being a celebrity that I couldn’t help but return her smile. I toyed with her hair as she started talking about her ex-boyfriend. It made me a little uneasy, knowing what a jerk he turned out to be, especially when she admitted part of her wanted him to kiss her anyway.

“Was it magical?” I aimed for a humorous tone, and I think I achieved it, but inside I was full of questions. Did she feel anything for him?  was it the same or different from what she felt for me?

She refused to talk about her ex, but did turn the conversation back to me. “When I kiss you, I get it. I have absolutely no idea what I’m feeling when I kiss you, but it’s intense. Daphne ran away from Apollo because she didn’t care about him. I was running away from you because I cared too much. I was scared that you were older and would expect a more… mature…relationship. But, that little card you showed me makes me feel so much better because, well, you’re not going to expect anything from me.”

“So, you’re not breaking up with me?” I pulled her into the chair beside me.

Melinda shook her head. “How else am I going to meet Jarrod Handy?”

I kissed her to remind her which celebrity she should be daydreaming about.