I would say I'm not very romantic, but that wouldn't be completely true after today. I could say I don't know the basics about all that fairytale lovey-dovey stuff, but that's not really true, either. Trust me—I'm not an egghead or anything of the sort, but as soon as I got my first kiss, I just knew.

The first thing about the first kiss—unless your couple is made of idiots, neither of you are supposed to know you're actually going to kiss. One of you might consider it, but you're not supposed to be a hundred percent about it. It's just supposed to happen automatically, with someone you're just so attracted to that your lips end up on theirs in a flash before you realize what's going on.

If you're planning it? Well, I'd suggest an average hangout, assuming the two of you started as friends. Maybe best friends, if you're lucky. Let's just say you are. This way, you'll have an opportunity to be together. Take my day, for example. I was with my best friend. We were spending time together, quite happily. If you're planning to kiss, make sure you set up an unofficial date. If you're not, just do one anyways. Call it a hangout, but try to make it take place in multiple places. Different rooms work, too. But the main point here is that you're both enjoying yourselves. You have to check on on your friend, and, trust me, this makes them more fond of you. If they don't like it, change the date location. Even if it's raining. As long as both of you are happy, it's all good.

It's even better if you decide what to do together. We started with a race. Normal people don't do this, but you have to understand that she and I are competitive and athletic. And not normal. Anyways, we raced and all because we both found it fun, right? Some prefer eating. Which reminds me, we were exhausted after our exercise. We'd both agreed to get popsicles, but keep in mind you shouldn't agree to or force the other to pay. You should settle it with a game (preferably rock, paper, scissors) so that 1) your friend doesn't get suspicious, and 2) you have half a chance of not spending your money.

But sometimes that half a chance isn't enough hope.

I hate losing, especially to her, but I just shot her the stinkeye and paid anyways. And, I forced her to order for us. This way, it's fair and you seem like a decent friend. I was trying to impress her, anyways. Keep in mind neither of us had confessed, assuming she even liked me back, hence it being a "hangout" rather than a "date."

But that's not important.

The main point was getting something sweet to eat. If you're planning to kiss, you have to make sure you don't taste bad—or at least cover it up with something enjoyable, like apples. Actually, the kiss doesn't matter. Just eat it anyways. Sweets always give you a few extra points.

Now, here's the most important part of your kiss: you have to be within a reasonable proximity. You have to be in, say, hugging range. Oh, sorry, there's that, too. You should start with a hug. Make sure you do it before your last destination. Your best option is a side-hug, but a front one is good if you get the chance. If they try to back away or they just sit there awkwardly, chances are they don't even want a kiss.

Luckily, I didn't get the rejection, so I'll continue.

You could hug her whenever you want—at that dessert shop, when you first meet up with them, or in your own private time. Try to make it so the hug isn't out of nowhere. Try to make it seem like you're thankful. Don't stress out about the hug too much, though. It's just to see if there's a chance for intimacy. Or maybe to satisfy your cravings of their physical touch.

Anyways, let's say you've gotten your hug. You don't want to go for a kiss immediately after. That would seem awkward and needy. You should wait until you leave one location and arrive at your next. Oh, and do not try to kiss while you're walking. It's an unspoken rule, but some people out there just don't know how weird that would be.

Moving on. Now you've arrived at the next location. Should you kiss now or at your next destination? If it's your last stop, don't hesitate! Well, I mean, maybe hesitate. You should probably say goodbye, lean in as if it were a hug, and then surprise them with a kiss. Hold it for however long you silently agree to and then stare at them. Romantically, not creepily. Obviously.

But even if it's not the place where you part ways, you could still kiss them. Just make sure whatever was said right before you do it isn't something weird like, say, a joke. If it has to be a joke, it should be about either one of you. Maybe both. You want to relate it to the kiss, somehow. Oh, and try not to be the one who speaks before the kiss. The only time you should do that is if you respond to something they say with something flirty, in which case a kiss would only be proper of you.

And then the kiss. You lean in and, boom! There's no way to describe a kiss except it's perfect. Your body is on fire, but you like it, and your mouth is on something soft and sweet and awesome. It's 20% cooler than you'd ever expect. Oh, and bonus points to you if you kiss in front of something beautiful like a sunset, or just somewhere with meaning, like your date's apple orchard. Or both.

Or maybe I'm totally wrong.

Maybe all you need for the perfect first kiss is love.

Author's Note

Edit, added in after the competition results:

I feel so honored to have won something with this, even if it is simply a judge's prize. I hadn't expected any prizes at all—in fact, this was originally only written for the A Thousand Words Contest because I wanted to be a part of that fun again. It amuses me how I won in the other competition that EileenSaysHi told me about after I posted this.

So, yeah. I feel lucky, and happy, and honored, and just great. So thanks again to everyone who made this possible, including my lovely readers