Author's Note: Unlike most of my stories, this series is not
intended to be a 'stroke story', but more of a realistic tale of
romance between a boy and girl.



Summary: After some winter fun with their parents, Max and Kimmy
share a moment together.

(bg, nosex, rom)



  Max, Kimmy, and Patricia were on the snowy lawn in front of
their apartment building. Chilly winds blew hard. The afternoon
sky was grayish-blue. Leafless trees, rooftops, and several
parked cars were all caked in white, though it was not snowing at
the moment. The slushy roads were full of dirty tire tracks and
footprints. Sidewalks were mostly cleared, but the grass beside
it was frosted.

  "Patricia, I finished rolling up a big snowball," announced
Kimmy, crouching behind a dirty snowball that was about the size
of a beach ball. The girl's purple coat was long enough to end at
her thighs. Her hood was tied together with black strings. Thin,
violet gloves covered her hands. Wet spots were noticeable on the
legs of her light blue jeans. On her feet was a pair of
tan-colored boots.

  Patricia helped Kimmy roll the ball up an even larger snowball.
A dark blue coat was buttoned up to the woman's hips. Her thin
gloves were navy blue. The jeans she was wearing were light blue
and her boots were black with white fur.

  Kimmy and Patricia molded the snowballs together with their
hands, brushing around the conjunction of the big spheres. A
curvy, zig-zagged path of uncovered grass was behind the bottom
ball. Specks of dirt and blades of grass were all over the
figure, but the builders paid no mind.

  Nearby with his back turned to the two females, Max was
rummaging through snow, in search of rocks. He was wearing a
thick, zipped and buttoned, dark green coat that reached down to
his thighs. The hood covered his head. A black scarf was wrapped
around his neck, covering the lower half of his face. Two pairs
of thin, black gloves kept his hands warm. Snow and water were
all over his black jeans and dark brown boots, thanks to his
frequent kneeling on the ground.

  Karen walked out of the building and met up with her daughter
and friend. She was wearing a black leather jacket that stopped
at her hips. A plaid, red scarf hugged her neck and dangled at
her stomach. Also, she wore a dark blue pair of jeans and black
boots. "I got the carrot," she stated, holding the stalkless
vegetable with her red-gloved left hand.

  "We finished the body," said Patricia. "Now we just need a
head."

  "I'll do it." Kimmy bent over and scooped some snow into a pile
with her hands. After patting it into a little ball, she rolled
it around until it was the size of a soccer ball. Karen picked up
the snowball and carefully held it over the bigger ones.

  "Careful, Karen! Don't break him!" Max cautioned, rushing over
with a cap in one hand, and some rocks in his other. The black
cap had a red rim, and the Chicago Bulls symbol was on the front.

  Ironically, Max's warning nearly made Karen drop the ball down
the side of the one below it. The woman caught it and managed to
set it neatly on top of the middle sphere. Next, she and Patricia
eliminated the seams by rubbing them with their hands. The
snowman stood several inches taller than Kimmy.

  "I found his eyes on the ground," Max snickered, holding two
oddly-shaped rocks out to Karen.

  Karen pushed a small, gray rock into the snowman's face for a
left eye, then used the bigger, brownish rock as a right eye. She
then stuck the carrot into the center of the snowman's head and
traced a wide and deep smile with her index finger.

  Kimmy walked over to the big tree that was near them and picked
up some thin branches. She then handed one to Max. "Help me with
the arms, Max."

  The kids pushed the short, grayish sticks into the sides of the
snowman. It now had a 'six-fingered' left hand and a
seven-fingered' right hand. Kimmy's limb was raised, as if trying
to wave. Max inserted his branch lower, almost where the
snowman's right hip would be.

  Standing on tip-toes, Max reached up and placed the black and
red cap on the snowman's head -- backwards. The cap was too small
to fit, so it loosely sat on top. "Now he looks cool," Max noted.
He turned to Patricia. "Can I put my scarf around him so he
doesn't get cold?"

  Kimmy and Karen laughed.

  "No, Max," replied Patricia. "It's too cold out here for you to
take your scarf off."

  "Plus the snowman is made of snow, silly," added Kimmy with a
giggle. "He's already cold."

  "I know that, I was joking," Max lied with a straight face. He
turned to the snowman. "Gimme ten." Before anyone could stop him,
he slapped both of the snowman's hands.

  "Max!" Patricia exclaimed.

  Both branches sunk to the ground, lifting the opposite ends out
of the middle snowball. The parts of the sticks that were inside
of the snow popped out and the snowman was armless once again.

  "Oops."

  "It's okay, Max," Karen said. "At least you didn't knock the
whole thing down."

  "I can fix it." He picked up the left arm and pushed it back
in. Then he did the same with the right arm. The limbs were still
uneven, but were at a more balanced level than before.
      ___________________________________________

  After running home to change her clothes, Kimmy was in Max's
room. Stitched on the front of her dark blue sweater was a
snowman with a black top hat and a red scarf. She also had
another pair of jeans and black sneakers.

  The folded collar of a white T-shirt peeked out from under
Max's dark green sweater. He switched his damp jeans and boots
for a blue pair of jeans and some dirty, white socks.

  They sat on the mattress; Kimmy, on the edge with her legs
crossed, Max, next to her with his legs straight out. Max flipped
through the channels with the flat, black remote. The red channel
digits were inside a small, black cable box. He stopped at
channel 14 (HBO), which was airing the 'messy apartment' scene
from the movie, Blankman. Then, he looked at Kimmy, requesting
with his eyes. She nodded and they watched the movie together.

  "That was a good movie," Kimmy commented when the credits began
to roll.

  "My favorite part was where Blankman and The Other Guy fought
all those bad guys in that building," said Max.

  "My favorite part was when the girl kissed Blankman at the end
and he kept shaking."

  "That was kinda funny." They laughed in memory of the scene.
"It must be nice to kiss," he blurted out before he could stop
himself.

  "Yeah. I never kissed anyone, either." Lowering her head, she
half-smiled shyly at the boy next to her, hoping he would
continue the subject.

  Max felt his face get warmer as his cheeks turned red. Slowly,
he inhaled some air through his nose. "Um... do... you wanna...
try it?" Kimmy quickly raised her head and parted her lips a
little. "I mean, just to see what it feels like?"

  "Uh-huh. Just to find out how it feels." Kimmy put her legs on
the bed and sat on her knees.

  Max got into the same position and scooted closer until their
knees touched. "Do you know how to do this?"

  "Not really. People on TV just put their lips together."

  "Let's do that."

  Absent-mindedly, Max licked his lips, prompting Kimmy to do the
same. Slowly, they leaned forward with their lips sealed. They
kept their eyes open, both pairs holding multiple feelings.
Anxiousness. Fear. Joy. Admiration. Hearts thudded in their
chests and their breathing increased.

  Unexpectedly, the tips of their noses bumped into each other,
prompting the kids to jerk back in surprise.

  "Oh!" Kimmy breathed.

  Max chuckled nervously.

  "Sorry. Maybe you should tilt your head this way, and I'll tilt
mine that way."

  Max nodded in agreement.

  Once again, the kids' heads inched forward with their eyes
open. Anticipation, combined with their approaching body heat,
shortened their air supply, causing them to breathe harder
through their noses. When they were mere centimeters apart, Kimmy
closed her eyes and Max tilted his head. Her head soon leaned to
his opposite side.

  "Hee-hee-hee," Max giggled, getting spit droplets in Kimmy's
face and prompting her to pull back. "I'm sorry. I guess I'm just
really shy about this."

  Kimmy sighed in amusement and wiped her lips with the back of
her left hand. "Me, too," she smiled. "Can we do this another
time? We're both a little scared right now." Max was
disappointed. Still, he took a deep breath and nodded. "Uh, I
think I better go home."

  "Okay. See you tomorrow?"

  Kimmy was already at the door. "Yeah..." She walked out,
closing the door behind her. The front door could be heard
opening and closing.

  With a sigh of frustration, Max laid back, the back of his head
hitting his pillow. He couldn't believe he just agreed to try
again later. He felt that he was the one who ruined the kiss and
drove Kimmy out of the apartment.

