Chapter Three: Nothing Like a First Kiss

A/N: Wow, it's been a while! Sorry! Been real busy with volleyball and cheerleading and most of all, school. Thanks to Red Sonic for his trusty reviews! :)

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Popuri's Point of View

Mama's settling down for her afternoon nap. She's taken her medicine, eaten her lunch, drunk her health shake. Today is a good day for her. Ever since she woke up this morning, we haven't heard one complaint about the usual pain in her abdomin or chest, but she instead told us she was feeling well today. Fatigued, weak, but well.

A part of me knows I should be staying home with her, but most of me would like to escape the farm for an afternoon, go see Kai. It's been weeks since we spent a whole afternoon together. Plus, it's only thirty-six days until he leaves.

Thirty-six days...less than six weeks. How I hate this beastly summer countdown.

A modest red tankini is hidden beneath a pair of drawstring shorts and a small white cover-up top. After sliding into a pair of flip-flops, I creep out the front door, opening and closing it as quietly as possibly so as not to disturb Mama. Beach bag in tow, I skip carefully off the tiny porch in front of our home and begin the small journey to Kai's house. It's not a minute before I'm stopped.

"Popuri!"

I stomp my foot, halting. Rick. With a roll of my sky blue eyes, I whirl around to see him at the gate to the farm. Flashing him a pleading look and clutching nervous hands to my heart I say quietly, "Please, Rick? Please let me go? Please?"

It's his turn to roll his eyes. His chin wrinkled in worry, he runs a calloused hand through his thick mass of sunshine blond hair. "Why?" he inquires, his tone of voice evoking a feeling of guilt and depression.

"Because I want to go to the beach." I'm not going to lie. He would only figure it out anyway, and it's not like it's a bad reason.

"I think you'd better just stay here. I need to go the library this afternoon, and I don't want to leave Mama here all alone."

"The library? Yeah, right."

Rick glares at me through his big, nerdy glasses. "Yes," he spits, "the library. They just got a new book about...chicken...stuff."

"And you wanna go check it out?"

Gulp. "Yes."

"Whatever, Rick. You might go to the library, but only so you can 'accidentally' bump into 'your friend' Karen." I use my fingers for quotation marks. "Besides, you got to go out yesterday. It's my turn. C'mon, Rick, it's only fair. Don't be a hypocrite."

He opens his mouth to reply but all that comes out is air.

I grin. "Thank you!" After pecking his cheek with puckered lips, freshly coated with sparkly lip gloss, I adjust the strap on my beach bag and scamper off.

Today is really a pretty day. The sky is cloudless, blank except for the hot sun. Its heat bakes the village brown, including her inhabitants. I've never been one to tan, but its always fun to try. Sometimes Ann and I lay out at the farm or on the beach for an afternoon, but neither of us ever absorbs any darkness. Ann attains countless freckles, but I remain pale as snow.

I pass the Yodel Farm and wave to Barley, who stands in the yard helping a young calf to its trough. May is nowhere in sight. It's likely she's gone to Jack's farm for a visit.

Jack. Now he's a nice boy. I see Mama eyeing him when he stops by the Poultry Farm sometimes, and something tells me she's got something up her sleeve. Oh, Mama. She's probably thinking once summer is over and Kai is gone, I'll start to like him. That's just how her mind works.

Nothing's wrong with Jack, though. He seems like a really cool guy. I found out he's a Christian the other day, and that made me happy. I don't know why; it just did.

But see, I heard that Karen stopped by his farm the other day to give him a gift. I don't know what kind of gift, but a gift is a gift, right? Anyway, the town hens are spreading gossip like butter. Nobody knows for sure, but they say there's something going on between Jack and Karen. I don't know if I believe it, but it would really be ok with me. I don't want my brother hanging around Karen. It be good for her to be distracted from him by another guy. Poor Rick. If he only knew.

Speaking of the town hens, here they are now. I give them a wave and a smile as I pass them in the square, making a sharp right into the beach area. I still hear the whispering after I pass. "There she is again today," one of them observes.

"It's got to be that Kai Bailar again," another adds. "They're definitely doing some kind of mixing."

"Mixing? Popuri? No!" the other differs. "Her brother would never allow it."

"Speaking of Rick, he stopped by the supermarket yesterday asking about Karen..."

I laugh to myself as I step out onto the sand. Those ladies. What a hoot.

There he is.

My heart begins to beat in an unusual pattern, skipping, stopping, racing, booming, stopping, skipping, pounding, racing... It always does this when I'm around him. I reach up to touch my reeling head and realize I forgot to put my hair up.

That's not good. My hair is always up! Did I even brush it? Yes, I brushed it...

Did I curl it? No, but it's curly on its own today.

Do I have a hair dealie on my wrist? Dang it, no.

Looks like I'm stuck. Maybe it won't be so bad...it feels all right.

Oh, shove it, Popuri, I tell myself. Hair is not important. Kai likes me because of who I am. I think...

He's standing alone at the water's edge, the foam barely lapping at his toes. His loose-fit jeans are rolled up a little at the bottoms so they won't get wet. His button shirt hangs open around his chest, the breeze blowing his collar back. His normal purple bandana is not on his head, but in his left hand, which dangles from a beltloop. Facing the ocean, he cannot see me because I am a few yards behind him and to the right a few feet.

Is it unnatural, this obsession I have with him? Just his appearance causes a tightening of my stomach and an odd tickling sensation within it. I find myself short of breath, empty of any other thought but him, clutching my abnormally-paced heart with a quivering hand.

Leaving my flip-flops behind me, I step silently forward until I am beside him. As if it is the only reasonable thing I can do, I lean against him, still voiceless, wordless, nearly thoughtless. The left side of my head finds his right shoulder and my arm wraps around his stomach naturally. Despite the heat of the day, goosebumps rise on my skin when his hand reaches for my shoulder. I hug his waist but do not face him; my eyes are set on the waving sea.

He says nothing, and I do not answer him.

I feel at ease. My heart is not racing, my blood not rushing, my mind is calm. His body is like a warm blanket on a nippy autumn day, welcome, assuring, comforting, real. I press my nose to the fabric of his shirt and catch the thick scent of sea salt. The only fragrance worthy of such a man.

There is silence but for the call of surrounding seagulls.

Finally he turns to face me, his hands not releasing my body until his fingers reach up to touch my cheek. I feel him inhale slightly, and then close my eyes as he leans in to kiss me tenderly. Never before have I felt his lips on mine, nor anyone else's.

I have never felt a greater sensation.

His lips are gentle and soft on mine, tender, sweet, slow. I feel his hand barely touching my face and reach up with my own to touch his wrist, but it slides down to his shoulder, where I gently finger the wide collar of his shirt. His skin is warm, but welcome.

I hear a squeal from above and know the ladies have seen us, but it only causes our lips to curve into tiny smiles as we kiss, ever so slowly, ever so softly.

Finally we part, and I gaze into his deep eyes with tears rolling from my own. Down my face they stream, displaying my infinite happiness, my evergreen joy. I wrap my arms around his neck and pull myself closer to him, smiling through a constant trickle of tears. He wraps my waist in his arms and holds me close, cradling me softly, whispering in my ear, "You are so wonderful."

I sniffle. "Oh, Kai...you are the wonderful one."

Jack's Point of View

Rumor has it that Popuri Bennet was seen in mid-kiss with Kai Bailar on the beach yesterday afternoon. All three "Women in the Square" will tell you they saw it with their own eyes. On my jog this morning, I ran into Rick, and he was furious. I've never seen a man's face so red before.

I don't know why, but I can't stop thinking about it. Popuri...such a sweet, mature, young girl, kissing such a weird, foreign, summer visitor? I knew the two had a thing, but I didn't know they were serious. And what about all the clues? It seemed like maybe she liked me.

Guess not.

Well, I guess it doesn't really matter, because it looks like Karen the supermarket beauty has a little interest in me. The other day she stopped by the farm with some Jell-O and we talked for a little while. It was fun. She's a funny girl, cute, clever, intelligent, and downright gorgeous. I swear I thought I was going to pee my pants the whole time we were talking. A girl that pretty hasn't shown interest in me since high school when the varsity cheerleading captain stood me up at the homecoming dance.

Ah, it's probably time to get my mind off girls, at least until the day is done. I've still got half a field of crops to take care of, and nobody's showed up today to help me out. Sometimes Cliff from...actually, I don't know where the heck he's from...stops by to help me water the crops. We made a deal last spring. When the money from the sale comes in, he gets a share of it. He's helped out a lot, but I don't where he's at today. Great. I'm stuck with all this work all by me onesies.

I fill up my watering can as much as I can without it being too heavy to carry, 'cause it's pretty darn big, and start watering. About an hour later, I'm almost done, and I look up to see somebody coming in the gate.

Popuri Bennet.

And she's holding a plate with both of her hands. More food! Yay! The women in this village cook like machines! Yesterday, Manna from the winery brought me the best batch of brownies I ever did eat. Man, the people here sure are friendly, bringing me dessert after dessert day after day.

Ooh, but this one's not a dessert.

"Hey, Jack!" Popuri greets me, walking further into the field toward me. "My family and I thought you might like some fried chicken."

I step toward her so she won't have to walk as far. "Wow, Popuri, thanks! Is this one of...your own?"

She laugh musically. "Well, of course! Only the best!"

I laugh with her. There is a bit of an awkward pause in the conversation. I think about using it to tease her about locking lips with Foreign Boy but see no good coming of it. Instead I just look at her and imagine myself kissing her. I know just what I would do if I ever get the opportunity to do such a thing, and if that opportunity comes, I can't say I'd turn it away. I'm getting to know this Popuri, and I'm liking what I see. She's adorable, she's funny, she's brilliant, she's sweet, and she's fun to talk to. I'm already in love with her bright smile, her musical laugh, her baby blue eyes, her tender lips, and her delicate face.

We talk for a while. Finally she leaves with a smile and a small wave, and I'm left alone to continue working.

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A/N: Yeah, I realize the ending was a little weird, but I liked this chapter for the most part. I know it was short, and I'm using the same excuse as always: I just wanted to get a chapter up. We made progress, though; you can rest assured that there was no pointlessness to this one. And yeah, the title of the chapter is from 50 First Dates. Don't you love that movie? Okay, yes, well, leave a review, please. I really would like to hear what you have to say about my fic.