Alex walked through the House, a broad grin plastered across her face. She greeted all of the agents, every one of them noticing the extra bounce to her step. She went straight to her bathroom, taking a quick shower. She was supposed to have dinner with her parents that night. Her mother was leaving for Boston early the next day tospeak at aconference on public education.
She brushed her brown hair out, a smile on her face as she thought of the kiss. She left her hair long and pulled on a pair of corduroy pants and a hooded sweater before applying some light makeup. By the time she was ready, it was nearly seven.
Abbey and Jed glanced up as Alex walked in, both noticing the extra glow on her face. Abbey met her husband's eyes and they shared a knowing smile. A part of Jed's heart broke when he saw the sparkle in his youngest daughter's eyes. It meant that she was growing up, without him.
Abbey knocked lightly on Alex's door after dinner that night. "Come in," Alex called, looking up from her bed.
"What're you doing," Abbey asked, noticing her daughter laying on her stomach, a chess board and a book in front of her on the bed.
"Trying to figure out a way to beat dad," Alex replied, "What's up?" She looked back down, moving the white pawn forward.
"How was tennis," she asked, sitting down on the bed next to her.
"Great," Alex replied, "He taught me a lot." She fought hard to keep the blush from creeping up on her cheeks, but it didn't go unnoticed to a mother's eye.
"Why do I get the feeling he taught you more than tennis," Abbey asked, a sly grin on her face.
"Mooom," Alex said, glancing up at her. She saw her mother's grin and finally gave in, laughing as she buried her head. She looked back up, her face a bright red color. "Alright, alright. We kissed."
"I knew it," Abbey laughed, "How was it?"
"It was…good," Alex said with a smile. Abbey raised her eyebrow and Alex's grin grew into a full blown smile. "Alright…it was…amazing. Everything a first kiss should be."
"That was your first kiss," Abbey asked, astonished by the girl's admission.
"Yeah," Alex said, shyly, "But, Mom…it was so great. He really has a great tongue."
"Alexandria, there are some things a mother never needs to hear," Abbey said, trying to keep a stern face. Inside, she was thrilled that Alex had experienced her first kiss and she was able to talk to her about it.
"Mom, it's not like he felt me up or anything," Alex said, rolling her eyes. "But seriously, he is a good kisser."
"Alex, I know you're a bit old, but…," she trailed off, noticing the size that Alex's eyes had grown to.
"Mom, I know about the birds and the bees," Alex said, rolling her eyes."I am seventeen. Not twelve."
"I know, but a Mom's gotta make sure, sometimes," Abbey said. "So, are you going to see him again?"
"We're going out tomorrow night, before he leaves for France," Alex replied.
"As in…a date," Abbey asked, eyebrow raised.
"Yeah…like, a date," Alex said. "And I have no idea what to wear."
"We'll figure out something," Abbey said, "Honey, I just don't want you to get your heartbroken because he's going back to France." She ran her hands over Alex's hair, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.
"I know," Alex said, "And it's not like I'm head over heels in love with him. It's just a kiss and a date."
"How do you think it started with your father," Abbey asked. Alex laughed, turning back to her game. "Don't stay up to late. I'll come in and say goodbye to your before I leave."
"Okay," Alex said, "Love you."
"Love you too," Abbey said, kissing her hair gently. Alex watched as she left the room, then turned back to the chess book in front of her.
"Alex confess as to what the boy did to her," Jed asked, pulling back the covers of the bed.
"She had her first kiss," Abbey said, spreading an extra quilt over the bed. She looked up as her husband froze in mid-motion, his eyes meeting hers. "Jed, it was just a kiss."
"Just a kiss…which leads to a date, which leads to more kissing, then more dating, then before you know it, she's running off, skipping college and getting married to some French aristocrat. That's it. The dungeon's going in tomorrow," he said,yanking off his robe.
"Jed, as I remember, we did a little more than kissing after our first date," Abbey said. She gave him a suggestive smile before sliding between the covers.
"Yeah, well that was different," he said, laying down next to her. He propped his head up on his hand, looking over at her. "Was it a good kiss?"
"She seemed happy about it," Abbey replied. "Jed, she's seventeen. Zoey's been kissing guys since she was fifteen. Her first date was when she was thirteen. She's old enough to know what she's doing."
"Yeah, but so God in heaven help me if he breaks her heart," he said, laying down on his back.
"She'll be fine," Abbey said, leaning forward to kiss him. "Now, you're going to break this girl's heart if you don't get it into action." She smiled down at him, pulling him in for another kiss.
Alex stirred as the door to her room opened and a sliver of light shone across her face. Abbey kissed her forehead gently, brushing the hair from her eyes. "Hey," Abbey said, seeing Alex open her eyes sleepily. "I just came to say goodbye. Go back to sleep."
"When are you coming back," Alex asked, her voice slurred by sleep.
"Tomorrow, some time," she said.
"You'll miss my date." Alex's eyes began to droop shut, no matter how hard she fought to keep them open.
"I'll call tonight, before you leave," Abbey said. Inside, her heart was breaking. In the excitement of Alex experiencing her first kiss, she had forgotten that she was due at the conference.
"Okay," Alex said with a yawn. She settled down against the pillows, sound asleep before Abbey had the chance to kiss her gently before leaving the room.
Alex tore through her closet, looking for the perfect thing to wear for her date. She sighed, pulling out a skirt, then decided it would be too cold. She had hoped that it would be warmer, but a cold front had come through that afternoon. She walked down the hall, still wearing her robe and entered Zoey's room.
She flipped through her sister's clothes and wrinkled her nose. She couldn't find anything in Zoey's closet either. With a groan, she slammed the door shut and walked back across the hall to her room.
She sat down and yanked a brush through her hair, trying to straighten out the kinks in her hair. "You keep yanking, there won't be anything left," she heard a familiar voice say.
Alex's head whipped around and she saw her mother standing in the doorway, shopping bags in hand. "Mom," she exclaimed with a smile. "You're back."
"And miss my daughter's first date? I wouldn't miss this for the world," Abbey said, "Now, hurry up. You only have an hour left." She reached for the brush and began to smooth out Alex's hair with a practiced hand.
An hour later, Alex applied her last coat of lipstick and smoothed her hands over the skirt. Abbey had bought her a black and white tweed skirt with a black turtle neck, a leather jacket and knee high boots. "Do I look alright," Alex asked, with a grin.
"You look beautiful," Abbey said. "Now hurry up. He'll be here any minute." Alex nodded and followed her mother down the hall.
Alex walked down the stairs with her mother, rolling her eyes as she saw her father talking with Blaise. "Honey, he's your father. Go easy on him," Abbey muttered.
"Ah, here she is. Blaise, this is my youngest daughter. You have her home by midnight and keep your hands off of her," Jed said.
"Dad," Alex groaned, meeting her father's eyes.
"I will sir," he said, "I'll have her home at midnight."
"You do that," Jed said, "Honey, have fun tonight. You look beautiful."
"Thank you," Alex said, kissing him on the cheek. "We'll be back later." She took his arm and walked out the front door, climbing into the limo.
"Jed, she'll be back in a few hours," Abbey said, taking her husband's hand in hers.
"Yeah. I know," he said, squeezing her hand. "Let's go upstairs and wait like two old people." Abbey rolled her eyes, but followed her husband up the stairs.
Alex laughed as they walked out of the theater, her arm looped through Blaise's as they walked. A light snow had started to fall, sprinkling her hair lightly. Secret service agents trailed behind, dressed as civilians.
"You know, you promised my father you'd keep your paws off of me," Alex said with a grin.
"That I did," he said, removing his hands. "But he never said anything about lips."
"That's true," Alex said, stopping and crossing her arms. "Plan to…toe the line a little bit?" She smiled up at him, moving closer to him.
"I might," he said, moving closer to her. He bent down, kissing her lips gently, feeling her pull him closer. "I thought he said paws off." He pulled away from the kiss, smiling down at her.
"He told you paws off. He never said anything about me," Alex said, raising herself up to kiss him again.
She heard one of the agents clear their throats and she pulled away, glaring at them. "My alarm clock says that it's 11:30," she said, throwing another glare towards the agents.
"We better get you back, then. Before your father turns into a pumpkin." She giggled at his comment, taking his arm again and climbing into the limo.