Hi everyone. Thanks for the sweet reviews. I love you all so much. You have NO idea. Okay, anyway, had to throw in some tension and some potential, you know, "drama." Cant have these two cutie pies hooking up TOO fast, can we? sarah

linelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelineline

The Kiss

Chapter 4

"Coffee Talk"

Keely bounced into the Diffys' kitchen the following morning before school with her usual enthusiasm. She was determined to be normal, to act as though the day before hadn't happened. But deep down she knew this would be impossible. The sight of Phil flustered Keely more than she had anticipated. Phil was pouring himself a cup of coffee when she came in. Keely's heart flipped.

"Good morning, Phil," she sang, smiling at him. "Since when do you drink coffee?"

Phil turned toward her. Keely's face was pink and glowing. Her hair fell loose on her shoulders. Her eyes were bright and the sight of her made him lose his train of thought momentarily. "Coffee? Oh, right, yeah, um, well, I didn't sleep much last night," he said, truthfully. Phil had tossed and turned all night. His dreams were fitful and he woke up almost every hour. Each dream involved him driving a motorcycle through a different landscape. First it was mountains, then a city, then through miles of farmland. He didn't know what it was about, exactly, but it seemed to be telling him that he was just spinning his wheels, never getting anywhere. Final destination unknown. Or was his ultimate goal completely unattainable? Or just hard to find? Was he lost? "I thought it would help me stay awake today. Mom made some extra..."

"Aw, poor baby," Keely said. She rubbed his back with her fingers, scratching between his shoulder blades. Phil tensed a bit when she touched him, and raised his shoulders awkwardly. "What?" Keely asked. "I thought you liked having your back scratched."

"Oh, right, yeah, well, I do," Phil said, avoiding Keely's eyes. "You, uh, surprised me is all." He poured milk into his coffee cup.

"Okay..." Keely said. "Well then, Mr. Tensey McTenserton, can I have a cup?"

"Sure," Phil said. As long as I can keep myself busy then I'll have less time to think. Think about her. Think about that kiss. He reached into the cabinet and pulled out a mug for Keely. It was Barb's World's Best Mom cup. Lloyd had a matching World's Best Dad one.

"World's Best Mom," Keely read off the side of the coffee mug. "Someday, I hope..." she said, smiling sparkly at Phil. She plopped down on a kitchen stool and Phil filled up the cup. He passed her the milk and sugar and she dumped in at least three spoonfuls before swirling the mixture around and taking a sip. "Mmm, sweet," she said. Keely glanced up at Phil. He was staring at her mouth. "What?" she asked.

"Um, nothing..." he said, regaining his composure and busying himself with putting the milk carton away and wiping a spill off the counter. "So, practice this afternoon? Our scene?" They had to practice. It was unavoidable. Unless they both wanted F's on the assignment.

"Right," Keely said, looking down into her coffee mug. "The scene... Well, Mom's not home until five again..."

"Okay, works for me," Phil said. "Have you memorized the lines yet?"

"Sort of... it's tough because I don't really know what they mean..." Keely said. "Except for the ones with, you know, that kissing stuff."

Phil tried to laugh. It sounded fake. "Yeah. That kissing stuff." He looked at Keely and she looked at him. There were many things to say and as Phil and Keely gazed at one another over their steaming coffee mugs, each had an inkling that the other wanted to say them... "I, um, hope it's not too"—he cleared his throat—"weird, after all..."

"It isn't too weird, Phil," Keely said. "I mean, it is but it isn't. Does that make any sense?"

"Um—" Phil started.

"Yeah, it is sorta weird to kiss you, Phil, but at the same time it's not that weird to kiss you…" Keely blurted. She felt her skin start to crawl. This conversation was a slippery slope.

"Well, Keels, what do you mean by weird exactly?" Phil asked, scratching his head nervously. "Or, maybe, you can, um, try and explain why it's both weird and not weird." His heart was booming.

"It's weird because we, um, you know, well, we're Phil and Keely, right? Friends forever and all," Keely said. "And then again it's not weird. Because we're Phil and Keely. A boy and a girl, and we're friends, best ones, and we're together, just the two of us, a lot." She looked hard into Phil's face and away again, quickly, out the window. Her heart throbbed in her ears. She watched the neighbor across the street wash his car. A school bus passed. A black and white cat climbed the Diffys' oak tree. She slowly turned her head back to Phil. "You know?"

Phil's eyes met Keely's again. He was so tired. He wanted to go to her and rest his head on her shoulder and fall asleep. "Yeah, I think I know," he said. He really did. "So…"

"So…" Keely said.

"School?" Phil said.

"Right," Keely said.

Phil cleared away their coffee mugs and picked up his backpack. Somewhat timidly, he grabbed for Keely's purse, where she'd set it on the counter. She reached for it at the same time, and their fingers lightly touched. They both jerked their hands away. Keely laughed.

"Um, okay, that was weird," she said, grinning at Phil.

"Yeah," Phil said. "Sorry. I was, um, gonna hand it to you."

"Yeah, right, buddy," Keely said. "I know what you're doing… You were gonna steal it. I know you wanted my bubblegum lipgloss." Phil smiled. He did want her bubblegum lipgloss. But he wanted it from her lips.

"You're right. I'm totally busted," Phil said, rolling his eyes. "I want your lipgloss."

"Oh really?" Keely said, smiling. She reached into her bag, grabbed the stick of lipgloss, opened it, and rubbed it on her lips, giving Phil googly eyes while she did it. "This lipgloss?" she asked innocently.

Phil wanted more than the lipgloss. He wanted to be the lipgloss. "That lipgloss," he said. He reached out his hand and Keely dangled the pink tube over it. But as he tried to take it form her, Keely snatched her hand away.

"Oh Diffy, you're quick, but not as quick as me," Keely giggled at him. She ran around the kitchen to the opposite side of the counter. Phil crossed his arms and smirked at her.

"You might be quicker, but I'm bigger," Phil said.

"Barely, shorty," Keely said. "I was taller than you until like last month."

"So. I'm bigger now," Phil said. He ran around the side of the counter. Keely squealed and tried to get away but her purse strap hooked onto a drawer knob and pulled her back—right into Phil's chest. "Gotcha," Phil said, grinning and grabbing her wrists.

Keely laughed and squirmed. "Come on, Philly Willy…" She turned so she could face Phil. "Pretty please," she begged, poking out her lip and batting her eyelashes.

For a few seconds they just stood there, out of breath and flushed. Keely's smile faded and was replaced with a serious expression. Phil's heart boomed on. His hands still gripped her wrists tightly. He could hear her breathing. She rested her hands on his chest. "Keely?" he asked.

"Yes?" Keely asked hopefully, staring straight into his eyes. She bit her lip—that nervous habit she couldn't shake if her life depended on it.

"Can I…" Phil began. "Um. Would right now be a good time to…"

"Mmm hmm…" Keely mumbled. She tried to nod her head but her neck was stiff and she was afraid to move anyway. She shut her eyes.

"Um, to, you know…" Phil tried to say it. He rubbed his lips together. Come on, Phil. He tried to ask her. Tried to tell her. Kiss you, his mind yelled. Kiss you! He couldn't. Slowly Phil lost his nerve. It drained out of him to his feet. He let go of Keely's wrists. She dropped her hands. His stared at the floor between his shoes. I'm a complete failure, he thought. Phil Diffy is a one hundred percent, grade-A idiot.

Keely was mortified. She had stood there waiting for Phil to kiss her and he hadn't. Now Phil was looking at the floor. "I guess now's not the time," she whispered to him. Keely was disappointed and frustrated. She also felt angry. But was she angry with Phil or the situation? She understood he was shy, but… "We better go, Phil, it's getting late," she said, checking her watch.

linelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelineline

The walk to school was peppered with dumb conversation and both of them knew it.

"So, um, how was your advanced algebra test last week?" Phil asked.

"Okay. I got a B," Keely answered.

"That's great," Phil said.

"How was your essay on Catcher in the Rye?" Keely asked.

"Well, I only got an A minus. I loved that book, though. Thanks for recommending it," Phil said. He shoved his hands in his pockets. They never talked like this. Never asked arbitrary "how's school going" questions. I've got to learn to be more spontaneous, he thought. Suddenly Phil stopped in the middle of the sidewalk. H. G. Wells was another block away. "Do you want to get out of here?" he asked Keely.

She turned and gave him a confused expression. "Out of here? Where?" Maybe Keely was in the mood ten minutes ago, when Phil was chasing her around the kitchen, but now? She suddenly felt annoyed and resentful.

"I don't know," Phil said. "Somewhere else. I just don't want to go to school today." He took her hand, pulling her toward him. "Come on."

"I never want to go to school, Phil," Keely said. She looked at their hands, then at Phil. "But we kind of have to."

"I've got the skyak," Phil said. He patted his chest pocket and smiled.

Keely looked at him and then up the street toward the school. She toyed with the thought of cutting classes and flying off to who-knows-where with Phil, the love of her life. The love of her life who didn't know how strongly she felt. The love of her life who seemed to consistently stop short of changing their relationship. It's complicated, Keely. Give him a break. Go. See what happens, she thought. But then again, why should all this be on Phil's terms? You've got a role to play here, Keely. Make him work for it. "Phil, I can't," she said, finally. She wanted to. God she wanted to.

"Why not?" Phil asked. They still held hands.

"Because," Keely said.

"Keely, that's not a reason," Phil said.

"I don't have to have a reason, Phil," she said, jerking her hand back and hugging her school books to her chest.

"Come on, Keely. I know you want to come with me…" Phil said.

"You don't know anything, Phil," she said. If you did, we wouldn't be standing here having this conversation. You would have kissed me back in the kitchen.

"I don't know anything?" Phil asked.

"You don't know anything," Keely said. "Look, I've got to go. I'll be late for the Morning Report." She started walking away.

"Come on, Keely. Come with me. Please," Phil pleaded. He reached out and grabbed her elbow. "It'll be great. Promise."

"Phil, let go," Keely said.

"Fine, Keels. Whatever," Phil said huffily. He let go.

As she walked away, Keely felt tears welling in her eyes. Before she knew it, they were rolling down her cheeks. "Follow me Phil," she whispered. "Follow me and apologize. Follow me and apologize and tell me how you feel. Tell me how you feel and I'll tell you. Please, Phil, follow me." But he didn't. She listened for his footsteps. She waited for him to yell how he was sorry. How he was sorry and how he loved her. "Tell me you love me, Phil. Please."

Phil watched her walk away. He started to run after her. He wanted to but he didn't. His shoes were glued to the cement. He sat down on the curb and stared at Keely's back until she turned the corner.