Kissing Friends

Faith and I have been friends since high-school. The funny thing is that my then girlfriend, Delores didn’t like her. She once told me, “I can’t shake the feeling that she has a thing for you and will convince you to break up with me so that you two could become more than friends.” I told her that she was imagining things and to forget about it but at the back of my mind, I couldn’t help wondering if there might have been some truth in what she said. I couldn’t really tell if Faith wanted to be more than friends. She didn’t act like it or she hid it very well.

However, it was clear to me that she didn’t like Delores either and was happy when we broke up. I broke up with her because she wanted me to drop Faith but I refused. I had known Faith longer than her and we had been through a lot together. Faith was a good friend. She always had my back. I wasn’t going to give her up for anyone. The women I dated knew that when it came to choosing them or Faith, I would always choose Faith. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that my relationships didn’t last long or that before we graduated from high-school, Delores and I broke up. It happened because of something she did.

One afternoon when I was heading for gym, I saw Faith in the hallway talking to a guy. I wasn’t pleased at all and as soon as soon as school was over and she and I were alone, I confronted her about it. “His name is Juan. Delores introduced me to him. You can tell her for me that I know what’s she’s trying to do but, it won’t work.”

When I saw Delores later that afternoon I demanded, “Why were you trying to pull by trying to hook Faith up with your friend, Juan?”

“Juan wanted to meet her because he thinks she’s hot and I just thought that if they started going out, she wouldn’t be hanging around you so much. I don’t see what the big deal is.”

“Faith doesn’t want you playing match-maker for her and neither do I. She said that she knows what you’re trying to do and it won’t work.”

“Manny, I’m tired of sharing you with her. She’s ruining our relationship. And you’re acting more like a jealous boyfriend over her than a concerned friend. I think you have a thing for her.”

“Delores, I think that the best thing right now is for us to cool off.”

“You don’t want to cool off. You want to break up with me. Why can’t you just be honest about it?”

“Okay. You’re right. I’m breaking up with you because I think it’s for the best,” I told her. “Take care of yourself, Delores.” I turned and walked away. We never spoke to each other after that–not even on Graduation Day. Faith and I went to our favorite hangout spot to celebrate. I stopped dating for a while. Faith and I ended up attending the same university. We were inseparable. Other students on campus thought that we were a couple. I didn’t like it when other guys made moves on her and I could tell that she didn’t like it when the other girls were hanging around me.

I loved being with Faith. I couldn’t imagine not having her around. My other friends and even my family didn’t approve of my friendship with Faith. They told me that she was ruining my love life. All the women I dated couldn’t deal with my devotion and loyalty to my friend who stuck closer to me than a brother. One of them went as far as giving me an ultimatum. “Emmanuel, either you lose Faith or you lose me.” I guess she didn’t take me seriously when I told her that my friendship with Faith was something that I would never give up. Suffice to say, I dumped her in a heartbeat. Currently, I’m not dating anyone which is fine for me because Faith and I are spending more time with each other.

I’m relaxing now in my study. It’s my birthday and she’s coming over to celebrate it with me. Yesterday I was at my parents’ house and a sumptuous home cooked meal was made in my honor and for dessert we had a chocolate birthday cake and fruit punch.

Faith walked in and came straight over to me as I sat at the desk and smiling, she said, “Happy birthday, Manny.”

I smiled. “Thank you.”

“Your present is in the living-room. You can’t open it until after dinner.”

“Okay,” I replied, curious to know what it was and why I couldn’t open it now.

She leaned over and I expected her to kiss me either on the forehead or on the cheek but to my shock, she kissed me on the mouth. Then, she drew back to gaze down into my face which suddenly felt very warm. “I’ve wanted to do that from the day you and I became friends,” she informed me huskily and it was then that I realized that Delores and my ex-girls were all right. Faith’s feelings for me were more than platonic. My breath quickened at the revelation and I wanted to let her know right then and there that I wanted to take our relationship to the next level. It was something I had always wanted, come to think of it.

I put my hands on her thighs and whispered, “Kiss me again.”

She leaned over again and her lips were on mine. This time, I kissed her back. And that’s when things got really heated up. We weren’t two friends kissing. Desire raged inside me like a wild fire, consuming me. I reached up and held her head between my hands as I ravaged her lips.

We ended up having sex right there in the study. Afterwards, we showered, dressed, had the dinner which she had prepared and after dessert, I opened my gift. It was a dressing-gown, the very one I had been admiring when she and I were browsing in a department store one afternoon. As of my birthday, our relationship became sexual. The sex was mind-blowing. I just couldn’t seem to get enough. We didn’t just have sex at her place or mine. We had it wherever we could–in the shower, in her car and mine, in the stairwell of her apartment building. We even had it in the men’s changing room in the department store where she had bought my dressing-gown.

Many times, I asked myself the question why didn’t we have sex before now? It was never like this with Delores or my other girlfriends. Faith drove me wild. I wanted her so badly, it scared me sometimes. I didn’t want our relationship to be just about sex, no matter how incredible it was. I wanted more. I wanted to be more than her friend and lover. I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her. Yes, I wanted to marry Faith.

One night when we were lying in bed, spent from one of our explosive sessions, I rolled on to my side and gazing down into her face, I said, “Faith, I want us to get married.”

She stared at me, stunned. “Why?” she asked after she recovered. “I’m not pregnant.”

“That’s not why I want us to get married,” I retorted.

“Why then?”

“Faith, I love you. I think I’ve loved you all along but only realized it when we became lovers.”

She reached up and touched my face, her eyes moist. “I love you too, Manny,” she murmured. “I’ve loved you ever since we were in high-school.”

“Delores was right. I was jealous when I saw you with Juan. In fact, I was jealous of every guy I saw you talking to.”

“And I was jealous of Delores and every woman you’ve been in a relationship with. I couldn’t bear the thought of you in bed with them. I couldn’t stand seeing you talking to other girls when we were at school and university.”

I caressed her cheek. I never thought it was possible to love someone as deeply and passionately as I loved my lover and my best friend. “You and I were made for each other,” I murmured huskily.

She smiled. “I believe that too. Let’s get married.”

And we did–in June of the following year. It was the happiest day of my life. Tears ran down my face and hers as I said I do to my soulmate.