"So read me something," Kenney said, flopping down and kicking his feet up on my bed.

It was nearing the end of our first semester and it was the first night that we were allowed to have visitation. Up until then, every time we got close to having it, some hot-tail hooker would mess it up for the rest of us.

Kenney and I had gotten to be pretty good friends over the semester and actually ended up learning a lot about one another. He had stopped trying to holla by then and had moved on to a couple of other girls on campus. None of them were in my dorm, though. We spent hours on the phone every night, me cracking on his taste in women and him cracking on the fact that I never seemed to have a man. I often wondered if any of his girls ever asked him why he spent so much time around me. Like that night. He had already been over there for like three hours.

"Read something like what?" I flopped down on the bed beside him.

"Anything. I just like the way you read."

"You're silly." I shook my head as I searched for a new or incredibly old piece that he hadn't already heard.

"For real!" He grinned and put his arm behind his head. "You always sound like you got attitude for no reason."

I gave him the stink-eye and picked up a notebook that I had just started. "I do always have attitude, and for plenty of reasons," I teased and began leafing through the colorful pages until I reached the last one with writing on it. "Ok. This is something I've been working on called..." I couldn't contain my grin. "Your kiss."

"Ooh-wee!" he rubbed his hands together excitedly. "Girl, whatchyou know 'bout kissin'?"

"More than you think." I sat up and faced him.

"Is that right?" When I looked down into his eyes, the intensity of his gaze was so magnetic that I had to practically tear my eyes away from his.

"Ok. You're going to have to stop looking at me like that if you want me to read this."

"Like what?" his gaze was steady.

I shook my head and took a deep breath. "Your kiss...is like the euphoric feeling of Billy Clint rolled tightly Into the perfect blunt..."

"Daaaamn!" Kenney tried to snatch the book away from me. "Lemme see that. That's not what it says."

"Kenney! Shut up and let me finish."

"'Scuse me..." He leaned back against the pillows, grinning and made a grand gesture with his hand. "Continue."

"...into the perfect blunt..." I paused, trying to find my place. "It burns slowly And leaves me addicted In the end... I can't even front."

He chuckled. "That was cute. I like that."

I sighed loudly. "Can I finish please?"

"Far be it from me to ever...keep you from finishing..."

I tried to avoid eye contact with him and moved on. "Your kiss... Like a pile of money Is long overdue." Involuntarily, I looked his way. To my surprise, Kenney's smile had faded. "I never want it to run out. This way everything will Always seem brand new. Your kiss... Is like a Lowrider Bumping down the street..."

"Whaaa..." Kenney interrupted again. "Whatchyou know 'bout Lowriders gul?"

"I know a little somethin' 'bout a little somethin'." We grinned ridiculously at each other until I continued. "Let's see...Lowrider...down the street...ok. Ok..." I found my place. "The bass fills my body My hips start to move And I can hardly keep my seat."

"Love to see that."

"I'm sure you would." I winked at him. For some reason, he winked back. "You're silly," I laughed. "Your kiss... Like the moon above the ocean Makes my blood rise. Every passionate thought That crosses my mind Comes into plain view Through my glittering eyes."

"Now you're talkin'..."

"Your kiss... Is like the first rays of sunlight Drifting through the remnants Of a peaceful night. It slides into my room Across my sleepy face Opens my eyes slowly And brings a smile that No one can erase."

"Sounds like me. Did you write this about me?" He gave me a toothy, up to no good grin. Even with it, he still looked harmless.

Maybe it was the glasses that, for some reason, he had decided to rock that night.

"Naw Bud. Not this time."

"Not this time, huh?" His grin widened. "'Cause you know that's me. Steal your panties like a thief in the night..."

"O...k... Can I finish please?"

Again, we grinned relentlessly at each other.

"My fault." He did his grand hand gesture thing and nodded for me to continue.

"Your kiss... Is like a 'first kiss' Every time our lips touch (I want you so much) My heart swells with joy My hands shake, My body goes limp And I feel like I'm in a dream From which I never want to wake."

"Sounds like you really know what you're talking about."

I tried to conceal a smile. "Maybe I'm not as green as you think."

"Oh, fo' real?" He threw his head back and actually laughed out loud, a rarity for him. "Ok then." Kenney nodded, but didn't say anything else.

I continued on like he hadn't said anything at all. "Your kiss... Like a refreshing cool breeze Coming through a hot summer night's Air Creeps in through my fingers and toes, Up through my arms, legs stomach, back and chest And the impact tingles Even the deepest roots of my hair. Your kiss... Like the last drop of ice cream From the very bottom of The bowl Always leaves me Wanting more. Often I'll look up from My bed In hopes that I'll see you Walking through the door."

Kenney was getting mighty quiet over there. I looked at him to see if he was still paying attention. No longer teasing, he now looked...super focused. All traces of humor were gone from his eyes and he now sat with his mouth set and his eyes intent. I knew the poem wasn't that good. It was more of a joke than anything. So, then, why was he looking at me like that?

"Your kiss..." I went on, "Is like a family barbeque That goes all day and all night. It fills me with love and Like the smoke from a grill, Brings tears to my eyes And blurs my sight. Your kiss... Is like lemons and sugar Exotic, yet the perfect snack for this girl. The slightest taste Makes my lips smack, My tongue glides up against yours And my toes begin to curl."

"Umph."

What was that? I looked over at Kenney. He continued to watch me silently, like he hadn't said anything, so I kept reading.

"Your kiss... Like water, I could never do without. Too long in its absence And I would experience An insufferable drought." There was a long silence, so finally I asked, "Kenney?"

"Yeah?"

"Well...what did you think?" He only shook his head, which I took as a bad sign. He didn't like it. "I mean, it doesn't really flow yet like I want it to, and I have to work on the rhyme scheme a little, but..."

"It's great," he interrupted quickly.

"Really? You think so?"

"Yeah. I love it. It's great...you're great." Before I had a chance to respond, he kissed me. Just like that, he kissed me.

"What was that?"

"I...um..." he stumbled over his words. "Well...I'm about to kiss you again, unless you stop me." He leaned forward and looked into my eyes. I never really noticed how pretty his eyes were until he did that. They were some kind of deep brownish-grey, but seemed darker than they actually were. There was something very soulful about his eyes. You could almost see a trace of innocence and trust left in them, if you looked deep enough. But no one would have ever guessed by the way he acted. I had a hard time catching my breath. "Last chance..." he kind of smiled and leaned in closer. "Ok..."

This kiss was even better than the first. It was slow and sensuous, like he was trying to pull my soul up to the surface with the gentle suction of his lips. Like he was searching for the meaning of my life with his tongue. But at the same time, it was really, really sweet. Almost like...a first kiss. It was so sweet in fact, that for some reason it made me want to cry. That was the emotion that I felt climbing above all others, so I quickly pulled away.

Kenney also pulled back. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I just..." I started playing with the yellow amethyst birthstone ring that my mother had given me on my fifteenth birthday. I used to wear it all the time in college, like it was brand new.

He put a hand over mine to keep me from messing with it. He knew that I only played with my rings when I was nervous. "Don't worry about it." He smiled at me and shrugged. "You know I had to give it a try, right?"

I smiled back at him and nodded. "Sorry Kenney."

"Story of my life." He sighed dramatically. "I'm tellin' you girl. One day you're gonna fall so hard for me...just don't wait too long." He grinned. "You know the ladies are already steppin' all over each other tryna get at me."

"Is that right?"

"That's right." His dimples came out. Suddenly he turned to me. "Did I tell you this junior asked me out the other day?"

I laughed. "No she didn't."

"Yes, she did. She asked me out."

"Well...what did you say?"

"I said maybe."

"Maybe! You really do think you're the stuff, don't you?"

"Don't think, baby. I know."

I rolled my eyes and sighed loudly. "Anyway..."

"You know you want me, too." He grinned.

"How could I not?"

He chuckled and poked me in the arm. "Hey...hey gul..."

"Waddup?" I smacked loudly like I was chomping my weight in gum.

"You know I luuv you, guuul..." Even though he sounded just like a straight up player when he said it, his smile softened and I knew he meant it.

"Luv you, too." I gave him a real smile.

What we had was like...TV...without the romance. Love came fast and easy for us, but then took its sweet ass time going anywhere. At least on my end it did. On Kenney's end, it came at him full force and continued to travel full speed ahead the whole time. Like a bullet train. But I got the feeling that every emotion was like that with him.

I looked upwards dramatically, trying to play off the undeniable attraction. "You are so corny."

"Nah. You the one who said it back." He chuckled and took the book from me. Flipping through the pages, he sighed. "One of these days girl...every last one of these will be about me."

"You're crazy."

"No. I'm real." He smiled honestly. "Just watch."

"I will."

"So..." he put the book down and grinned up at the ceiling. "Lemons and sugar, huh?"

I laid back down beside to him. "Yep."

He wrinkled his nose. "That's nasty."

"Don't knock it 'til you tried it."

"I could tell you the same thing."

I looked over at him, but he wouldn't look back.

"Lemons and sugar," I said, just to be saying something.

"Lemons and sugar," he repeated quietly.