We were waiting for the others, Deniz and I. We had a fire going and somewhere in the distance the water was heard crashing into land. It was too dark to tell.

"You've never been kissed?" Deniz said surprised, his face lit up with the fire.

"I've never wanted to be kissed, no."

I wanted to tell Deniz to wipe that surprised look off his face. Not every seventeen-year-old girl went about sticking their tongues into people's mouths just for the sheer joy of it. Not me at least. I don't even remember how we came on to the subject. The thought of kissing hadn't even crossed my mind, at least not until...Enea had this way of crinkling his eyes whenever he smiled, I wanted to kiss those crinkles.

"There." Deniz said, complacent.

I stood tall, having shot up to my feet like a rocket. "Did you just...?" Deniz was smiling up at me. "You kissed me." I said, astonished, almost flabbergasted. It had been merely a peck on the lips. If I hadn't let my mind drift at the thought of Enea I could have seen it coming, the sudden closeness of our faces and the puckering of his lips.

"Now you've been kissed." He grinned.

"Yeah but without consent." I said, folding my dress and sitting back down. "I could report you, you know."

"Would you?" A look of concern came across his face. It was cute, he was cute, the way he thought I would possibly care to file a complaint about a stolen kiss. It was mostly that feeling that unsettled me, the fact that my first kiss had belonged to someone else and not Deniz. But now that the deed was done I shrugged my shoulders.

"No." I said and leaned in to kiss him back, but only on the cheek. We sat there blushing, the heat from the fire burning our naked legs. It was only when Kai gave away his expression of disgust for what he had just witnessed, that we became aware of our audience. I had totally forgotten about our surroundings, how everyone had begun gathering around the fire whilst Deniz and I sat there talking. They had all witnessed it, my first kiss. I searched for his face and when I found it my heart broke. Enea with his hands in his pockets, standing awkwardly beside Kai, not knowing what to do with himself, not knowing how to feel about what he had just witnessed.

"It was just a peck on the cheek!" I wanted to shout. However he had probably witnessed the whole sequence, how Deniz had leaned in to plant one on my lips and how I had sat back down and allowed for it to happen, kissed him back even. Perhaps I should file a complaint?

"Congratulations on your win today Enea!" Deniz was the one to break the awkward silence. Leaving my side he rose to his feet. "You're gonna do great on the tour."

Enea hesitated to shake Deniz 'outstretched hand but only I noticed how he left him hanging far too long.

"Thanks." He said and shook his hand sitfly.

"The way you caught that final wave!" Kai budged in and the praise for the competition began.

Dad got going on the BBQ with the help of uncle Alvaro. Kai and Deniz insisted on recreating what they referred to as the greatest moment in surfing history. Taking turns pretending to surf a wave. Recreating the way Enea had shifted his body on the board.

"So, you and Deniz huh?" At one point during the night mom took me aside. "How come you never tell me anything?" She said, tucking some loose hair behind my ears.

"Tell you what?"

"You know." She said, poking a finger at my ribs. "About your love life."

"Mom." I shifted my head to see if anyone had overheard us.

"What?"

"I don't have a love life." I said between clenched teeth.

"Could have fooled me." She said, turning to look at the boys who were now playing football in the sand. Enea took no prisoners, dribbling the ball past anyone who dared challenge him.

"Deniz is a good boy."

"How couldn't he be?" I snorted. "His dad is a cop."

"And his mother is a doctor." She nods.

"The perfect family." We sighed.

"I heard they've got a place in Greece."

"Athens, yes. Deniz told me. His family will be leaving in a week."

"Oh honey." Mom said, throwing a comforting arm around my shoulders.

"Mom, stop it." I cried, fighting her arm off me. "Deniz and I are just friends."

"With benefits?" She nods understandingly, trying to be a cool mom.

"Erm...I'm gonna forget you ever said that."

"You still have time, a lot can happen in a week. What do you say we invite Deniz for dinner? I'm sure he'll like that. It will give your dad and I a chance to get to know him."

There was no fighting her on this. Deniz and I were bound to get married if I let her have her way, but more of that later.