Our First Date and First Kiss

I was reading Jessica's post today and it made me think of Sal and my first kiss and first date.

Most people know that I have known Sal since the first day of 7th grade at Kino Jr. High. We were in Mrs. Ernst's math class. I think he sat behind me and he can even remember what I wore the first day of school. I guess I was oblivious because I can't remember what he was wearing. Anyway, we spent the next 2 years trading notes and waving hello in the halls.

In the 8th grade he told me he was going to marry me one day and I thought he was out of his mind. It really wasn't until our 9th grade year that we really started hanging out. He played football and I played volleyball so I rarely watched him play. I do remember when he hurt his knee and had to walk around on crutches for a while. During softball season he would come and sit behind the backstop while the team practiced. I wasn't good enough to make the team so Wendy Stowers and I were the equipment managers. If you want to get a rise out of Sal ask him about the time he taped my hair to the backstop. That was not pretty!!

It was November 23rd that he finally got the nerve to ask me out.... you know that, "will you go out with me?" even though there was no where to go at 14? I of course said yes. I think it didn't mean anything except we would hold hands in the halls on the way to class. ROMANTIC isn't it?? We did secretly meet at the Mesa Library once and I guess that was our official first date. Instead of studying, Sal took me to Steve and Charlie's (a restaurant across the street) where we both had a Coke. Sal paid and everything. Sal still has the straw I used that night. I think he wanted to kiss me that night, but he never did. We held hands and walked back to the library.

The kiss came a few weeks later when we went to the Boys Basketball team vs. the Kino Faculty annual basketball game. During the 3rd quarter we went outside to the football bleachers. It was early December although I can't remember the exact date. From the bleachers we could see some red lights in the sky. Sal told me they were Christmas Tree lights (I later realized they were the radio tower lights on South Mountain) and I told him that Mormons didn't celebrate Christmas. I believed him and he believed me. After a few awkward seconds which seemed like hours, he kissed me. It was perfect! We kissed quite a bit before going back into the game. EVERYONE in the stands knew exactly where we had been and what we had been doing. I was SO embarrassed!

After that Sal and I were inseperable. We talked on the phone, wrote notes, spent one Saturday watching Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl, and one Saturday at the Kino Christmas dance. That was the BEST night. Sal and I joke all the time about how we went out to dinner with 3 of our teachers after the dance. Today that would NEVER happen and the teachers would be fired for even thinking about it. Kino was the best time ever and I will always treasure the memories I have of that time of my life.

So there you have it, our first date and first kiss...... of course I have 23 years worth of stories about Sal and I. I could go on and on and on, but I won't. I will stop there! I only have 11 years of memories without Sal so I can't imagine my life without him. He is truly my best friend!