Everything about my first relationship in the first year of middle school was terribly cringey. Socializing: We texted lots through the Kik messenger app but hardly ever said a thing in person.

First kiss: My first kiss was with her and our group of friends all knew what I was going to try and do. I was given half of a stick of gum to chew and as we awkwardly walked around the school a couple times, I finally managed to work up the courage... to grab her cheeks with both hands and shake. She stared at me like I was an alien. I swallowed my gum and nearly choked on it as I leaned it. I’m not sure because I closed my eyes but I feel like I covered my mouth around both lips before pulling away. I felt nothing more than pure triumphant pride.

Birthdays: Our birthdays were within a few days of each other. Mine was first and I received a thoughtful gift. I kept hinting and teasing at the gift I never actually got and asked if she wanted it on Friday or Monday (since her Mom didn’t allow dating at the time meaning I couldn’t visit on her birthday, which fell on the weekend) and she decided Monday was best. Monday came, I showed up empty handed and acted like everything was as normal. She kept giving me confused looks the whole day at school. yikes

Breakup: Of course, we broke up within a few days of the birthday incident. She said her Mother found out about us and demanded it to end (I realized in recent years that it was probably just an excuse to end things). My reaction was to write a heart-felt love message with my landline number on it. The message was asking to continue on in secret and to call if she accepted. That being said, it doesn’t sound SO BAD unless you consider that somewhere in there I wrote about how even a jail cell couldn’t keep me from her (WTF?!)

Current day: We both laugh tons when we reflect at that terrible mess and it’s all good. I can’t help but cringe at how terribly emotionally immature I was at that age.