Seven Minutes
by Dylan White
Jason had never been so nervous in his life.
He watched anxiously as the bottle spun, hoping it would point to Penny. But just like it had the past two spins, Jason found himself having to kiss Kim Carson. Jason didn’t like Kim. No one really liked Kim, actually, and no one was really sure how she got invited to Penny’s fourteenth birthday party in the first place.
Penny’s plan to only invite a few select people backfired when Kim overheard her ask Jason to the party. Butting in where she didn’t belong was one of the things that bothered people most about Kim. To make sure Kim didn’t tell anyone else about the party, Penny reluctantly invited her, provided she swore to keep it a secret.
Normally, Kim loved to share secrets. She thought it made her seem like she was popular and knew things. It was yet another trait people hated about her. But this time, she didn’t say a word. Being let in on a secret, especially one from Penny, was a big deal to her.
When the bottle pointed to Kim for the third time, Jason knew he didn’t just have to kiss Kim. He had to spend “Seven Minutes in Heaven” with her -- seven minutes alone in a dark closet together to presumably make out ... and more. But Seven Minutes in Heaven with Kim seemed more like an eternity in Hell.
Everyone “Oooo’d” and started chanting, “Ja-son! Ja-son! Ja-son!” as he stood up from the circle and headed to the coat closet with Kim. The two crammed themselves in the tiny space and shut the door. The few jackets in the closet had already been shoved to one side when Brandon and Skylar spent their seven minutes. Jason shuddered to think what they did and that he had to do it with Kim.
Jason thought the darkness might make it easier. He could just imagine Kim was Penny. Jason felt around, found her face, and kissed her.
But Kim pushed him away.
“You don’t have to do this,” she said. “I know you don’t like me.”
“I like you,” Jason insisted, somewhat convincingly.
“I’ve heard the way you talk about me,” Kim continued. “None of you like me.”
Jason felt guilty, knowing she was right. But her statement begged a question.
“Then why are you here?”
“I don’t have any friends,” Kim admitted. “And I wanted to feel like I did for a night.”
The silence between them was more awkward than the time his autocorrect sent a text to his mother saying he wanted “french kisses” with dinner instead of “french fries.”
“I’m sorry,” Jason finally apologized. He almost didn’t, but he figured he’d look like an even bigger douche if he spent the next six minutes without saying anything.
“I don’t get it,” Kim complained. “I’m really nice. Why doesn’t anybody like me?”
Jason sighed. He couldn’t believe the responsibility had fallen on him to tell her. So with brutal honesty, Jason told her about her annoying habits, including how she managed to get herself invited to Penny’s party.
It was a major reality check for Kim. She didn’t realize just how poor her social skills were. Jason comforted her as she started to cry and offered to help her actually make friends with everyone at the party.
Kim was thrilled and thanked him. Feeling magnanimous, Jason took his offer to hook her up with the “in crowd” a little further.
“We have another four minutes,” he said suggestively. “You want to ... you know?”
“No, thanks,” Kim refused warily.
“No, thanks?” Jason repeated, stunned. He couldn’t understand why a girl like Kim Carson would turn down the opportunity to make out with him.
“You’re not that good of a kisser,” she said not-so-delicately.
“Not that good of a -- ?”
“You don’t have to repeat everything I say to you,” Kim interrupted. “I’m sorry, but I had to kiss you twice out there and, to be honest, I was expecting more.”
“What were you expecting?” Jason asked.
“You press too hard,” she said. “It’s like kissing a brick. With a tongue. Oh, my God, your tongue.”
“You like it?” Jason asked, thinking he had to have at least one marketable skill.
“You’re, like, whipping me with it, like the queen’s tail in Aliens.”
Jason had never seen that movie, but he knew it wasn’t good. Her description, not the movie. If he saw it, he’d know the movie was awesome.
Jason had never seen that movie, but he knew it wasn’t good. Her description, not the movie. If he saw it, he’d know the movie was awesome.
“You’ve got to do it more like this,” Kim said.
She took Jason’s face in her hands and gently pulled him close to her. She softly placed her lips on his and kissed him tenderly. Jason instinctively went into Aliens mode, but Kim gave him a light slap on the cheek to make him stop. He gave in and let Kim take the lead.
They spent the next three minutes kissing deeply and slowly. Her tongue slid between their lips and she caressed his tongue with hers. Jason caught on quickly and returned the gesture with a much more tender approach. Their arms enveloped each other. Jason felt a chill run down his right side and the blood rush from his brain.
Finally, Kim released him and wiped the little bit of spit from her lower lip.
“Much better,” she said.
“Where did you learn to kiss like that?” Jason asked, dreamily slurring his speech.
“Sleep-away camp last summer,” she said. “We played ‘Seven Minutes’ a lot after lights out.”
Just then someone banged on the door, telling them time was up. Kim opened the door, anxious to return to the party and implement Jason’s advice.
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