First, Last and Only Kiss

Will Small

There was once a young man who was in love. It was the same old story; he loved a girl who he knew from school. He loved her for years and they were close, talking on the phone well into the night several times a week, but they did not hang out together a whole lot. Then as the boy got older they started running with the same crowd, he was happy at first, until she started dating someone else, and of course he was friends with the other guy.

Life went on, for our hero was used to being in love with her but not having her. So one day her boyfriend and she were having problems and he went on a family vacation for two weeks and the relationship was left up in the air while he was gone. So our protagonist took the opportunity and told her how he felt on night before he dropped her off at home. She was receptive and didn't shoot him down, the next few weeks were the best of his life, she would call every day and they talked and hung out all the time. This was the first real thing this boy had experienced and he was in way over his head. He had several opportunities to make his move but never did, not taking even the most obvious signs. So this went on while the friend was away. But as you may have thought, he had to come back sometime, and he did. The weekend he got back the whole crew of friends went to a beach house for the weekend, the boyfriend could tell something was different. He kept trying to be close to her but she was being very cold about it. And when he got an opportunity our protagonist tried to get close and she let him in. The group was drinking heavily, except for the two guys who were not big drinkers. The group ended up on the beach and stripped down to their undies and went for a dip. Our protagonist and the girl ended up together in the water, just walking and talking and he held her hand. As I mentioned he had no experience and was happy just walking and holding hands. But she was not and they made it back to the group and as they did she said that she had wished that he had kissed her, so he did what he thought was best and went in for the kiss, it was short and not sweet, and she pulled back and said "well I guess we will never know." The weekend ended and she claimed not to remember the night, which was likely due to the high amount of hard liquor she had consumed. But our hero will remember it for the rest of his life, and when asked he told her that nothing more than holding hands happened. After that weekend the girl and her boyfriend got back together and our hero stayed in love with her and they remained good friends. She and the boyfriend eventually broke up but nothing happened with the protagonist and her. She did however do one thing that was rather cruel. When they would talk about getting together she would say "I really like you but I don't see us starting a relationship right now, but I can see us being together in the future." So he always hoped but nothing happened, he got a new girlfriend and she did another cruel thing she said "well now that your with someone I really want you" he let her know that she will always be number one but nothing happened. They stayed friends but the group drifted apart, as often happens in this world. They talk on the very rare occasion now but live in different states and it's just not reasonable. But our hero will never forget her and, though it is not often, he does think about her and wonders what could have been, and he will always remember her words "I can see us being together", he remembers the day, the time, where they were and where they had been, it is etched in his memory, tormenting him even now in his late twenties.

I used the terms protagonist and hero to keep the reader informed on who was being discussed. I do not see the boy as a "hero" I just used the terms to mean main character.
I know the story has no act III twist or sudden action, but real life stories rarely do?