My Top Five: Best Kisses of All Time

From epic love to a brief fling, all romantic chemistry begins with a kiss. Countless songs and poems have been written about the simple pleasure of a good kiss, a pleasure I’ve been fortunate to experience many, many times over the course of the 20+ years I’ve been dating.

Amidst all the suitors I’ve locked lips with, there are a few whose kisses lingered long after their exit -- kisses that still conjure up a nostalgic smile whenever I think of them. Without further ado, I bring you my Top Five Kisses of All Time…

Number 5 - Under the Stars at Sea: A star-filled sky and the upper deck of a Royal Caribbean ship served as the backdrop for kissing my cruise beau Jimmy.

A perfect place for moonlit kisses:

the top deck of Royal Caribbean's Navigator of the Seas

A handsome Andre Agassi lookalike with a heart of gold, Jimmy and his kisses transported me for three heavenly hours that night and led to a three-month romance that reminded me good guys do exist.

Number 4 - A Kiss Four Years In the Making: For most of my high school years, I had a crush on tall and lanky classmate Jay. After he and a good friend of mine broke up, after he got past his feelings for her best friend, the timing was finally right for us. Curled up on a couch with Jay watching the series finale of “Cheers,” I could literally hear his heart pounding as he worked up the nerve to cross the line from friends to something more. Amazingly, the kiss more than lived up to the four years of foreplay that preceded it.

Number 3 - Rekindling An Old Flame: About a year after ending our fiery, passionate romance, Illinois-born Steve and I found ourselves sitting across from each other at Guastavino’s restaurant. An architectural masterpiece nestled under the Queensboro Bridge with high, vaulted ceilings, Guastavino’s was the perfect setting for rediscovering the palpable attraction between us.

Number 2 - Romance Down Under: For as long as I can remember, I dreamed about having a romantic moment on the beach. Adorable Aussie Jason made that fantasy a reality during an affectionate sunset stroll across Perth’s famous Cottesloe Beach. As I sat beside him on a rock overlooking the water, Jason turned my face toward him and we kissed.

Number 1 - The Kiss of True Love: Is there anything better than the excitement of a first kiss? That excitement was tinged with something more when I shared my first kiss with California native Mark (a.k.a Sparky) during a moonlit Carriage Ride in Central Park. It’s a kiss that still makes me weak in the knees when I remember it.

Like I’ve said before, a good kiss makes you feel like a teenager again. Who needs the fountain of youth?

Opening The Vault: Part Seven

Every September, I’m always somewhat wistful when that first chill hits the air, signifying the start of fall. The change of season always finds me thinking of new beginnings--like the one that accompanied the arrival of spring years ago when I met my first love.

As I recently mentioned (http://melissa-singlegalinthecity.blogspot.com/2008/08/opening-vault-part-six.html), my first date with California native and “NYPD Blue” sound editor Mark (a.k.a. Sparky) delivered the unanticipated bombshell that he was divorced with a child. Since I was only 20 at the time, I responded to the news by deciding to have fun with him while he was in town and nothing more. Fate, however, had other plans for us.

I now Open The Vault and take you back to 1994...

March 23, 1994
New York City

Dear Diary,

While I was very intrigued with Sparky, his divorced dad status made me more than a little wary. I quickly shrugged it off, though, because the chemistry between us felt so effortless...Upon exiting the restaurant, Sparky turned to me and asked--

“Can I put my arm around you?”

“Sure,” I said, charmed by his tentativeness, and so we strolled with his arm around my waist. During a cab ride uptown, he sat thisclose to me. I could feel the attraction between us intensifying.

It turned out the nightclub I’d chosen was closed. We then ended up at a very different destination--the Plaza Hotel.

As always, there were several horse-drawn carriages nearby. We climbed into one and went for a heavenly ride through Central Park.

Sparky was holding me as we reflected upon what a wonderful time we were both having. Suddenly, the words stopped. I turned my face away from the night sky and toward Sparky, and we kissed. It was a kiss like none I’d ever experienced before, one that ignited every part of me.

* * *

After the carriage ride, Sparky and I sat on the steps of the fountain in front of the Plaza. We couldn’t stop talking. It was like we were trying to tell each other as much about ourselves as possible.

Sparky spoke about how much he wants to share his life with someone, a sentiment that both excited and intimidated me given the 16-year age difference between us.

It was getting late so, hand in hand, we walked back to my building. Sparky asked me what I was doing the following night. Upon informing him that I had plans with my cousin, he declared--

“I don’t care - I’ll take her out too. I just want to spend every minute with you that I can.”

How could I say no to that?

* * *

Sparky and I packed quite a bit into those first couple of days together -- from strawberries and whipped cream at NYC’s posh Regency Hotel to a second moonlit carriage ride through Central Park. And before the weekend was over, much to my great surprise, there was a ring on my finger…

Coming up…Sparky’s transatlantic grand gesture and standing up to cancer at a Dave Matthews concert.