You'll never forget your first kiss — no matter if it happened in preschool on the playground, in college at a frat party, or if you're still waiting for it to happen. We talked to 20 girls about how their first kisses went down, and each is super sweet (or, OK, totally hilarious) in its own way.
1. "I was 15. Some guy at school told me he wanted a kiss from me for his birthday. I kinda liked him but wasn't really interested in kissing him as a favor. I was walking from lunch to my class at school, and he came up right in front of me and stopped me mid-sentence as I was talking to my friend and kissed me right there. I was so mad!" — Maddy, 18
2. "My first kiss was the last day of eighth grade. I went to a friend's house after school that day and they invited a few boys, including one that I had thought was cute, over. My friends pushed me into a room with him because, apparently, he was down to kiss. I was embarrassed, but we sat on the bed in the room and kissed. After the kiss, we left the room, and he awkwardly put his hand around me in the living room while we all hung out." — Jess, 19
3. "I was 16 and at my first house party, just laughing with friends and having a good time. Nobody knew I was gay. I ended up on the deck with a girl I had known since I was 11. She said, 'It's such a shame there are no girls here to kiss.' I said, 'Well, maybe there's one right here.' She was the first person I kissed and the first person I came out to. Later that night, I also kissed a guy, thinking that he could be the one. But the next day, I realized that the girl's kiss meant a lot more to me. It made me feel happier. We're friends now and will never be anything more, butI'll always thank her for that special moment that showed me who I truly am." — India, 17
4. "I had my first kiss in eighth grade at a school dance. I'd say we made out, but it was literally just a really really long, single kiss. 6/10." — Brandi, 17
5. "I was 16. I prepped by watching YouTube videos so I'd know what to do when it finally happened. My current boyfriend and I were standing under a streetlight, and after I hugged him goodbye, I leaned in and gave him the sloppiest open-mouth kiss. He pulled my head away and said, 'What are you doing? It's like this!' Moral of the story: Stay away from YouTube. I was mortified." – Monay, 20
6. "It was junior year. Some friends (including my crush) and I had gone out for a movie and stopped at a Sonic for slushies.My crush and I had gone off on our own and that's when it happened. I had wrapped my arms around him and kissed him... with my slushie still in my hand. I pulled back, only to be absolutely horrified that the slushie had spilled onto his shoulder. Most embarrassing moment of my life!" — Jay, 19
7. "I was sitting with my boyfriend on a swing late at night. That day marked our first month of being together, and I kept wondering when "the moment" would happen. Before we parted ways for the night, I asked, 'So are you going to leave me with something?' and then we kissed. He had said that he really wanted to but didn't want to catch me off-guard since this was my first relationship. Now, almost three years later, we are still together and engaged!" — Kate, 22
8. "We were both 15, had two classes together that year, and were starting to become friends. She knew she was bisexual by then and I had been questioning my own sexuality and wondering what it's like to be with a girl. We had a sleepover one night and planned to kiss each other, just to try it out. We had a short kiss and started to make out, but then stopped. I immediately regretted kissing her. I was nervous, felt out of place, and was super scared I was going to get mono. I never wanted to do it again. A few weeks later, I realized there was nothing wrong with experimenting." — Kacey, 17
9. "I was 14. I had been texting the boy I liked for four days when we finally agreed to hang out. He came over to my house and we went to my room. My mom yelled at us to leave the door open, so being the rebellious teen that I was, I slammed it shut and locked it. As soon as the door closed, I turned around and before I could even take a step, he had crossed the room and was right in front of me. He grabbed my face with both hands and kissed me. It was a pretty good kiss, but honestly, I wasn't expecting it to happen so soon! I was so surprised to have another human's lips on mine it was hard to even feel the butterflies." — Kelsey, 22
10. "I was 16 and it was my first-ever date with a boy I met in my Spanish class. When he went to walk me to the door of my house, he kissed me good night, and all I could say was, 'See you in class on Monday!' Then I ran inside. I later found out that was his first kiss, too. Five years later, we're still together!" — Emily, 22
11. "When I was nine, my brother and cousins and I went to a place like Chuck E. Cheese. I was playing alone in a ball pit and along comes this boy maybe a year or two older than me. I remember him asking me if I wanted to play Tarzan with him, and one thing led to another and we were swinging and climbing from ropes, jumping in the ball pits until we ended up in a little mini plastic house. He said, 'Oh, just like they kiss in the movie, you have to kiss me.' So I did just that until my 15-year-old cousin caught us!" – Ileana, 21
12. "I was playing Never Have I Ever with my boyfriend and a bunch of friends, and I admitted I never had my first kiss. My boyfriend said, 'Let's change that,' and kissed me right then and there. We're still dating!" — Shannon, 17
13. "My first kiss was awful. It felt like he was trying to suck my face. Way too much tongue." — Brianna, 16
14. "When I was little, I used to hang out with a kid who lived one street over from me. We ended up in the closet and put our lips together and had our first kiss. We were only six and very curious!" — Audrey, 17
15. "When I was a freshman in high school I went to a graduation party with my best friend. At the party, there was a senior who liked me, and of course, being a freshman, I found this beyond flattering. He came up and asked my friend and I if my friends and I wanted to hang out at the park next door to the house. We immediately said yes despite the fact that it was dark. In the park, he immediately started a game of Truth or Dare, and I was dared to kiss him for 30 seconds. When his lips slammed against mine, I felt so awkward and my palms started to sweat. The next thing I knew, we were being interrupted by the sound of a cop car pulling into the gravel road. The guy jumped down from the playground and sprinted off towards the house, leaving me to grab my friend by the arm and blindly run after him. We didn't get caught, but bottom line: never kiss somebody that you feel uncomfortable with." — Chelsea, 18
16. "In preschool, I had a crush on this boy. We used to always fight and take away each other's toys. One day, during naptime (our mats were next to each other), he told me he liked me and wanted to marry me. I smiled and felt really shy. Next thing I know, he got closer and kissed me. It was pretty sweet and memorable." – Evangeline, 21
17. "I was 14. In my school, it was cool to have your first kiss in front of your whole grade. There were about 10 people surrounding me and this guy I was dating and they were all just staring. He decided to go full-on fish and kiss me. His whole mouth was open wide, and it felt like he was going to eat my lips. Of course, everyone saw this and I was mortified. We said our goodbyes and I remember being so embarrassed that I avoided him for a week. That's when our relationship (of two whole weeks) ended." — Sarah, 22
18. "I was 10 and playing outside. I knew my dad's friend's son was inside — he was my age and we had never gotten along. He snuck up behind me and planted a huge kiss on me. I was upset, because I wanted my first kiss to be something special, with a person I actually liked. I was so shocked I slapped him across the face." — Hannah, 22
19. "I was hanging out after school with a friend when I was 15. She said she wanted to make out with somebody. She stuck her tongue in my mouth, and I was shocked. I pulled away after three seconds. I hadn't even realized I liked girls at the time, but two months later, we started dating." — Julia, 17
20. "My first kiss was with a boy in Italy when I was five. First we got 'married' with string cheese rings, then we kissed." — Giselle, 23
Hannah Orenstein is the author of several novels, including Meant to Be Mine (out June 7, 2022), Head Over Heels, Love at First Like, and Playing with Matches. She's also the Deputy Editor of Dating at Elite Daily. She lives in Brooklyn.
