THE DRABBLE - FIRST KISS

Furtive glances across airport queues. A scattering of nature nerds try to pick each other out amidst the crowd. I see her and hope that my intuition is true. The redness of the earth becomes more vibrant as we descend and converge in the desert. I give a sneaky smile as she approaches and I learn that we’ll be working together for the next month out amongst the sandy spinifex plains. Camping out under ghost gums and sparkling skies, we share pastel sunrises unfolding over lime green bursts of post-fire growth, fiery sunsets shimmering out over vast salt lakes, desert rain squalls with accompanying rainbows, hard yakka setting up sites to document the deceivingly diverse life of the outback and the rewards of countless special encounters with all kinds of critters. And all the while, slowly getting to know each other whilst plucking prickly burrs from our dusty feet, waiting for our washing to dry, getting woozy in the fume-filled shed fixing tyres, dissecting each other’s musical tastes on rickety rides in rusty Hiluxes, and in our down time, scoffing down endless tea and fruit cakes, attempting to obliterate each other in every card game imaginable. The final evening arrives and we celebrate the trials, tribulations and general good times of doing fieldwork in such an amazing place. Customary sunset tinnies are cracked up on the hill and after a campfire feast we naturally gravitate towards each other and wander back towards the top as deep hues of pink and purple fade over the horizon. We lay down on a slab of sandstone, its remnant heat radiating up through us, helping to keep us warm as the temperature plummets while we watch the stars appear. We edge closer, our sun-cracked lips meet, and we are engrossed in each other, savouring every second before parting ways the next day. We make grand plans for crazy adventures and get giddy thinking about what may lay ahead. Once we had partly adjusted to being back in the ‘real’ world though, nothing really eventuated. Distance, time and the trivialities of life did their thing and this led me to ponder the influence of place on the feelings and relationship dynamics present between people. Perhaps the feelings we had for each other were intrinsically connected to a place we both fell in love with and the experiences that were shared there. When we left, maybe we left behind some of what was kindled between us too. - Billy Ross

We're at a high school social and the classically deep conversation of the early teenage years unfolds: “Do you want to go out with me?” “Yeah OK.” “Yeah cool.” “OK cool.” We sway awkwardly, surrounded by dozens of other couples swaying awkwardly. "Should I kiss her?" I think to myself, not really sure how to start it. The music breaks and we stand around with our friends. At some point, her friend says to me, "You should kiss her." We're dancing again. "I should definitely kiss her," I think now. I lean in, faster than I expected, throwing my face into hers. Her mouth opens and our tongues reach out, not really sure where they're going. It looks so much simpler in movies. At some point it ends, we look at each other and smile, and we re-join the rest of the dance floor in awkward swaying for another song or two. Then we lean in again, not quite as fast this time, with the confidence of two 14-year-olds who have just had their first kiss. - Elvey