I really hope when they were kids Larry told Phoenix and Miles about how he practiced kissing all the time so he'd be so good at kissing and all the girls would like him. And then as soon as Larry had gone off to 'practice' kissing with his girlfriend of four hours Phoenix piped up,
"Hey maybe we should practice kissing."
"On what?" Miles said with the disinterest and distain of a child who will one day realize they were gay.
"Each other!" Phoenix replied, with all the confidence in the world.
Miles, displaying a rather shocking level interest for reasons he could not yet explain, agreed.
And then of course passed a significant amount of kissing practice, performed in the awkward not quite understanding way that children do. A significant amount of bickering about the quality of each other's kisses occurred.
Miles brought it up more. Under the safety of a pillow fort. In the woods when their bug box was still frustratingly empty. After Phoenix whined about his girlfriend (morning to lunch) breaking up with him. And Miles, in a moment of bitter irritation said, "Well maybe if you were better at kissing."
Which ended with a little more teeth clicking together than was comfortable on the school roof.
Many years later they'd both reap the benefits of all this practice. Even if Phoenix had to be smothered with a pillow for saying that 'didnt count as a first kiss'.
(It definitely did.) (And even if not, they'll have plenty more first kisses left to go.)