"Court, I have some bad news," Bridgette said to the brunette with a grimace. Courtney looked up from the checklist on her clip board and focused her attention on her worried friend.
"What is it?" Courtney asked in concern.
"Sadie just called me. She's sick and can't do the kissing booth like she was supposed to…" Bridgette revealed, cringing, ready for Courtney to blow up. It had been Sadie's idea to do the kissing booth, Courtney was completely against it from the get go.
"It's archaic," Courtney had said snootily when Sadie and Katie had presented the idea at the prom committee meeting. The committee had decided to hold a fete to raise money for their senior prom, and of course Courtney was the head of the committee. The other members included Bridgette, Katie and Sadie and Sierra. No one else had wanted to be on any committee that Courtney was in charge of, since they knew what a control freak she was.
"Okay, I don't know what that means, but please please please let us do a kissing booth!" Sadie had pleaded.
"No! It's a disgusting concept, it's basically prostitution, and I don't know anyone stupid enough to want to subject themselves to having to kiss hundreds of losers for a couple of dollars!" Courtney ranted.
"Sadie and I will take in turns of manning the booth!" Katie exclaimed. "It'll be so much fun! Maybe Justin will come buy a kiss!"
"Please Courtney! Katie and I will take care of it, you don't have to worry!" Sadie begged once more.
"Just let them do it Court," Bridgette said to her friend. "If they don't make any money, it won't matter, it doesn't cost us anything," she pointed out. Courtney sighed.
"Fine," she agreed. "But make sure you have some rules for the customers! And you two can tell Principal McLean about it." Courtney had been certain that the principal would not agree to the ludicrous idea, but surprisingly he'd loved it and Sadie and Katie had gone ahead and set it up. Only now, Sadie had gone and gotten herself sick and couldn't carry out her promise.
Courtney pursed her lips and looked at Bridgette, who was still bracing herself for Courtney's outburst.
"This is so typical of Sadie. I suppose you'll have to fill in," was all Courtney said. That's when Bridgette realised that Courtney didn't understand the full implications of Sadie being sick.
"Uh, Courtney. With Sadie being sick, Katie refuses to do the kissing booth without her," Bridgette said with a gulp.
"Okay well we just won't have the kissing booth. I didn't want it in the first place!" Courtney huffed.
"But Courtney, there's already a huge line. I think we could make a lot of money from it," Bridgette told her. Bridgette herself wasn't really too keen on the concept of the kissing booth, but with $2 a kiss and the line the length that it was (and the fete had only just started) they could make hundreds from it. She was willing to peck a few losers for that.
Courtney gave Bridgette a pained expression, knowing now what Bridgette was suggesting.
"Can't you find anyone else?" she asked desperately. Bridgette shook her head. "What about Sierra?"
"Sierra's a little preoccupied…" Bridgette nodded over in the direction of the tall girl who was standing by the stage where The Drama Brothers were currently playing. She was screeching as if it were a famous band, not just four guys from their high school who barely knew how to play instruments, but her enormous crush on Cody obviously made her deaf to their horribleness.
"She's supposed to be on the committee! She should be selling food or manning the jumping castle or something!" Courtney scowled.
"I told her that, but she said she'll get on it after The Drama Brothers have finished playing. Meanwhile will you operate the kissing booth for a while?" Bridgette asked. Courtney screwed up her face as if she were in terrible pain. She looked at Bridgette hopelessly before sighing in resignation.
"Fine! You go and start, I'll take over in an hour. We'll do two shifts each and then we'll shut it down!" Courtney asserted. Bridgette nodded and ran off to take her place at the kissing booth.
An hour later Courtney somehow managed to keep her word to her friend and apprehensively took her place at the kissing booth. She was glad she'd told Sadie and Katie to come up with some rules, because she was sure if there were none there would be some guys definitely willing to take advantage of the situation.
The rules were simple: No open mouth kissing (and most certainly no tongues), no touching (other than the lips of course), and you could buy no more than 5 kisses at any one time. Of course that didn't stop people from lining up again, but mostly people were satisfied with their few kisses and then went on their way.
Most people who lined up were just trying to support the prom, and Courtney was grateful they didn't make a big deal out of the whole thing. If the customer was a child she'd kiss them on the cheek or on the forehead, same if they were a lot older than her, and no one seemed to be put out by this.
Courtney was about halfway into her shift and about to kiss Izzy when she heard a her least favourite sound in the world. A loud and obnoxious voice that belonged to her mortal enemy, Duncan.
"Woohoo, that's hot stuff babe!" he called out as he strode away from his friends and over to the booth.
"Go away, Duncan! Can't you see I'm busy?" Courtney said acidly. The punk always seemed to show up at the worst possible times.
"I can see that. Please don't let me stop you!" he chuckled, gesturing for her to continue. She turned back to Izzy but found she couldn't go through with it with Duncan staring at her.
"Seriously, go away!" she demanded.
"Nah," Duncan refused casually.
"What are you even doing here? You hate prom," Courtney pointed out.
"I knew you were going to be here, and I couldn't resist the chance to wind you up," Duncan said with a wink. Courtney gave a grunt of frustration.
"Are you going to kiss me or what?" Izzy interrupted. Courtney quickly turned her head back to Izzy and gave her a brief peck on the lips.
"You call that a kiss?" Duncan scoffed as Izzy wandered off.
"None of your business. Now leave me alone!" Courtney snapped.
"You know, I think I'm just going to have to line up and show you how it's really done," Duncan mused.
"What?" Courtney's eyes widened in shock. Surely he couldn't really mean to kiss her.
"You heard me," Duncan smirked as he sauntered to the back of the queue.
"I'm not kissing you!" Courtney called after him.
"You've got no choice!" Duncan laughed. There were only about ten people between Duncan and the front of the line and with each person that walked away, the knots in Courtney's stomach got tighter and tighter. She didn't know why she was so nervous about it, it would be just like all the other people she'd kissed. A peck or two and then it would be over. But, truth be told, what she was really worried about was that she might actually enjoy it.
Get a grip, Courtney, she told herself. You hate that guy, and he's certain to be a terrible kisser.
All too soon Duncan was standing in front of her and holding out a $20 note.
"I'd like to buy ten kisses please," he drawled.
"Can't you read? Five is the maximum," Courtney pointed to the sign on the front of the booth.
"Better make them count then," he winked.
"Stop doing that," Courtney ordered.
"What, winking? Why, does it turn you on?" Duncan winked again.
"Ugh, let's just get this over with!" Courtney rolled her eyes. "And stick to the rules!"
"Whatever you say, princess," Duncan grinned. He leant in then and Courtney instinctively closed her eyes and tilted her head towards him. Her heart beat was beating unnaturally fast and she quivered in anticipation as Duncan softly pressed his lips to hers. Their lips were the only things touching, but Courtney could feel it all over her body, the simple contact sending shockwaves right to her core. Duncan opened his slightly to watch her as he pulled his lips away.
"One," he whispered. Courtney kept her eyes closed, not wanting to see the look of triumph she was sure Duncan was wearing. She waited for the next kiss, and gasped in surprise when she felt his lips not on her own but on her neck, just below her ear. Not technically against the rules, she told her self as he whispered the number two into her neck. She gripped the front of the booth tightly as Duncan grazed her collar bone with his lips for the third kiss, and she bit her lip, trying unsuccessfully to prevent whimper from escaping her lips.
Duncan brought his lips back to hers for the fourth kiss, and the rules were forgotten as Courtney's lips parted and his tongue explored her mouth. Her whole body was on fire as she strained towards him, desperate for more contact. She could hardly believe how his lips could send her into such a state of frenzied desire. Sure, she had been kissed before, but she'd never been kissed like this.
Abruptly, Duncan pulled away, leaving Courtney hanging. She made a sound of indignation as his lips left hers and she whipped her eyes open. Surprisingly, Duncan wasn't looking smug at all.
"See you later," he said as he went to leave.
"That was only four!" Courtney said, somewhat put out.
"Right, sorry," Duncan grinned.
God, I hope he kisses me like that again,Courtney thought, though she'd never admit to anyone how much she'd enjoyed it. However, Duncan simply gave her a peck on the cheek, that held none of the passion or yearning of their previous kiss. It felt patronising, like he was just humouring her.
"Don't you want your change?" Courtney said icily.
"Hold on to it. I'll come back later to collect my other five kisses," he smirked, and his smug demeanour returned and Courtney couldn't decide if she was disgusted or turned on by it.
"Will you kiss me like that?" the next guy in line asked Courtney with a suggestive wiggle of his eyebrows.
"No." Courtney said shortly.
"So how come he gets a proper kiss?" the guy complained.
"Uh…" Courtney struggled to come up with a reason why she'd let Duncan break the rules that didn't involve admitting she'd surrendered herself to the pleasure of his kiss.
"She only kisses her boyfriend like that, so you better back off," Duncan told the guy aggressively.
"Whoa, sorry dude. I didn't know she was your girlfriend," the guy apologised.
"Even if she wasn't, she doesn't have to kiss anyone she doesn't want to," Duncan spat.
"I was only kidding," the guy muttered as he stalked off, obviously thinking the kiss was not worth getting into a fistfight with a guy who had a green mohawk and an eyebrow piercing.
"Thanks," Courtney smiled and Duncan, and for the first time since she'd met him she thought he might actually be a decent guy. (Plus he was a really good kisser).
"Don't mention it. I'll see you later for the rest of my kisses," Duncan grinned and strode away.
Soon Bridgette came to relieve Courtney of her kissing booth duties for an hour, and then once again Courtney was back at the booth. Only this time she felt a sense of eagerness as she remembered Duncan's promise to come back and collect his remaining kisses. She waited expectantly, absentmindedly kissing anyone who gave her money, all the while watching out for Duncan. But by the time the hour was up, he still hadn't come and she was sorely disappointed.
Courtney packed up the kissing booth in defeat, annoyed at herself for even wanting to kiss that gross Neanderthal, let alone actually being disappointed when he didn't show up. She shook her head and shrugged off her feelings of rejection and busied herself for the rest of the day by making sure the rest of the fete ran smoothly.
At the end of the day Bridgette and Sierra helped her pack up everything. The bouncing castle guys were taking a long time to pack up so Courtney stayed to make sure they got going but she told Bridgette and Sierra they could go. By the time the jumping castle guys had gone it was almost dark, and Courtney found herself wishing she had organised to get a lift with someone, but instead she had to walk home.
She sighed as she walked through the empty carpark of the school, lost in her thoughts. She started when she heard someone call out to her.
"You need a lift?" Duncan called. She looked up to see him leaning against the hood of his car. Courtney considered it for a moment. She was still feeling embarrassed from before, and she didn't want him to think she'd been waiting for him to come back to the booth and kiss her. On the other hand she really didn't want to walk home. She sighed and walked over to him.
"Thanks," she stated.
"No worries. So how'd the fete wind up? Did you make a lot of money for prom?" Duncan asked.
"Yes, not that you care," Courtney rolled her eyes.
"I do care actually," Duncan told her.
"Why would you care? It's not like your going to go to prom," Courtney folded her arms.
"I thought I might this time. If I can get the girl I like to go with me," Duncan shrugged.
He likes someone?Courtney thought, taken aback. She felt a pang in her heart that felt suspiciously like envy.
"Good luck with that," she said nonchalantly. Because she absolutely didn't care if Duncan liked someone. Or that he wanted to take someone to prom. And that it wasn't her.
"So, I thought I might collect my kisses now," Duncan grinned wickedly.
"Why don't you collect them from whatever girl you're taking to prom," Courtney sniffed acidly.
"Do I detect a hint of jealousy?" Duncan chuckled.
"Of course not, don't be ridiculous!" Courtney snapped.
"Good, because you have no reason to be jealous," Duncan assured her, taking a step towards her, closing the small gap between them.
"I don't?" Courtney said huskily, trying to keep her head clear, which was a very difficult task with Duncan standing so close to her. Duncan shook his head.
"Will you be my date to prom?" Duncan whispered. Courtney nodded and Duncan brought a hand up to her neck and pulled her lips to his. Courtney threw her arms around his neck and crushed herself against him, his arm circling around her waist as they devoured one another. Neither of them counted the kisses this time and Courtney made a note to herself to thank Katie and Sadie for not showing up to the kissing booth.