Kiss & Sell Read Free

added.
    “And you want to do this?” Mom asked, turning to look at me.
    Did I want to? I mean, obviously I had to do
something
, because there was no way I was going to end my freshman year still having never kissed anyone. That would be the ultimate humiliation. And by having guys bid on the opportunity to kiss me, it
Would
take the pressure off of me wondering whether they did or didn’t want to kiss me. Because, duh?! They already obviously would by that point. And it
could
be kind of fun to see who bid. Might even give me a clue about who was crushing on me…
    Oh, God, did I just manage to talk myself into this?
    “I guess it would be okay,” I mumbled. “I mean, do
you
think It’s a good idea, Mom?”
    “Well, I think It’s healthy to want to experience your first kiss,” she answered, crossing her arms. “But I think we would need to lay down a few ground rules, to ensure that you’re not prostituting yourself.”
    Here it was—your everyday mother/daughter prostitution talk. Can’t exactly say I’d been expecting it so soon, but really, when
Was
a good time to talk to your child about turning tricks?
    “Mom!” I exclaimed, embarrassed. “It wouldn’t be like that.”
    “Just think of how it sounds to ‘sell a kiss’ though, Arielle. Prostitutes are people who sell their bodies for money,” my mom answered. “So, we’d need to have some rules, so that this isn’t at all like one of those experiences.”
    Mom had always been a big believer in rules. Oddly, my friends liked this about her, because Mom also believed that rules were better when we came up with them together. You know, so they fit individual situations. I knew better, though. In the end, whatever rules Mom wanted me to follow were the rules I was going to have.
    “Like what kind of rules?” I asked, suspiciously.
    “Well, I think that any money you raise should go to either a charity of your choice, or be donated to your school, that way you’re not getting paid for it,” Mom said.
    “Sort of like the kissing booths they do to raise money for school sports or clubs,” Phin said, nodding his head.
    “Okay, that sounds fine,” I said. “What else?”
    “He has to be around your own age. No one two years older or two years younger than you,” Mom said.
    “That’s actually smart. You wouldn’t want your first kiss to be from some old skeeve,” McCartney said miming throwing up. “Or from a 10 year old. Talk about robbing the cradle.”
    “And lastly,” Mom continued. “If, in the end, you don’t like the guy who wins the kiss and don’t feel comfortable about things, you don’t accept the money and you don’t kiss him.”
    Suddenly having my mom in on the plan, felt more like a blessing than a curse. With a list of rules drawn, I actually felt better about the whole idea. I never would’ve thought that having
more
rules would be a good thing (and certainly would never admit it to anyone currently in my room), but now I was glad she’d laid down the law. And, I had no real reason to say no to the plan.
    “Okay,” I said, finally. “Sell my kiss on eBay.”
    “Yeah! you rock, Arielle!” Phin said trying again for a high five. I didn’t move. Phin frowned. “Why do you guys always leave me hanging?”
    “Just let me see what you’re going to post before you send it,” my Mom said as she walked out the door.
    “Sure, no problem,” McCartney yelled after her. Then with a smile, she added, “Let the bidding begin!”

    “I can’t believe that I’m agreeing to this,” I said, groaning from my place on the bed.
    “You know you don’t have to, Arielle,” McCartney said, sympathetically. “You can always say no and we just won’t post it.”
    “Hey, I worked hard on this profile!” Phin exclaimed. “I mean, this is a work of
art
. You don’t just delete a thing of beauty.”
    “He’s right. Really, I’m okay with this,” I said, mostly to convince myself once again that I was indeed, okay