The Kissing Booth

Once I attended a fundraiser for a theater on Chicago’s north side. I knew some of the actors through a mutual friend and decided to help out a good cause and I knew a keg would be there. And theater girls. You can’t be shy around these creatures, they’ll blow you out of the water. They have a lot more “ya-ha” moments than your typical cheerleader types.  I discovered that in high school.

There was a carnival theme to the fundraiser. You buy your tickets and use them at various “attractions” like food, games and whatever the hell else they had in there. The only things I was attracted to were the keg and…the kissing booth.

I thought these things didn’t exist. But here it was. An actual live and comely gal waiting to trade a few smooches in order to keep her theater from going dark. She had perfectly curled, caramel hair and big brown eyes. And since this was around Christmas, she was dressed as Santa’s sexy helper.

I cut a well-worn path between her booth and the keg that night. I know I visited her at least three times, and the keg in between each.

My first time at the booth resulted in a simple, yet intimate closed mouth kiss on the lips. The second time I tried to express my intimacy a little more and went (gently) for a more open-mouth style. She politely said, with a smile, that it wasn’t allowed. However, by the third for fourth time, that little rule went out the booth because we locked it up like a scene from “The Notebook.” (Come to think about it she did a resemble Rachel McAdams).

Not long after she closed down the booth (I never really noticed how she worked it with other guys. I know a friend of mine who was there said he wasn’t as fortunate as me)  I thought she was gone for the night but spotted her alone at the keg on one of my many trips there. I dug in my pocket as I walked up and pulled it out.

“I have one more ticket.”

With that she put her cup down, pulled me over, and went above and beyond her duties at the kissing booth.

I haven’t seen a kissing booth since. But I try to attend theater fundraisers…just in case.