Carnival Kissing Booth Novels & Stories

I had felt a million things but I couldn't put them into words and instead of embarrassing myself and Kaden, why not just make it curt? "The first game we'll be playing is called Lipstick and Kisses. You're going to kiss your partner all over the face in a minute, and the person with the lowest amount of kisses gets a penalty while the winner gets a reward. So let's choose, who does the kisses?" The Blondie asked. "The girls!" Everyone answered immediately. "Come closer, girls. Get ready to kiss your guys!" The Blondie announced and my heart fell. What? Was I… was I going to kiss Kaden all over the face?

“You’ll see.” Minutes later we arrived at the carnival, Camilla stared at the lights and rides, unimpressed. “You brought me here?” she asked, folding her arms. “What am I? Eight?” I chuckled. “Well you looked like you could use some fun.” “I could’ve used a nap,” she muttered. Before she could turn back, a man with a microphone started shouting nearby. “Ladies and gentlemen! We’re about to begin our Couples Carnival Challenge! Three games! One grand prize! Who’s feeling lucky in love today?”

She was a walking invitation, and the heavy, perfumed air of the nearing carnival seemed to inhale her in. The entrance was an archway of twisted iron and sputtering bulbs, spelling out “CARNIVAL NOCTURNE” in erratic flashes. Beyond it, a world of shadows and lurid color pulsed. The scent hit her first, spun sugar, diesel, stale popcorn, and underneath it all, the dark, moist smell of earth and something vaguely animalistic. “First time?” The voice purred from the shadows of a secluded ticket booth, carved to resemble a dragon’s maw.

It feels wonderfully out of place, like it exists in a time of its own. “A carnival?” I say, half laughing, as I take in the quaintness of it all. “Kian, this is perfect.” He grins, looking pleased. “Good. Let’s see if I can win you something embarrassing.” We start with the games, stopping at a booth with a lineup of bottles and tiny rings. Kian takes aim, trying to hook a ring onto a bottle’s neck, and every single throw misses by a mile. I can’t help but laugh as he grows more determined, his expression shifting from playful to laser-focused.

“Ok fine but I pick the Ferris wheel as it’s slow and not to bad.” We ride the Ferris wheel all the way to the top and right now is that moment. The twinkling lights from the carnival and the darkness of the sky meet. As he pulls his lips onto mine and we hold a kiss like this. With passion, joy and love. It’s another perfect kiss.

My mind flowed with rapid thoughts and my heart rate continued to increase as rage flowed into my veins. A picture on the wall was of Gabe and two other men at a ribbon cutting ceremony. One of them was Bastian, but I didn't recognize the other. Behind them was the Kindling Dating building downtown. Beside it was a newspaper article emblazoned: Three Entrepreneurs Open Kindling Dating and Become Overnight Billionaires! It was then that I noticed all the Kindling Dating logos on everything. “Gabe is the creator of Kindling Dating?” I whispered to myself. “This has to be a freaking joke.”

“The kiss.” “Yes.” His gaze locked onto hers, unreadable. “Your goodnight kiss.” Her breath caught, fury and fear warring inside her. “You’re insane.” “Perhaps.” He leaned closer, so close she could feel his breath against her skin. “But you agreed.” Her heart pounded violently, yet she refused to let him see her crumble. Slowly, with trembling defiance, she rose on her toes and pressed the lightest, quickest kiss to his cheek. Barely a brush.

Not wanting to unplug anything, I sit down and hold her hand. I just sit there for a few minutes not knowing what to do and then I remembered a movie where someone was in a coma and their true love kissed them on the lips. After they did that and called their name, the love interest woke up. Thinking it corny at first, I decided not to do it, but then realizing that the nurse was due to come in any minute to kick me out, I stand up and give it a shot.

Kingston I told myself the kiss meant nothing. It had been an accident—a stumble, a jolt, two people colliding in a cramped Ferris wheel cabin. It wasn’t planned. It wasn’t real. And yet… Every time I looked at Cora, I could still feel the ghost of her mouth against mine. Soft. Warm. Too damn tempting. I clenched my jaw and forced myself to focus, to act casual for the kids’ sake as we led the boys through the path of colorful tents and rides.

The memory of his competitive face made me smile. I saw the kissing booth in the distance, and it reminded me of Logan. I can’t believe he asked me to work the booth yesterday. What was he thinking? What if I had said yes? I giggled by myself when I thought about it. No way, I could never kiss random strangers for money. I walked toward the booth. It looked like someone tore it down halfway. The foundation of it was made with thick cardboard, and someone had smashed the roof on the top, making it collapse. The roof had covered up the front and closed the little square window where the kisser would usually sit.