jake wasn’t thrilled about the kissing booth. the idea made his skin crawl—kissing random people for charity? not his thing. but his friend guilted him into it with promises of extra credit and free pizza.

so, there he was, slouched behind the booth, his cheeks already warm from the occasional giggles from passersby. most people just walked past, but a small line started forming. jake groaned internally, wishing he could disappear.

then, she walked by.

she wasn’t in line, just balancing a tray of cupcakes for the bake sale. her hair was a little messy, her sweater slightly too big, and she didn’t even look his way at first. but when she finally noticed him, she froze.

“jake?” she said, tilting her head. “what… what are you doing?”

“volunteering,” he grumbled, gesturing to the obnoxious sign above his head.

her lips twitched like she was holding back a laugh. “seriously? you’re the kissing booth guy?”

“don’t make it worse.”

she set the cupcakes down and strolled over, leaning on the booth counter with an amused look. “how’s it going? busy day?”

“tragically slow,” he muttered. “but i’m fine with that.”

“hmm,” she said, eyeing the jar of donations. “so… no one’s kissed you yet?”

“not exactly advertising it,” he shot back.

she smirked, pulling a crumpled dollar out of her pocket. “guess i’ll fix that.”

jake blinked, panic flashing across his face. “wait, you’re joking, right?”

“it’s for charity.” she leaned forward, quickly pecking his cheek. it was so fast, but the warmth lingered, spreading to his ears.

“there,” she said, tossing the dollar into the jar. “now you’re officially in business.”

before he could respond, she grabbed her cupcakes and walked off, flashing him a smile over her shoulder.

he sat there for the next ten minutes, still red, still flustered, still feeling the ghost of that kiss on his cheek. the line could wait.