Kissing Strangers

Twenty people needed for social experiment. Must be at least 18-years-old, clear of health issues, and willing to kiss a stranger on camera. Will be paid $50. First come, first served.

“Dude, don’t do that; that’s so fucking stupid,” Jack Barakat’s best friend, Alex Gaskarth, scoffed when the younger man had brought it up.

On the other side of town, Josh Franceschi was showing the same exact ad to his own best friend, Dan Flint. “I’ll pay you twenty dollars cash if you actually do it,” the elder male said, simper tugging at his lips and eyes glinting mischievously.

The two young men, both lonely and low on cash, scoffed and rolled their eyes. “I’m gonna do it anyway.”

--- ---

It was a week later that the pair found themselves in some little-known photography studio in the center of Baltimore. There were people already there, sitting in chairs lined along the farthest wall. No one talked to each other, doing as the director had said when they’d all individually walked in, and were instead looking around the room curiously or tapping away at their phones as they awaited further instructions.

Then, nearly a half hour later, after the last few stragglers had made it in, filming began. It was a simple process—call two random people back, explain what they’d be doing in just a bit more detail than what they’d been given in the paper, and in less than ten minutes time, they were free to leave with the cash they’d made.

For the Lebanese man and Briton, time still seemed to move just a little too slowly. They watched with interest as people were taken back before they emerged again, their faces having turned a slight shade of pink and small smiles pulling at their lips. Some of the people left while talking with the person they’d been partnered up with, and, honestly, while Jack was more than fine with being paid to kiss a girl, he thought that it was kind of weird how one measly kiss had made these people practically fall in love with each other.

Or at least make them want to fall in love with each other.

An hour had passed by before the room began to actually look somewhat empty. There were still a few couples left, though none of them knew who they’d be paired up with. One thing they all noticed, however, was the fact that two of the few remaining girls had been called back together, meaning that the same would be done with the guys at some point.

Josh hadn’t a single problem with that. Really, he kind of hoped he’d be partnered with another male. He wasn’t necessarily gay or bisexual, but he was... well, he was bicurious. At least if he decided that, in the end, he wasn’t attracted to men in that way, then he’d have still made fifty seventy dollars out of it.

Jack, on the other hand, was... well, he didn’t know how to feel. He would be the first to admit that the other men in the room were attractive, sure, but one of them had a beard that resembled a lumberjack's, and he really wasn’t willing to have his own slight stubble press against it.

He almost sighed in relief when that man was called back with a girl who looked like she belonged in an old pinup magazine.

That left six people, two girls and four guys, and Jack kind of just hoped that he’d be lucky enough get one of the girls because, really, that’d just be so much easier for him to do. He wasn’t homophobic or anything, but he was bisexual, and his last boyfriend, Matt, had been perfect… and then he hadn’t been… and Jack really just needed a break from being intimate with men, no matter who they were or for whatever reason.

Ten, twenty, thirty minutes ticked away, and, to Jack’s slight dismay, the last girl had been called back with one of the other guys, leaving just him and an unknown man just a few seats down. It was with only an ounce of dread that Jack forced himself to look over and get a better look at who he’d be locking lips with in no more than five minutes.

Large, blue eyes with long, dark lashes that framed them were already looking back. There was the mix of a smirk and a grin pulling at full lips, and black hair just long enough for Jack to tangle his fingers through was spiked up to perfection on top of his head. There was some stubble lining his jaw, and while Jack wasn't into full-on beards, he did have a thing for stubble.

A kind of big thing.

And he couldn’t help as he let his teeth nibble gently at his bottom lip, wide eyes wandering shamelessly over the mystery man. He momentarily forgot where he was and what he was waiting to do, and he had a brief thought about height. Jack prayed that the darker-haired male was taller than him, even if it was just by a few inches. He knew there was little chance of that happening, what with how tall he himself was, but a man could dream.

It was just as Jack was working up his courage to move a few seats closer, maybe offer up his name and attempt a conversation, he and the other man were being called back as the previous couple walked from the room over, smiles on their lips and each other’s phones in their hands.

Josh did his best to not seem too eager as he climbed to his feet and motioned the brunette man ahead of him (not to get a better look but because he wanted to appear as gentlemanly as possible) and smiled at the handful of people waiting for them.

“Alright, well, we've all been here for a while now,” the girl behind the camera said. Her cheerfulness was quite obviously forced, but both men could appreciate the effort given the circumstances. “I hope you have nothing against kissing another man—”

A glance toward the other followed by the shake of the head.

“—and all you need to do is stand in front of that wall right there. Take a few minutes to get a little more comfortable, and we’ll start rolling whenever you're ready.”

“I'm fine with just... starting,” Josh said, and Jack couldn’t stop himself from looking towards the ground and sending a glance through his eyelashes at the other man.

Josh was already looking back, bottom lip sucked into his mouth as he awaited the brunette’s response.

Jack turned back to the girl waiting a little impatiently behind the camera before shrugging.

“I mean, taking a minute or two would be nice,” he decided. He, at the very least, wanted to know the other man’s name, if nothing else.

“Sure thing, just let me know when you’re ready,” the girl said, moving across the room to where some of her colleagues were sitting to join into whatever conversation they’d immersed themselves in.

“Sorry about that,” Jack rushed to get out as soon as the girl was out of earshot. “I just, um… I, uh… I’m Jack.” The introduction was a little awkward, what with the fact that he kept tripping over his words, but the other man just laughed.

“It’s nice being able to put a name to the face,” he admit, shifting over just enough so that he was in front of Jack instead of to the right of him. “My name’s Josh, but I guess you can just call me Jill.”

Jack let out a laugh at that, pulling a wide grin from the younger man’s lips. Admittedly, the Briton man was getting the slightest bit flustered. The distance between them was no more than a few inches at most, and he wasn’t sure how his ‘kissing partner’ would take it if he stepped back.

He felt incredibly stupid about being concerned with such a thing as how closely he was standing to the person he was about to lock lips with, of course he did, but it didn’t help him relax at all. Instead, he merely worked himself into a momentary panic while wondering whether or not Jack could tell he was contemplating taking a step back.

Before he could even ask if maybe Jack would be more comfortable if he put just the slightest bit more room between them, said man was turning and calling out a, “Miss? I think we’re ready to start whenever you are.” The girl looked up to nod before returning to her conversation and slowly stepping away from her group. “Sorry,” the Lebanese man apologized, “I should’ve asked you first or something, but I figured that, um… well, you said you were ready a minute ago, so I figured nothing changed?”

Josh looked into the brown eyes gazing back curiously to nod in understanding, sending a reassuring smile that stretched just the slightest bit further when a light blush rushed onto barely-tanned cheeks.

“Okay, so,” the girl said, having finally found it in herself to drag her body back to her position behind the camera, “what I’m gonna need is for you two to move back closer to the wall behind you over there, and make sure that you stand a few feet away from each other.”

She watched in silence after her instructions had been given as the two men did as they’d been told, waiting until they both looked toward her for more information on what they were supposed to do. With a short glance down to the screen built into the camera, she nodded to herself.

“When I call action, just do whatever feels natural. Take your time and have fun with it, alright? And… action.”

Jack wasn’t sure how to go about feeling natural while kissing a person he’d only met minutes prior, and he looked towards the ground instead of at the man in front of him as he ambled forward slowly.

Josh, on the other hand, didn’t make a move as he watched his filming partner advance closer. A grin tugged at his lips when Jack peered up at his through thick eyelashes, his teeth sinking gently into his bottom lip.

When the older man was within distance, Josh had had enough and reached out both arms to wrap them around a thin waist, tugging their bodies together. Jack’s hands immediately moved to grip at the top of the younger’s forearms, head tilting up so that they could look at each other properly before he let his gaze flick south just the tiniest bit.

Josh’s blue eyes followed the movement before his lids were closing and he was leaning down to close off that last inch or so of distance.

It was… weird. The feel of stubble scratching against his own wasn’t a sensation he was quite used to. He wasn’t necessarily opposed to it, however. Jack’s lips even tasted like coffee, a hint of whipped cream, chocolate, and caramel peeking through the bold flavor. He wanted more, if anything.

With his right hand shifting enough to rest on Jack’s hip, Josh’s left made its way to the elder’s neck, holding Jack in place as he tilted his head to the side just enough to deepen the gentle presses of their lips.

Jack followed the other man’s lead without question or complaint. What he did do, though, was let his tongue dart from his own mouth to run it along Josh’s bottom lip teasingly, going straight back to the innocent kisses they’d been exchanging before.

Time seemed to melt away around them, the other men and women in the room disappearing as they focused all of their attention on what the other was doing.

In reality, it was only less than twenty seconds before they had to pull apart enough to breathe. Josh leaned their foreheads together as they caught their breath, letting his thumbs run soothing circles wherever it was that they had taken purchase on.

It was the sound of a quiet laugh and the feel of a puff of air hitting his face that had Josh opening eyes to look at what was happening given how he was standing. It was just Jack, and while there really didn’t seem to be a reason as to why he’d made the sound, it also caused Josh to smile before pushing forward for a short peck, humming contently when Jack’s hands slid up the lengths of each of his arms to wrap around his neck loosely.

“I think we have enough footage now,” a voice said, sounding rather bored from across the room. Both men cut contact before shuffling away, looking down at their shoes like children who’d been caught doing something they weren’t supposed to. “Thank you for your participation. You can collect your payment as you’re leaving. Have a good day.”

In near perfect unison, both heads gave a quick up and down bob before their owners were making their way towards the exit.

A few more rounds of tired-sounding “Thank you”s and “Have a good day”s were tossed around before the Briton and Lebanese man were finally leaving the building with their earnings, side-by-side yet not touching or speaking. The air had somehow turned awkward; what had been so carefree and easy between them only moments before was now forcing them to once again act like the strangers they’d started out as.

Jack stood just outside the front door on the sidewalk by Josh as he waited for something, anything, to happen, and when nothing did, he could feel his hopes plummet. With a sigh that he hoped wasn’t as audible as it seemed, he turned to his right and began to make his way back to his and Alex’s apartment without another word.

He didn’t make it far before a sigh that certainly hadn’t come from him was filling his ears. “Jack, look, um… hold up a second, okay?” it called, and the young man did as he’d been asked, turning on his heel and doing his best to appear nonchalant about it.

Josh looked as nervous as he’d felt no more than ten minutes prior, his mind racing as he did his best to find the right words. Nothing he seemed to be able to come up with sounded like it fit together correctly. How had he ever thought he'd make it in the music industry as a successful singer and songwriter?

“Look, I was just wondering if you’d wanna, like… I don’t know… go get a coffee with me or something? I’ll buy. It’s just that, y’know, I mean… fuck, look it’s… that was just really nice back in there, and you seem like such a great person, and I… damn it, Josh… I’m, uh, sorry for holding you up; I’ll just—”

“No!” Jack exclaimed, rushing back the way he’d come. “No, wait, I’d really like that,” he insisted, smiling in a way that he hoped was somewhat believable without seeming much too enthusiastic.

Josh grinned right back before jerking his head to his left. “My car’s back there. Unless you wanna walk. It’s up to you, really. I’m fine with whatever you want.”

Jack shrugged before tentatively reaching his hand out to take Josh’s right into his left and then leading him down the sidewalk, weaving them amongst the pedestrian traffic and towards his favorite coffee shop.

--- ---

“Do you remember this place?” Jack said as he and Josh walked into that same little-known photography place they’d met in nearly four years prior.

Josh laughed before wrapping his arms around his fiancé's waist and pressing a kiss to the elder’s neck. “How could I forget?” he inquired. “It’s not like you remind me about it every single time we so much as pass by it or anything.”

Jack shrugged at that before pushing Josh’s hands from his body and heading to the front desk to check them in for their appointment. The couple was there for photos of just them in the tuxedos they’d picked out for the other, the ones they’d be wearing on their official wedding date.

The Briton had been opposed to the idea beforehand, what with the fact that his aunt on his father’s side (the one he’d met maybe once when he was two) was a professional photographer and had offered to take enough pictures that they’d be able to make a full-blown movie with them in the end, but when Jack had flashed the puppy face and said that it would mean a lot to him, he really couldn’t find it in himself to deny the request.

The pair were brought back right away since they were the only ones who’d booked for an afternoon session, and the photographer made sure to do last minute inspections of everything as the couple positioned themselves like they had when they’d first met.

One hour ticked away, as did the second and third hour, and by the time they’d gotten through with every possible (appropriate) pose imaginable, Josh was ready to just leave, maybe go down the road to get some coffee.

Jack, however, had insisted on looking through the pictures while they were there so that they could decide which ones they wanted printed.

Little to absolutely no attention was paid to the images being flashed in front of his face, and the Briton wouldn’t have noticed that the pictures had started moving of their own accord if it hadn’t been for Jack nudging him in the side.

Where the newer pictures had been looking back at them just moments before, there was a video playing. It was in black and white, there was no sound, and the two men that held each other close were too recognizable to forget.

“I’m having all the pictures just put on a CD for us,” Jack explained when his fiancé turned to look at him in confusion. “I found the video we did on YouTube, and I had our photographer, Melanie, compile it all onto one disc.”

“You did this for me?” the Briton questioned, gaze moving back to look at where he and Jack were giggling away while they leaned into each other’s bodies.

“Think of it as sort of anniversary present,” the elder responded. “Like, it’s not the right day or anything, but this is the last time we’re going to be here before we get married next week. I guess that’d make it more of a milestone present, huh? Then, one day when we adopt kids, we can do the same thing with them.”

Josh wasn’t focusing on what was being said, far too mesmerized by the way he and Jack swapped a final unnecessary kiss before the disc came to an end and restarted itself up from the beginning.

It was kind of funny to think about, if he was being honest—he’d only really gone in to make some cash, and he left with something so much more special.