Rejected Kiss (Sweet N' Sour Kisses: Episode 4)

By Cindy M. Hogan

Determined to get dates, Ali and Brooklyn follow the advice of Brooklyn's mom and try to make themselves visible to guys. The first step in the plan is to ask boys to the next dance which just happens to be girls choice. Everything seems to be looking up as the sweetheart's dance turns out to be a smashing success. Only a week later, their hopes waver as almost every girl, except the two of them, get asked to prom. Now Brooklyn must convince Ali that it is better to ask a guy to prom than to stay at home, rejected. Enjoy episode #4 in Confessions of a 16-Year-Old Virgin Lips serial.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Cindy M. Hogan
• Release date: Dec 12, 2013
• ISBN: 9781311586643

Cindy M. Hogan

Cindy M Hogan graduated from BYU with a B.A. in education. She is inspired by the unpredictable teenagers she teaches. She loves the outdoors and spending time with her husband and two daughters. Most of all, she loves to laugh.

Book preview

Rejected Kiss

Did you know prom is short for promenade? Seriously, the things you can learn-thanks, Wikipedia. Yeah, apparently, the origins of the ritual date back to the 1930s. It was considered the moment in time when a child became an adult: the official doorway into adulthood.

It morphed into the culminating senior-only event where children were formally attired to look maximally grown up to not only highlight successful parenting, but also mark the end of high school and welcome the child into adulthood.

That's the official explanation, anyway, but I have my own definition of prom: pressure central.

Because of course it wasn't enough to have seniors have to endure the affair, so slowly but surely schools opened senior prom to students of all ages. Now, students could fret and worry over prom for three years straight. As it lost its original meaning, it morphed into a night of extreme anxiety that served no real purpose. That's when it all went wrong.

What is prom in a nutshell? One night. One night to have the perfect date, the perfect means of transportation, the perfect outfit, the perfect meal, and the perfect time.

Why is it such a big deal? Perhaps because it's not just one night. In truth, it's about a one-month process to get to the date, and then it's talked about for another month after that. It's a process that can be the most stressful of a student's high school career. As I see it, there are three stages of prom terror.

The first stage is all about asking and waiting. The question for a girl is, Will I be asked? If you're a guy, the question is, Who should I ask?

For the boy it's all about getting the right girl at the right time. The girl has to be perfect, and since perfect girls tend to be rare, the boy has to be fast in order to beat out any other guy and his invitation. It's tricky, because the guy wants the girl to think he's the perfect date, too. So, even after he asks, he has to worry about being rejected. Will she wait to answer to see if she'll get a better offer?

For most girls it's all about getting asked by anything with two legs and a deep voice. Every girl just wants to be at prom. No one wants to be the only one not asked. Sure, it would be great for it to be her dream guy, but she'll take anyone daring enough to extend the invitation. There are the few who can afford to be picky, but in reality, those girls are as rare as the perfect girl.

Bottom line? The waiting sucks for both girls and boys.

The second stage is filled with planning and preparation. The boy wants the coolest tux despite the girly color of the cummerbund. The girl wants to find the absolute most spectacular dress. And then there are the shoes, the accessories, and the hairdo. The boy has the short stick on this one, though. He has to come up with the best day date, and the best wheels to get his perfect girl to the perfect restaurant and dance. He also has to have the best after-date activity planned.

This stage is what I affectionately call the money stage. Watch it disappear.

The third stage is the execution stage, where regular ol' teenagers act like movie stars. This is where it can go all wrong or all right depending on if you are looking for a love connection or a friend connection and what the desire of both parties is. Expectation is half the battle. The boy better tell the girl she looks beautiful, regardless, and he better treat her like a princess.

It's the event, remember? Fun is mandatory. It's supposed to be the best day of your life, and you'd sooner die than let anyone think it isn't.

The fact is. Prom is one night. One night that can cause the greatest pain or the greatest joy in a girl's life.

Why do we give prom the power we do? That's simple.

It's prom.

Now, add months of being an outcast at your high school, and prom becomes not only the most anticipated, most dreaded event of the year, but just about the ultimate recipe for rejection.

Chapter 1

Sitting on my living room floor, I carefully tied the last of twelve blue helium-filled balloons to a long string. Ali helped me put a bag over the balloon. Each one had a small bag wrapped around it to keep the string from getting tangled.

Finally! Ali laughed and lay back on the carpet. It would have been easier just to let the balloons go free in their bedrooms, Brooke.

Oh, but not as fun. It's going to look so cool to have this long line of balloons flying in the sky when they come outside, I assured her.

You're right. It definitely has wow factor. She sat up and brushed her long red locks over her shoulders.

This was our first attempt at living up to the pact we'd made a few weeks earlier. We were going to all the dances, starting with the sweethearts dance-girls' choice, so it was the perfect opportunity. My mom had promised that if we put ourselves out there, we'd show boys that we were fun and they'd start asking us out. Well, we were putting that promise to the test and had designed a crazy-elaborate invitation to kick things off. So far, we were already having a great time, so point one for Mom.

We giggled uncontrollably as we wrangled the unruly balloons and finally shoved all twelve of them into one huge bag. I secured it and carried it out to the van. Ali followed close behind me with her identical big bag of balloons. It took a little bit of maneuvering, but both fit inside the van. I jumped on her back, yelling, Giddy up! and she galloped back inside to grab the notes and candy bars that we would attach to the end of the string of balloons.

Ali dumped me unceremoniously on the floor, and I snatched the keys from their hook. Mom, we're ready, I yelled.

She came barreling down the hall, stopping only to grab her wallet out of the kitchen on the way. Don't leave without me! I can't miss my daughter asking her first date to a dance.

I sighed and put my arm around her. You know we wouldn't leave you. We need you. Remember, both Ali and I have to set up the balloons on the guys' porches and cut all the plastic bags off the balloons. You're going to park down the street and wait for us to ring the bell and run back to the van and jump in. Then you've got to hightail it out of there so we won't be seen.

Got it. Before we go, let me see the notes you wrote.

Ali held the extra-large chocolate bar out for her to see. We'd covered the original wrapper with one we'd printed on the computer with our own message.

I'd be flying high if you'd go to sweethearts with me.

"That's cute,