the kissing dance

"Our second item for bid tonight, our second dance of the evening, is the ever popular Kissing Dance!" cried the auctioneer.

The crowd got quite a bit a livelier in response to this announcement. Kat joined in the cheers.

"Ooh, now we're getting somewhere!" she said with a big grin. "Come on, guys, let's live a little!"

Wyatt turned to Damien. "So what is this, like speed dating for the uber rich?"

Damien laughed. "Not quite. But honestly, the best thing you can do is just relax and enjoy."

The auctioneer continued. "As many of you know, the Kissing Dance has more specific rules than the first dance did. The winner will need to remain in contact with their dance partner for the duration of the dance or else a penalty will be given."

"Jan, I will stay here and kiss you the entire time. I'm not bidding on anything," said Terrence.

Janette giggled. "I like that idea." She turned to Kat. "But I also wonder who the dance partner is, right?"

"Boom!" Kat gave Janette a quick hug around the shoulders. "You gotta get out there, show Ter how to really dance with someone."

"What is the penalty?" said Kayla. "I don't understand. What happens if whoever it is gets a penalty?"

"We'll begin the bidding at 30 seconds," said the auctioneer. "But before we start, we should meet the prizes!" He gestured to his right, and two very glamorous people stepped forward. One was a man, mid-thirties, Black, handsome, wearing a tuxedo. The other was a woman, twenty-something, blonde, wearing a black cocktail dress that scooped low in the back with a hem that went to mid-thigh.

The two paraded across the front of the podium, did a little spin together, and then met up again, face to face. They smiled at one another, and then leaned in and began to kiss.

"Whoa!" said Kat. "They're really going at it!"

Janette said, "Do you think they know each other?" She elbowed Terrence. "You and I don't even kiss like that."

"Maybe we should?" said Terrence. But Jan only smirked at him, as if he had suggested something completely ludicrous.

"Now, now," said the auctioneer. "Save some for the winner!" The couple continued making out until the auctioneer hammered his gavel on the podium. "You're both wonderful. Whoever wins this dance will have a glorious time, I'm certain of it."

Finally, the couple pulled away from one another, though the man gave the woman a bit of a squeeze as he did. She smiled back, and then winked at the crowd.

"Like I said," continued the auctioneer. "We'll begin at 30 seconds."

The bidding began as it had before. Many people waved their paddles in the air, with the auctioneer calling out intervals of time.

"I'm totally bidding," said Kat, holding her paddle up.

"That's ninety seconds now, to the stunning woman to my left." The auctioneer looked at Kat with a more specific interest. "Are you new here?"

"Me?" said Kat. "Yes!"

"Oh, a first-timer! How wonderful." The crowd cheered in support. "Does anyone want to push the bidding further? We're at ninety seconds."

A man across the way raised his paddle, and between he and Kat, the bidding continued rising until it had reached three minutes.

"Three minutes, again to our newest bidder," the auctioneer said, gesturing toward Kat.

"Four minutes!" called a voice in a dark corner of the room.

"Oh! A familiar and mysterious voice, taking the bidding way ahead with four minutes!" The auctioneer (and much of the crowd) apparently recognized the voice, though none of the new folks there knew who or what it was.

Kat wasn't ready to give up the fight. "Four-thirty!" she cried.

"Five minutes," said the voice in the back.

"Six minutes!" Kat screamed.

"Seven."

The auctioneer looked back and forth between the far corner and Kat. "We're at seven minutes. This is the highest the Kissing Dance has gone in my memory here. Young lady, do you have another bid?"

Kat looked to her friends. "Well, what do you think?"

Kayla shrugged. "I don't think you want to lose."

"You're right," Kat said. "I don't. I won't!" She waved her paddle in the air again. "Ten minutes!" she called.

A hush fell over the room. The auctioneer stared at Kat with a sly smile. "Ten minutes? My goodness. Ten minutes." He turned back to the rest of the room. "Does anyone want to go further than that?"

Kat's heart was racing. She hadn't really focused on what it would mean to dance (and kiss?) for ten minutes -- or what was meant by 'penalty' in this scenario. But she was excited at the idea of winning.

"With no other bids, Lot Number Two is going ... going ... gone! To the new woman to my left at a record-setting ten minutes." He banged his gavel.

Kat stepped away from her friends, looking back at them. Wyatt and Terrence stared back with a vague smile. Janette clapped for her. Kayla was nervous, but somewhat confident in her sister.

"Join me up here, please," said the auctioneer. Kat walked over to him. "Madam, do you remember the guidelines for the Kissing Dance?"

"I do," said Kat, not sure if she actually remembered.

"You will choose your partner, and then step out onto the dance floor. If you break contact with your partner at any time during the ten minutes, you will be issued a penalty. Now -- which partner will you choose?"

The kissing couple from earlier turned to face Kat. Kat stared back, overwhelmed with the weight of the decision she had to make. She smiled at them, each looking more attractive than the other.

"Well?" said the auctioneer.