The Kiss Quotient

In the hotel room, Michael looks out the window at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation, which reminds him of his ailing mother. He turns away and sees Stella holding her lesson plans, which reignites his frustration. He makes a sarcastic comment about undressing not being on the lesson plans, but when Stella takes the comment seriously, he wonders if her bookishness has stood in the way of her social development. He begins to undress, interrupting her revision of her lesson plans, and she follows suit until she is in her underwear. He admires her, then holds her on his lap and is surprised when she quickly relaxes. Michael begins foreplay and struggles to abide by Stella’s “no kissing” rule. He is genuine attraction for her makes it so that “he didn’t really feel like he was working. There was no fantasy playing in his head, and he wasn’t telling himself a new lie every fifteen seconds” (66). He continues foreplay until she initiates a kiss, and things escalate. The cold metal of Michael’s belt buckle briefly jars Stella back to reality, and she realizes she has forgotten to pay attention to her lesson plans. Before she can do so, Michael begins to masturbate her. She stops him before she orgasms, becoming overwhelmed with anxiety. She confesses that she has never climaxed with a partner before, and that her past sexual experiences have made her feel disgusted and distanced from the men she has slept with. When Stella falls off the bed, Michael decides to end the session. Stella asks him to sign up for an alternate phone number so that he may maintain his private one, but she has a way to contact him that is not through the escort agency. He does so, then suggests he take her out to a club for their next session. This makes Stella nervous, but she agrees. After Michael leaves, Stella reflects nervously on the way she has been behaving.

The next weekend, Stella and Michael walk to get gelato, and she struggles with what would be considered aspects of a traditional relationship such as hand holding. Many passing women are openly jealous of Stella because of Michael’s attractiveness. They flirt over their gelato and Michael kisses her, but their public display of affection draws teasing from the other customers, and they stop. Michael is pleased that his idea of a romantic date is working to take down Stella’s barriers but is conflicted because he is growing more drawn to her. He once again thinks of his father and the bad things he has done, believing Stella would never trust him if she knew the truth. He resolves to give her a wonderful evening.

After dinner, Stella and Michael walk to the club, and during their walk Stella reflects on all the ways Michael makes her feel safe. At the club, the bouncer lets them in immediately, and Michael claims it is because of Stella’s beauty. So far, it is not very full or loud, and Stella rents a table. She compliments his suit and asks about the availability of his tailor when Michael tells her it is custom. She complains about her own tailor, then describes some of the clothing sensitivities she has before a waitress arrives to take their order. A man unexpectedly joins them, who introduces himself as Michael’s cousin, Quan. Michael quickly intervenes to ensure that Stella does not reveal the truth of their relationship when Quan assumes they are dating. Stella notices a woman across the bar looking at Michael, and when the woman signals to him, he goes to her. Stella’s anxiety increases in his absence, even as Quan tries to assure her that the woman is nothing to worry about. More people crowd the bar and loud electronic music starts with accompanying lights flashing. With the increase in noise, lights, and people, Stella looks for Michael for comfort but watches the blonde woman kiss him. Stella tries to run out of the club but is caught by the crowd until Quan comes to her aid. Outside, he helps calm her. Stella describes herself as “overstimulated,” and Quan mentions his brother gets the same way, then questions if Stella is autistic like his brother. Stella confirms, and confirms that Michael doesn’t know. She asks for money to get a cab, but Michael finds them outside. Quan tells Michael that Stella wanted to leave because of the blonde woman, and Michael offers to take her home.

Stella is quiet, and Michael reflects on the blonde woman who kissed him. Aliza, an old client, was trying to buy Michael’s company following her divorce, and Michael had been trying to prevent a scene. In the car, Stella taps out a song, and the two talk about piano. Michael thinks privately that Stella is his dream woman but is out of his league. Michael confesses that the woman at the bar was “‘my crazy ex-client’” and promises that he has not lied to her (93). At Stella’s house, she invites him inside to talk about their arrangement. Her home is austere, matching her minimalist preferences. Stella tells Michael that she has realized that she does not need sex lessons, but relationship lessons, because she has never been so comfortable with someone before. She asks him to be her practice boyfriend, with no physical intimacy, and offers him fifty thousand dollars a month. He is shocked and asks for a week to think, then kisses her before leaving.

Michael boxes in his apartment to sort out his feelings. Quan knocks on the door with a six pack of beer. As Quan settles down on the couch, he demands an apology from Michael for his poor behavior, and Michael agrees. When Quan gets frustrated that Michael won’t talk about Stella, Michael shares that he found his mom unconscious and thought she had died, which was followed by a visit from someone trying to serve papers to his father. Quan reinforces that Michael’s mother needs someone to vent to, and the two men reconcile. Quan continues his questioning about Stella, but Michael mostly defers until Quan compares Stella to his little brother. Michael also sees the connection, but also sees many ways that they are dissimilar. The two men then go through Stella’s LinkedIn profile.

Over the course of the week, Stella struggles to focus on work because she often thinks about Michael. Friday morning, her housekeeper calls for the day off to take care of her daughter and reminds Stella to take her clothes to the drycleaner. Stella does an internet search for drycleaners and drives to Paris Dry Cleaning and Tailors, where an old woman is trying to snap a branch with a pair of lawn shears. The woman gets Stella to help her, then sees Stella’s bag and propels her into the shop in front of her before going into the back. There, Stella sees Michael measuring a woman to perform alterations on her jumpsuit. The woman leaves, and Stella has a moment to observe Michael before he notices her, and she immediately apologizes, telling him she did not know this was his shop. He stops her from leaving and takes instructions for her clothes before admitting that he makes his own suits. She compliments him before asking if he has thought about her offer. He agrees to it, then kisses her to reinforce that he finds her attractive. Michael’s mother interrupts them, then questions Stella’s job. When she learns Stella is in economics, she recommends Stella meet Michael’s sister Janie, who studies economics at Harvard. His mother invites her over to dinner, introducing herself as Mẹ. Stella departs and Michael follows her to reinforce the invitation, telling Stella that as long as she is kind and does not reveal their deal, she is welcome.