Dear Em & Lo,

My man, who I love and adore, blah blah blah, does not like to kiss. This is not to say we don’t peck: we do, as after bringing up the lack of kissing to him earlier in our relationship (around year one of three), he did up the level of G-rated kisses considerably. I have since tried to suggest on a few occasions that a little open-mouth, tongue action would be very well-received, but his response was that he doesn’t like to kiss like that.

Okay…but I love kissing! I feel like it is important! It makes me feel loved! It’s the biggest and easiest turn-on ever! The thing is, he seems to be pretty sensitive about it, and brining it up makes him defensive and hurts his feelings. I might just learn to live without (is this possible?), but I feel that it is more of a fear thing; he hasn’t ever really figured it out, feels awkward doing it, and perhaps has some weird association with it (French kissing is for cheesy movies, horny teenagers, sleazy players, who the hell knows).

So, I know the key is to talk, and believe me I will try again, but is this an actual issue, like guys who don’t like blowjobs, or just his personal little hang-up? And, last but not least, we are in a long-distance relationship and see each other only every couple of weeks, so is there a way to address it without marring our all too rare intimate encounters with hurt feelings and self-conscious awkwardness?

— Kiss Me Kate. No Seriously, Kiss Me

Dear K.M.K.N.S.K.M.,

Frankly, we’re kind of shocked that you waited an entire year to mention this to your BF — and we’re even more shocked that you’re still with him, three years into the relationship! Most women would have ditched Mr. No-Kissee-Face long ago. Kissing is one of the most common methods used to take a relationship’s temperature, because it’s often the first thing to go when a relationship hits the skids. In fact, we know women who’d ditch a bad or unenthusiastic kisser after a first date.

Your man is lucky to have you. And it’s about time he learned to show a little appreciation for you…with his kisser. We’re not sure whether his issue is a “thing” or not, but even if it were, that wouldn’t be an excuse. Because this isn’t some kind of personal sexual preference that he can just decide, unilaterally, not to be into. Vetoing all osculation is removing one of the basic building blocks of an intimate relationship. (And yes, we learned all this from watching Pretty Woman.)

No one should have to learn to live without kissing. That’s like learning to live without naps, or chocolate, or, well, kissing: it’s not going to kill you, but it’ll sure make life a lot less pleasant. So, yeah, you’re right, you need to help him figure out why he’s not into canoodling. And then you need to tell him that you’re going to require five minutes of Frenching a day, either all at once or in short puckered bursts.

The more you do it, the more he’s going to realize that it’s not sleazy or cumbersome or even particularly complicated and it doesn’t necessarily have to be horny-teeny either. (Though if you ask us, we think the horny-teen aspect of extended makeout sessions is what can make them so hot.) Tell him this kissing ration is non-negotiable and that if he gives you five minutes of smooching a day, you’ll never make him talk about kissing again. Because, as we think an inspirational poster somewhere once said, talking about kissing is like dancing about architecture.

Mwah,

Em & Lo