Anton Chekhov, Guy de Maupassant, Kate Chopin. These three names thrill the literary world as well as our own. They have gravitas, they have knowledge, experience and they have the literary style and panache to seduce our imagined world.

Each has written a short story on pleasured lips placed on another's flesh.

For Chekhov it was a kiss in a darkened room that happened by mistake. Who was she?

For Chopin it was a kiss that almost derailed a hoped-for marriage proposal. Why did he do that?

For de Maupassant it was a niece seeking advice from her Aunt on when to kiss and whom. And did she?

Add to this our own experiences of 'the kiss'. A kiss to welcome a friend, the loving kiss for our child, our parents, the passionate kiss to a lover.

These experiences are individual to each of us but perhaps shape a thought or recall a memory when our three authors relate their own stories into our senses.