49 pages • 1 hour read
Helen HoangThe Kiss Quotient
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2018A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 13-18Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 13 Summary
Michael walks back to the shop, thinking about how much he likes Stella and how her respect for him inspired him to accept her offer even when he thinks he shouldn’t. His mother follows him around the shop, musing about Stella and his past, failed relationships. His grandmother, Ngoại joins the conversation, approving of Stella. Michael becomes embarrassed and distressed when the conversation turns to marriage. That night, Stella arrives at Michael’s mother’s home with flowers and chocolate, having anxiously researched Vietnamese etiquette. She reminds herself of the socialization training she has received, then approaches the house. Michael lets her in, and she helps Mẹ peal mangos as Michael begins to cook. Janie, Michael’s sister, plays piano in the other room and Stella notes it is out of tune, which leads Mẹ to say her husband used to tune it. Michael interjects as Stella starts to question where Mẹ’s husband is, and Michael’s grandmother joins in mango pealing. Stella meets Janie, then warns Mẹ about the dangers of microwaving plastic. Two more girls join the family, arguing loudly about clothing, and Ngoại turns up the television in response. Stella is increasingly overwhelmed by the noise as the conversation turns to Mẹ’s cancer treatments. When Mẹ tries to give Stella noodles that have been microwaved in plastic and Stella refuses, Mẹ is hurt. Stella, to continue conversation, brings up the piano, which returns to discussion of Mẹ’s husband. Stella learns that he is missing and misunderstands the situation. As she continues to ask questions, Mẹ reveals that he has run away with another woman, then leaves the room. The room goes quiet and when Janie asks why Mẹ is crying, Stella leaves.
Michael goes upstairs where his mom is distressed thinking that his father could be hurt. Michael tries to comfort her but is enraged when he thinks about the money his father stole. As Mẹ rants about his father, Michael thinks about his own actions with Stella and compares the two. He goes to chase after Stella, and Mẹ assures him that they will learn to love her. He gets in his car and resolves to go to his apartment, pushing his talk with Stella to the next day.
Chapter 14 Summary
That night, Stella cries in bed, debating if she should tell Michael about her autism as an explanation for her behavior. She decides not to, fearful that it will change how he sees her. The next morning, she drives to Paris Dry Cleaning and Tailors with chocolates and flowers. Janie, behind the counter, is at first tense when Stella appears, then direct Stella to Mẹ when requested. Stella apologizes for her behavior and Mẹ invites her over again.
At the martial art studio, Quan greets Michael, and Michael is once again struck by similarities between Khai and Stella. Michael asks Quan if Stella said anything to him at the club, and Quan confesses that she did, outlining her panic from overstimulation. Michael asks if she is autistic and Quan confirms, and Michael realizes why meeting his family went so poorly. He resolves to help Stella practice being in a relationship and never cash the check she gave him.
That night, Stella eats a protein bar and receives a text from Michael, asking why her office light is on. She sees him standing outside and he texts her again, asking her to come talk to him. She second-guesses having apologized to Mẹ and forces herself to leave the office to speak with him. She starts to apologize, but he says he should have prepared her for his complicated family and seems intent to hold up their arrangement. He then drives her to Mẹ’s house, insisting that she needs to eat food and brushing away her anxiety. Michael assures her that she can talk to him about things that bother her, but Stella is embarrassed when people change their behavior to accommodate her. They talk about the Buddhist shrine at the entrance to the house, then go to the kitchen where things are quieter and calmer than the night before. They have a peaceful dinner and Stella helps wash dishes, giving Mẹ a chance to tell Michael about Stella’s apology. Both Mẹ and Ngoại express their approval before Michael takes Stella home. In the car, the two talk about visiting and living scenarios, and she consents to sex. They kiss to “‘seal the deal’” until they are interrupted by one of Michael’s sisters, telling them to go home (150). Stella falls asleep in the car, and he carries her into the house.
Chapter 15 Summary
Stella wakes up the next morning still in her undergarments from the night before. She tries to get up, but Michael holds her and initiates foreplay. He offers to perform oral sex, but she gets extremely anxious and worries about doing it “right.” They end the physical intimacy and get cleaned up, but Michael is surprised to find that Stella only owns work clothes. He recommends that they go shopping, and Stella reiterates her desire for him to make her clothes. They discuss fabrics and textures before Michael once again initiates intimacy. He takes her to the bed, where he performs oral sex. After Stella orgasms, they have sex, during which Stella grapples with both her self-consciousness and her attraction to Michael. They consummate their relationship, at which point Stella remembers that it is just for practice and is saddened.
Chapter 16 Summary
Michael believes that he has never had sex like that before and struggles with his growing feelings for Stella as they cuddle. He takes her shopping. Michael introduces her to new types of soft clothes like yoga pants, and then they get lunch. The two begin talking about money, and Stella emphasizes that she makes a lot of money and would like to give him a gift if he would accept. Michael reveals his current car is a gift from a client who got over attached, and Stella becomes jealous. She stops herself from asking him more about his escorting, and by the end of lunch she resolves that she will try to convince him to make things real.
Chapter 17 Summary
Stella gets distracted at work by thinking about Michael. She texts him and he calls her back, confirming their plans for that evening. The two then exchange selfies, with Stella letting her hair down and unbuttoning the top of her shirt. She finds a unique trend in the data and gets distracted, but when departing for the day draws attention from her coworkers who are unused to her leaving at a reasonable hour or looking more relaxed. Her coworker Phillip walks her to the elevator and interrogates her about Michael, then admits that the office intern broke up with him. He then notes that he and Stella share similar characteristics before she leaves for dinner. Stella admires Michael’s latest custom outfit, and the two chat about their days. Michael confesses that he once had the potential to start a fashion line in New York but had to come home when his mother was diagnosed with cancer. Although her treatments are going well, the cancer is inoperable. Stella invites Michael to be her date for her mother’s fundraiser; he accepts and agrees to make her dress. After dinner, he has to pick up clothes from his apartment, inviting her to see his home for the first time.
Chapter 18 Summary
Michael nervously lets Stella into his apartment. She admires his DVD collection, which includes martial arts shows that he invites her to borrow. She follows him around his apartment while Michael begins to regret his decision. Previously, his home was a client-free area, and he worries that Stella’s presence here will make it harder for him to let go in the future. She jumps into his bed because it smells like him, but when he makes a joke about dirty sheets, she gets distressed. He assures her that clients do not visit, and she becomes self-conscious, worried that she has overstepped by coming. He stops her from leaving, telling her that he does not view her like the other clients. They begin to have sex, and Michael thinks about all the things he loves about her. He realizes he left his condoms in the car and gets dressed, running out to get them.
Chapters 13-18 Analysis
Stella and Michael transition from focusing on physical intimacy to also becoming more emotionally intimate, beginning to “date” as Stella tries to learn the things that make up a relationship. Their façade quickly becomes real to both of them, but their communication barriers prevent them from discussing their true feelings. This section focuses on the theme of the Differences in Expressing and Understanding Love. Stella’s difficulties are hinged in the way she is hiding her autism from Michael. She is worried that he will see her differently if he knows about her condition. Michael, however, has hidden his father’s past financial and emotional buses from Stella, believing that his father’s dishonesty is reflected in him. Stella is financially well-off, with enough money that she could casually buy Michael an expensive sports car like his previous client. This disparity reinforces Michael’s belief that Stella could never feel for him and that he cannot be trusted around her.
Family and culture both feature strongly in this section of the novel. After accidentally meeting Michael’s family, Stella is invited over for dinner, giving her a look into their dynamics and their culture. Michael’s openness is contrasted with Stella hiding her autism from him, resulting in their first family gathering being a failure. Stella recognizes the importance of family and tries to make amends, and her efforts enable a reconciliation between herself and Michael’s family. As they try to navigate the social and cultural obstacles in their way, Michael’s family expresses an acceptance that Stella has previously not had a chance to experience outside of her own family. It reinforces both the special bond that she and Michael share and that her self-consciousness about her autism is standing in the way of her success. Stella learns important information about Michael’s father, namely that he left them for another woman. This adds further intimacy to the relationship because Stella and Michael are learning more about each other, which includes painful aspects of their past.
As Stella and Michael grow closer, she becomes increasingly jealous of his old clients, while he increasingly does not see her in the same category as them. Stella’s self-consciousness about her autism, paired with her growing affection for Michael, makes her wonder at how far he has and has not gone with the women who used to hire him. Because she struggles with some social cues, she is unable to tell when he is joking or when he is uncomfortable, and as such often stops herself from asking questions out of fear of hurting him. This causes her to build up his other clients in her head, turning them into something that haunts her when they are together. She is jealous of their gifts and the sexual acts they may have performed with him, leading her to question her own bedroom behaviors. Even while Stella thinks constantly about his clients, Michael instead spends much of his mental energy by separating Stella from the rest of them. He is attracted to her physically, mentally, and emotionally, which ultimately deepens his connection to her. His belief that she is better than him, paired with his understanding that Stella is using him for “practice” for a future boyfriend, also leads him to compare himself to these unnamed, faceless partners. Their mutual self-consciousness and discomforts thus contribute to stalling their relationship, as they cannot overcome these boundaries without more explicit discussions about their expectations.
