10 Best Kissing Positions That Maximize Your Makeout Session

Lay your partner down and climb on top for some slightly dominant kissing action. Pin their hands down (if they're into that) and let your body do the talking as you lean across them to kiss. “The ‘pinning them down’ part gives this a dominance vibe that many partners will find extremely hot,” Carol Queen, Ph.D., sex therapist and staff sexologist at Good Vibrations, tells Romper. “You don't have to go any further into kink than this to get a taste of that particular eroticism.”

Straddling your partner while they're in a chair or on a bed gives a really intimate feel to your kiss. You can get even more turned on, as your hands will be free to roam and touch each other. It's incredibly sensual to kiss with your chests together, and this is “extra true if you're both naked on top (at least) because you get the skin-on-skin eroticism,” says Queen. “This is also great because it will often even up your heights a bit if the person on the bottom is taller.”

Sex against the wall? Too hard to enjoy. But making out against a wall? Too hot. Lots of space to let those hands wander, too. “This lends itself to exhibitionism when you do it outside, and there's always the ‘against the car’ and ‘against a tree’ variations,” notes Queen.

Laying in bed together is always a sweet act, and it's the perfect position to start kissing. Lie down in a relaxed, comfortable way so you and your partner can focus on your lip lock. “Get your pillows bunched up just right, and it'll be like you're in a little love nest,” Queen suggests. Plus, you’re already in bed should things get extra steamy.

No matter how you and your SO like to cuddle, there's plenty of opportunity to start a makeout session in that position. Your bodies are pressed against each other, and you can let your hands wander in all directions. “This can start out naked in bed and lead to more explicit sexiness, or on the sofa during a commercial,” Queen tells Romper. “Just remember, if one of you has to turn their head to reach the other's lips, to move the cuddle position to a face-to-face one before long.”

Remember those days when you had to sit next to each other and make out so you could quickly look like you were paying attention to the TV when your parents walked in? That makeout position can still be totally hot — and comfortable. “One can focus on the kissing and less on supporting oneself in standing,” notes Lee. Have your legs pressed up against each other, hands on the back of each other's head, trying hard to resist dry humping right there on the couch, and keeping each other's clothes on.

Missionary position can get a bad rep for being boring when it comes to sex — which it’s totally not — but when it comes to kissing, it's majorly hot. Wrap your legs around your partner's waist and get all tangled up in each other while still letting the passion build. “This is truly classic ‘foreplay kissing’ — though you don't have to go all the way to have it be completely erotic,” says Queen. “As with the sex position, be aware of not putting the top partner's full weight on the bottom partner, unless that's something s/he/they like.”

This iconic cinema kiss can be recreated at home — and it’s as romantic as if you were dangling from a fire escape. “This is weird and wonderful,” says Queen. “Lie in opposite directions so that your lips meet upside-down. It makes kissing the same exact person an entirely new experience.”

Anticipation is half the fun, even for a simple makeout. “Rather than gentle sucking and nibbling at the ear lobe, do the same at the top or bottom lip,” Lee says. “Think of a slow build where less is often more. This allows you to plant a kiss without committing to one immediately.” This super slowed down kiss brings in all the sensuality.

Some of the best makeout positions are simply PG-13 versions of spicer renditions, like the lotus. In sex, it’s hot. When kissing? Also hot. “One partner sits cross-legged, the other sits on their lap facing them,” Queen explains, noting that while it is traditionally a sex position, it’s “extremely well-suited to kissing. ... It's intimate, with plenty of opportunity to look into each others' eyes and murmur sexy or loving words.”