The Kissing Booth (13 page)

‘I’m heading out to the store,’ his mom told me. ‘But if you want to stay and hang around for a bit, you’re more than welcome.’

‘Okay, I’ll see how long he’s going to be. Thanks, June.’

‘Bye, Elle!’ she said cheerfully before leaving. I sighed and texted Lee to find out where he was.

Over Rachel’s. Sorry! :-( I didn’t know you were coming over
.

He’d clearly forgotten that we’d arranged to hang out. That was so unlike him.

No problem, I’ll head on home
. I added a smiley face to let him know I wasn’t mad at him – even though I
was
a little annoyed. Lee never blew me off for other girls without at least giving me advance notice.

He must really like Rachel
, I thought.

I was heading for the door when I heard movement at the top of the stairs and looked up.

‘Oh, hey,’ said Noah. ‘Lee’s not here.’

‘Yeah, your mom just said. She’s gone to the store, by the way.’

‘Oh, right.’

I rocked back and forth on my heels while he just looked at me as he came down the stairs. I didn’t know whether to leave or not . . . I didn’t want to now I knew Noah was here.

All week, whenever I saw him in the corridors or on the field at lunch, I remembered the feeling of his lips on mine, and I ached to kiss him again.

He was just wearing a pair of threadbare sweatpants with old oil stains on, and a white T-shirt. Nothing special. So why did he manage to look like a freaking male model? He was so out of my league.

I’d been starting to convince myself that whatever had happened with Noah on the weekend was just a closed chapter in my life, and that he’d forgotten all about it. That I just had to get over it and move on.

Then he kissed me. Taken by surprise at finding him there, I let him back me up two steps to the wall, and then I put everything I had into kissing him back.

Apparently, my worries and doubts had been entirely irrational.

When we finally broke apart for air, he stayed so close that when one of us spoke, our lips moved against each other.

He said quietly, ‘I’ve been waiting to do that all week.’

I felt a thrill of excitement run through me. I willed my cheeks not to color and tried to keep my cool, so he didn’t see how relieved and happy I was.

Not that I should be getting too attached to him, I told myself; I had to be careful. For Lee’s sake.

Attempting to be the flirty, confident girl I really wasn’t, I replied, ‘Sorry to have kept you waiting.’

He shrugged. ‘It was worth it.’

Now,
that
I couldn’t help but blush over.

‘How long do you reckon we’ve got?’ he asked me.

‘Hmm . . . half an hour, at least,’ I mused, and there was a laugh in my voice.

Noah’s blue eyes looked even brighter than usual, if that was possible. He gave me another quick kiss, and then took my hand, leading me upstairs.

‘Are you going to Warren’s party next week?’ he asked me suddenly.

‘Yeah,’ I answered. ‘Are you?’

He nodded. ‘Just don’t go wearing anything too revealing, all right?’

‘Why not?’ I asked curiously. He’d never said anything about that for previous parties.

‘You wouldn’t believe what guys have been saying about you all week,’ he said angrily, a muscle jumping in his jaw.

‘I think I would,’ I muttered under my breath without thinking.

‘What have you heard?’ he snapped, even angrier now – though the anger wasn’t directed at me.

Resisting the urge to roll my eyes, I shrugged. I really,
really
needed to keep my mouth shut more. ‘Just comments about the kissing booth, really.’

‘Like . . .?’ he prompted. I could tell he was starting to get mad. I knew all the warning signs after all these years – that muscle in his jaw; the cracking knuckles; the line creasing his forehead just above his eyebrows; his legs shifting into a fighter’s stance.

His fingers were flexing, the muscle in his jaw was going . . .

Oh, and there went the legs.

‘They’ve just been saying stupid things,’ I sighed, falling onto the bed. I couldn’t even enjoy the bouncy mattress – that’s how tense things were. ‘Making comments about me kissing you, asking if the two-dollar fee was still standing . . . It’s fine, nothing happened,’ I assured him quickly.

Noah was shaking his head. ‘You’re sure nobody tried anything? At all?’

I sighed. ‘Positive. Calm down already.’

‘I’m serious, Rochelle,’ he said, frowning.
Way to kill the mood
, I thought bitterly. ‘Anyone comes near you and—’

‘I’m a big girl, I can look out for myself. You don’t need to be so . . . so . . . so damn controlling all the time! Calm down.’

‘I’m not being controlling!’

‘Yes you are!’ I yelled back, sitting up now to scowl at him. ‘I’ll wear whatever the hell I want to that party next week. I don’t need you telling me who I can date or what I can wear or who I can talk to!’

‘I’m trying to stop you getting hurt,’ he shouted at me.

‘I’m not going to get hurt! Not everybody’s a jerk like—’

‘Like me?’ he finished for me.

‘Yeah! Yeah, like you!’

By now I was standing right in front of Noah, trying to look him in the eye. It wasn’t easy when he was about four inches taller than me, but I did my best to glare back at him.

‘You don’t seem to understand just how bad some of these guys are,’ he argued. ‘You act normal, but they think it’s flirting and take it the wrong way. They’ll try something and you might not think you’ve led them on but you sure as hell have.’

‘I’m not leading anyone on!’ I cried in outrage.

‘That’s exactly what I’m talking about! You don’t mean to, and you don’t know it, but when you act like yourself and joke around, some guys take that the wrong way – they think you’re flirting. And if you’re not careful, you’ll end up getting hurt.’

‘Fine! But I don’t need you making my every move for me!’ I jabbed him sharply in the chest, and he grabbed my hand before bringing his lips down on mine.

The kiss tasted strangely sweet, fuelled by an anger that melted into passion. It was weird how the situation flipped from a really heated argument to a really heated make-out session.

Noah’s hands knotted in my hair, keeping me as close as possible while he pulled me down onto the bed. I couldn’t think straight when he was kissing me. He sent my head spinning and banished every rational thought.

We broke apart for air, and I noticed his eyes were roaming over my body while I was trying to get my thoughts together. I was fully clothed, but I had never felt more incredibly self-conscious.

Noah pulled me back down, holding me tenderly, and placed a soft, lingering kiss on my lips. ‘You’re gorgeous, Elle, you know that?’

Gorgeous
.

Not hot. Not sexy.
Gorgeous
.

It’s one thing for Lee to say that when I’m picking at my clothes, asking if I look okay. It was one thing for my dad to say that when I went to the Winter Dance a few months back. It’s a totally different thing coming from Noah Flynn’s mouth.

I smiled and kissed him back.

‘I don’t mean to be so controlling,’ he murmured, not quite meeting my eyes; he toyed with the ends of my hair, wrapping it around his fingertips. ‘I just . . . it gets me really mad hearing guys talk about you like that. I don’t want to see you get hurt. I – I care about you too much.’

I was certain he didn’t mean that he ‘cared for me too much’ in a romantic sense; we’d grown up together, so of course he cared about me. But it still made my heart skip a beat.

I smiled. ‘That’s nice to hear.’

‘Even if I’m a total jerk?’

I laughed. ‘Even if you’re a total jerk.’

‘Not to mention a hot jerk,’ he smirked.

‘Mm, debatable.’

He raised an eyebrow, and suddenly flipped me so I was pinned underneath him, my arms held above my head.

‘You want to try that again?’ he asked, his voice a low growl in my ear, his mouth brushing the skin under my jaw. I squirmed, because it tickled.

‘Okay,’ I giggled, ‘maybe you are a little hot . . .’

‘Try again, Shelly,’ he said quietly, threateningly; but I heard laughter in his voice. He moved to kiss my neck, right where he knew it tickled most, and I laughed, wriggling about.

‘Okay, okay,’ I said shakily, weakening. ‘You’re really, really hot.’

‘I know.’ He brought his lips down on mine and let go of my hands. My fingers tangled in his dark hair.

We were still making out, oblivious to everything else, when a car door slammed outside.

‘Damn it,’ Noah exclaimed quietly as I scrambled up. He jumped up to look out of the window.

‘Who is it?’

‘My mom – she’s back from the store already . . .’ He trailed off, seeing the time on his clock. She had been gone for a nearly an hour now. Why did time always fly when we were together?

‘I’ll go help her unload the groceries,’ he said. ‘You sneak out the back door.’

I nodded. ‘Okay.’

He paused by the doorway, his eyes sparkling with amusement.

‘What?’

‘This is kind of fun, sneaking around,’ he said. ‘Don’t you think?’

‘Noah? I’m back!’ June called up to him. ‘Can you give me a hand unloading the car?’

‘Sure, Mom, whatever,’ he called down, then smiled at me, showing his dimple. I grinned back. ‘Come on. You can make a run for it when she’s out at the car.’

I snuck to the top or the stairs, and waited until Noah followed his mom out of the front door. He jerked his head urgently, and I sprinted for the kitchen to escape out the back door. I waited until I heard bags rustling into the house before hurrying out through the side gate and down the street.

I found myself thinking that Noah was right. It was kind of exciting, sneaking around.

I just wondered how long we’d last together.

Chapter 12

I WAS STILL
debating over what to wear at seven o’clock. Lee would be arriving in forty-five minutes. I’d been getting ready for two hours, and I’d changed my outfit, like, fifty times already.

The past week had gone by way too fast; it was already Warren’s party.

I stood with my hands on my hips in front of my closet, critically looking over all my clothes again. ‘You know what,’ I said to myself. ‘I’ll be going in my underwear at this rate.’

I didn’t really want to wear a dress or skirt – mostly because I’d forgotten to shave my legs – and that limited my ‘party wardrobe’ considerably.

What I really wanted to wear was a sheer black top that was basically backless, with thin crisscrossing straps. The neckline was cut straight across my collarbone, so it was far from low cut; I just didn’t know if it was party wear.

I sighed, rubbing a hand across my collarbone (I didn’t want to mess up my makeup). Did I really care if I wasn’t dressed up too much?

I knew why I
really
wanted to look good.

I wanted to look good for Noah.

But that was silly. To hell with it. I was going to wear the black top, and if I looked out of place, then so what?

I snatched up my jeans. They were pale blue denim, artfully torn in the legs. I pulled on the top too and sat down at my dresser to finish my hair. I still wasn’t really in the party mood, and pulled it up into a ponytail on the top of my head.

I topped up my mascara; I had a few minutes to kill before Lee got here.

Then I got a phone call.

‘Lee, what’s up?’ I asked, immediately sensing something was wrong. Why else would he call?

‘Listen, um . . . I’m really sorry, but do you mind if . . . well . . .’

‘Spit it out already,’ I laughed.

‘Well, Rachel just asked if I could give her a ride because her friend bailed and . . .’

‘You want to know if you can bail on me to take your girlfriend, like the amazing best friend you are?’ I said dryly, but I was smiling and he probably knew it.

‘Actually, I was just going to ask if you’d mind if we took Rachel too. I wouldn’t ditch you! Give me some credit.’

‘Well, I’ll ask my dad to give me a lift,’ I said. ‘I’ll let you and Rachel be alone.’

‘You don’t have to do that, Shelly! Don’t be silly.’

‘No, it’s okay, Lee, I really don’t mind,’ I told him honestly. ‘It’s okay.’

Before, his relationships had ended because he and I were too close, and his girlfriends didn’t like not being the number-one woman in his life. I didn’t want to spoil things with him and Rachel.

He thought for a moment. ‘Well, I can ask Noah to take you. He hasn’t left yet.’

I heard him shout to his brother as I was saying, ‘No, Lee, don’t – it’s fine, really—’ I broke off with a sigh.

‘Elle? Shelly, you still there? Hello?’

‘Huh?’ I’d totally spaced out, not even hearing Lee talking to me.

‘Noah said he’d give you a ride there, no problem. He’ll be at yours in about twenty minutes.’

‘B-but . . .’ I protested quietly, weakly.

‘Thanks, Elle. I owe you big time. See you later!’

‘Bye . . .’

I sighed, letting my cell phone slide out of my hands and onto my bed and burying my face in my hands.

Standing up, I looked myself over critically in my mirror.

I’d kept my make-up simple, except for the dark burgundy lipstick. My jeans hugged my figure; my top emphasized my curves and bared almost my whole back. I felt good. Noah would most likely try to find something inappropriate with my look though.

But that wasn’t why I was worried; I was more worried about the gossip and rumors that would start when people saw us turn up together.

Just then, the doorbell went. I put my cell in my back pocket and went downstairs as I heard Dad call my name.

He opened the door and I saw him do a double take. ‘Noah.’

‘Hey, is Elle ready yet?’ Noah asked, shockingly polite for him.

‘Uh . . .’ My dad turned to call me again, and saw me. He looked confused. ‘One second, Noah.’

He pulled me into the kitchen. ‘What’s he doing here?’ he asked me quietly.

‘Lee took his girlfriend and got Noah to drop me there instead.’

‘Oh, good. For a minute there I thought you two were dating.’