Page 100 of The Kissing Booth
‘Forget what everyone else thinks and what anybody else will say. What doyouwant?’
‘I shouldn’t – I mean, wecan’t—’
‘Screw what’s the right thing to do. What do youwant?’
I looked at him. Ah, hell, I knew what I wanted to do. My head was just fighting it. I knew what I should do, what was the right thing, what everyone else wanted me to do.
‘Shelly?’ he prompted me, holding the corsage out again.
I took a deep breath, closing my eyes for a moment. This was it. Do or die. Now or never.
It’d be doing everything against my better instinct and every piece of sense screaming at me...
I held out my wrist. ‘Yes, Noah, I’ll go to the dance with you.’
He gave a breath of laughter. ‘Seriously?’
I nodded, looking him right in the eyes. He grinned wider that I’ve ever seen him smile, and pinned the corsage onto my wrist.
Refusing to listen to those stubbornly sensible thoughts, I blurted, ‘Have you even got a mask? Itisa masquerade.’
‘Yeah.’ He rolled his eyes with a slight smirk, as if to say,Duh.
‘Oh, okay.’
He smiled at me again, and all I could do was smile back. ‘I must be a complete fool agreeing to go to the dance with you.’
He nodded. ‘Yup. So you ready to go?’
‘Uh, one sec,’ I said, and went to the kitchen, leaving Noah on the doorstep. I slipped inside – Dad had clearly just rushed back to his seat and grabbed the TV guide to make it seem like he hadn’t been eavesdropping.
‘Don’t be mad,’ I said quietly, hoping he wasn’t too disappointed in me.
‘I’m not mad, exactly... I just don’t think it’s a good choice,’ he said, shaking his head at me. ‘After everything you went through with Lee—’
‘I know,’ I said patiently, ‘but...’
Dad sighed heavily, taking off his glasses and pressing his fingers to closed eyelids. ‘There’s a “but”. Great. And just when I thought—’
‘He got down on one knee to ask me,’ I said. ‘I think he’s really sorry.’
‘Mm.’ Dad clearly thought otherwise. ‘That, or he’s only interested in one thing.’
‘Dad. Come on. It’s just a dance,’ I said quietly. ‘This doesn’t mean I’m like... I don’t know, back together with him, or whatever.’
‘The fact you agreed to go speaks volumes, Elle. Look, do what feels right, but just be careful. I don’t want you getting hurt. Or pregnant, for that matter,’ he added sternly.
‘Yes, Dad,’ I said, ever the impatient teenage daughter.
‘I’m serious, bud. You do what you want – do what feels like the right thing. I can’t stop you. But I really don’t think thisisright for you.’
‘I don’t know what to do.’ I sighed and felt like I was seven years old again, not almost seventeen. So I did what any vulnerable little old girl would do – I hugged my dad. ‘I don’t know what to do.’
He hugged me back. ‘You’ll figure it out.’
‘I damn well hope so.’
He chuckled and pulled me up to my feet. ‘Look at you, Elle. When did my little girl grow up?’
