Page 109 of The Kissing Booth
‘Great, thanks. So, uh, Elle. This is me saying sorry. Guys?’ At the last word, he turned and gestured to the band, who started playing. It wasn’t a slow song – it was pretty upbeat. And I recognized it instantly.
I Really Want Youby the Plain White T’s. It was one of my favorite songs. It was hardly Noah’s way of romantically confessing his love for me... Hell, he didn’t even sing it himself; the band did.
He jumped off the stage, microphone in hand, and bee-lined through the crowd, who’d parted to make a path for him, stopping right in front of me.
‘There goes your reputation,’ I said quietly, laughing.
‘You think I care?’
I bit my lip. ‘But—’ Before I could ask why, he interrupted me, speaking into the microphone while there was a little bit of instrumental.
‘Will you be my girlfriend, Elle?’
I blushed under my mask.
Up until now, I hadn’t even noticed the other people in the room. I hadn’t heard the whispers while Noah was up on the stage. But right now their voices hit me like a confetti cannon at a pep rally.
‘Say yes!’
‘Oh my gosh, that’s so sweet!’
‘I can’t believeFlynn’s doing this...’
‘She’s so lucky!’
‘Look at him. This is so cute!’
‘Say yes, Elle!’
Everybody was egging me on. My eyes drifted back from the crowd to Noah, who just looked at me calmly, with a hint of a smirk at how much he was embarrassing me here.
‘So? Will you be my girlfriend, Elle Evans?’
I bit my lip, but there was no way I could suppress the beaming smile that took over my face. ‘Oh, hell yeah.’
He chuckled quietly, but that was the only sound I heard – none of the cheering or whooping or whistles or catcalls or ‘aw’ noises. Just his chuckle.
Noah tossed the microphone to someone, who handed it back along the crowd to the stage, but I wasn’t paying attention. The music switched to a slow song, and couples soon started dancing again. Whoever was manning the spotlight shut it off.
Noah pulled me into his arms, and I hooked my hands around his neck.
‘That was cute,’ I said, knowing he’d hate being linked to the word ‘cute’.
He promptly grimaced. ‘Ugh. Please don’t call me cute.’
‘I’m sorry. I meant sexy. Very macho.’
He smirked at that. ‘I just made a fool of myself for you, Shelly. I hope you know that.’
‘Oh, yeah, I know,’ I laughed. ‘You really didn’t have to, though.’
‘I know, but I wanted to. I told you I’m going to do things right this time. And I’ve got a lot to make up for.’ He twirled me around, making me laugh giddily, then pulled me in even closer than before. My skin was tingling where we touched and I could have stayed like that in his arms for hours.
‘And anyway, now that we’re, you know, official, I can tell you something without sounding like a complete fool.’
‘Oh?’
My heart raced wildly and he leaned in close to whisper in my ear.
