Page 118 of The Kissing Booth
I smiled. ‘Well, so long as I’ve got you...’
He laughed. ‘Consolation prize, eh?’
‘Don’t be silly. You’re not the consolation prize. You’re my best friend.’
He gave me a small, sad smile. ‘But I’m not as important to you as he is. I can’t compete with the guy you’re in love with. Whether he’s my brother or not.’
‘Lee, don’t be stupid. You will always, always, always be the biggest man in my life. Except for my dad. But you’re pretty close.’ I smiled. ‘Noah or no Noah. No guy is ever going to come between us. Ever. Got that?’
‘No girl, either,’ he told me. ‘Best buds.’
‘We’ll grow old together and everything.’
‘Can’t imagine playing knock-knock-ginger without you in your wheelchair beside me trying to whiz away at high speed.’
I laughed, and gave him a big hug. He squeezed me back tight enough to force all the air out of me.
‘You’re really worried about losing me, huh?’ I teased.
‘Was I that obvious?’
‘I don’t want to lose you either.’
He grinned and winked at me. ‘Hey, you ever wonder if things would’ve worked out if we’d... you know, ever got together?’
I raised my eyebrows slightly.
‘I’m not suggesting we should’ve tried it!’ he added quickly. ‘I’m just saying.’
‘Everyone expected us to end up together.’
‘God only knows why. Too many chick flicks and cheesy novels, I say.’
I laughed. ‘We would’ve sucked as a couple.’
‘Damn straight. Would’ve messed us up royally.’
I laughed in agreement. I don’t know how I would’ve handled it if Lee had told me he loved me romantically. We would only ever be best friends. ‘Besides, you’re all loved up with Rachel.’
‘And you are with Noah.’
‘For now at least... Thanks for reminding me.’
‘Damn. I was doing a pretty good job of keeping your mind off it, wasn’t I?’
‘You were, with your big sappy moment there. Now move – you’re blocking my light and I need to do my make-up.’
He laughed, shifting to let me get to my dresser. At least my hand wasn’t shaking now so I could actually do my eyeliner without stabbing myself in the eye.
‘Do you want a ride? You kind of need to be leaving soon, if you don’t want to hit traffic...’
‘Yes, please,’ I said, shoving a couple of five-dollar bills into my pocket. Lee eventually found his car keys in his pocket after hunting through gum wrappers and dimes.
‘All right, let’s go get heartbroken,’ I said with a wry smile.
He smacked my back – a little too hard. Almost like he thought it’d knock some sense into me. I stumbled forward and had to grab the banister to stop myself from crashing down the rest of the stairs.
‘Calm down. It’ll be fine.’
