Page 128 of The Kissing Booth
‘Ha ha ha,’ I retorted sarcastically, rolling my eyes. I tugged off my shorts and tank top, and stepped into the dress. Lee came over to zip me up, except that wasn’t too easy. It was too tight around my boobs, and I heard a couple of stitches rip as Lee yanked the zip the rest of the way. I fastened the belt around my waist.
‘Jeez, did it have a built-in push-up bra?’
‘No,’ I huffed. It was actually kind of hard to breathe. But the slit was not as high as I’d expected, and the skirt was actually a decent length.
‘It doesn’t look that bad.’
‘You sure?’
‘Positive. Besides, there’ll be girls there looking like hookers. It’ll be fine.’
‘You sure?’
He laughed. ‘No, I was lying. Seriously, though, there’s nothing you can do now. Unless you want to turn up in your underwear and say you’re a Playboy model?’
‘No, thanks. I think I’ll stick with this.’
‘Shelly, it’ll be fine. You’ll be the belle of the ball.’
Almost an hour later, my hair was clipped back and cascaded in dark curls over my left shoulder, and I was ready. Lee made an awesome Batman, and despite the breathing constrictions, I liked the Robin outfit.
Lee’s parents left when my dad arrived and, not two minutes later, the doorbell rang.
Cam and Dixon must have coordinated; those costumes weren’t a coincidence.
Cam had a posh old-timey white wig and a naval hat that matched his uniform. And then Dixon was there in full Captain Jack Sparrow gear – from a wash-off tattoo to the tricorne hat to a plastic sword and pistol.
‘Commodore Norrington, at your service, ma’am,’ Cam said, sweeping off his hat in an elaborate bow and kissing the back of my hand. I bit back a laugh as he straightened up and put his hat back on.
‘Cool costumes,’ I said.
‘Very authentic,’ Lee added.
‘Thanks,’ they both said unanimously, and laughed.
Dixon said, ‘My brother hooked us up with a discount, since he knows some guy who owns a costume warehouse.’
I went to swipe a finger across Dixon’s cheek as I said, ‘Is that fake tan?’
‘Don’t touch!’ He batted my finger away. ‘Do you have any idea how hard it is to get three gallons of cocoa powder on your face like this?’
‘It’s cocoa powder?’ Lee snorted. ‘Like the stuff you use to make hot chocolate with?’
‘My sister uses it as bronzer when she runs out. She said it’d work.’
The three of us just laughed at him. Not in a mean way – it was just the fact that Dixon was taking beauty advice from his fourteen-year-old sister.
‘Shut up,’ he said, mock-glaring at us all.
‘Okay, okay, we’re sorry,’ Lee chuckled. ‘It looks cool though.’
‘I should hope so,’ he muttered. ‘Anyway – furniture?’
‘I’ll sort out the speakers,’ Cam said.
‘I’ll help Cam,’ I volunteered.
‘Yeah, wouldn’t want you to break a nail now, would we, Shelly?’ Lee teased.
