Page 130 of The Kissing Booth
That kept most of the girls busy, if they weren’t making out or flirting with guys.
And the boys? They certainly didn’t want to hear all about how things were going with Noah and how great a kisser he was.
I wandered out to the back yard and found Dixon hanging out with some of the guys by the pool. He was pretty tipsy and singing, ‘Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate’s life for me!’ at the top of his lungs.
I laughed. ‘And here I was, wondering where all the rum had got to.’
Then, all of a sudden, arms curled around me from behind and I felt warm breath in my ear. ‘Hey, birthday girl.’
I turned around and pushed up the hat so it didn’t conceal his face. Not that I needed to see his face to know who it was. ‘So you finally decided to show your face, then?’
He chuckled. ‘Yes, ma’am.’
He was wearing a charcoal-gray pinstripe suit with shoulder pads, a white shirt and black tie, extremely shiny shoes that would probably show your reflection, and one of those ivory 1920s hats with a black ribbon sewn around it.
‘Al Capone?’ I smiled. ‘You look—’
He cut me off before I could finish – cut me off by smashing his lips to mine, if only for a brief second. ‘Don’t. Say. That. Word.’
I giggled. I wasn’t even aware that everyone was looking at us. Aside from the end of the Summer Dance, nobody had really seen us together much. But I didn’t even register that practically everybody we knew was here, at our party, looking at me and Noah.
‘It is, though.’
‘Don’t.’
‘Why do you hate it?’
‘I’m the toughest guy in school. I drive a motorbike, I get in fights. And you’re calling methat? Of all the adjectives out there, you pick that one?’
‘I’m sorry. But it’s so appropriate!’
He gave a chuckle, and tweaked my nose. I grimaced, but it only made him laugh more.
‘Having fun, then, birthday girl?’
‘Hmm, not just yet.’
He cocked an eyebrow, his head tilting to the side, like a curious dog. I smiled in response to his unspoken question before going up on my toes to whisper in his ear, ‘I haven’t had my birthday kiss yet.’
He just looked at me for a long moment. I felt my pulse pick up; maybe I couldn’t really pull off sexy or seductive. It was a stupid thing to do...
He leaned forward a little, his lips barely brushing mine, let alone kissing me.
With his lips like that, he said, ‘What happened to the sweet, naïve, innocent little Elle Evans I thought I had to keep safe from a horde of hormonal teenage guys?’
‘The kissing booth happened?’
He chuckled again; I felt the sound reverberating through his chest where my hand was resting.
‘I guess so.’
‘So do I get my kiss now?’ I asked, pulling away from him to pout. I wasn’t sure if my puppy-dog expression only worked on Lee and my dad, but it seemed worth a shot.
‘You do know it’s not actually your birthday yet?’
‘So? What’s your point?’
He rolled his eyes, but gave me a peck on the cheek before pulling my arms away and starting to walk off. I didn’t move, I didn’t even blink – I was too stunned. A peck on the cheek? That was all?
