Page 131 of The Kissing Booth
‘Hey,’ I called after him. For some reason I wanted to laugh, probably because we both knew he was teasing me – but I kept my expression calm, controlled. ‘You think I’m letting you get away with that?’
‘I’m Al Capone,’ he replied, cool as a cucumber. ‘I can get away with anything.’
‘Very funny.’
‘I thought so,’ he said. His mouth curled up in his trademark smirk, yet his eyes were glimmering with amusement.
I couldn’t help what I did next.
I pulled a face at him, even sticking my tongue out, like a little child.
All Noah did then was laugh – a proper laugh; the hearty kind; the kind where your eyes water and your mouth stretches into a smile so wide that your cheeks cramp up and your stomach aches after thirty seconds.
‘God, I love you, Shelly,’ he said quietly, the laughter still in his voice and his eyes and his face.
Maybe it was the way he was holding me, or the look on his face, or the laugh, I don’t know – but whatever it was, I practically swooned. No kidding – I knew what all those cheesy romance books meant when they talked about your knees going weak and feeling like you just wanted to melt. And if Noah hadn’t been holding my shoulders, I was sure my legs would’ve buckled under me.
I felt my own mouth mirror his smile and he said, ‘I’ll catch you in a little bit. Go party, birthday girl.’
‘Wow. Who’d have thought I’d see the day when overprotective, violence-junkie best friend’s brother would tell me to “go party”?’ I teased. ‘And not tell me to watch what I drink or who I talk to, or make a comment about how I’m dressed.’
I expected him to roll his eyes, or laugh at me, or make a witty comment back. But actually, he gave me a sheepish smile, looking kind of... guilty.
‘I didn’t mean it in a bad way,’ I told him.
‘I know. Don’t worry. I am sorry for that, though. You know – being all...’
‘Overprotective? Controlling? A jerk-face?’
He laughed. ‘Yeah. That. But just for the record... You look extremely hot tonight.’
I grinned and blushed all at once, making him smirk.
‘Now go party, Elle, and I’ll find you in a bit.’
‘All right,’ I said brightly, giving him a kiss on the cheek as I breezed past. All of a sudden I could feel dozens of pairs of eyes on me.
So I braced myself and grabbed a can of Coke from the fridge, turning around to face all the swarming girls who were cooing about how cute we were as a couple, and how jealous they felt; how hot Flynn looked, and how lucky I was; and then again how cute a couple we made.
‘I wish I had what you had,’ Tamara told me with a wan smile.
‘What? A hot bad-boy?’ I frowned in confusion.
She laughed. ‘No. A fairy-tale ending.’
Chapter 30
I WISH ITcould’ve been a fairy-tale ending.
The party ended too quickly. The hours blurred by until it was one o’clock and the house was empty, save for me and Noah, Lee and Rachel. The house wasn’t too much of a mess since there hadn’t actually been much drinking. We swept some trash into bags and left them out on the sidewalk, and by two a.m. Rachel was passed out in Lee’s arms on the couch, and his head started drooping too.
I lay on the other couch, my head in Noah’s lap. I wanted to stay awake, spend more time with him. I might’ve been able to keep my eyes open had he not been running his fingers through my hair. It was more soothing than any lullaby.
‘Noah,’ I said, but it came out as a sleepy murmur.
‘Mm.’ He sounded just as half conscious as I felt. Maybe he was. My eyes were shut and I was past the stage where I had the willpower to open them again.
‘What are you thinking about?’
