Page 134 of The Kissing Booth
I grinned back. ‘Thanks.’
‘So what did you get for your birthday, Lee?’ my dad asked.
‘I don’t know yet. I was waiting for Shelly.’
‘How about you, Elle?’ Matthew asked me.
‘I was waiting for Lee,’ I said, laughing sheepishly.
The waiter came up to take our drinks orders and handed out menus. Noah stood his menu up, and hunched over the table a little so that I couldn’t see anything more than his elbows and the top of his head.
I was scanning the menu I see at least once a year here, and wondering if I should be daring and try something different, or if I should just have the chicken breast with parmesan and barbecue sauce, roasted vegetables and fries.
Next thing I knew, my cell phone trilled briefly, signaling I had a new text. I thought it might be Warren or someone, texting me happy birthday.
It wasn’t Warren.
You look really pretty.
I looked up, but he was engrossed in his menu, seemingly oblivious to me. I blinked a few times before looking down at my phone and hittingREPLY.
Thanks. I didn’t know what else to say, really, so I just left it at that – short and sweet.
What are you doing later?
I don’t know. When’s later?
After cake. I’ve got something in mind for the birthday girl. There was a winking face at the end as well. I looked at the text for a moment, wondering if there was any innuendo there. Knowing him, he probably had something cheesy planned that he knew I’d love.
‘Elle, stop texting at the table,’ my dad admonished me.
‘Sorry.’
I saw Noah smirking at his menu, still not looking at me. I thought about texting back asking what he had in mind, but he was probably waiting for me to ask so that he could carry on teasing me – telling me it was a surprise just to bug me. So I didn’t give him the satisfaction. I just put my phone back in my purse.
‘Thank you,’ Dad said pointedly.
‘Are you all ready to order?’
We went back to the Flynns’ house afterward, as always, so we could open our presents and gorge ourselves on the massive cake my dad and brother had made that morning.
Lee’s parents had got him some CDs and clothes. Noah got him a new stereo for his car – he said that’s why he’d been down the scrap yard, to get some extra parts. Lee had kind of guessed what CD I got him already – it would’ve been hard not to after I’d told him he wasn’t allowed to download it on his computer a couple of days ago but refused to tell him why.
He liked the wallet too, and then opened the T-shirt. It was blue, and read,I’M WITH STUPID, and had an arrow pointing down.
He burst out laughing, then grabbed one of my presents and tossed it at me. ‘Thanks, Elle. Open that one now.’
‘Is it from you?’
‘Duh. Now open it already!’
I did. And it took me a full minute to stop laughing. He’d bought me a yellow T-shirt – from the same store too – and it saidI’M WITH STUPID, and had an arrow pointing up. It was like the female version of the one I’d got him.
Talk about freaky.
‘What did you do, coordinate?’ his dad joked as I held the top up in front of me.
‘No,’ we chorused, laughing.
