Page 41 of The Kissing Booth
First I find myself riding a motorbike – with Noah, of all people. Now I find myself working a kissing booth. Remind me why I ever thought this was such a good idea?
‘It’ll be good practise!’ he joked as I left him in a daze.
I walked over to Karen’s vacant stool in a daze, and picked up the lipstick on the counter, putting a little on. It was bright red – not really something I’d go for. I wasn’t even dressed to work the booth.
I looked at the line of guys in front of me. Lily shot me an encouraging smile before calling, ‘Next?’
Then I saw him.
I twisted around sharply to give Karen and Lee a frantically wide-eyed look.
It wasn’t Karen’s ex waiting in line.
‘Flynn?’ I hissed, gaping at her. My heart was trying to break through my ribs, my eyes bulging out of their sockets.
I couldn’t believe it! After all the times they’d asked me to persuade Noah to turn up, she bailed – and she had a crush on him! How lame was that?
‘Sorry!’ she mouthed, biting her lip.
‘Next?’ Lily called again. Crap. He was up next. I gulped. Lily gave me a look that told me to get on with it.
So I swallowed, cleared my throat and said a shaky, ‘Next?’
Noah walked up to the booth, and sat down opposite me.
‘Since when were you working the kissing booth?’ he asked.
‘Since you turned up and Karen wimped out,’ I mumbled as he looked me up and down. ‘What? I didn’t dress for this, okay?’
‘No, you look fine.’
‘Oh.’ I blinked, taken aback. That was almost like him telling me I looked nice. ‘Thanks... I didn’t think you were going to show up here.’
He shrugged. ‘I didn’t pay to talk to you, you know,’ he told me, pushing his two dollars over the counter pointedly. ‘I paid to get a kiss.’
He’s just joking around... right?
He’s just teasing me, playing a prank.
He raised an eyebrow and looked at me, waiting.
Oh, God, he reallyisn’tjoking. Ihaveto kiss him.
I couldn’t quite get my head around the idea that my first kiss was going to be with Noah Flynn. My best friend’s big brother. The guy who could make me feel the most inexplicable things and drive me crazy in three seconds flat.
I gulped, and it must’ve been audible because he raised an eyebrow at me. My eyes flitted down to his lips; they looked so soft and kissable. My mind drifted to the memory of Noah in his towel... in his football uniform...
And I was about to kiss him.
I knew I didn’t have to if I didn’t want to; nobody couldforceme to kiss him. And that was the worst part: I knew I had the option to back out, and I couldn’t bring myself to do it.
I leaned in as he did.
What if I had cotton candy stuck in my teeth? What if I tasted gross?
Shut up, shut up, shut up!
My first kiss...
