Page 53 of The Kissing Booth
‘You wouldn’t believe what guys have been saying about you all week,’ he said angrily, a muscle jumping in his jaw.
‘I think I would,’ I muttered under my breath without thinking.
‘What have you heard?’ he snapped, even angrier now – though the anger wasn’t directed at me.
Resisting the urge to roll my eyes, I shrugged. I really,reallyneeded to keep my mouth shut more. ‘Just comments about the kissing booth, really.’
‘Like...?’ he prompted. I could tell he was starting to get mad. I knew all the warning signs after all these years – that muscle in his jaw; the cracking knuckles; the line creasing his forehead just above his eyebrows; his legs shifting into a fighter’s stance.
His fingers were flexing, the muscle in his jaw was going...
Oh, and there went the legs.
‘They’ve just been saying stupid things,’ I sighed, falling onto the bed. I couldn’t even enjoy the bouncy mattress – that’s how tense things were. ‘Making comments about me kissing you, asking if the two-dollar fee was still standing... It’s fine, nothing happened,’ I assured him quickly.
Noah was shaking his head. ‘You’re sure nobody tried anything? At all?’
I sighed. ‘Positive. Calm down already.’
‘I’m serious, Rochelle,’ he said, frowning.Way to kill the mood, I thought bitterly. ‘Anyone comes near you and—’
‘I’m a big girl, I can look out for myself. You don’t need to be so... so... so damn controlling all the time! Calm down.’
‘I’m not being controlling!’
‘Yes you are!’ I yelled back, sitting up now to scowl at him. ‘I’ll wear whatever the hell I want to that party next week. I don’t need you telling me who I can date or what I can wear or who I can talk to!’
‘I’m trying to stop you getting hurt,’ he shouted at me.
‘I’m not going to get hurt! Not everybody’s a jerk like—’
‘Like me?’ he finished for me.
‘Yeah! Yeah, like you!’
By now I was standing right in front of Noah, trying to look him in the eye. It wasn’t easy when he was about four inches taller than me, but I did my best to glare back at him.
‘You don’t seem to understand just how bad some of these guys are,’ he argued. ‘You act normal, but they think it’s flirting and take it the wrong way. They’ll try something and you might not think you’ve led them on but you sure as hell have.’
‘I’m not leading anyone on!’ I cried in outrage.
‘That’s exactly what I’m talking about! You don’t mean to, and you don’t know it, but when you act like yourself and joke around, some guys take that the wrong way – they think you’re flirting. And if you’re not careful, you’ll end up getting hurt.’
‘Fine! But I don’t need you making my every move for me!’ I jabbed him sharply in the chest, and he grabbed my hand before bringing his lips down on mine.
The kiss tasted strangely sweet, fuelled by an anger that melted into passion. It was weird how the situation flipped from a really heated argument to a really heated make-out session.
Noah’s hands knotted in my hair, keeping me as close as possible while he pulled me down onto the bed. I couldn’t think straight when he was kissing me. He sent my head spinning and banished every rational thought.
We broke apart for air, and I noticed his eyes were roaming over my body while I was trying to get my thoughts together. I was fully clothed, but I had never felt more incredibly self-conscious.
Noah pulled me back down, holding me tenderly, and placed a soft, lingering kiss on my lips. ‘You’re gorgeous, Elle, you know that?’
Gorgeous.
Not hot. Not sexy.Gorgeous.
It’s one thing for Lee to say that when I’m picking at my clothes, asking if I look okay. It was one thing for my dad to say that when I went to the Winter Dance a few months back. It’s a totally different thing coming from Noah Flynn’s mouth.
