Page 57 of The Kissing Booth
Yeah, I was pretty sure he was mocking me.
‘Oh come on,’ he said. Placing a hand on my thigh, he leaned in closer to whisper, ‘You know you can’t stay mad at me forever, Shelly.’
‘Watch me.’
He chuckled and moved away, pulling off my drive and down the street toward Warren’s.
‘I still don’t see why you have such a problem all of a sudden with what I’m wearing to parties,’ I said. ‘What about all the other parties I’ve been to in clothes that were far more revealing than this.’
He shrugged. ‘That was different. Guys weren’t so brave then, and they wouldn’t dare go near you. But since that Cody kid asked you on a date, they all think I’ve backed off a little and they have a shot with you. Plus our little display at the carnival definitely didn’t help.’
I bit the inside of my cheek, feeling a blush rise. ‘Whatever.’
He just reached over to squeeze my thigh lightly, and chuckled.
We pulled up at the end of Warren’s street, around the corner.
Nobody seemed to notice we’d come together.
I was immediately grabbed aside by some of the girls, who were chatting about all kinds of things, from how hot Jon Fletcher looked, to how tacky Hannah Davies’ shoes were, to how much theylovedthis song!
After a while I found Lee out the back, but he was pretty busy making out with Rachel. I took another swig from my can of Coke, feeling buzzed off the atmosphere alone, and headed back inside.
I found myself in the lounge, which was cleared of all furniture and had been turned into a dance floor. The lights were down, except for some cool green and blue lights someone had set up, flickering like strobes. It was so cool: the colors made everything look almost underwater. It was so weird. I joined in the dancing, swishing my hips back and forth in time with the beat, and throwing my hands in the air.
Someone put their hands on my waist to dance with me, and I turned around. I blinked a few times and saw it was Patrick, a senior on the soccer team.
‘Patrick!’ I said, smiling. ‘I haven’t seen you all night.’
He laughed, staggering sideways into a chair. ‘Oops! How’re things, Elle?’
‘Good, yeah...’
‘Awesome. Hey, come on,’ he said, and grabbed my hand.
‘Where are we going?’
‘For some fresh air. It’s really crowded in here.’
‘Okay.’
The night air was cool compared to the heat indoors.
‘Oh my gosh, it’s freezing,’ I said, rubbing my arms.
‘Here.’ Patrick hugged me from behind, his body heat thawing out my back a little.
I laughed and shook my head at him, but before I could step away and tell him not to be silly, I felt a kiss on my shoulder. I stood there in shock for a moment, my brain sluggish to process what had just happened. Then he kissed my neck a little further up, his hands on my waist.
I turned to push him away, but Patrick clearly thought I was turning toward him, and his hands locked around my back. Before he could try and kiss me, I pushed his face sideways with the palm of my hand and wriggled away. It would’ve been more effective to just knee him in the crotch, but that didn’t occur to me.
He stumbled when I pushed him (he was drunk, and not all that steady on his feet), but it was somebody else that sent him sprawling on the grass and put a firm hand on my arm.
‘Dude, you always spoil the fun like that!’ Patrick slurred, struggling to his feet. ‘You’re such a killjoy, Flynn – why you gotta be so tough all the time?’ He must’ve been pretty damn drunk, because he was just asking for a fight – and Patrick was a pretty smart guy; he’d never have done something as stupid as that sober.
He was thrown backward with a punch to the gut, and landed on the ground again, groaning a little.
‘Anybody else?’ Noah asked loudly and clearly, calmly looking around the crowd I hadn’t seen forming in the garden. Most people quickly went back in, especially once they saw the fight was over.
