Page 66 of The Kissing Booth
Then he let out a sigh and briefly touched my cheek, turning me to look at him. ‘Elle, come on. Don’t be mad at me.’
He wasn’t talking about Patrick anymore, I realized.
‘I’m not mad at you. Well. I am, about you punching Patrick. But other than that – I’m not, you know, mad about the whole, um... the other night.’
‘Oh, come on. You’ve been avoiding me all day and now you’re acting weird.’
‘I’m not acting weird.’
‘Yes you are. You aren’t arguing with me like you usually would, and you aren’t being your normal bubbly self either. You’re mad at me.’
I sighed. ‘I’m not mad – it’s just that...’
‘What?’
Oh, gosh, don’t say anything! Make something up! Anything but the truth!
And, as per usual, my mouth seemed to be working away regardless of my brain.
‘I’m worried because of Lee, and... I just don’t want you to forget all about me now we... you know. Did it.’
Oh, dear God. I said ‘did it’.
Way to go, Elle. You complete and utter fool.
Noah didn’t seem to notice anything, though; he simply replied, ‘Elle, I thought I put myself through this torture with you the other morning. I told you I wasnotjust playing you for sex.’
I could see from his face that he was completely sincere. His wide eyes were pleading and honest, and there wasn’t a hint of a smirk.
So I nodded. ‘Alright.’
He let out a tiny sigh of relief. ‘So... ride home? I’ll even drop you straight to your place if you want.’
Now the smirk was back, because he was so sure I wouldn’t be able to resist the opportunity to make out with him again. And I was tempted... but then I remembered he had his bike.
‘Noah, there is no way in hell I am riding that bike.’
He held up his hands in surrender. ‘Okay, okay – your loss...’
Then I frowned. ‘I’m still mad at you for almost breaking Patrick’s rib. It’s a big deal because you lost your temper and you were stupid,’ I added before he could argue.
He sighed. ‘I know.’
I looked him in the eye, and the only reply I could come up with was to nod. He gave me an apologetic half-smile that made him look absolutely adorable; but I kept my expression neutral.
‘I am sorry.’
I nodded again. ‘You should probably get going.’
‘Mm.’ He didn’t sound like he totally agreed with me.
‘Goodbye, Noah,’ I said, my voice level.
He lingered a moment before walking away, and I swear I heard him chuckling under his breath.
Well... that could’ve gone worse.
There was a little voice somewhere in the back of my mind that told me I wouldn’t be in this whole mess in the first place if we hadn’t done the damn kissing booth.
