Page 70 of The Kissing Booth
But he didn’t step back. I could’ve walked away if I really wanted to, but we both stayed exactly where we were, and Noah’s thumb kept stroking my cheek. My eyes trailed over the lines of his cheekbones, his jaw, the bumps in his crooked nose, the length of his eyelashes, the barely-there freckles on the bridge of his nose – little things I’d never really noticed before.
‘Noah...’
‘Yeah?’
‘I really need to go.’
I said it reluctantly – my voice gave away my true feelings – but he sighed and stepped away, dropping his hand. The atmosphere was thick enough to choke me. All I wanted to do was stay here with Noah, but I knew I couldn’t, and I turned and headed downstairs.
My cheek tingled where his hand had been; I could still taste his lips on mine. I had to stop for a moment and compose my expression so nobody would notice anything was up. The hardest part was having to rein in my smile.
‘Flynn seemed pretty tetchy,’ Rachel said quietly when I joined her again. ‘What did he say?’
‘I didn’t see him,’ I lied – I hated how easy it was to lie to her.
‘You should’ve seen Warren’s face,’ Lisa giggled. She picked up her cell phone, tapped some buttons and handed it to me. A picture of Warren’s face filled the screen; he was white as a sheet, eyes bulging, mouth hanging open gormlessly.
I laughed. ‘Oh my God, that’s fantastic!’ And that was that.
I sighed internally, relief washing over me. It didn’t look like anybody suspected Noah and I were together.
I was determined to shove all thoughts of him to the back of my mind and enjoy the rest of my Friday night with my friends.
Chapter 16
BETWEEN CLASSES ANDthe homework the teachers were piling onto us, the next two weeks went by before I could blink. If I wasn’t hanging out with Lee, then I was sneaking around with Noah. We went to a movie, and there were a few chances – if my dad was out and Brad wasn’t home, or if his house was empty – when we could meet up.
I think both of us were surprised to find we could actually hang out, not just make out. After the movie, we’d sat in his car for at least half an hour just talking. We’d play video games or just sit and watch TV and it was... well, it wasnice.
Not that we didn’t still argue and disagree over almost everything, even over what to watch on TV.
I still wasn’t over the thrill that came with sneaking around though. But I hated the guilt that came with it – lying to my best friend, my dad, and everyone else...
On a humid Sunday night I was sat on a workbench in the garage, and Noah was tinkering with the two wheeled death-trap he called a bike. The door was cracked open a little, but not so that anyone could see us.
‘I cannot believe,’ I said, ‘that you think the secondTransformersfilm was better. Nothing beats the first one, I swear.’
‘Come on – those twin cars? They were hilarious.’
I scoffed. ‘But the first one was just... epic!’
‘The second one’s better, Elle, I’m telling you. Hey, pass me that wrench a second?’
‘Where is it?’ I stood up, looking around. I didn’t speak mechanic, but I did at least know what a wrench was. I may not have had a clue what Noah was doing, but he looked hot doing it.
‘It’s on the shelf above your head.’
I clambered up onto the workbench I’d been sat on, my fingers gripping the shelf, looking for a wrench. I scrunched up my nose at the cobwebs I saw there, hoping there weren’t any gross spiders lurking right by my head.
‘Um...’ I spotted it then, and picked it up. As I turned to step down, I bumped my head on the shelf. ‘Ouch!’ I yelped automatically, dropping the wrench to clutch my head. Reacting like that threw me off balance, and my foot slipped off the bench.
With a thud and another yelp, I crashed onto the floor. Dazed, I blinked a few times, clearing the bright spots from my vision until the room came back into focus. A wave of pain hit me.
‘Oh, shit,’ I heard Noah say.
‘Ow,’ I moaned, clutching my cheek. I tasted blood; I must’ve bitten my tongue.
Noah had dropped the screwdriver and rag he’d been holding and was now crouching beside me, one hand on my back and the other pushing my hair out of my eyes. ‘Are you all right? Elle?’
