Page 79 of The Kissing Booth
‘Yeah, not so much for the football team,’ he muttered. ‘It’s like with the Carnival. It’s “strongly encouraged”, but we all know that we’ll end up having to sit on the sidelines for a game if we don’t make an appearance.’
I laughed. ‘I can’t believe they’d actually do that.’
‘They’re all about image, this damn school,’ he muttered.
‘Which is why you’re still there?’
He smirked. ‘Hello, have you met me? Perfect grades, great footballer... They overlook a couple of fights for that. Especially when I never actuallystartthe fights.’
I just rolled my eyes at him.
‘So are you and Lee going to the dance again?’ he asked as he slid back under the car. I didn’t bother to ask what he was doing; I wouldn’t understand anyway.
‘No. He’ll go with Rachel.’
Noah slid back out again to give me a concerned look. ‘Then who are you going with?’
‘I don’t know,’ I admitted.
The look on his face told me he’d probably threaten to beat up the first guy to ask me, but I pretended not to notice.
‘It’s a masquerade, by the way,’ I said.
‘It is?’
‘Yup.’
He nodded and went back under the car. That was one thing that annoyed me about Noah – most of the time I couldn’t even guess at what he was thinking. Whereas with Lee, we could finish each other’s sentences and tell exactly what the other was thinking – well, except for this whole Noah situation. That was just a lucky fluke... or he was choosing to ignore any signs of something going on.
But Noah... Noah was like a Rubik’s Cube. An impossible puzzle, but one I didn’t want to give up on just yet because it was too compelling, too enticing.
‘Well, if someone asks you, say no.’
‘I’m sorry?’
‘I don’t want you going with any idiot who’s gonna try something, got that?’ His voice was a little muffled, what with the music and the metallic clanking, but I could hear the command in his voice. ‘If someone like that Dixon guy asks you –as a friend– then fine, if you want to, say yes, but—’
‘You can’t tell me who I can and can’t go with,’ I protested. I knew he’d do this, but it was the way he justexpectedme to accept what he said that made me mad.
‘Elle—’
‘I’ll go to the dance with whomsoever I choose –got that? Whether or not they ask me to go as a friend.’
Noah slid back out, setting down his spanner. ‘Listen, Elle. I’m trying to look out for you here and you’re not making it easy. It’s a dance – guys are bound to try something. I mean, look what happened at that party. And if it’s a masquerade, and there’s a chance they won’t get caught stealing a kiss, then they’ll try it.’
Alright, maybe he had a good point about the masquerade bit. So what?
‘Not everybody’s a jerk like that, Noah.’
‘A hell of a lot of guys are.’
‘Maybe I don’t care,’ I snapped. Ididcare, really, but I wasn’t going to agree with Noah without putting up a fight first. Even if he was right about it. ‘Maybe I want some guy to kiss me during the slow dance.’
‘Isure as hell care,’ he told me firmly, but he wasn’t shouting or anything. He stood towering over me. I hated being so much smaller than him when I was trying to stare him down.
‘Why? Why do you even care?’ I snapped, narrowing my eyes. I had a feeling I knew the answer, but I didn’t care. I was mad at him.
‘Because I want that slow dance with you all to myself,’ he retorted.
