Page 80 of The Kissing Booth
He probably thought that cheesy line would soften me up – with me being such a romantic at heart – and it kind of did. Because when he kissed me then, I kissed him back, my heart racing, sparks dancing through me.
‘I hate you,’ I mumbled against his lips, smiling.
‘I know,’ he said, and I felt him smile back.
The sneaking around with Noah, the thrill that we might get caught together, made the whole thing so exhilarating. I knew we couldn’t keep it up forever, but I’d sure as hell enjoy it while it lasted.
‘Did you really mean that?’ I asked, slightly breathless, after a few minutes. ‘About having that slow dance?’
He nodded. ‘Yeah, I did. In fact, I want the whole night.’
‘Oh, do you, now?’
‘Yep.’ He kissed my lips again quickly.
‘Is that you asking me to the dance?’
‘Not quite,’ he chuckled, kissing me again. ‘But almost.’
‘I’ll take what I can get.’
He gave me another kiss before moving away to carry on fixing his car. In the shiny hood of the car I could see that there were oil smudges on my face and neck now. I’d have to try and clean those off before I got home.
‘This is it,’ I said quietly, a smile spreading across my face. ‘This is the one.’
‘You said that about the last five dresses,’ Lee complained. He sounded a lot like Brad when he was given vegetables with his dinner.
‘Yeah, but I’m sure about this one.’
‘How sure? You were sure with the others. I liked the pink one.’
‘That’s just because it practically had my boobs falling out.’ I rolled my eyes in the mirror and Lee laughed. ‘Can you imagine what your brother would say if I wore that?’
‘He wouldn’t be able to keep his hands off you.’ For a second he sounded so serious, my stomach dropped and my eyes bulged with panic. But then he laughed. ‘Or, you know, he’d stand there batting guys away from you with a stick. You’re sure about this one though?’
I nodded, grinning. ‘Positive.’
‘How much is it?’
‘It’s on sale. Sixty bucks.’
Lee nodded. ‘Cool.’
I smoothed out the skirt again, admiring myself in the mirror. The dress was a dark apple green, just about hitting my knees. The skirt flared out and swung when I moved, and the dress was completely backless, right down to my hips. It had straps that tied behind my neck, and a v-neck that didn’t go too low. Tiny silver beads adorned the neckline, sparkling brightly when the light caught them. I loved it.
‘Are you sure it’s the one?’ Lee checked again.
‘Yeah,’ I said. ‘It looks okay, right? Before I buy it?’
‘Yes, Shelly, you look beautiful.’
‘You said that about the blue one. And the black one.’
‘Well, you looked lovely in all of them,’ he said with such honesty that I had to laugh. Lee was great for occasions like this. He would give me an honest opinion – he didn’t just say ‘You look great,’ and ‘No, you don’t look fat.’ He’d tell me straight out if my butt looked big, or if my legs looked stumpy.
I went back into my little cubicle to put my shorts and shirt back on.
I really did love the dress. Lee had a tux already, from the Winter Dance. Boys were lucky like that – it’s not like I could wear the long-sleeved blue dress I got on sale for the previous Winter Dance without it being recognized. But besides, it’d be way too warm. Girls had it so much harder!
