Chapter 2

We decided that we'd have a two dollar fee. Two dollars for a kiss. Whatever booth we'd decided on doing, the basic stand was already there for us to use at the school, but we'd need a lot of pink and red. I thought we should have black, since I said it might be sexier, but Lee told me patronizingly, "It's not Halloween, Shelly."

     "Fine. We'll stick to pink and red."

     "What are we going to need then? Streamers, crepe paper, ribbon... That kind of thing, right?"

     "Yeah, I guess. Hey, do you think we'd be able to make a big banner in woodshop?" I didn't want to take woodshop, but it was either that or Home Ec., and after my cupcake disaster of eighth grade, I've tried to stay away from baking. But maybe it'd come in handy.

     "I don't see why not. Mr. Preston probably won't have a problem with it."

     I nodded. "Cool. We could probably get some of the jocks in on it, and I bet the cheerleaders won't have a problem either. We need four, and they can all go in shifts of two."

     Lee nodded. "Sounds okay. Who should we ask though?"

     "Well... Samantha and Lily will definitely do it," I said thoughtfully. "And... we could ask Olivia, maybe? She can ask around the others."

     "Yeah. I don't know if Olivia will do it, though."

     "So? She can ask around for us."

     "I guess. I bet Harry and Dave will be up for it too. Maybe Jason?"

     I nodded. "We'll get Dave to ask around and find someone else."

     "I'll call him and ask then."

     "Cool. I'll get the girls." I pulled out my cell phone, scrolling through for their numbers. Lee and I didn't belong to a particular clique, per se; we just hung out with whoever we wanted, which meant we had pretty much everybody's numbers. Lee was one of those charismatic and likeable people, and we came as a package deal. We did have a few really close friends, of course – all of them guys.

     I got hold of Samantha, who chirpily told me that sure, she was totally up for it! Lily agreed as well, saying she could like, just not wait for it.

     Harry wasn't going to do it, he said, but Jason and Dave were fine with it. Dave would call around and find us two other guys. I got hold of Olivia eventually, who sighed before telling me she'd text some of the girls she thought would do it and ask them.

     "Done," I sighed, flopping back on the bed. I felt the bed bounce as Lee followed my actions, and we grinned at each other.

     "Our booth is going to kill."

     "I know. We are scary good sometimes."

     "I know."

     My phone beeped, and I saw a text from Olivia telling me that Dana and Karen would do the kissing booth for us, so I replied a brief thank you.

     "The girls are all sorted," I said.

     "Great. Dave will fix up the guys for us fine, so it's all done."

     "Which means... we have nothing to do now." I grinned. "So you can come shopping with me."

     Lee groaned. "Why do you need to go shopping? Don't you have enough clothes?"

     "Yes, I do... But you're having a party tonight and I'm in a good mood since we've sorted out this booth at last. So we're going shopping to buy me something to wear tonight."

     Lee groaned. "You just want a hot dress so you can impress my brother, don't you?"

     "No!"

     "Okay, I'm sorry. I know you're better than that Shelly. But you want something to impress my brother, that's it, isn't it?"

     "No. I just want to go get something to wear. But if I do end up impressing your brother... That's just a bonus. Not to mention a freaking miracle. We both know he doesn't even think about me in that way..."

     Lee sighed. "Fine, fine, we're going shopping. Stop your moaning."

     I grinned triumphantly; I knew it would work if I put on a plaintive tone like that. Lee knew I was faking my moaning too, but he didn't want to hear it either way.

     I picked up my sweater and waited for Lee to grab his wallet and sneakers. I bounced downstairs while he trailed behind me. We got into his car – a 65 Mustang he'd got for a steal at a scrap yard – and Lee turned on the engine.

     "Thanks Lee."

     "The things I do for you," he sighed, but he was smiling.

We were at the mall in twenty minutes. Lee turned off the engine, leaving my ears ringing slightly from the hip-hop Lee had been blasting out of the car.

     "You know you owe me for dragging me here."

     "I'll buy you a donut."

     Lee wavered. "And a milkshake."

     "Done."

     He slung his arm around my shoulders and I quickly realized why – when he guided me straight to the food court before I could conveniently forget about his milkshake and donut. Once Lee was pacified with snacks, he was quite happy to trail around after me to the shops.

     After browsing a few stores, I found the perfect outfit.

     It was a coral colored dress, the skirt not too tight or short, and the neck low enough to be flattering without revealing everything. The soft, sheer material was bunched up down the left hand side, concealing the zip that ran the whole length of the dress.

     "Do we have to go shoe shopping now too?" Lee moaned as I announced I was trying it on.

     "No, I have shoes, Lee," I said in a 'duh' tone, rolling my eyes.

     "Yeah well you have clothes too, but that wasn't stopping you," he muttered, following me to the changing rooms. He didn't give a second thought to wandering into the cubicle with me and lying across the stool. But then again, I didn't give a second thought to changing in front of him.

     "Zip me up?"

     He sighed wearily, and rolled to his feet to zip the dress up for me. I looked in the mirror, smoothing it out. It looked better on the hanger, I thought doubtfully. It showed an awful lot of leg...

     Lee let out a low wolf-whistle. "Nice."

     "Shut up. Do you think it's too short?"

     He shrugged and smacked my ass. "Who cares?"

     Playfully, I smacked him across the head in reply. "I'm serious, Lee. Is it too short?"

     "Well. Maybe a little. It's not that bad, though. And it looks good."

     "Are you sure?"

     "You think I'd lie to you, Shelly?" he asked sadly, putting on a pained expression and staggering back, hands clutched over his heart.

     I gave him a flat look in the mirror. "Do you need me to answer that, Lee?"

     "No, I guess not," he laughed. "So you gonna get it?"

     I nodded. "Yeah, I guess. It's fifty percent off."

     "Cool." Then he groaned. "You're not spending that other fifty percent on shoes are you? Please tell me you're not. If you are then you owe me a soda and pizza."

     "I promise I'm not buying shoes, or anything else, okay? We can go home after I buy the dress." I stepped out of it and put my jeans and top back on. I tugged my sweater on too. The air-con in the mall made it freezing.

     "Aw," he sighed. "I wanted pizza."

     I laughed, walking out of the cubicle with him in tow. I walked straight into something – no, someone.

     "Sorry," I apologized reflexively. Then I realized who it was. "Oh, hi Jaime."

     She looked suspiciously from me to Lee, and a sly smile slipped onto her face. Jaime was the biggest gossip in the whole school, and whilst she was really nice, she is one of those people who can just annoy you very easily for no reason.

     "What're you two doing in here? This is the girl's changing rooms, Lee, you know."

     He shrugged. "Elle needed a second opinion."

     "Okay," she said; she actually sounded kind of disappointed, like she'd hoped there was another reason, a more gossip-worthy reason. "Sure thing. Hey, I heard you're having a party tonight. Your brother's going to be there right?"

     Lee rolled his eyes. "Yeah."

     Jaime smiled brightly. "Great!"

     "Are you dress shopping too?" I asked her, just making small talk.

     "No, I need a new pair of jeans. My dog decided that my jeans made a better toy than his squeaky ball."

     I laughed. "What a nice dog."

     "Tell me about it. Are you wearing that tonight?" She nodded at the dress in my hands.

     "Yeah..."

     "I'm not sure it's really your color..." she said, but I caught the muscle twitch in her cheek, and the expression was one I'd learnt to read easily on girls' faces over the years. Jealousy. I took that as a good sign.

     "Hmm, maybe... But it's on sale. I can't resist a good bargain."

     She laughed politely. "Yeah, I guess. Well, see you guys later!"

     "Bye, Jaime," we chorused, and I heard Lee sigh and mumble something about how much she could annoy him sometimes.

     I paid for the dress and we made another stop by the food court so he could get a slice of pizza before we left. I just got a milkshake.

     "Don't spill that in my baby," he warned when I was slurping it as I got into his car.

     "Of course I won't!" I nearly did though, and after the threatening look he shot me, I didn't dare take another sip till we hit a red light.

     "What time is it?" I asked as Lee pulled up to his driveway.

     "Uh..." He checked the dashboard behind the wheel. "Almost six. Why?"

     "I'd better head home and get ready, then," I said.

     "You can be such a girl sometimes, Shelly."

     I laughed. "Are you only just noticing?"

     Lee laughed and headed inside. "See you later," he called over his shoulder.

     "Bye!"

     My house was half the size of Lee's and had no pool or game room, but to me, it was everything a house needed.

     Nobody was home when I got in, but I wasn't that surprised. My younger brother, Brad, had a soccer tournament on today and Dad had probably taken him out for burgers or something after.

     I put my iPod into my speakers and let Ke$ha blast out loudly, loud enough that I'd hear it from the shower with the water roaring in my ears.

     When I stood in my towel, scrutinizing the dress, doubts about it started creeping into my mind. Having grown up with Lee, and without a mom, meant I wasn't the biggest girly-girl there was; but that didn't stop me from dressing up for things like this. I shook my head and berated myself. The dress was way longer than some of the girls' school skirts, for Pete's sake. It was fine.

     So I sat at my dresser, makeup spilled all out in front of me, my curling iron heating up. I carefully blended foundation over my skin, and spent my time on perfecting my eyeliner to make my brown eyes pop. I took my time to make sure my coal-black hair, nice and shiny and coconut-scented after my shower, was cascading down my back in ringlets that were as close to perfect as I could achieve.

     I felt more than a little self-conscious when I had the dress on and a pair of black wedge two-inch heels. I knew there would be girls who had their makeup way over the top, dresses way shorter than mine, and heels much higher than mine. But I wavered, wondering if I really did look okay.

     But by then it was suddenly thirteen minutes past eight. Where had my two hours gone?

     I tore my phone out of its charger, seeing a text from Lee asking where I was.

     I wandered to Lee's, taking longer than usual given how cautiously I was walking in my heels. They weren't high, but I always felt more comfortable in flats.

     There were people milling around the front yard, and the front door was open, letting the bass spill out; it made the grass tremble. I smiled and greeted people on my way through to the kitchen to get myself a drink.

     I was looking through the refrigerator, unsurprised that they'd moved all the food out of it to make space for the drinks people had brought with them. Lee and Noah tended to do that, after some kids thought it'd be funny to stick slices of ham and turkey to the walls with condiments a few months back.

     I grabbed a bottle of orange soda and cracked it open on the kitchen worktop, a trick Lee's dad had shown me, leaving the lid on the kitchen counter.

     "Hey, Elle!"

     I turned and saw a group of girls waving me over. I smiled to them.

     "Hi guys."

     "Olivia said you and Lee are doing a kissing booth for the carnival," said Georgia. "That's so cool!"

     "Thanks," I grinned.

     "Nobody's done one of those for years," said Faith. "It's such an awesome idea!"

     "Well, we are pretty awesome people."

     They laughed. "I will most definitely be stopping by that booth," Candice put in with a sly smile. "I heard Jon Fletcher's doing it."

     "And Dave Peterson," Georgia put in.

     "Jon's doing it?" I asked.

     "That's what Dave said." Candice shrugged.

     Faith laughed. "It's your booth, Elle, you should know."

     I smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, well..."

     "Hey, you know who you should've got to do it?" Olivia told me. "Flynn."

     For a brief moment, I wondered who the hell she was talking about. Then I realized she meant Noah, of course.

     "I don't think he'd do it."

     "Well did you ask?"

     "Not exactly..."

     "Couldn't he do it as a favor to his kid brother at least?" Georgia said. "Pull the guilt card, that'd work."

     "But I think we've got our four guys..."

     "But if you had Flynn every girl in the state would turn up at our carnival for your kissing booth," Olivia said. She, like every other girl, thought she had a chance with Flynn. Well, she kind of did, being head cheerleader, and Noah being on the football team, but Noah never gave her a second glance, like a lot of nice girls.

     Yet somehow he had a reputation as a player.

     You never saw the guy pay girls much attention other than to check them out and make them swoon with his smirk, but everybody said he was a player.

     The weirdest thing was, he almost seemed proud of that status.

     "You know, if you got Flynn to do the kissing booth, you'd be a legend," Faith told me.

     "You've got a boyfriend, Faith," Georgia reminded her with a laugh. "You can't go to the kissing booth."

     "Why not? It's all for a good cause. What is it this year again, saving the dolphins?"

     "I think that was last year," I laughed. "No, it's for cancer research charities this year."

     "Even better!" Faith exclaimed, making us all laugh. "Ask him."

     "Yeah, go on," Olivia urged me.

     "Just ask," Candice pleaded. "Please, Elle?"

     "Well... I don't know..."

     "Look, here he comes," Candice said suddenly, interrupting me. She gave me a gentle shove. "Just ask him, at least. If he says no... At least you tried."

     "Fine," I sighed, giving in. I wandered over to intercept Noah on his way to get another beer.

     He nodded at me, but didn't look at me.

     "Will you do the kissing booth for us, for the Spring Carnival? Please? We can't find a fourth guy. It's for charity. Lee and I really need a favor."

     Noah straightened up, cracking open his can. "Kissing booth, huh?"

     "Yeah."

     "That's cool."

     "I know. I'm a cool person."

     "Better than your duck idea."

     "Ha-ha."

     He gave a breath of laugher and a half-smirk that made my heart skitter wildly. "And you want me to be a kisser? At your kissing booth?"

     "It's for a good cause?" I tried.

     "Don't think so, Shelly."

     "Please, Noah?" I begged, using the puppy dog eyes and putting a heavy emphasis on his name.

     "Will you go on your knees and beg?"

     "No," I said slowly, "but every other girl will. Would that do it?"

     He laughed a little. "That's why I'm going to say no, sorry."

     I sighed. "Well, they can't say I didn't try."

     "Hold on," he said. "Did you actually need me to do it, or do they just want me to do it?" he asked, jerking his head past me at the girls.

     "The latter."

     He nodded. "Well, sorry. I don't think I can risk my dignity. Plus, imagine how much all the other guys would hate me for stealing all the kisses," he smirked.

     "I was thinking something more along the lines of how much would the charity hate you for putting people off coming to the kissing booth."

     He smirked. "Touché."

     "Whatever," I sighed, shaking my head. "Forget it."

     I wandered back to the cheerleaders, shaking my head helplessly with an apologetic smile. "Sorry guys. He won't do it."

     "You should've tried harder," Olivia said. "Watch and learn." She thrust her drink at Faith, and sauntered over to Noah, who was talking to a couple of boys. Olivia, in her extremely little black dress, was leaning on Noah's arm, all but throwing herself at him, and it looked like she had something in her eye the way she was batting her eyelashes.

     Then again, maybe I was just being a little too critical. I mean, her technique seemed to turn a few other guys' heads, at least.

     Needless to say, he obviously told her no too, since she pouted and stalked back to us. "That guy is so obnoxious."

     "And so hot," Georgia muttered, sipping her drink.

     "Oh hell yeah," Olivia agreed with a laugh. The girls all giggled and looked around to check him out.

     "Don't you think Flynn's hot, Elle?"

     I looked at Faith, blinking. "Well, yeah. Of course he is."

     "Then why aren't you talking about his fine ass?"

     I smiled wryly. "Because he's so far out of my league there's no point in even trying."

     She gave me a sympathetic look. "What are you on about? You're really pretty! I mean, I'd kill for hair like yours."

     I shrugged, and blushed a little. "Thanks, I guess. But whatever, he's just Lee's big brother to me now."

     "Maybe there's something there. You never know."

     I laughed. "Yeah, right. In my dreams."

     Faith shrugged and Candice started talking to her about something, so I excused myself and slipped into the lounge where everybody was dancing around. I finished off my soda in a few gulps and set the bottle down to join in with the dancing. The atmosphere was contagious; not everybody was drinking alcohol, but that didn't stop them from letting their hair down and going a little crazy for the night.

     I hadn't intended to get drunk. I knew I could have a good time without any of that stuff. But I was a complete lightweight, so by the time I'd had two cans of apple cider, I was pretty out of it. Time flew past, and I was dancing around with people, laughing and talking to anybody about anything.

     It seemed like everybody had heard about the kissing booth.

     And when they asked me if Flynn would be doing it, I told them I'd ask, because that seemed like the easiest option.

     It was about eleven o'clock. I was in the game room with some boys, mostly seniors, and Lee, Jason and Dixon. They were doing shots, all lined up on the pool table.

     "Can I join in?" I asked, bouncing into the room with a grin on my face.

     "Sure," they said, and poured another shot glass for me.

     "Uh, haven't you had enough to drink, Elle?" Lee asked me warily.

     "Who cares?" I chirped. "Three, two..."

     Everyone took their shot and slammed the glasses down again. Dixon poured the vodka out again and again. I lost track of which round we were on after the second. I didn't even like vodka – it was gross. It burnt my throat the whole way down. But I didn't notice.

     Everything was bright and out of focus and loud. I giggled helplessly, doubling over in hysterics.

     "Elle, you are so wasted," laughed Chris, walking over and straightening me up. I giggled again.

     "Let's dance. I want to dance. Somebody dance with me. Chris, dance with me?"

     "There's no music in here."

     "Oh well. Let's dance." But I decided then to climb onto the pool table to dance. I giggled a little when I could feel the pounding bass emitting from the lounge making the pool table quiver.

     I started swishing my hips side to side in time with the music, my hands in the air and my hair swinging with me. I tried to drag Lee up to dance too, but he wouldn't.

     "Why not?" I whined at him.

     "I'm not dancing," he said. "C'mon, Elle, just get down."

     I stuck my tongue out at him. He tried to catch my waist and pull me down, but I wriggled away and carried on dancing. He was such a party pooper!

     "I'll be right back."

     "Where are you going?" I asked him. He couldn't leave, the party wasn't over yet!

     He looked away from me. "I'm going to get a drink. Dixon, you want anything?"

     "Got all I need right here man," he replied, and winked at me with a laugh. I blew him a kiss jokingly.

     It was so hot in the game room, I thought. Had somebody turned up the heating? I was really starting to sweat. Maybe a dip in the pool would cool me down...

     And suddenly the only solution that I could think of to cooling down was to go skinny dipping in the swimming pool.

     But Lee wasn't here, he was still gone. I'd have to get someone else to go crazy with me and jump in the pool.

     "Someone come skinny dipping!" I cried enthusiastically, and reached for the zip on my dress as I stumbled to the edge of the pool table, teetering in my wedges, to jump down.

     Suddenly, my feet left the ground and the whole world turned upside down. My legs were in the air and my head was hanging down looking at someone's back.

     "Hey!" I cried. "Put me down! Put me down!"

     They didn't put me down though. I watched the stairs stretch out below me as they carried me upstairs. My palm turned clammy. This couldn't be Lee. He hadn't been wearing green. I didn't think he was anyway. Maybe he did?

     No, I was sure he didn't. Lee was wearing red. I didn't know who was in a green shirt.

     But they were pretty damn strong, given that I was wriggling around like a wild thing.

     Eventually they dropped me down and I braced myself as I sank into a cushy something. A mattress! That's what it was.

     I sat up straight, folding my legs underneath me as best I could with my dress.

     "Noah Flynn," I complained when I saw him giving me a reprimanding look. "You're such a party pooper! I was having fun!"

     "You were about to strip off," he argued. "Just take a break for twenty minutes."

     "No!" I cried, pouting. "Don't be such a downer. I wanted to go skinny dipping!"

     He shook his head at me, smirking. "Tempting as that is, I think you're better off staying here for a little bit, at least till you're a little more sober."

     I sighed, falling back down on the cushions. Then I sat up again.

     "Are you going to leave me all on my own?"

     "No. I don't trust you to stay in the room and stay in one piece."

     "You don't trust me? Why not? I'm Lee's best friend. You've known me since forever! You should trust me more."

     Noah was shaking his head at me while he went over to push the door shut and turn the key in the lock.

     I raised an eyebrow to myself as Noah wandered back over and straddled a chair facing me.

     But, even in my state of mind, I knew the thought was ridiculous.

     "Aren't you drunk?" I asked him.

     "Not really."

     "Aw, why? It's your party. Go crazy!"

     "I think you were being crazy enough for the both of us."

     "I'm sorry," I said sincerely, pouting a little. "I didn't mean to spoil your fun."

     Noah laughed at me.

     I clambered to the edge of the bed and swung my legs back and forth, sitting on my hands. "Noah..."

     "Yes."

     "Will you please do the kissing booth for us?"

     "No."

     "Please?" I begged, bouncing up and down on the springy mattress. Wow. It was like a trampoline or something! Like Lee's bed. "Please, please, pretty please with a cherry on top?"

     "No."

     "Why not?" I whined. "You're so mean!"

     "I don't want to do a kissing booth, simple as."

     "But why?"

     "I don't want to."

     "Please? It's – I think it's for cancer. Or maybe it's for the dolphins. That's a funny word isn't it, dolphins? Dolphins... Dol... Phins... Like dolly-fins."

     "I'm not going to do the kissing booth, no matter whom or what it's for."

     I got up and moved over to crouch right in front of his face, close enough that our noses were almost touching. "Not even for me?"

     He shook his head. Then – "Man, your breath stinks. How much vodka did you have, Elle?"

     "I don't know. Dixon poured it."

     He sighed. "Those guys... I swear..."

     "What?"

     "Nothing."

     "Fine, don't tell me then," I huffed, and shot back up straight. I staggered back, the whole room pitching around me and turning grey and fuzzy around the edges.

     "I think I'm gonna be sick."

     Noah was already shoving me into the bathroom, and pushed me over the toilet bowl in time for me to puke my guts up.

     Once that was over and I was done dry-heaving, I flopped down on the cold tile floor, my head lolling against the edge of the bathtub. A glass of cold water was pushed against my lips, and he made me drink it up.

     "I'm really, really sorry, Noah," I whimpered. I felt all gross now after throwing up. "I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to ruin your party."

     "You didn't ruin my party, Elle," he laughed.

     I nodded fiercely, but stopped when it made me feel sick again. "Yes I did. I'm really sorry!"

     "It's okay," he laughed. "Calm down."

     I scowled, and hit him across the chest. Wow. That is one solid chest. I bet he has a six-pack too. Maybe even an eight-pack, knowing Noah. Or a ten-pack! Is there even such a thing? Possibly... If there was, Noah would have one.

     Ignoring my internal babble, I said, "Don't laugh at me."

     He laughed harder, and pulled me to my feet. I stumbled and half fell over him, so he wrapped an arm around my waist to support me. After helping me stagger back over to the bed, he let me drop on top of the covers.

     "Can you stay with me?" I asked, curling up in a ball. Noah had walked to the door to leave.

     "Why?"

     "There're monsters in the closet," I told him seriously. Lee always used to tell me his house was full of monsters, and right now Noah's closet was staring right at me.

     "There are no monsters in the closet, Shelly, see?" Noah walked over and yanked open the door, letting it swing wide and reveal... clothes. No monsters.

     I sighed in relief. "Okay, I believe you."

     "I'll be back in ten minutes to ch..."

     I was already asleep.

Another quick reminder that this is a sample, and The Kissing Booth has been published in ebook and paperback, in several countries and in several languages. If you're not sure if you can get it where you live, check your local Amazon first.

(Before you ask/For those of you already asking: I'm very sorry, but no, I cannot publish the whole of the novel on here, even the original draft. My publishers won't allow it, and I hope you can understand!)

xo