Read The Kissing Booth for Free Online Page B

in the back.
    ‘Hey,’ I said, but Lee didn’t notice me until I was right in front of him. I dropped my bag loudly, making him start.
    ‘Oh, I didn’t hear you come in,’ he said.
    ‘So I see. So what did you need me for?’
    He gestured at the board in front of him. ‘How big should I make the letters?’
    I sighed, then fluffed my hair out before pulling it back and twisting it into a ponytail. ‘All right, big boy, give me the pencil.’
    I sketched out the letters for KISSING BOOTH on the huge plank of wood.
    ‘But they’re not totally even. That “o” is way narrower than that one. And the “h” is half the height of that “s”.’
    ‘I know that. But you can go back over them and measure the lines properly. It doesn’t matter if it’s not perfect, with what I’ve got in mind.’
    ‘Pray tell.’
    I bit my lip, trying to find the right words to describe the image I had in my mind. It wasn’t easy. ‘Well, we’ve got the big main board of the booth, and we’ll nail on the letters at odd angles so they overlap and all point different ways, because that’ll look cooler than just having flat out “Kissing Booth”. Does that make sense?’
    Lee nodded, looking at the plank. I could practically hear him piecing together my idea in his mind. ‘I see what you mean. It’ll look cool.’
    ‘I know,’ I told him.
    He started drawing the lines out thicker, measuring them all straight and perfect. I sat down on the bench facing him, swinging my legs.
    ‘Hey,’ I said, ‘did you know that your brother has been warning guys to stay away from me?’
    Lee didn’t even look up, and merely shrugged. ‘Yeah. Everybody knows.’
    ‘Except for
me
. How did I not know that? Why didn’t you tell me, more to the point?’
    ‘I don’t know – I figured you’d worked it out over the years. Why do you think guys have never asked you out on a date?’
    I thought about that for a moment. To be honest, I had never really wondered. I hadn’t panicked that there was something wrong with me just because I didn’t have a boyfriend. I’d just kind of taken it in my stride that maybe I was more ‘one of the guys’ from hanging out with Lee, so guys didn’t see me as a girl they’d ask on dates.
    ‘You know you’re the only one for me, Lee,’ I teased. He looked up and winked at me, so I blew him a kiss back. We both laughed and he went back to drawing out the letters properly.
    ‘Seriously, though – you only just heard about it?’
    ‘Yeah. A bunch of the girls told me, since they wanted all the gossip from this morning. Not that there
was
any gossip. I told them Noah just thinks of me like a sister.’
    ‘He’s just taken the over-protective-brother role to the extreme,’ Lee agreed. ‘Though of course I would’ve done the same. Especially after the way those guys were with you this morning . . .’ The pencil snapped in his hand.
    ‘Jeez, calm down,’ I said quietly.
    Lee tossed the pencil halves aside and pulled another out from behind his ear. ‘Sorry. They just really got to me this morning.’
    ‘No kidding.’
    ‘Yeah, well whatever. The point is, Noah’s totally right to tell guys to keep away from you. You’re so trusting, you’d get hurt real easy.’
    ‘What?’ I cried indignantly. ‘How am I “so trusting”?’
    Lee shrugged again. ‘You’re just too nice sometimes, Shelly. Not in a bad way. I just mean that . . . well, you know, you’re more likely to fall for some jerk who’ll hurt you.’
    ‘Oh,’ I said. ‘I see.’
    ‘I’m just looking out for you. So is Noah.’
    ‘Well, thanks, I guess?’
    ‘You’re welcome, I guess?’ he mocked, laughing. I launched a rubber band at his arm from the tabletop beside me. He swatted it off and carried on working, while I watched and chatted to him.
    I was still wondering why Noah had gone so far as to warn guys off me. Because I realized it was unbelievably unfair. I’d be seventeen in just two months. I’ve