The Kissing Booth: New Love

Alternate Chapter 27

Elle

Standing in front of my mirror, I have to smile at my reflection. My smile briefly fell from my face as my eyes moved down to my mid section. Putting my hands on my stomach, I turned side to side, my eyes watching for a sign that would give away my secret. I was so worried that my quickly growing baby bump was going to show in my dress. I was almost at the end of my first trimester and I had just recently started to show.  Luckily the dress that Rachel helped me pick out hung just right, so you couldn't see my bump. I spent the afternoon at Rachel's and she helped me with my hair and make-up.  Rachel and I had become pretty close recently, with all the time Noah and I have been spending with her and Lee. Regardless of all the other stress in my life, I was still excited for the big dance – seeing everyone dressed up, Noah in a tux, and seeing what Noah thinks of my dress. I planned to forget all of my worries for the night and just have fun.

Prom is such a big deal in high school life and everyone at school has been talking about it non-stop, which adds a lot of pressure to the night. I worried that somehow everyone would figure out I was pregnant and it would overshadow everything else. Just like being pregnant has started to take over everything else in my life. While all the girls at school had been going on and on about their dresses and getting their nails done, I was focused on things like our first doctor's appointment and sonogram and making sure I was taking my pre-natal vitamins. Seems like such a small night when we're preparing for a baby.

I even talked to Noah about skipping the dance. We were sitting by ourselves in the game room after Lee left to take Rachel home. We only had a few minutes before Noah had to drive me home. My Dad had always been pretty laid back but curfew had recently become a thing, so we were always keeping an eye on the time to make sure I was never late. As soon as Lee left, I scooted closer to Noah on the couch, leaning in to his body as he put his arm around me. Prom had been on my mind all afternoon, since Rachel has been talking about the dress she found. Once I got comfy next to Noah, I blurted, "Maybe we should just skip it."

"Skip what?" Noah asked, only halfway paying attention now that he had me in his arms after watching me and Lee play video games for the last hour.

"Prom." That made Noah pay attention. He stopped kissing my neck and pulled away, looking at me incredulously.

"Prom? You want to skip prom?" Noah asked in surprise.

"Yeah, why not. We have so much more important stuff going on right now. You don't want to go anyway. You don't even dance."

"I may not care about going to a school dance, but we are not skipping your prom. You love this kind of stuff and . . ." He stopped abruptly as if he decided not to say what he was going to. Although he didn't say it, I know he was thinking it. It's my last chance to do this kind of stuff before the baby. I need to have my fun now before the baby gets here. After that, I won't have a normal teenage life anymore. Noah pulled me a little closer before continuing, "And who said I don't dance. I want to dance with you. I can't wait to hold you in my arms, you'll be the hottest girl there." I pushed him away, laughing, but couldn't keep the smile from my face. Who would have ever thought bad boy Noah Flynn could be such a sweetie. I would never tell him that but it made me love him even more.

So, we're going to the dance now, doubling with Lee and Rachel. We had been spending quite a bit of time with Lee and Rachel the last couple weeks. Probably because they were the only people who knew about the baby and the people who we felt like we could be real about everything that was going on with us right now.  We're hoping to keep the baby a secret from everyone at school for now, at least until the end of the school year.

Even after Noah and Lee had their talk, I think Lee still blamed Noah for me getting pregnant. He didn't come out and say it, it was more comments that he would make, digs at Noah, or an eye roll at something Noah said. I finally had to play the pregnancy card and told Lee he was causing me too much stress and he needed to stop being mad at Noah. That worked and he seemed to genuinely try to get along after that. So although things occasionally seemed a little strained between the two of them, Noah and Lee had been getting along for the most part. It made me happy to spend time with both of them together.