The Kissing Booth: Noah's Story

Chpt.2

Tonight was the night Elle was supposed to go out with Tuppin. Supposed to. I had managed to track him down before football practice that afternoon and made it clear to him that the bruises on his face were just a taste of how capable I was of messing it up. If he valued his bone structure he would back off. To make sure he understood me completely I took a couple practice tackles a bit farther than protocol, to my coach's dismay.

I tried to get some homework done but was feeling guilty that Elle would have waited for her date to show up and wonder if there was something wrong with her. The only guy with the balls to ever ask her out and he leaves her hanging. But I knew that the hurt she would feel for that would be so much better than the hurt she would inevitably feel when a player like Tuppin took advantage of her and tossed her to the side. 

My phone began to vibrate and 'Shelley' popped up on the screen. My eyebrow quirked as I answered it. "Yea?"

"What the hell Noah Flynn?" She was pissed. I flinched slightly as I realised she must have found out my secret. For a couple years now I had warned off any guy that took even a slight interest in Elle Evans. Until Tuppin no one dared take a chance at crossing me. 

"You do realize that you're not my dad, right?" Yes, I'm definitely aware my motives are not fatherly. I hid my thoughts by saying, "Look, you still got a lot to learn, kiddo."

" Kiddo? Oh, my God." I tried to bite back a laugh. She was already riled but calling her kiddo pushed her over the top. "Oh, if you were here, I would beat you with my shoe!" I wished I was there, no doubt she was adorable as hell right now. Probably pacing back and forth in her room, trying and failing to calm herself down.

"Tuppin is a player." It was an excuse but it was also the truth. "So are you!" So people thought, anyway. "And that's why I know he's wrong for you." They're all wrong for you, no one deserves you. "You're gonna thank me one day."

"Okay. Well, today is not that day. It is not your job to monitor my dating life. Do you understand me? The days of you controlling my life are over!" I could picture her finger waggling in the air, without a doubt if I were in front of her it would be jabbing into my chest.

"We'll see about that." I hung up the phone before she could respond and smiled to myself. As much as she may resent me looking out for her I wasn't going to stop, probably not ever. I cared about Elle. Even if I couldn't have her I was going to make sure she eventually wound up with someone who appreciated and respected her. Not someone like Tuppin. 

Sunday rolled around and I headed with my family to our traditional lunch with the Evans'. They were getting to be pretty difficult though, spending every weekend sitting with Elle and our families, trying not to let anyone see me steal glances at her or ignore that constant reminder of how it would change our families' entire dynamic if I were to ever admit my feelings.

"Hey guys," Mom chirped as we walked up to where Elle, her brother, and her dad were waiting for us. Elle got up and rushed to give mom a hug, reminding me that she was like a daughter to my Mom. "How's school going?" Mom asked.

Elle hesitated, "Let's just say interesting." Mom slowly nodded, "Okay, I don't know what that means but I want to hear all the gory details later." Hopefully Elle left out that most of those gory details were me.

Everyone continued to exchange their greetings until we were all seated. "Hey, Noah! I haven't seen you since you got back from football camp. They got you starting again?" Elle's dad asked me. "Well," My dad interjected, "He'll be lucky if he makes it through the season. He goes and gets into a fight on the first day of school."