Page 4 of The Beach House (The Kissing Booth)

The next couple of days passed before I could blink. We’d get up late, go to the beach and bodyboard or swim, maybe play some Frisbee, have some lunch, and then either head back to the beach or stay around our little pool for the afternoon.

And Noah and I managed to steal a few moments alone together. Although, the one time we thought we finally had the house to ourselves, his parents had come home early. We’d barely managed to grab our clothes from around the pool before they came through the house to say hi.

By Sunday, Lee was acting like an excited puppy. Rachel was arriving the next day, and he was all over the place. He told us he was going to get ice creams but came back with a pair of flippers.

I didn’t even ask.

Lee was texting Rachel so much, I got totally exasperated with his phone bleeping every four seconds and eventually snapped, “For God’s sake, Lee, just call her! Jeez!”

Noah chuckled, but Lee chirpily said, “Okay!” and was already pressing her number as he walked off.

“He is so in love, it’s almost stopped being funny,” Noah told me gravely. “How long do you think it’ll be until I have to put on a penguin suit for the wedding?”

I laughed. “Hmm…I’d say two years.”

“That long? Really?”

“Oh, come on. You know Lee. He’ll want to make sure the flowers and the food and the cake are just perfect. And he’ll want the perfect bachelor party too.”

“Which, of course, I’ll be in charge of planning.”

“You think you’ll be his best man?”

“Who else? I’m his big brother. I’ve got plenty of embarrassing stories about him. I’m the obvious choice.”

“I think you’ll find the position of best wo man is already taken.”

Noah laughed. “Of course it is. I’m really thirsty,” he said suddenly. “Do you want to grab a Coke from the bar?”

A bit farther down the shore was a little beach shop, a surf shack and a bar. I loved the bar on the beach; there was something about it that made me think of the Caribbean. It had a thick straw roof shaped like a giant parasol, and the drinks were always served with little paper umbrellas in them.

“Sure,” I answered.

He dug underneath his towel for his wallet and took out a few dollar bills. “Let’s go.”

It didn’t take long to get there, but the queue looked like it would take a while for us to be served. I was glancing around and caught sight of a few guys talking. They were looking at Noah. He had his back to them, so he didn’t see, but I got the sinking feeling they were talking about him.

“Do you know those guys? Over there?” I blurted out. Knowing me, I could’ve been overreacting and just imagining that they were looking at him.

Noah looked round, right at the guys who were staring at him. I guessed they were maybe around our age—soon-to-be seniors, or freshmen at college.

I was about to grab Noah’s arm, thinking that it was stupid for him to look at them so obviously, but then I realized that he most likely didn’t give a damn whether he annoyed them or not. He turned back, not looking fazed at all, and before I could say another word the barman got to us.

“What can I get you guys?”

“Two Cokes,” Noah said, pushing the money across the counter. He looked over at the guys again, scowling at them this time.

“Noah!” I exclaimed, swatting his hand when he didn’t reply. “Do you know them or what?” I sent another fleeting glance at them and said, “They’re still looking over here.”

“Yeah, if that’s the guy I think it is, I made out with his ex-girlfriend or something last summer. He tried to punch me, so naturally, I acted in self-defense,” he said flippantly.

“What? When did—”

“You know all those beach bonfires and parties and stuff? You and Lee never went to them?” I nodded. “I think it was at one of those.”

“I can’t believe…” I trailed off and shook my head. “You couldn’t have just walked away?”

Noah set his jaw and hung his head. “Point taken.”

The barman set two tall glasses of Coke in front of us. I mumbled thanks and took a sip of mine.

We talked easily until we finished our drinks. But I couldn’t help it—I kept glancing past Noah, my eyes flickering over to the boys who’d been looking at him before. One had a sneer on his face and the other two were laughing. It gave me a queasy feeling in my stomach.

I was still taken by surprise, though, when we got up to leave and someone suddenly slammed into Noah. It was completely on purpose, but the guy—the blond guy who’d been sneering—backed off, saying in a sarcastic tone, “Whoa, sorry, dude. Didn’t even see you there.”

I saw the muscle in Noah’s jaw jumping.

He shoved the blond guy back—not even hard; it was like a poke more than a shove. “Why don’t you watch where you’re going, huh?”

The guy scoffed, and his two friends had stupid grins on their faces too. “Right, right, sure.”

Noah’s fingers were curling into fists at his side, then flexing out again. I grabbed his arm. “Hey. Come on. Let’s just go. They’re not worth it, Noah.”

The blond guy looked at me, then sneered at Noah again. “So whose girl did you steal this year, Flynn?”

Noah stared scornfully at the blond guy like he would a piece of dirt on his precious motorbike. “Get over yourself.”

He started to walk off, and I was totally shocked for a moment: Noah Flynn, the most badass guy in the entire school, walking away from a fight?

Wow. Maybe he really had changed.

But the blond dude and his friends weren’t having it; the blond guy deliberately stepped into Noah’s path, shoving him again. I looked around, wondering where the hell Lee was when I needed him.

“Come on, now,” Noah said. “You really want to pick a fight in front of a lady?”

The blond guy made as if to shove Noah again to make his point, but Noah sidestepped and the guy lost his balance and went sprawling on his front, spitting sand from his mouth.

Before he got back up or his friends decided to cause more trouble, I took Noah’s hand. “Let’s get out of here.”

He nodded, and followed me down the beach.

I looked back a couple of times, and the blond guy was shaking people off him, storming away. Despite not laying a hand on him, it seemed that Noah had damaged his pride a hell of a lot.

“You think you might’ve made out with his ex-girlfriend last year?” I repeated, stumbling over my own feet somewhat before falling into step with Noah.

“All right, all right. But in my defense, they weren’t together at the time. If you ask me, he’s just an asshole.”

“And you feel the need to pick a fight with every asshole guy you come across? We both know you would’ve if I hadn’t been there.”

Noah tugged me closer, letting go of my hand to wrap his arm round my shoulders. “You really know how to guilt-trip me, don’t you, Elle?”

“I’m serious. I need you to know you can’t solve everything by throwing a few punches anymore. I don’t…I don’t want you getting in trouble at Harvard.”

“I do know. I get it, okay? My parents have been going on and on and on about it all summer too. No more fighting. No more being stupid or reckless or any of that. I know. I’m working on it.”

I was too surprised to say anything else for a moment. Noah sounded weirdly determined. He gave me an awkward smile, looking embarrassed. I’d never thought too much about what his parents might have said to him on the subject of getting into fights. This was the first I’d heard about it.

“Well, whatever they said, it’s obviously made an impression. The old Noah would’ve punched that guy and his friends. And I totally would’ve yelled at you for it, for the record.”

“Oh, I know.”

We’d made it back to our spot on the beach by then. Lee was still nowhere to be seen. I settled back down on my towel.

“Hey, Elle?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m trying. To be a better guy. To not be so impulsive. I…I want you to know that.”

“I know. I just—I hope you’re not doing it for me. You know? Or not just for me.”

“I’m not. Although you are a big factor.” His tone had turned teasing now, and I raised my eyebrows. “Couldn’t have you being mad at me, Elle.”

“Make sure you remember that if there’s a next time.”

“I’m going swimming; you coming?”

“No,” I said lazily. “I’m gonna stay here. Finish listening to my podcast.”

Noah nodded, bending to give me a kiss before he strode down to the sea. I watched him go, thinking again how he’d avoided a fight at the bar. I guessed he really was changing.