Nope.
In fact, if Reagan or Ava were around, I’d have probably bet money on that. And I’d have won, just like I always did.
I scooted past the entire line until I reached the front. Preston was nowhere to be found. I wished I could say that I was surprised about it, but I just wasn’t.
I was about to untie the thick, gold ropes and step inside when a familiar voice made me stop.
“Halley Dawson,” said the silky, dulcet tones of my arch-nemesis, Lindsay Rinna.
I turned, hands still clasping the ropes, and glared at her. “Lindsay.”
“Would you be a doll and let me in so I can see Preston?”
“No,” I replied firmly. “The booth doesn’t open for another fifteen minutes. I’m not letting anyone in unless they’re supposed to be inside.”
She looked to the left where my line was slowly forming. It consisted of two older guys, three kids, and one very confused-looking teenager.
“I can see why.”
I gritted my teeth together and forced a smile. “You’ll be let in when we open in fifteen minutes. Besides, Preston isn’t here yet.”
“I’m here!” He jogged up behind me. “I’m here. Am I late?”
Lindsay flicked her hair over her shoulder. “Not for me.”
I took a deep breath and undid the tie on the rope. “Get inside, Romeo.” I grabbed the front of Preston’s shirt and dragged him inside after me. I released him the second we were in the darkness of the tent and yanked the curtains closed, using a heavy clip to ensure nobody could get inside.
“That wasn’t awkward at all,” he muttered, turning on the electric lights dotted around the tent that gave it a so-called romantic vibe.
“Don’t,” I snapped. “Lindsay Rinna can suck it.”
“That’s so mature of you.”
“I pay my taxes. I’m mature enough without caring about my high school nemesis.”
“Your high school nemesis?” Preston raised his eyebrows. A small smile curved his lips as he shrugged off his jacket and tossed it in the back corner. “How old are you now?”
“Old enough to remember everything that bitch did to me.” I put my purse down in the corner of my booth. We were now separated by the curtain. “I would happily leave this booth shut all night if it meant she had to stand out there all night.”
“Jesus, you’re catty. What did she ever do to you?”
I stopped just before I opened the curtain. “When I was fifteen, she found out I had a crush on her boyfriend. Her brother put a snake in my locker. When I was sixteen, she stole my lab partner because she knew he fancied her, and I failed the class. A few months later, she went back to the locker room in the middle of gym class and cut holes in my shirt so my bra would show all day.”
“Didn’t that happen in Mean Girls?”
“Yeah, well, I’m not Regina George, and it didn’t catch on,” I said dryly. “Also, is that all you took from all of that?”
“No. I get it. She was your high school nemesis. Don’t you think it’s time to grow out of that now?”
I yanked the curtain open and glared at him. “I don’t need to grow out of it. We’ll never get along, so that’s the end of it.”
He raised his eyebrows, but he said nothing as he turned around and took his seat on the wooden stool that would be his perch for the next few days. “Shall we get this show on the road?”
“I hope Lindsay gives you herpes.”
“Sometimes, I wonder why you’re single. I just found out why.”
“I’m not a bitch to everyone. Only the people who piss me off.” I smiled sweetly at him and headed toward the front of the tent. I poked my head out of the curtains and looked around for the volunteers who would be controlling the lines.
“We’re here, Miss Halley.” Two teen boys ran up between the lines and the one who’d spoken wiped sweat from his forehead. “Sorry. We got caught in the crowds.”
I smiled. “Don’t worry. Joe, you’re on my line.” I pointed to my line. “Will, you’re on Preston’s, okay?”
“Yes, Miss Halley,” Will replied.
That was going to get real old. At least they weren’t calling me ma’am…
“Officer Daniels is just over there and will help you if you have any issues.” I turned my pointer finger to the dark-skinned police officer who was in uniform only a few feet from us. He shot me a thumb up. “Any issues, even if it’s as simple as nobody listening to you, you let him know, okay?”
Both boys nodded.
I patted their cheeks. “Okay. You remember what we went over yesterday?”
Joe nodded. “Dollars to us at the front of the line. In the left side, out on the right. Two dollars per person. No dollars, no kiss.”
“Nailed it. You can start letting everyone in in a minute.”
“Yes, Miss Halley.”
I closed the curtains and walked up to the stage. “Ready?” I asked Preston.
He met my gaze. “Ready to kiss a bunch of hot young women? I was born for this, Halley.”
I rolled my eyes. “No tongues, Romeo.”
“But—”
“No ifs, no buts, no coconuts.” I pointed at him. “If someone slips you the tongue, bite it.”
His eyebrows shot up. “You’ve done that before?”
“Come and kiss me and find out for yourself.”
He held up his hands. “I’m all for a little biting, but on the neck or something. Maybe a nibble on the lower lip—little nip on the inner thigh, you know?”
“That’s far more than I need to know about your sexual preferences, thank you.” I climbed onto my side of the stage, dipping my head so he wouldn’t see me blushing.
Lord, I hoped he hadn’t seen me blushing.
I’d never live it down if he had.
“Yeah, well, don’t tell anyone,” Preston said from the other side of the curtain. “I don’t need those harlots outside knowing where I like to be nibbled.”
“So I can’t call them your harem, but you can call them harlots?”
“I was gonna call them total babes, but I didn’t think you’d like that.”
“You can call the women of this town whatever you like.”
“God knows you do.”
“Exactly.” There was a slight pause before we both laughed. I bit mine back and cleared my throat. “Are you ready? The boys are about to open the tent.”
“Let’s do this, Halley.”
I took a deep breath and closed my eyes as I let it back out.
Let’s do this, indeed.
CHAPTER SEVEN
* * *
HALLEY
Kissin’ Ain’t Easy
My lips were dry and sore, and it’d been one night.
My line had been a parade of teen boys. One after another they’d lined up, ready to slap their lips against mine. I was fully aware that I was the first kiss of at least six teenage boys tonight.
Apparently, the kissing booth was the cool place to get your first kiss.