Page 63 of To Have and to Scold

I shake my head. “The jaw. It’s fine.”

“The jaw, then. And it’s not fine. It’s going to be black and blue! Or it could even be broken.” She tenderly palpitates my jaw.

Even though it stings, I want her hands on me. As she kneels above me, slowly pressing her fingers against my jaw, her gaze catches mine. The moonlight casts shadows over her face, but her eyes blaze into me as her fingertips slide lazily over the rest of my face. I close my eyes, and I’m not able to stop the light groan of pleasure at her touch.

“Dallas,” I say with a growl. All I hear is the airiness in the waves of water nearby and her breaths, still rapid. I forcemy eyes open. There’s such an undercurrent of concern in her expression that I can’t help but laugh again.

“You’re impossible.” And with that, her laughter starts in earnest, and this time, she collapses next to me on the warm sand, chuckling so hard, she can’t contain herself either.

“I can’t breathe,” she wheezes, and I feel a light splatter against my cheek.

“I think—” I say in between laughs. “—You’re crying on me.”

She wipes her face with both hands before curling them against her, hiding behind them. “Gushing. I’m gushing…tears!” She cannot get a grip, and neither can I.

Finally, I manage to speak. “Focus on the stars.” I pause. “And breathe.”

“I can’t,” she bursts out, dissolving into tears again.

“Dallas, breathe. Count the stars and breathe.” I know I need to take my own advice, but it’s hard when I’ve got this wiggly, gorgeous, infuriating woman lying beside me.

She calms her breathing a little. “One, two, three…”

It takes her far too long to get to ten because she keeps having to stop to laugh, but once she does, her breathing goes back to a steady rhythm and she calms.

It’s the most fun I’ve had in a very long time.

And the warmth of her next to me shuts out everything else but her.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Dallas

That place in the sand that Beck and I were last night is burned into my retinas as I sit in my lawn chair, courtesy of Elliott and Portia.

I can’t stop staring at it.

Nothing happened last night, okay?

Which is a relief, really. Except, the thought burns out in my stomach. Obviously, thereisa part of me that’s not relieved at all.

I can’t get it out of my head, the place where nothing of consequence happened except two people who were reduced to laughing so hard we ended up in tears. My abs hurt today, and I can’t tell if it’s because of the volleyball moves I tried or the laughing. Maybe some of both.

Is there still an imprint in the sand where we were lying, shoulder to shoulder, telling each other to focus on the stars so we could calm down? Am I imagining two body-shaped indents there even now, mocking me that I’ve never had such an enjoyable time, ever, as I did last night?

The range of emotions, from flirtatious behavior to serious talks about our heartbreaks and my career woes to hitting Beck in the face with the ball—or I guess the jaw, to be precise—and being reduced to crazy hysterical kids, astounds me. My emotions never swung to such a range of heights when I was dating Holden.

Another point of confusion: Beck hasn’t kissed me yet. Which is a good thing. I know this. But I certainly wouldn’t hate it if he did. Although, the lines between work and friendship and something else entirely would be blurred beyond understanding.

As I watch the volleyball match—it’s legit. Leo’s team is good—I can’t help but wonder where Beck and I are.

Like, what is this?

I crave to be around him. I think of being in his arms just as much as I think about joking around with him, or talking about serious things.

And, as I watch, I cringe every time I see his jaw that is, just like I predicted, sporting a bruise.

I did that, and it’s equal parts horrifying and embarrassing. I overheard Elliott asking Beck about it and Beck refusing to say. “It was just a little accident. I’m fine. It’s nothing,” he said. I can’t decide if the reason Beck’s not saying it was me is because he’s embarrassed about the whole thing or he’s trying to protect me. Or more likely, maybe he didn’t tell his brother because then he’d have to admit that he and I were on the beach at night, again, when all things considered, we really shouldn’t have been.

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