Page 124 of The Charlie Method

After class, Mitch waits for Nikki to exit our row before stepping forward to block my path. “Can we talk?”

I swallow a sigh. From the corner of my eye, I see Beckett taking his time gathering up his stuff, pushing items into his backpack at a snail’s pace. He is wholly aware of me and Mitch.

“What about?” I ask my ex.

“Can we go somewhere maybe? The Coffee Hut? My dorm?”

I almost snort. His dorm? Is he nuts?

“I’m sorry, but I can’t. I’m going to the lab to work on my capstone. Just tell me what’s up, Mitch.”

He glances toward Beckett, who’s now walking up the aisle.

“Mitch,” I say impatiently.

“You know what? Forget it,” he mutters, then marches toward the exit as if I’ve done something to offend him. If I did, I don’t care. We’re not together anymore. We’re not even friends.

Beckett intercepts me at the door. “You in a rush?” he murmurs.

“Not really,” I say, despite what I told Mitch. The lab will still be there in five minutes. “Why?”

“I just wanted to say, I might not be good at the advice-dispensing part, but…” He shrugs. “I’m great at distractions.”

It’s back. The temptation. The deep, relentless ache that comes whenever I’m around him. Or Will. Or both of them. I told them it would never happen again. I thought that the more time that passed, the less I’d think about them.

But I’malwaysthinking about them.

“I’m starting to get a handle on you, Charlie,” he continues, a smile curving his lips. “You’re like Will. You’re an overthinker. And right now…you look like you could use a break from all that thinking.”

I swallow through my dry mouth. I should walk away.

Instead, I ask, “What do you suggest?”

Heat flickers through his expression. “Come with me.”

Before I know it, we’re slipping into an empty supply closet down the hall. The door clicks shut behind us, engulfing us in shadows.

“What are we doing in here, Ice Boy?” My voice sounds husky to my ears.

“Depends, sugar puff.”

“On what?”

“On whether you ask me to kiss you.”

The closet becomes impossibly quiet as his unspoken question hangs between us. All I can hear is my soft breathing and quickening heartbeat.

“Kiss me,” I whisper.

Beckett doesn’t waste any time. He pulls me against him, his lips capturing mine in a slow, fiery kiss that sends a jolt of electricity through me. Someone might come in at any moment, but I don’t care. All I can think about is how good it feels to be lost in the moment.

The kiss deepens, his tongue tangling with mine, and I moan against his mouth, melting into him. His hands are everywhere. The hunger of his kiss makes my head spin. It’s just as hot, just as exciting as the first time and all the times that followed during my night with him and Will.

When we finally break apart, breathless and flushed, Beckett is smiling down at me. “See? Sometimes a little distraction isn’t so bad.”

A frown dips my mouth as a thought suddenly occurs to me. He notices, reaching out to smooth my brow with his thumb.

“What’s wrong?”

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