Page 37 of Beneath the Stands (Sugarlake 2)

I pick up my shirt, running it over her skin and cleaning her up. She doesn’t say a word, and neither do I, afraid to ruin the moment.

Scooping her in my arms, I walk us inside, taking her straight to my room, and plopping her in my bed. She giggles, and I lay down next to her, smiling.

The beat of my lonely heart strengthens, battering against my chest, urging me to lay it at her feet, hoping she picks it up and keeps it forever.

20

Becca

It’s been a month since Eli and I started whatever this thing is that we’re doing. A month of rendezvous at his house, longing looks on the court, and secret touches in the halls.

We’re not together. We couldn’t be even if I wanted—which I don’t. The guilt threatens to swallow me whole as it is. I’m fucking him, then calling his sister and acting like I don’t know his face from Adam.

I’m a terrible friend.

But I sure as hell can’t tell Lee. She’s pissed off at him enough, no need for me to widen their divide. Not when I can tell they both wish it would disappear.

Tonight is the first official game of the basketball season, and the arena is packed. Eli’s been working around the clock, so I haven’t seen him outside of practice all week, and even now as I stand in the back of the locker room, I’m relegated to watching him from a distance. He’s calm, cool and collected, like usual, but I see the tension in his posture. After so many nights of feeling every dip and ridge of his body, I can tell when it’s not his normal gait. I’d bet my bottom dollar he’s nervous.

He’s leaning against the far wall with his feet crossed, staring at whatever is written on his clipboard. His dark-blond hair is messier than usual, a sure sign he’s been tugging on it. A thought of how much I’d like to tug on it flashes through my mind.

His face snaps up, roaming the room until he finds me, and I’m sucked into his gaze. My stomach lights up like pop rocks, heart swelling in my chest. I break our stare, uncomfortable with whatever this feeling is.

We smoke the team we’re playing. On

e-hundred-forty to eighty-nine. Jeremy is a fantastic ballplayer, and the way Eli puts aside his animosity, embracing him after they win has my chest bubbling with warmth. A pang of guilt hits my gut knowing it’s Jeremy’s fourth year playing, and this is the first time I’ve actually seen him in action.

Tack another one on the shit friend tally.

I haven’t told him about Eli, and even if I wanted to, he’s been missing from my life a lot this semester. If I wasn’t so busy hiding secrets of my own, I’d probably be badgering him about where he’s been. As it is, it’s probably for the best he hasn’t been around, I already feel shitty enough not telling Lee, I’d rather not add my other best friend to that list. Plus, I’m worried Eli will lose his job if word gets out. It’s a dangerous game we’re playing, and if either of us had a lick of sense, we’d put a stop to it. Cut our losses and call it a day.

But no matter how many times I think it, I know I won’t.

I’m in the locker room after everyone has left, picking up the discarded towels, and throwing them in the laundry bin to be washed. I hear the door open, straightening from where I’m bent, looking to see who it is.

Eli walks toward me.

“Hi, big head.” I smile, my stomach flipping at the sight of him.

He smirks, stepping into me, pushing until my back hits the lockers, my hair catching on the metal. His chest presses against mine, and his hands cup my face, thumbs brushing against my cheeks.

“I’ve come to claim my victory kiss.”

I quirk a brow. “Mighty presumptuous of you.”

“I don’t presume anything when it comes to you.”

I huff out a laugh. “Oh, I beg to differ, you—”

He steals the rest of the words from my mouth. My eyes flutter closed, losing myself to the bliss that is Eli’s lips. A deep-seated joy settles in my chest until every part of me is encased in the feeling.

What is he doin’ to me?

He breaks the kiss, leaning his forehead against mine. “Will you stay with me tonight?”

I nod, breathless from the emotion coursing through my body. It’s been happening more often lately—this feeling. Thinking about what it means makes nausea churn in my stomach, so I ignore it, content to be in the moment.

A door slams and Eli jumps back, leaning against the opposite lockers, his hands in his pockets. I hurry to pick up a towel from the floor.

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