Page 53 of For You & No One Else (Say Everything 3)

“Jesus,” Beckham said, standing up and sounding genuinely angry. “Kids can be such dicks.”

She grunted in agreement. “I’m pretty sure middle school is one of the circles of hell. It’s a miracle any of us make it out.”

“That’s the truth.” He stepped in front of her, eyes serious. “I’m sorry that happened to you.”

She shrugged even though her stomach was tight with the old memory. “You didn’t do it.”

“No, but if I did anything tonight to remind you of that, I’m sorry.” He shook his head and raked a hand through his hair. “I screwed this all up. I should’ve just kissed you.”

She scoffed. “Right. Forcing yourself to kiss me. What every girl wants. A grin-and-bear-it kiss.”

He eyes widened like she’d spoken another language, and he made a sound in the back of his throat. “A grin and bea—Isthatwhat you think?”

She sighed. “I don’t know what I think. I mean, you kissed Khuyen and—”

“Fucking hell,” he said, cutting her off and thrusting his palms out toward her. “Give me your hands.”

“What?”

He lifted his palms higher. “Hold my hands, Eli.”

She put her hands in his, his palms warm and dry. “Beckham…”

He wrapped his fingers around hers, his gaze burning into hers with singular determination. “You let go if you want me to stop.”

And then he leaned in and kissed her.

Her breath caught, and her eyelids automatically fell shut. His mouth pressed against hers, warm and soft and gentle at first. A sweet kiss. One that should’ve ended quickly. But when she found herself kissing him back and squeezing his hands instead of letting go, his mouth became more urgent, the kiss more possessive.

Moreeverything.

A rush of heat flooded her skin, and her hands squeezed his tightly—more, more, more, please.He groaned against her mouth, and she parted her lips, gasping into the point of connection and tasting watermelon. His tongue brushed hers, sending lightning crackling through her nerve endings, and her knees wobbled.Oh God.She must’ve made some needy sound because he deepened the kiss even more and shifted closer. Her back pressed into the column she’d been leaning against and their bodies touched, their fingers lacing tighter.

She lost all train of thought, the taste of watermelon in her mouth and the scent of Beckham filling her senses. She’d kissed a few people tonight, but in this moment, she felt like she’d never been kissed in her life. Every part of her body was involved, every cell ached. Beckham nipped at her lip and then kissed along her jaw, murmuring her name.No.MurmuringEli.Hisname for her.

For some reason, that only made her burn hotter. He went back to her mouth, their tongues stroking, and he wrapped their linked hands behind him at the small of his back. She had his arms pinned but he had her pinned right back, and she didn’t want to be anywhere else.

But when she rocked her hips, lost to the sensation of it all, and bumped up against a newly stiff part of him, her belly dipped in mild panic. The shock of feeling him against her, hard and hot, made her break rhythm for a moment, and one of her hands slipped from his. She hadn’t meant for it to be a signal, but Beckham immediately broke the kiss and let her go.

When he stepped back, he was breathing hard, eyes black, and his pajamas were doing nothing to hide his obvious interest. “Fuck.” He lowered his head, lacing his fingers behind his neck, and exhaled. “That’swhy.”

Eliza felt drunk and dazed, though she hadn’t had a drop of booze tonight. She braced a hand on the column and tried to find her voice. “That’s why, what?”

She sounded like she’d run a goddamned marathon.

He lifted his head, met her gaze. “That’s why I didn’t kiss you.” He swept a hand in front of him. “I can kiss Khuyen. I don’t want to sleep with Khuyen.”

Oh.The thrill of his words rippled through her with hot promise. She licked her lips, tasting the lip gloss there. If Beckham kissed like that, she could only imagine how good other things could be with him. “Oh.”

“But this”—he motioned between the two of them—“would screw everything up.”

The sexual fantasies trying to weave in her head blinked out.

“I like you, Eli.”

She frowned, her brain starting to wrest control back from her hormones and focus on his words. “I like you, too.”

“I think we could have a really cool friendship, and I’ve learned those are hard to come by.” He rubbed a hand along his jaw. “I don’t want to mess this up—and I would—if I let what just happened go any further. I would hurt you. Disappoint you.”

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