Page 94 of Begin Again Again

“What? Are you okay? What do you need me to do?”

She gasped.“‘It’s better to strip for me and D than some old cunt.’You said that. And you weren’t even joking!”

Growling, Byron dunked her back down. Beth closed her mouth, locking her legs around his back and trying to tip him forward. He didn’t budge—he probably could have held himself up forever—but then he tumbled forward. They thrashed in the water together, kicking and shoving, surfacing, and laughing until they were both gasping for air.

“Truce,” she called, swimming away.

“Truce,” Byron agreed, swishing back his hair. “Stop laughing at me about the strippers.”

Just hearing him say it got Beth going again. She swam away as fast as her tired legs would carry her, giggling madly. “You think they like you! You think they should pay you!”

Fat droplets rained on her head as he splashed her. “What kind of fucking truce is this?”

“The hilarious kind!” Beth stood, her feet finding the bottom of the billabong. She held up both palms.

“Fine. I’ll stop actively laughing at you. I can’t take this anymore. I mean it,” she added as Byron swam toward her, eyes narrowed. “Everything hurts.”

“Fine. Real truce this time.”

They floated for a while. Beth watched Byron swim in a semi-circle, his expression easy. Then he caught her eye, and his face became harder. Surer. He dived, surging through the water toward her like a torpedo. When he surfaced, he looked more like a cologne ad than a man. His wet hair enhancing his jade eyes and razor-sharp cheekbones. Looking at his damp, full mouth made Beth’s insides ache. Did he know how good-looking he was? Could anyone?

He slid through the water toward her. “Horoscopes?”

“Yes?”

He rose out of the billabong, water sliding off his shoulders and down the planes of his powerful chest. “If you were a stripper, I’d buy a dance.”

“Um… cheers?”

Byron ignored her weak attempt at a joke. He reached out for her face, but before his finger could connect, he paused. “Can I touch you?”

She moved into his touch, pressing her cheek to his palm.

“You’re beautiful,” he said.

She smiled into his hand. “Is this your stripper fuckstrat? Telling the ladies they’re beautiful?”

He looked away.

“Sorry,” she said. “I’m just… new at this.”

Byron raised a brow. “The girl who kissed twenty-three guys in one night?”

Fuck, she’d forgotten she’d told him about that. She ducked her head. “Yes actually. Because I’mnotthe girl who kissed twenty-three guys in one night.”

“How’s that?”

“Because I’m sober. I’ve never done sexy swimming sober. I’ve never slept with a new person sober either.”

He smiled. “You’ve sent me nudes sober. You let me touch you in a playground sober.”

They both made a face.

“I won’t say it like that again,” he promised. “But this isn’t a big deal.”

“I know. But this would be hard even if you were average-looking and you’re not! You’re stunning, and I like it, but it freaks me out!”

He shook his head. “So, you’re gonna say stuff like that about me, but I’m not allowed to say stuff like that about you?”

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