Page 50 of For You & No One Else (Say Everything 3)

“Eliza?” Beckham repeated.

“Oh, right,” she said, snapping out of her whirling thoughts and getting to her feet. “Sorry.”

When she got close, he said quietly, “You don’t have to.”

Her hands were sweating. She rubbed them on her pajamas pants so he wouldn’t grab sweaty palms and nodded. “I know. I’m fine.”

He searched her face as if looking for the real answer. He let out a breath. “Okay.”

She held out her hand and he took it. He laced his fingers with hers, almost as if he was trying to ground her. The grip helped…a little.

“Ready?” she asked, voice soft. And in that moment, she realized she was. She wanted to see what it was like…to kiss Beckham. Maybe doing that could get this attraction thing out of the way. She could kiss him and see that he was just another guy. Break the tension that hummed between them.

His Adam’s apple bobbed, and his gaze held hers. His fingers tightened against hers. She closed her eyes. But as she prepared to feel his mouth against hers, the sound of his voice broke through.

“I don’t want to do this,” he said, loud enough for the room to hear.

And before she could register the words, his solid grip released her hand, leaving her hanging. Her eyes flew open. He’d backed up a step and looked apologetic.

“I’m sorry,” he said to her.

There were a million smart reasons why they shouldn’t kiss. Valid reasons. But in that moment, all she felt was the stinging burn of embarrassment and the gut punch of rejection. It was like middle school all over again, the boy she’d liked laughing that no one would want to kiss her.

Beckham had kissed Khuyen with no problem. He wasn’t opposed to kissing friends. He was just opposed to kissingher. “Oh,” she said, feeling stupid. “No, it’s okay.”

“No problem,” Dahlia said brightly. “Consent, consent, consent. But Beckham, you’ll have to leave the game.”

“That’s fine,” he said, stepping out of the circle and giving Eliza one last glance before heading out of the room.

Eliza sat back down, cheeks burning.

“Sorry,” Will said. “I don’t know what’s up with him. That was weird.”

She cleared her throat. “It’s probably because we work together. It could make it awkward.”

He smiled and nodded. “Probably. Want to get out of this room? I think I’m over this game.”

She gave him a grateful look. “Yeah, me too.”