My eyes close. “Yes, love?”
Say it. Say it.
She bites her lip. “Kiss me. Now.”
My hands fly to her cheeks, and I bring my lips down on hers with ferocity. Our lips meld, and my tongue finds hers. They move to a rhythm of their own unique creation.
I can’t get enough. I wrap her hair around my fingers.
A moan rumbles out of her mouth and into my own.
Fuck.
I need to stop this before it goes any further, before I can’t hide the bulge in my pants. But I don’t know if I even have the power to stop.
But she pulls away first, making the choice. The look in her eyes is terrifying, and my heart drops.
I can see her want, her need to kiss me again. I can almost feel the pull of her lips to mine. But mixed with that is regret—so muchregret—and my eyes begin to sting.
She opens her mouth to speak, but no words come out. And my worst fear is realized as she backs out of my grasp and runs off the dance floor and toward the exit. As she puts as much physical distance as she can between us, my heart falls out of my chest and shatters on the floor. By the same girl—again.
But I’ll do it a thousand times over, forever.
Because I’m in love with Becca Chambers. And although she’s already given up on herself, on us, I won’t. Not now, not ever.
SIXTEEN
Becca
Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. What have I done?
Running to the exit, I know Keanu and Max will be close behind. But I don’t expect Sophie and Rose to join them.
My hands are on my knees the second I hit the cool night air, my breaths huffing in and out.
Keanu gets to me first. “Max, get the car. Becca, just tell me if I need to hurt him.” He places a hand on my back, pushing in slightly to tell me to straighten up. “Also, here, do this.” He places his hands on top of his head and breathes in through his nose and out through his mouth. “Deep breaths.”
I listen to him and lock my fingers on top of my head. I seal my lips shut and inhale through my nose, feeling the burn of fresh air attack my lungs. And I exhale through my mouth as instructed.
Keanu’s eyes are bouncing back and forth between my eyes, searching. For what, I don’t know.
My breathing is still ragged and broken, and even with Keanu’s help, nothing is calming it.
The ghost of Callum’s kiss, Callum’s tongue, haunts my skin.
I don’t think that there could possibly be anyone else in this world that could ever replace Callum. The way he smiles and laughs. The way he protects anyone and everyone even if they’re complete strangers.
How he is quieter in groups, sitting back and observing, taking every detail in. How the few freckles across his cheeks make me smile because he’s insecure about them. And I wish I could kiss every one of them until he loves them as much as I do.
How his body is a direct reflection of the countless hours he puts into his craft. His love for his Gran. His love for life. For everything that Callum is and will be.
I love everything about him.I love him.
My chest tightens, and my breaths seem to quicken even more.
Shit. I haven’t had one of these in so long.
“Fuck!” I shout, and before I know it, I’m pacing back and forth in front of three familiar onlookers. People I wish would turn the fuck around and look away.
