Page 86 of The Step Don't

“Well, some of us are,” I say.

“Whoa, whoa,” Marty says. “Too much info.”

“I know you don’t know Brenner well,” Taylor says, “but you’re just setting him up to say not enough info.”

“Don’t take my line!” Brenner snaps.

“Then don’t take so long to say it.”

I have a feeling this crew will have a great time at the festival. And I’m not wrong. When we get there, we hit up the arcade for a while, then ride roller coasters, hit the bumper cars, and take a spin on the Ferris wheel beforesome of us split up. Taylor wants to spend more time in the arcade, and Lance, Marty, Troy, and Atlas were gonna have another go at the bumper cars, but I’m still dizzy after that last coaster, so Colin and I head across the festival to a food truck we saw that sells wings and funnel cake—our favorites.

En route, Colin’s hand grips mine.

I notice it’s firm enough to let me know he’s mine, but loose enough that I don’t feel like he’s dragging me around the place. Like so many things with Colin, it’s just right.

“Aren’t you glad I got you out of bed for this?” I ask.

Colin groans. “I don’t know ifgladis the right word. Think we could have had a perfectly fine day in bed.” He winks.

“Maybe that’s true.”

“That was funny, what Brenner said about Dax. I bet they had a real fun night.”

I laugh. “Right? But it was nice that he respected what we did enough to keep it secret.”

“I had a feeling he was cool. It’s nice to know we trusted the right guy with that.”

“I agree.” As I gaze at Colin’s pretty mug, an impulse creeps through me, and I grab the back of his cap with my free hand, twisting it around to the front.

“I’m gonna have to start punishing you everytime you do that.”

“Punishing me? Oh, aren’t we the kinky two? What did you have in mind?”

“Every time you do that, you’re gonna have to clean yourself up after we mess around.”

I glare at him. “It can’t be a punishment if you wouldn’t be able to follow through with it even if you wanted to.”

Colin winces, leaning closer and whispering, “Then I guess it can’t be no dick for a week either. I’m gonna have to think real hard about this.”

“Careful, Col. You’re not that clear-headed when you’re thinking hard.”

“Shut up and kiss me.”

I grin ear to ear as I lean into him, accepting a soft kiss, enjoying that I’m still learning all Colin’s kisses.

The soft ones.

The rough ones.

Every variant in between.

Wondering which ones I haven’t identified yet, and eager to discover them.

As he pulls away, a voice comes from beside us. “Colin Phillips.”

We turn at the same time. I don’t recognize the woman, but I feel Colin tense up, so I pull my hand away from his, wondering if maybe this isn’t how he wants someone outside our friends to find out about us.

“Mrs. Raeger.”

---