Page 112 of Steps

“Fuck, I’ve missed you,” he grunts.

It draws a flirty smile out of me, and I tell himsweetly, “Same.”

We hurry out of the rest of our clothes andeagerly shuffle to the bed. I pull him down on top of me.

Varen swirls his tongue around my nipples whilemassaging my clit. Coming back to my mouth, he says hungrily, “I miss beinginside you.”

“Here I am,” I whisper in return, spreading mythighs to accommodate him. “Take me.” I latch my legs around his waist as hedrives his hard cock inside. Fire blazes beneath my skin. A familiar passionawakens.

We moan, desperately caressing each other whilemaking up for the time we were apart. I cling to Varen as my body quivers anderupts. He unleashes his warmth inside me minutes after and lowers at my side,breathing heavily.

The ceiling fan cools us down. I stare up at itwhile I calm my racing heart.

Varen grasps my hand and places it on his chest.When I look at him, my lips curve naturally. I feel like I haven’t smiled in awhile.

“How do you pass the time at home?” he asks, voiceraspy.

“I write. A lot.”

His eyes twinkle with joy. “What about? I’d loveto read what you’ve written.”

I sidle closer and whisper, “It’s a secret rightnow. Soon, when I’m confident enough in my words, I’ll let you read everything.Even my diary.”

He pinches his brows together. “Your diary? Whatchanged your mind?”

“You.” I kiss him once. “I want to shareeverything with you, Varen.”

“You’ve already shared so much, Toya. I don’t evenfeel worthy.”

“Stop, you are.”

We longingly stare at each other, saying so muchwithout using words. Minutes go by of doing just that, then I climb over him,and we make love again.

Varen wakes me at dawn with a soft kiss on mylips. I groan. “I’m not ready, but don’t want my mom to send the police to yourdoor.”

He sighs and starts to loosen his hold on my body.“It’s all right. How about a date on Sunday?”

I scowl. “How are we going to pull that off? DoubtI can sneak out with her car again.”

“I’ll ask Kenya to stop by around noon if she’snot working. Maybe she can convince your mom to let you hang out with her. Thenwe’ll meet up.”

My body warms to the idea, and of seeing him againso soon. “Sounds good. I’ll give you her number.”

“Cool.”

We crawl out of his bed and get dressed. Aftergiving him Kenya’s phone number, Varen walks with me outside to my mom’s car.

Standing at the driver’s door, he wraps his armsaround me in a tight embrace. I savor the moment, resting my head against hisfirm chest with my eyes closed as I absorb him as much as I can.

“I love you,” he says as I ease away.

“And I love you.”

We kiss once more, then I get in the car and startback to the house, which no longer feels like my home because Varen isn’tthere.

The sun is just rising by the time I arrive, itsradiant light filling the gloomy sky. Taking a deep breath, I open the frontdoor as quietly as possible and step inside, placing Mom’s keys on the table inthe entrance.

It’s dead quiet. My shoulders relax, realizing noone is awake. But as I tiptoe to the stairs, a soft voice speaks at my back,startling me.

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