My mouth dropped open, moving aimlessly. A few seconds later, I whirled to face Nabila. "What the fuck!"

She jerked back. "What?"

"Why would you let him in?"

"I-I wanted to surprise you!"

"Surprise me? What happened to helping me 'bury the body'?"

Angelo chuckled. "'Bury the body?'"

I glared at him. He cleared his throat, looking away.

For a few seconds, silence reigned. Then, Nabila said, "So...I'll leave you both alone."

Without waiting for a response, she fled the room.

Looking back at me, Angelo cleared his throat. "So-"

"You got tanner."

He blinked. "What?"

"You got tanner."

Which was true: his tawny-brown skin tone had darkened. That wasn't the only thing that was different about him, as his build had gotten more muscular as well. He also had grown a light beard and mustache. His bushy, coily hair was the only feature that hadn't noticeably changed.

He chuckled, sitting down. "You have summertime heat to thank for that."

I folded my arms, glaring at him. "Which one? The one here, or in Japan?"

"Since you just noticed the change, I'll say Jap-"

I exploded. "How could you just leave like that, without so much of a notice?"

He frowned. "I left you a messa-"

"After you had already left, and then you didn't even bother to reply to my messages!"

He reached into his pocket, pulling out a phone. It was different from what I was used to seeing him with. "My phone stopped working. I didn't have access to anyone's messages."

I scoffed. "Sure. Alright then, how do you explain you not replying to my DMs on IG, even though you were active on there?"

He looked away from me briefly. "My DMs were acting up as well."

"Oh, how convenient! If you were so cut off digitally, how were you able to contact Nabila to plan this visit?"

"I said my DMs 'were' acting up, they're fine now." He groaned. "Look, can we just drop this? Isn't the important thing that I'm here now?"

"No, we will not be 'dropping this'!"

He looked away from me. Silence fell between us.

How can he just suggest that we 'drop this', after ignoring me for weeks on end? The nerve of him!

"Well?" I growled. "What do you have to say?"

Looking back at me, he said, "I missed you."

I scoffed. "Sure."

Involuntarily, my eyes followed his hand as he tugged at his shirt's collar, exposing a hint of the muscle that lay beneath.

When I met his eyes again, he was smirking.

Fuck, why did he have to notice?

"Despite your tone," His other hand moved to his collar as he began pulling off his shirt, "I'm guessing you missed me as well."

My face warmed. "Keep- keep your shirt on, we're having a conversation."

He paused, still smirking. "If you really don't want me to take it off, then come stop me."

My feet remained rooted in place.

Pulling off his shirt, he walked to me.

My heart rate quickened. Mayday! Stop him! Stay focused!

Circling behind me, he dropped his hands on my side. Resting his lips beside my ear, he murmured, "You missed me, didn't you?"

"I- we're not done-"

I choked off as he began placing light kisses on my neck. With each one, desire built in my stomach. My skin grew warm as he lightly traced his fingers against my sides.

Inadvertently, my body loosened as I leaned back onto him. Heat spread over my body as his scent washed over me. My eyes shut. At that moment, I wanted nothing more than for him to wrap his arms around me...

Suddenly, he was gone, leaving cold space where his presence had once been. I opened my eyes, blinking. "Why- why did you stop?"

Without saying a word, he walked over to the bed and sat on it. Spreading his legs, he leaned back and smirked at me.

Looking at him then, I was slightly in awe. The boy- no, the man seated on the bed was poised in such a way that was a far cry from just a few months ago, when we had first had sex.

There was a simple command behind his gaze:

'Give in.'

Holy fuck, I've created a monster!

Yet as I walked to him, I wasn't sure that was a bad thing.

Sitting on his lap, I forced out, "We're- we're not done talking about this."

Still smirking, he tilted his head up slightly. "Kiss me."

I wish I could say I resisted his command, but that'll be a lie.

As my lips touched him, all rationality flew out of the window, replaced by desire. What started as a light meeting of our lips soon evolved into a passion-fueled dance as we got more into it. I wrapped my hands around his neck as his hands traced over my lower back.

I nearly whimpered when his lips left mine, only to end up arching my neck as his lips attacked it.

A small part of my mind registered the difference between our first make-out session and that. The former had been sloppy, but the passion had made up for its flaws. On the other hand, the smoothness of the latter was a clear testament to how much understanding we'd gained about each other.

His lips left my skin briefly as he murmured, "I'll ask you again: did you miss me?"

I nodded.

"I want to hear you say it."

Looking into his eyes, I stuttered, "I- I missed you, Romeo."

His gaze softened as he smiled. "I missed you as well, Juliet."

. . .

I absentmindedly drew circles on Angelo's warm chest as I listened to the sound of his heartbeat. His hands were behind his head, allowing my head access to his chest. We were both bare in bed, not counting the duvet covering us. His scent, a mix of natural musk and expensive perfume, enveloped me.

Honestly, I was on Cloud Nine.

Looking up at him, I asked, "How was Japan?"

He shrugged. "Hot, but alright. It was nice seeing Annie again."

"How is she, by the way?"

"She's alright. So is the baby. I won't lie, he's really cute."

I sat up, gasping. "Oh my gosh, she has given birth?"

"No, I paid the baby a visit in her stomach."

Rolling my eyes, I lightly smacked him. "Don't be a dick, you know what I meant."

"That you think I can somehow see a baby before it's born?"

"You can actually, genius. One word: ultrasound."

"I see. So, I'm assuming you find silhouettes cute? If that's the case, you'll be in a minority."

"You know, it'll be so easy for me to do some damage to your dick right now..."

He grinned cheekily. "It'll be as much of your loss as mine."

My face warmed. "Shut up!"

Still grinning, he extended his arms out to me. "I'm getting cold."

"Good, I hope you freeze to death!"

"Come on," he pouted. "My arms feel empty."

Ugh, why'd you have to be so cute?

Despite the fact butterflies were dancing in my stomach, I scoffed as I cuddled up to him again. "Only 'cause you're begging."

His chest vibrated as he chuckled. "Sure, that's why."

I settled further into his embrace, nearly sighing when he began stroking my hair. Silence fell between us.

I lay there for a while, basking in his warmth and the comfort of the moment. It was moments like that I had missed the most, which had made the weeks spent apart tough. At that moment, I felt like I could be happy spending eternity in bed with him. That may have been what inspired the question I broke the silence with.

"What are we?"

"What?"

"Just curious."

He chuckled. "Oh, I don't know, human beings? College students? You're going to have to be more specific than that."

I giggled. "Fair enough. I mean, relationship-wise...what are we?"

His hand stopped stroking my hair.

I furrowed my brow, looking up at his face. He looked away.

Oh fuck.

After a while, he said, "I don't...we're together now. Isn't that what really matters?"

I replied hastily, "Yeah, of course! There's no need to label it or anything."

Smiling, he leaned forward and kissed my forehead. "For what it's worth, there's nowhere else I'll rather be at the moment."

As my skin tingled, I smiled. "Same."

. . .

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