Raw Confide

The sound of the waves crashing on the shore was hypnotic, a slow rhythm that matched the throbbing in her chest. The heat was thick, heavy—saturating the air, the sheets, and every inch of exposed skin. Tolu lay sprawled on the linen couch by the open window, a silk robe barely clinging to her curves. She hadn’t expected him to come. But when Chuka’s knock echoed against the beach house door and she opened it to find him shirtless, damp from the ocean, and wearing nothing but swim trunks and a half-smile, she knew this weekend wouldn’t be like the last. He stepped in, the door shutting softly behind him, and they stood inches apart. “I was starting to think you’d changed your mind,” she whispered. He didn’t reply. He just looked at her—slowly, like he was drinking her in. His fingers reached for the robe’s knot, tugging gently until it loosened and slipped from her shoulders like melted chocolate. Bare beneath, she let it fall. Chuka’s breath caught. “You’ve been waiting like this?” S...