All Chapters of More Than Pleasures Steamy Diaries: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

After supper, Lisa stepped onto the terrace with a glass of water, the breeze brushing past her.Inside, Duke cleaned up in silence. City lights flickered ahead as she took a deep breath. Her phone buzzed in her pocket.Unknown Number.She gazed at it, debating whether to address. Then, with a quiet exhale, she pushed accept.“Hello?”There was a moment of silence, then a soft voice, tentative and familiar.“Lisa?”Her heart skipped. She hadn’t heard that voice in years.“Lara?”It resembled the past had broken open and spilled into today. Lara, her college roommate, her friend before life took doglegs.The girl who once knew every version of Lisa the world had since forgotten."I wasn't sure this number would still work," Lara continued, her voice shaking. "I didn't comprehend who else to call."Lisa went back from the railing, an abrupt tightness in her chest.“What happened?”“I’m in the city. Something happened. I didn’t want to involve anyone from home… but I remembered what you s

The phone buzzed again in Duke's hand, its screen lighting up with names tied to power, whatever, and tradition he had actually as soon as specified himself by.This time, he didn't respond like the male who utilized to jump at every summons.Rather of looking away, he kept his eyes fixed on Lisa's.In that moment, he chose between the meeting and the woman asking for what he rarely gave, his time and presence. He took a deep breath and gently placed the phone face down on the table.Duke didn't silence it or power it off.Instead, he simply selected, in a calm and intentional method, not to react.Lisa's expression altered somewhat, a tip of surprise flickering across her face and softening the mindful walls she constantly kept up.She stayed quiet, saying absolutely nothing. She didn't require to.“I’ve lived by that phone,” Duke said, his voice quieter now, heavier with truth. “Every meeting, every decision, it always came first. I told myself I was building something bigger than bo

“Un-freaking-believable.”That was the first thing Juda Cole muttered when he opened his eyes to the smell of antiseptic and the glare of hospital lights. Every part of him hurt.His head hurt so much that every throb made it hard to believe clearly. Juda left leg felt rather heavy, as if it were made of strong iron, and he couldn't move his perfect arm at all due to the fact that it was tightly bound in a brace.He had a stiff collar around his neck that rubbed versus his flesh, making even the smallest motion seem hard and unpleasant.He was tired and upset, so he let his head fall back versus the cushion and groaned a long, deep noise.The medical center ceiling stared back at him, disinfected and blank, type of like his brain because minute. The memories returned, like puzzle pieces falling into area.At that time, during the rain made the pavement wet also shiny, but he didn’t care. He did drive fast all down the street since the motorcycle's roar did echo all around him plus mad

The nights were the hardest.Not because of the pain, that was manageable now, but because of the stillness.After the last nurse rounded and the hallway lights dimmed, the silence wrapped around Juda like a second cast. It pressed in, heavy and isolating.His phone sat untouched on the tray beside him. No new messages. No missed calls. The friends who’d dared him to race that night hadn’t shown up, not even once. The girl he was supposed to impress never replied to his last text.Not even a ‘You okay?’Typical.He stared up at the ceiling again. It was becoming his second sky.In the quiet, memories crept in. Moments he usually drowned out with music, parties, people.The time he laughed off his mom’s warning call. The way Isaac had looked at him after the crash—half-relieved, half-disappointed. The emptiness in his own gut when Nurse Joy adjusted his bed without saying a word, and he realized… he kind of deserved that silence.He wasn't utilized to reflection. It felt foreign, like a

She gave a small shrug, her tone steady and sure. “You’re healing. That’s all any of us can ever be.”He nodded slowly. "Still ... I don't wish to leave and turn back into the person I used to be.""You won't," she responded, without even stopping briefly. “You’ve already changed.”He picked up the tea and took a sip. Still chamomile. Still warm and calming, like always.Can I ask you one more thing?" he stated, his voice quieter now.Joy raised an eyebrow, a hint of curiosity in her expression. “Depends.”He met her gaze, no mask this time. “If I do this right… if I keep healing, keep slowing down... do I still get to see you?”This time, she didn't dodge the question."If you're still you in a month," she whispered, "possibly you won't have to ask."Juda smiled. Not his old smirk, not the smooth, polished grin he used to wear like armor.Just something quiet. Something honest."I'm not trying to impress you," he said. "I just desire to keep being somebody worth knowing.".Joy stood b