Chapter 5

He knew Steven wanted to cuddle because he’d been needy and starved of affection for a long time. Steven tried not to cling to Derrick but Steven’s family was horrific. They had only called him once during the seventeen months he’d been in Texas and that was during his first eight weeks, only to ask him if he renounced his sinful ways and was ready to come home and be a proper Catholic. After that they sent a regular monthly letter full of venom for Steven to read. Derrick had seriously thought of trashing those letters because they upset Steven so much, but he couldn’t lie to his lover, so once a month like clockwork the toxic missives arrived. Steven got depressed and Derrick wound up comforting him.