Free Locket full of Secrets by Dana Burkey Page A

through.
                  The air between us felt suddenly charged with emotions. I could feel my heart beating out of my chest as Steven leaned closer, closing the space between us. As our lips finally met I felt energy coursing through my body. Although we had kissed once in the car earlier in the night this was somehow much more passionate, fueled by what we had been through and also what we knew was still to come.
                  Our kiss deepened as I pressed my body closer to Steven, my arms winding around his neck. As his hands circled around my waist I could feel his heart beat as he pulled me off of my chair and closer to his body. Weaving my fingers through his wet hair I shivered as his hands touched a patch of exposed skin on my back. His hands began slowly sliding up under my shirt when we both paused. Someone was knocking on the door.
                  Pulling apart suddenly, I willed my breath to slow as Steven moved quickly to the door. Glancing through the peep hole, Steven’s shoulders relaxed as he let out the breath he had been holding. He stepped back just as Olena opened the door, bringing with her a cluster of shopping bags.
                  “Alright, time to get ready,” Olena announced before looking between Steven and myself. I could feel my cheeks flushing under her gaze, my eyes rooted to the carpet.
                  “So, what’s the plan?” Steven asked, his voice a little deeper than I was used to.
                  Olena paused, as if she knew she had interrupted something. As I finally looked up I saw she was giving Steven a warning glare. The look surprised me, but after the last few hours we had been through it was clear Olena was still trying to protect me from getting hurt. Hopefully our upcoming trip to Russia would help her see Steven was not going to be the cause of more pain for me any time soon.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

     
                  Pulling out items from her shopping bags, Olena arranged clothing, bags, and a variety of supplies onto one of the queen sized beds. Part of me wanted to know where she got the money to pay for everything, but I quickly decided that at this point it was better not to ask.
                  “Alright, here are the passports,” Olena said, handing us each a blue booklet. Flipping mine open I saw my photo staring back at me. I did not know where she got the photo from, but once again figured it was a question better kept to myself.
                  “This looks real,” I said out loud, flipping through the pages to see only one stamp from Canada.
                  “It is,” she nodded. “I was in Ohio before I drove to Michigan to find you so I picked it up. Getting one for Steven was tough, but it should do the trick.”
                  “So, we’re just going in there as ourselves?” Steven asked, tucking his passport into his bag like it was no big deal. Apparently I was the only one freaked out that Olena had snuck into my house before last night.
                  “Yes,” Olena nodded. “We are just college students on a backpacking trip.”
                  Looking at the supplies once again, I suddenly understood the casual clothing she had purchased, as well as the large packs. I heard of quite a few students I graduated with who had headed to Europe for the summer with plans to travel around to as many countries as possible before flying home. It was the perfect reason for three teenagers to fly halfway across the world by themselves.
                  “We have tickets to fly to Moscow at 2, so we need to get moving,” Olena explained as she handed us each a pile of clothing. “If we leave for the airport in half an hour, we should have plenty of time to make it through security before our