Page 13 of Perfect Imperfections

Her mother, ever the romantic. “Goodbye, Mom.”

“Bye, Ellie.”

Making her way to her bedroom, she plugged her phone in on her nightstand before stripping off all her stinky clothing. Most of the cloth had dried now into stiff fabric that was a bitch to get off, but she managed. She shoved the smelly garments directly into her tiny washer before slipping into the bathroom. She turned on the ancient taps in the tub and pulled the device to get the showerhead flowing, but she didn’t step in. This apartment building had fifty residents and one very tiny water heater. Those drops would be icy cold for about two minutes, and she had enough of freezing cold water today, thank you very much.

Once the water reached an acceptable scalding temperature, she pulled back the cherry print curtain left by the last tenant and stepped in.

“Ohhhhhh, yes,” she sighed in bliss as the hot water pounded her back, washing away all the stink and stress of the day.

Grabbing her favorite occasional splurge—lilac-scented body wash—Ellie squeezed a generous amount onto her loofa and reveled in the luxurious feel of the sweetly scented soap cascading over her body. Oh man, did this feel good after the day she had. Her eyes closed in ecstasy, mind floating away as the events of the day played out. Getting to work, discussing speed dating with Cam, the school group, Charlotte’s fall, and diving in after her. Stress mounted again, remembering, but then a vision filled her mind.

A man rushing to his daughter’s side, holding her so tightly, like he would never let her go again. Love for the tiny child he held in his arms plain on his face. His very handsome face. The suit and tie he’d been sporting worked for her, too. She’d never given much thought to the clothes people wore, men especially, but Sullivan Green in a suit was what Cam would call “spank bank material.”

With her eyes closed, she could see clearly in her memories the dark green of his eyes, the slight blonde scruff on his jawline. His nose had a slight kink to it, as if it had been broken and repaired long ago. It gave him a devilish sort of appeal to his almost perfect appearance. A slight flaw, so his beauty didn’t overwhelm. And when he’d smiled at Charlotte, Ellie had lost her breath. The man had a killer smile. Made a woman wonder how powerful it would be aimed at her. How delicious those lips would taste as they captured her own in a—

Hold up!

Eyes snapping open, Ellie realized, rather embarrassedly, she had been stroking the loofa over her breasts as she daydreamed about kissing Sullivan. Oh crap! She really needed to get laid if this was how she got her jollies now. Making a dirty movie in her head about a man she barely knew? Cam was right. She needed a date, or at least a tumble between the sheets.

She rushed through the rest of her shower as efficiently as possible. No more lingering soap fun.

Deciding to forgo actual clothes since she didn’t plan to leave her apartment for the rest of the evening, she threw on some sweats and grabbed her fully charged cell, texting Cam.

Ellie: I’m in for speed dating.

She waited a moment for the reply. Her friend never took long.

Cam: Yay! I knew you’d cave. Sucker.

“Yeah, yeah. Well, I realized I needed human contact when I almost made love to my glorified cleaning rag five minutes ago,” she said to the phone, but texted,

Ellie: Yes, yes, you’re always right.

Cam: Duh! I’ll come over in the afternoon with some outfits.

Ellie: I have clothes.

Cam: Not for speed dating, you don’t. See you tomorrow! XOXO.

Fantastic. Speed dating. A forced hour of social interaction with a bunch of strangers trying to get in each other’s pants. Only she wouldn’t be wearing her pants because they weren’t appropriate or whatever. She’d be wearing some uncomfortable, slinky outfit her best friend could pull off, but she’d look like a toddler trying on her mother’s clothes.

Falling back onto her bed, she clutched her cell phone to her chest, allowing herself one small pity party of the events of her day.

“I should have stayed in the penguin pool.”

CHAPTER 5

“You are not wearing that.”

Ellie looked down at her shirt. Sure, it might be a little casual for speed dating, but it was cute and funny. Plus, it had a sweetheart neckline, which gave her some semblance of boobs. Her poor A-cups needed all the help they could get.

“What? Why?”

Cam shook her head, fiery, curly hair bouncing with the motion. “It says Nice Ass.”

“Yeah, because there’s a donkey on it, see?” She pointed to the comically adorable jackass, tushy on full display, head turned to show a long pink tongue hanging out of the side of its mouth. “It’s a pun. It’s funny.”

Ellie couldn’t resist a funny animal shirt. She didn’t think she owned any plain T-shirts. Who could resist a soft, cuddly kitten with the words “I’m purrrrrfect” written on it? Adorable and hilarious…to her, at least. Not everyone appreciated puns. And those people had no sense of humor.

---