Page 172 of The Perfect Love

I’d be surprised he’s still up, but it’s Trevor. He would’ve waited all night to make sure I got home safe.

“Hi,” I call in as even a tone as I can muster.

When I get to my bedroom, I find him sitting in bed reading, and damn if it’s not a sexy picture. One I’d like to see every night.

“How was it?” he asks.

“I kneed a guy in the balls. Twice.”

He’s instantly on alert, but tries not to show it.

“Was that part of the entertainment at the festival?”

I shake my head and he launches off the bed.

“What happened?” he growls.

And for some reason, that makes me laugh.

He looks at me like I’m crazy, which I might be, because it doesn’t take long for that laugh to morph into a cry.

He wraps his arms around me, angry energy vibrating off him.

“Tell me who I need to kill.”

And there’s another laugh.

“No one. I handled it.”

“Or kneed it?” He pulls back slightly and cups my face in his hands.

“I love you,” I murmur.

“Tell me what happened.”

I gesture to the bed, and we sit, Trevor wrapping his arms around me and pulling me halfway onto his lap. I can’t complain about being wrapped in a cozy Trevor cocoon.

He seethes as I tell him what happened, going through a range of emotions about it all. As they all pass, I’m left with a feeling of angry numbness. I’m not surprised it happened, but I’m pissed. And I’m proud I stood up for myself. Being careful is exhausting, and if I’m going to exhaust myself, I’d rather be fighting back, however I can.

“I fucking hate that this is how the world is for you. It’s not okay. If I could change it, I would.”

“You change it every day by being you. By being a good man. Because I know if you saw that happening to anyone, you’d stepin. You’d shame the guys. You wouldn’t let anyone get away with it. That makes a difference.”

He sighs and rests his head against my shoulder. “I would… but I haven’t always done that. I let the guys on my old team say shit I never should’ve let them get away with in the locker room. I’m not proud of it.”

“We all have our own paths to walk and things to learn. Besides, hearing the shit guys say in a locker room is different from witnessing a guy trying to trap or assault a girl. Would you ever have allowed that?”

“Fuck no.”

“Exactly.” I brush my hand over his cheek. “Because you’re a good man with a good heart.”

“How do you have so much grace?”

“I have grace for the people who deserve it. People who have good hearts, who want to learn and grow, who want to fix the world, or who want to learn from their mistakes. And I have that grace because I’ve seen the darkness. You can either fade away and become a part of that darkness, or you become a star and be the light in that darkness instead.”

He brushes his thumb over my cheek. “You astound me. I’m not sure if I could’ve become a star after all you went through—I’m not even sure I have after my own experiences. Maybe sometimes, but others? I have a visceral hatred for men who do that kind of shit—prey on women or anyone else. It’s disgusting. And when it comes to you…” He drops his head against my shoulder. “I tried to find him.”

“What?” I lean back and turn to look at him. He meets my gaze, his brows drawn together and eyes gleaming with hesitancy.

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