Page 56 of Imperfection is Beauty

And since he was free, and ever since we reconnected of sorts, I lowered my voice and said, “I love that. And… truth?”

I could have sworn he nodded, “Always.”

Smiling, I whispered, “I feel the same way.”

He chuckled, and then I could hear his grin through the phone, “Now, I won't sound like a pussy when I say, I want to start and end my day with your voice.”

“What will the women think of that?” I teased.

He chuckled, “Well, all she has to do is look in the mirror and ask herself. But… seeing as it’s just you, that’s up to you.”

Immediately, I pulled the phone from my ear and did my best to cover the speaker with my comforter, and then, I let it out. “Squee.”

I knew I hadn’t muffled the speaker, not when I put the phone back to my ear and heard his laughter.

“Shut it.” I scolded him.

He was still laughing when he said, “No fucking way.”

Smiling, I looked at the clock on my wall and then gasped, “I slept until noon?”

I heard him chuckling again, “Yeah, I guess so. Are you feeling any better?”

I nodded, “Much. The wonders of good company, medicine, soup, and a good night’s rest.”

Immediately, he asked, “Good company. Huh?”

“It’s a proven fact,” I said all businesslike. Then softly, because I was concerned… and maybe a bit nosey, I asked, “So, do you want to talk about the call you got this morning?”

He sighed, “Honestly? Not really. I want you to meet my friends, I want them to help you feel comfortable with me. What I don’t want you to do is throw in the towel and not want anything to do with me.”

“And you think whatever happened would cause that?”

He sighed again, “Got a feeling it would.”

“Well, I can’t promise you that I won't throw in the towel, but I’ll only do that over your actions. Not someone else.” I hoped that eased his fear a little.

And I knew it did when he started explaining what happened.

“Okay, fucking dumbass Culpepper. He was headed home, saw a woman walking the street, stopped to ask her if she needed a ride home because that’s the type of man he is.”

My brain immediately comprehended what he was saying, and all I could say was, “Oh shit.”

He snorted, “Yeah. Turns out, all she was doing was looking for someone so she could make some cash and then go see her dealer.”

I took a moment to take in what he said, and then I asked, “So that was him on the phone? Where was he calling from?”

Marcus was silent for a bit, and then he said, “Jail.”

I winched, “How much was his bail?”

“Thankfully, by the time I got there, the woman had felt so bad about how it all went down that she told the truth about what happened. He was released and no charges are pending.”

“I bet if they were, the league would have a field day with it.”

“Yeah, not the kind of attention we need, or he needs.”

I nodded, “Yeah, I can only imagine. But… you called him a dumbass? Why? I think it’s sweet that if he sees a woman walking alone in the middle of the night, he’s going to stop and offer his assistance.”

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