Page 63 of Dope Boys: Most Wanted
“Good morning,”Markus’ raspy voice filled her ears as she ambled down the stairs, a tone correcting jelly mask on her face that Aunt G insisted she wear on her off days. She’d even called a few times to check in and had new fall pieces delivered to her. Reign assumed that she’d gotten her number and address from Markus. She welcomed her wisdom and warmth and somehowwas comfortable with the subtle, intrusive nature of it all. Something else she had to thank Markus for.
Her eyes squinted as she took him in – not because the image of him wasn’t clear but because the image of him was so…beautiful. His durag-covered head, no shirt, gold chains hanging around his neck, sweats low, and his glasses on. Markus was actively slicing the apple in the palm of his hand, his muscles flexing with every movement. Reign’s eyes trailed the tattoos etched into his skin from the base of his neck to the top of his sweats. Where they went after that, she told herself, wasn’t her business to find out.
Softly, she cleared her throat, prompting him to continue.
“How’d you sleep, Speechless?”
“…fine. So this half-naked chef thing is something I should get used to?” Reign questioned.
Markus stopped, took her in the same way she’d done him. Jelly mask, bonnet, nipples pressing against the satin of her pajama top, her legs free of the pants she wore the night before, feet covered in a pair of sleep socks.
“Been here every morning, haven’t I? Put your ass to sleep, carry you to the bed, back here before you wake up. I’d say you should be used to it. Five days of this.”
Reign rolled her eyes playfully. “Mm takes about twenty-one days to form a habit.”
“You and that mouth. Is that something I get used to?” he paused his cutting to point at her jelly-covered face before his eyes dropped to her breasts. “I mean, I could.”
Reing looked down and quickly covered her chest, hating that her body was betraying her. Only because it was free to. Safe to. “Had I known you were coming back, I would’ve fixed this.”
“Nah, don’t do that,” he said, placing her apples on the plate. “I like it. You look comfortable. It looks good on you.”
Reign muttered, “I could say the same.”
“You eating just fruit this morning or some real food?”
“Considering I had to fend for myself last night, real food would be nice.”
“Oh, watch out, she’s getting spoiled.”
Reign laughed softly at Markus’ comment. “Don’t start nothing you can’t keep doing.”
“Everything I start I can finish, know that.” His eyes lingered on her with that comment.
“I’m going to assume you didn’t sleep because you talkin’ crazy,” Reign quipped.
“I did sleep, right on the couch. Where you were safe. Missed that foot, though,” he shared. “How’s the salon coming along? Any new hires?”
“Yeah, two. They’re doing good. I’m happy for the day off, though. Where am I being whisked off to today?”
“You know what, Speechless, I like that you know what’s up,” he spoke with a chuckle, sliding the plate of fruit over to her. “Kickin’ it around the city today. Is that cool? Some tourists shit.”
Reign’s brows shot up. “Tourist? I don’t get to go to the corner stores and climb up fire escapes?”
“Nah, that’s later. You know, when you become my girl and shit.”
Reign’s face frowned. “Your arrogance is astonishing.”
“Astonishing, or is honesty something you just aren’t used to?”
Reign shook her head as she picked up an apple slice, eyeing how he pitted it. She took a bite and slowly chewed it before answering his question. “In a world full of lies and bullshit, finding the truth is … refreshing.”
“Good, because telling you a lie is something I wouldn’t do,” he spoke, cleaning up his minimal mess.
Reign tilted her head. “So you just wouldn’t tell me.”
Markus chomped on an apple slice of his own. “There’s going to be some shit I get involved in that you will never know about. You’ll always be safe, though. Always.”
Reign bit a grin, but that didn’t stop her cheeks from flushing and glowing red. She tried to recover by asking, “So chillin’ around the city, what should I wear?”
