Read Online Flaws and All by Shana Burton - Free Book Online Page B

Sullivan.
    Angel winced. “Dang, small world, huh?”
    â€œ Too small!” seconded Lawson. “I almost passed out when I saw him. It was completely surreal, like one of those out-of-body experiences. What am I going to do?”
    â€œYou need to pray about this and ask God for direction,” suggested Kina. “The Bible says He’ll give you wisdom if you ask for it.”
    Reginell lowered her voice. “Does Garrett know?”
    â€œNo. I called and asked him to come over when he gets off work. I plan on telling him everything then.”
    â€œLawson, exactly what happened between you and this Mark person?” inquired Angel. “I didn’t meet you guys until Sully and I were roommates in college, and Mark was already out of the picture by then. I’m out of the loop here.”
    Sullivan bolted up. “I want to make it clear that it was not my fault! I just introduced them. They got into the baby-making business all on their own.”
    Lawson spoke up. “I was a virgin. Mark is the one who took it there, not me.”
    â€œYou tagged along for the ride—literally and figuratively,” quipped Sullivan.
    â€œOkay, so what happened?” Angel asked again. “All I know is that Mark got you pregnant, moved to Virginia to play football, and that you never heard from him again. There’s got to be more to the story.”
    Lawson sighed. “That really about sums it up.”
    â€œNo, it doesn’t,” cut in Sullivan. “Don’t you remember, Lawson? We were at Manny’s graduation party. I was gorgeous as usual, and you were . . . you.”
    Angel huffed. “Can we skip the Sullivan-is-fabulous parts and get to the point?”
    Sullivan cut her eyes at Angel. “Without that, there really isn’t much of a story.”
    Lawson closed her eyes and leaned back. “I can still hear K-Ci from Jodeci wailing, ‘So you’re havin’ my baby, and it means so much to me’ during Mark’s and my first dance at that basement party. That’s really where Namon’s conception began.”
    â€œYou did it at the party?” asked Reginell.
    Lawson chuckled. “No, we did it at his house. Sully and I had just turned sixteen, school had dismissed for the summer, and we were ready to party. Sullivan always made it a practice to keep two boyfriends—one at our neighborhood school, and one from one of the swanky private schools across town.”
    Sullivan threw in, “Every teenage girl needs her good boy and her hood boy.”
    Angel deadpanned, “I’ll be sure to write that down.”
    Lawson continued. “Anyway, her private school boyfriend, Manny, had just graduated and was throwing a party at his house. Sullivan insisted on dragging me along with her, claim-ing that Manny had this cute friend that I just had to meet. Then she introduced me to the finest boy I’d ever laid eyes on.”
    â€œSullivan has nothing if not good taste in men,” admitted Reginell.
    â€œHis name was Mark, and he’d just graduated too. We settled into a corner of the room to talk. He told me about his full athletic scholarship to Virginia Tech and his plans to leave in two weeks for football camp, and I told him all about me. When Jodeci came on, he asked me to dance.”
    â€œBump and grind is more like it,” amended Sullivan.
    Lawson remembered how Mark cupped her body close to his as they swayed to the music. By the time Jodeci reached the bridge of “Forever My Lady,” she was convinced that she was in love. “A little later,” narrated Lawson, “Sully busted in on us in a frenzy because her other boyfriend, Anwar, was on his way over. Mark didn’t want me to leave, so he offered to take me home so Sullivan could escape.”
    â€œSee, if you had left with me, none of this would be happening,” Sullivan crowed.
    â€œWill you stop butting in? I want to