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"Uri that ‘insensitive dick’ thing again I shouldn’t have brought that up"

I shrugged "Nah, it’s okay Shit happens, y’know?" An aard silence fell and I flicked off another ed to make it up to ht you’d ever be casually flingingI used to gag if someone spit on the sidewalk in front of me"

"You know" Marcus paused, and it looked as if he was getting up the nerve to say so I waited, and a few seconds later he continued, "I was the Resource Officer at your high school for a short time I’d only been a cop for a few years and usually those assignuys with a lot h a phase where they were shuffling everyone around"

I had an odd feeling I knehere he was going with this, but I went ahead and said, "Oh?"

His so I, uh, reh but I forced ave a slow nod

I made a face "Not one of my better moments" I didn’t mention the time he’d arrested me So far that incident was unspoken between us Taboo I far preferred it that way

He shrugged "Maybe so But, at the risk of sounding like a po over it"

"Took

He smiled "I mean it It’s like you’re not the same person you used to be"

God, if he only knew "I’ure out who I am" I winced Holy shit, that sounded kooky "Uh, you knohat I mean"

"I do," he said with a slow nod "I think we all have to go through that at some point"

"Yeah," I said And some of us needed a kick in the ass first

"Look, I know this is the last thing you want to talk about, but I wanted to ask you" He trailed off, looking strangely uneasy

"Ask me?" Ask me to dinner? Ask me out for drinks? Ask me if I wanted to see what he looked like under that uniform? Yohere’d that last one co I’d want to talk about

He took a deep breath "I wanted to ask you to please not bail your dad out of jail"

Sohts went crashing into a tangled heap "Hunh?"

"Don’t bail your dad out," he repeated, eyes on h on you, but you shouldn’t be the one to get hied to force out Wow, ht" He scrubbed a hand over the short brush of hair on his head "Give yourself a few days peace" He looked like he wanted to say more, but I didn’t need to hear it I knehat he wanted to say He didn’t want ave a shit Maybe he was like this for everyone, but it didn’t matter I still couldn’t help but relish the tiny spark of warave ave ed with relief and worry

"Hey," I said before he could say anything else that would rab so soots," I added with a laugh that sounded nervous to my own ears and probably sounded desperate and pathetic to his I totally braced myself for hiirlfriend or soave ots thing too"

We were saved fro whistle to get my attention I looked over to see that the ho the house