Page 51 of Beautiful Noise
“Not sure, I haven’t talked to her about the options yet. As soon as everything went live, my phone was ringing off the hook. I’ve been doing recon for the past couple hours.”
“You haven’t checked on her?”
“Not since she found out.”
“Ezren.” Her tone was threatening and I chuckled.
“Ma, relax. I have the situation under control and I have Kori covered.”
“Doesn’t sound like it.”
“You doubting me?” She didn’t need to, I doubted myself. I exhaled a sigh but yanked a hand down my face and tugged at my beard before my eyes moved to the door of my studio. I came down here for privacy just in case anything got exposed that I didn’t need Kori to hear right away. She was already devastated enough.
“Yes, if it means you aren’t making sure she’s okay.” I laughed dryly. “So, how is she?”
“Upset, naturally. If you want to get off my line then I can go make her feel better.”
“This is your fault, so of course I’m placing blame.”
“Are you forgetting your role in this?”
“My role?”
“Yes, your role. Allowing a random woman to live in my house without permission, coaching her on ways to seduce me with food, and pushing us into this situation is all you. This is your fault, not mine.”
“You took her to dinner without taking the necessary precautions. How did you think this would play out? You’re not an average guy that can take his girlfriend to a cozy dinner without having safeguards set in place.”
Girlfriend?
She was right, but in my defense, I didn’t know shit about dating, but had I thought things through, I would’ve had Kori fully vetted, and precautions in place to deal with anything connected to her life. The problem was, with Kori, I wasn’t thinking. I was just fucking living in the moment.
“Ma, I love you, but if the point of this call is to place blame for things I couldn’t control and didn’t play a part with setting in motion, then I’m gonna have to ask you to focus your energy elsewhere. I have more important things to do.”
She was quiet for a minute and I felt bad. I hadn’t raised my voice but I wasn’t in the mood for this shit and my priority right now was to go see about Kori. This call was delaying the plan.
“You’re right, take care of my girl and if I can help, let me know. I’ll be home in a few days and you’ll be my first stop.”
I smirked, shaking my head. My mother had a soft spot for Kori but I understood why because so did I.
“I’ll do whatever I have to do to make this right.”
“I hope so.”
I ended the call and made my way to check on Kori. After a few soft knocks on the door I expected she wouldn’t answer, so I stepped inside the room and found my girl burrowed beneath the bedding. I cared about people. My parents raised me to bea compassionate and understanding person but rarely did that filter over to the women I was involved with.
Mostly because what I shared with them was temporary. So the way my heart constricted, knowing Kori was in a bad place and suffering because of me and that I was just as affected by her grief, was a true sign that she would not be temporary in my life.
I stepped out of my shoes, and eased under the comforter until I was face to face with Kori. Turbulent, conflicted eyes met mine.
“I fucked this all up.”
Her brows pinched in confusion. “How?”
“I should have known better. I know how things play out with stuff like this.” My mother’s words were in my head and I groaned internally because she was right. “I can’t do impromptu shit like going to dinner with the woman I’m feeling. Things have to be planned and precautions have to be put in place to maintain privacy. In my defense, all I could think about was a smart, beautiful, weird as fuck woman had me wanting to do normal people shit, like take her to dinner. What I did was selfish, and for that, I apologize.”
“You weren’t being selfish, Ezren. You didn’t see any of this happening,” she stated quietly.
“I agree. I didn’t see any of this happening, but I should have. I’m not new to this and usually my moves are more calculated. But where you’re concerned, I tend to act without thinking. I might not have expected this outcome but I should have. As a man who has put himself in charge of your well being, as a man who plans to be your safe space and your protector, I can’t make excuses. I really fucked this up, Ri. With you, I have to always see beyond my own selfish needs to ensure you’re covered, and with this, I didn’t. So again, I apologize.”