Absolution (Mr. Black Series) by Penelope Marshall Read Free Book Online Page A

career, but decided after her husband was killed that life was too short to cater to the whims of others. She took the money she had earned and some of his life insurance and started the thrift store, free to fill it with all of the things that made her feel beautiful, with no unwanted inputs from the pompous fashion magazines.
    “Hey love, what do you have stashed away for me?” I asked excitedly.
    “Girl…you don’t even know. Come on back.”
    “The tips have been brutal lately, but I need to look like a million dollars on a budget of a couple of ten spots. I hope you’re hiding a miracle in here.”
    Although the fashionista in me loved to shop, my financial situation left my bank account resembling the piggy bank of a 5-year-old girl. Stella smiled and grabbed my wrist, dragging me to the back of the shop. I spent close to an hour and a half trying on anything I thought would make Cole’s head turn. I couldn’t even believe I wanted to make his head turn.
    When did that happen?
    After trying on every dress with nothing to show for it, Stella remembered one last dress.
    “Oh, girl, hold on…I just remembered I got this bomb ass dress. I’ve been saving it just in case a handsome billionaire ever walked through them doors,” she said, running to the back room to grab the dress.
    She came back holding a heap of black synthetic material in between her hands. Dusting it out by fanning it in the air, she held it up for me to see. It was a long black skintight dress with one long sleeve, and the other side with no sleeve at all. My eyes widened as I surveyed the cut of the dress. I imagined making my grand entrance at the ball; walking through the doors with my hips swaying from side to side, and my hair flying in the air, much like it happened in those shampoo commercials. I yanked the dress out of Stella’s hands and ran into the dressing room.
    “Oh my god, it’s so tight,” I hollered from the fitting room as I boldly tried to shimmy into the dress.
    “Don’t rip that…I’m gonna need that shit back if you don’t buy it,” she yelled back from the counter.
    I had to suck my stomach so far in―full breaths were out of the question. The dress was so tight in fact, that if I wanted to fit into it comfortably, I would need to starve myself. But it was do or die, all or nothing, and I was throwing everything I had, including the kitchen sink, at this ball. I wanted to make it memorable enough to erase the last few months of hurt, if that was even possible. I pulled the curtain aside and modeled the dress for Stella in front of the full length mirrors.
    “Oooooh girl, you look too good. I mean, you look too good ,” Stella said with conviction.
    I surveyed myself in the mirror, twisting and contorting my body, imagining all the cute poses I could strike that would flatter me the best. But I was starting to feel a little light headed from the lack of oxygen.
    I puckered my lips, trying to look sexy in the mirror when Stella said, “Uh, uh. That ain’t a good look, sister. Go ahead and put that one back in your pocket. But other than that, this dress is the look. You gonna walk up in there and whip some heads around. Get it, girl!” She snapped her neck from side to side, snapping her fingers in the air.
    I continued to look in the mirror as I listened to Stella’s compliments, which were building up my confidence.
    “Girl, I am too excited for this. I’m so glad Cole asked me to go,” I said.
    “Yeah, so spill the beans…what’s going on with you and Cole?”
    I turned to her. “What do you mean?”
    “Am I speakin’ a different language? What is the deal with you and Cole?”
    “We’re friends and roommates.”
    “Uh huh…” she replied sarcastically.
    “What’s that supposed to mean?”
    “Nothing, girl. If that’s what you say, then that’s what it is. Mama Stella don’t know everything.”
    I looked at her, and she looked right back, her one eyebrow raised so high in the air, I