After they agreed upon a time to write some stuff up, and Dre grudgingly agreed to meet with Jive records to set up the details for the song and video, it was time for everyone to get going.

“You are going to be the death of me girl,” Dre remarked on his way out, “Either this will kill him, or he’ll never be so popular.”

“Like they say, keep your friends close and your enemies closer,” Regina replied with a raised eyebrow.

“Ha ha,” Marshall snorted, “night Dre.” Dre waved and closed the door behind him. He was the last one to go.

“All right, I am going to take a shower, victory is fun, but, it stinks,” Regina laughed when Marshall seized her around the waist.

“You think I’m gonna let you get away with this, huh,” he said pulling her back against him as she giggled.

“Yeah? What you gonna do about it?”

“Making me sing and dance with the little Backstreet Bitches, huh?” he pulled her back against him rougher.

“Since you were such a gracious loser, what say you, give me a chance to shower, and then I’ll do something for you, something that you’ll really like,” Regina replied.

“How bout I just take what I like right now?” his teeth grazed the back of her neck.

“Because if you wait, I let you do, whatever, your little heart desires, and it always feels better when you wait,” Regina replied in a low voice.

“Mm, tempting, but I think I’ll just have to take your ass, right here, right now, on the floor,” Marshall growled.

“You drive a hard bargain, but then again you already knew that. Then why don’t you join me in the shower, and then I’ll give you, a full body massage, and I mean a full body massage,” Regina’s hand crept around and cupped at Marshall’s groin, eliciting a full body shudder from him.

“Yeah, shower, now,” Marshall said into her ear.

“You never told me you went to rehab,” Marshall said later that evening while they lay in bed, the afterglow slowly enveloping them into sleep.

“I know. It wasn’t something I was ready to bring up. At least Ernelle was kind enough to leave out some of the intimate details of my life,” Regina replied as she traced a pattern on Marshall’s stomach with her fingers.

“When did it happen?” Marshall asked again.

“I started when I was sixteen, when I married Mario, and I was still living at home. We didn’t move in together until I was eighteen and finished with high school. I needed something to forget that my father was hitting me, so I found somebody from down at the bridge where I hung out to supply me, and that’s it really,” Regina replied as if she had just explained nothing more important than the weather.

“What about your brother and sister?”

“They didn’t know until about a year ago when I sat them both down and told them. They always figured I was just sick or something,” she sighed deeply and snuggled closer under Marshall’s arm.

“How did you even manage to graduate though?” Marshall wondered.

“I did just enough, right before I got home to make sure I didn’t care if he hit me, it was only a little, it wore off after about an hour, hour and a half. No one figured it out until they found my stuff. Could you believe that the valedictorian was a coke addict?” She shifted so that she could look up at him and laughed slightly.

“That was something you did for him you know?” Marshall asked.

“It’s got to start somewhere,” Regina replied.

“You’re right, that’s for sure,” Marshall nodded.

“Look, while I’m dishing on stuff, there’s a reason why I won’t give you head,” Regina replied as she sat up. Marshall sat up against the headboard and saw her eyes looking at him with a sort of haunted expression.

“It was a joke Reggie,” Marshall laughed.

“No, if we’re telling each other things, this is something you need to know,” she looked away at this and pushed herself up against the headboard as well. Marshall detected the seriousness of her words and nodded.

“Okay, shoot, what is it?” Marshall asked.

“Well, when I was still pregnant with Maria, I was working over at the restaurant, of course, as always. I was closing late one night with my father. He was in a real foul mood that night, more foul than he usually is, but anyway. He asked me to go downstairs to the basement and get some napkins. Well, I was taking my time, going down the stairs, they’re really steep, and I was six months pregnant. I heard him coming down the stairs behind me, and then he, he pushed me down the stairs, and I rolled down, hit the cement floor. Before I could get up, he was on me, he shoved his, in my mouth, and I was choking and gagging, until I finally passed out. The next thing I remember was being wheeled into the hospital.”

“Oh baby, come here, hey,” Marshall said putting his arms around Regina. She melted against his bones.

“You don’t have to do nothing you don’t want to do, okay baby?” Marshall asked. She nodded, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck.

“You don’t have to feel ashamed about nothing okay, you can tell me anything, always baby, always.” Regina listened to his words, “always”, now that was scary.