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Excerpt from my wew release! (non-IR)
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Like I told you on Facebook, I really enjoy this! Great job, Chicki!
Thanks, Stacy! I hope you'll pick up a copy.Chicki
Fan page:http://su.pr/1ny5ce
Nook: http://su.pr/2CVnhi
Blurb:
Seven very different singles – four women and three men – rent a New Jersey beach house for the summer: author Shontae Nichols, self-employed accountant and realtor, Linda Harris, Linda’s sister, hip-hop video dancer Kinnik Watkins, cosmetologist, Jovita Blassingame, Calculus professor Curtis “Doc” Whetstone, actor and drama instructor, Kip Lee, and new housemate, up and coming film actor, Devon Burke.
During their two month stay, romances bloom friendships are tested and when a tragedy strikes one of the housemates, they all learn the answer to the age-old question: Can men and women ever be just friends?
- - - - - - - -
Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art . . .
It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival.
- C. S. Lewis
Chapter One
Shontae
July 1st
What could’ve possessed me to do this again? Seven of us were staying this time – four women and three men. No couples -- just friends.
A friend isn’t exactly the word I would use to describe Kinnik, Linda’s sister, though. At least it looked like nobody else had gotten there yet. Linda’s BMW was the only car parked beside the house. Unless … I hoped Kinnik hadn’t come with Linda. I’d rather see her for the first time in a room full of other people. Living with six other people for two months is asking for drama, but I couldn’t resist the opportunity to spend the summer writing by the ocean.
A gentle sultry breeze caressed my face when I stepped out onto the crushed rocks and shells of the makeshift driveway that sparkled in the sun. The house looked great sitting atop the sand dunes with a bright border of red tiger lilies outlining the wrap-around porch. There’s no place like the Jersey shore. The smell of salt water and the sound of seagulls do more to relax me than any downward facing dog or lotus position ever could. Of course the California coast is cleaner, and South Florida beaches offer more eye candy, but I grew up here. I’m a Jersey girl at heart. No one can convince me there’s a better place to spend the summer than any shoreline town between Atlantic Highlands and Cape May, especially if you’re not rich. And I’m not.
“You made excellent time.” Linda called from the porch shielding her eyes from the sun.
I hefted two of my three suitcases from the trunk. “So, I’m the first one here?”
She grinned. “Wasn’t that your plan? The bedrooms are first come-first served.”
“I want the sunroom this time instead of a bedroom. It’s the best place for me to work.” This year I wasn’t joining the house to lounge on the beach. I was determined to finish my current manuscripts and appreciated her being able to relate to my commitment to work. Linda would understand, because she was one of the hardest-working women on the planet. A real estate agent and a self-employed accountant, she handled the rental arrangements with the owner, and was the official “key mistress.”
Linda ran a hand over the sandy-colored hair she now wore in twists that contradicted her otherwise conservative appearance. “Go claim your space. I’ll get the rest of your things out of the trunk.”
“Thanks.” She had obviously been there for a little while, because all of the windows and doors were open to let the fresh air in. I loved this house, with its contemporary design and coastal colors. Both floors had wraparound decks and sliding glass doors on every room on the ocean side. Right now the only sounds were the waves lapping at the shore and the call of gulls swooping over the beach. Before nightfall the upscale rental would be jumping with activity.
“What in the world do you have in here?” She struggled to drag my blue Pullman case and my CD player into the bright, glassed-in room.
“Clothes, some CDs, my laptop and Neo in case the laptop decides to act up. Of course my Kindle is in there too. Not that I’ll have time to read.”
She grunted and hoisted the huge bag up onto the pullout sofa.
“Ooh, I’m scared of you! Guess you’ve been keeping up with your Pilates.”
“It’s vinyasa yoga now. You’re looking at one sister who refuses to turn into a fat, pitiful divorcee. This body is staying in top form.” She proudly patted her hips. “The physical body reflects the state of the spiritual/emotional body.”
Even though Linda was the oldest of the group, she was a bundle of energy in perpetual motion and put the rest of us to shame. But I’m not mad at her. She feels about exercise the way I feel about writing. If I had to go more than a couple of days without it, I think I’d die.
“And that certainly doesn’t hurt out there in dating land.”
Linda’s pale brown eyes glanced toward the ceiling. “I haven’t visited dating land recently. Speaking of men, we won’t have the same crew this year. Kip is bringing a friend with him. A male friend.”
“Don’t wiggle your eyebrows at me. My only reason for being here is to write.” We both understood that a new person brought a new dynamic to the house. “I don’t know how I ended up with deadlines for two different publishers thirty days apart. Both publishers have options on my next book, so I have to meet the deadlines. Plus, if I can show the mortgage company I’m not a risk, maybe they’ll consider me loan worthy.”
“Good for you.”
“It’s a necessity. Another year of apartment life might kill me. Those thin walls are torture. My neighbor on one side is a devout Muslim who plays his Arabic sermon tapes, or whatever they’re called, at maximum volume. The woman on the other side is a freak with an endless parade of equally freaky men in her bedroom.”
“Ugh, I can understand why you’d want to get away from there.”
Calm ocean waves beckoned to me through the open door. “My muse adores the water. The sound of waves works like a snake charmer’s tune when it comes to calling up her presence. And I plan to give her what she needs in order to finish these books.”
She nodded her understanding. “This is the place to let your creative energy flow.” Linda’s dual personality amazed me. Her analytical side had no problem embracing all things metaphysical. The spiritual side never stopped her from excelling in her logic-oriented profession. She was so unlike her sister, Kinnik. Sometimes I forgot they were related.
“Think I’ll get myself situated right away to cut down on any conflict when the others get here.” I unzipped my suitcase and snatched a few hangers from the closet. “By the time they pull in, it’ll look like I’ve been here for weeks.”
“You’d better hurry up,” she said, leaning toward the hallway. “I just I heard a car door. Come out when you’re ready.” She started through the doorway and turned back around. “We need your spirit to balance the house. I’m glad you decided to come back, Tae.” She sent me a heartfelt smile.
“Yeah, me too.” I think.
The double closet and upright chest gradually filled with the contents of my luggage. As I unpacked, I thought about how perfect the room was for writing. French doors leading to the deck would allow me to go in and out without traipsing through the living room where everyone hung out. The owners had furnished it with a desk, a fax machine and broadband Internet connection for the convenience of seasonal renters, those of us who saved up all year for our stay. Luckily, for the past two years, Linda had been able to reserve July and August for us. We couldn’t get two nights in any decent shore hotel for the two hundred a week we each paid here.
The sound of raucous laughter told me Jo had arrived. That girl was so loud sometimes it was frightening, but her big heart made people disregard her big mouth. For the past two summers, she’d been the comic relief and the peacekeeper in the house. I couldn’t wait to see her. Once I threw my clothes in the chest and sat the laptop and Neo on the desk, I rushed back to the living room.
“Yo, woman!” Jo shouted as she hefted her large frame from the kitchen stool and stretched her arms in my direction. “It sure is good to see you skinny heifers.” At nearly three hundred pounds, Jovita Blasingame considered any woman weighing under one hundred seventy five to be a stick. She scanned me with exaggerated pursed lips then pulled me into a smothering hug. Once I extricated myself from her enthusiastic embrace, I took the stool beside her.
“I need to stake out my bedroom,” Jo said, trying to catch her breath. “Have either of you claimed the pink room?”
“No, Linda answered. “I took the yellow room. Shontae is using the sunroom.”
“Last summer I got stuck with the center room upstairs, which was like a sauna. I almost sweated to death.” She patted her elaborate upswept hairstyle. “The pink room is a corner room with better air circulation. Kinnik will be with me, right?” She sent Linda a speculative glance.
“Sure, but you’d better hurry and stake your claim.” Linda peered out the open window. The caustic sounds of Lil’ Wayne blared outside as another car swung into the sand at the side of the house. “That’s Kip.” She shook her head. “I told him about that mess last year. He thinks all of Ocean County wants to hear his music.”
“You know Kip brings the party with him.” I defended him. “Come on, Jo. Let’s get your bags on the bed before he gets inside.”
“Thanks. Tell Kip to get my other suitcase from the trunk, will you? It’s open,” Jo said to Linda as we dragged the two bags up the stairs that she’d brought inside. Once we got into the bedroom, she pushed the door shut, the armful of bangle bracelets she’d accumulated from her regular trips to the islands making a jangling sound.
“Are you sure you’re okay with Kinnik being here?” Her round, perfectly made-up face wore a mask of apprehension.
“I’ll be all right. This time I came by myself.” I honestly appreciated her concern for me. It didn’t interest me as much as trying to figure out how she got her metallic eye makeup to not look garish on her dark chocolate skin. Especially since all I’d managed to get on my face that morning was some lipstick. I always admired Jo. At only twenty-nine, she was the mother of a seven-year-old and the only parent in our group.
In spite of her size, Jo was probably the prettiest woman I knew. Besides Kinnik, that is. But Kinnik never had to work at it; she’d been born beautiful. Despite being a size twenty-four, Jo had a wardrobe to die for. I don’t know where the girl bought her clothes, but she obviously laid out some serious cash for them. Cash never seemed to be a problem for her, because Walter, her fifty-something boyfriend, saw to that. Their relationship/arrangement left a lot to be desired, in my opinion. He’s old and dresses like a pimp left over from one of those 1970s blaxploitation movies. We’ve yet to figure out what he does for a living. To each his own, I guess.
“Well, I’m glad you came back, girl. Linda told me you’re working on a new book. You know I bought the last one for two of my friends, my cousin, Treecie and my Mama.” Her cheeks rose into the warm smile that instantly drew people to her. No wonder she was such a popular hairstylist and cosmetologist. Jo not only knew her craft, but her cheery disposition made you want to talk to her. The last I’d heard, she’d even scored a couple of entertainers as clients.
“That means a lot to me.” I watched as she unloaded a bag of cosmetics and toiletries that could’ve stocked an aisle at Target. “You know, in my world they say you’re only as good as your last book.”
“You shouldn’t be concerned then,” Jo reassured me. “That one about the interracial couple was smokin’, girl.”
“Glad you liked it. I’m here to do some serious work. No fooling around this summer. I’m on deadline and running behind as usual. As soon as we have the house meeting and draw for chores, I’m going on lockdown.”