The Guilt Trip Final excerpt before June 2012 release

Chapter 2

           “I spooked him.” Talise swallowed as she hid herself from Ace’s view near her apartment window. His normal goodbye kiss lacked luster she had come to expect.

Her heart sank as Ace sped off from the curb without blowing her his customary kiss. His hasty exit scared her.

Gnawing on her bottom lip, Talise second guessed her timing. Maybe she shouldn’t have mentioned her suspicions. If only she had listened to her older sister. Sinclaire’s advice was to wait until she was one-hundred percent sure to say anything.   

A week earlier, she had experienced mild cramping and light spotting. Talise didn’t give it a second thought until the nausea hit. Then she endured bouts for the past few days. Finally, she took a home pregnancy test.

If Talise read it right, she wasn’t. But her suspicions lingered. The thought of becoming another statistic as an unwed mother made Talise bawl like a two-year-old in the middle of a tantrum.

During a Skype call less than twenty-four hours earlier, Sinclaire had tried to console her, “From everything you’ve raved about Aaron,” her sister refused to refer to Ace by his nickname.

Sinclaire once said it sounded too gangster. “I’m sure he’ll do the right thing. We can always repent, and God will forgive us as long as we don’t continue in our sins. If God spares you from this situation, then you’ve got to turn your life over to him.”

A tear slid down her cheek as Talise recalled their conversation. Stepping away from the window, she rubbed her arms and then massaged her flat tummy.

Turning around, she scanned the apartment she shared with Lois. Her roommate was one of a handful of people she could call friend since her move from Virginia to Boston.

After responding to a “roommate needed” ad, Talise met with Lois, studied the South End neighborhood and quizzed Lois about her lifestyle. Seemingly satisfied, Talise signed the lease. That had been six months ago. 

“A good friend of mine—and Cameron Jamieson is fine—has a cousin named Aaron or Ace who is equally as fine and unattached,” Lois had said when trying to set up Talise on a double date. “Tall, muscular and has a rugged pretty boy face and a good job.”

At first, Talise was reluctant. “What’s wrong with him? Is he a homosexual?”

Lois had laughed and snorted. “Far from it. He’s a good-looking brother who enjoys having a good time—nothing more.” She paused. “Just go out one time,” she had pleaded. “If he’s a jerk, then dump him.”

Talise wasn’t buying what sounded like “too good to be true” set up. “If both of these brothers are so fine, then why haven’t you dated either one of them?” She crossed her arms.

Lois could go toe-to-toe with any woman in the good looks department. She had a touch of Puerto Rican in her blood and a whole lot of African-American. The woman turned heads as a browner version of Keysha Cole.

“I learned not to date friends or friends’ relatives. My relationship with Cameron is for networking purposes only. I keep my friend pool separate from my potential boyfriend pool. Separate and not equal.” Lois’s voice had been serious.

April excerpt The Guilt Trip part 2 of Chapter 1

The best thing about it—it was all her hair. She was born with it. Ace had nothing against hair extensions except when they looked like hair extensions.
Her brown-sugar skin was always flawless, even without makeup, and her dark lashes, silky brows and big brown doe-shaped eyes were just some of her points of perfection and
his weakness. Yeah, he liked how her features accented her brown skin.
“Hey, baby,” Ace cooed as he stepped closer to her.
Talise’s response was leaping into his arms with the force of a hurricane. Her strength
would have rocked a man who was unsteady on his feet. Not Ace, who stood at six-three
and tipped the scales at 220 pounds.
His buffed body was able to absorb the impact as their embrace lingered, and then she weakened him with her kisses. Ace didn’t know who started the seduction, but he was not
pleased when she regained composure and left him begging for more. He stared at his woman through hooded lashes and watched the longing flash across her face. To his chagrin, a smile chased the passionate moment away.
“Keep that up, woman, and we may not hit the streets and go dancing or whatever you
have planned for tonight.”
“What I planned, or hoped, was we could relax here. Lois and some friends are heading
to New York for the weekend. I’ve prepared a candlelight dinner…”
“Then what are we waiting for.” With naughty scenarios running through his mind, Ace
scooped her up in his arms and climbed the stairs two at a time. When they made
it to the third floor landing, he slowly released her. Jokingly, Ace exaggerated his breathing as if he was gasping for air.
She laughed. “And what was your hurry, Mr. Jamieson?”
“Let’s just say I’m famished.” He patted his six-pack. Reaching for his hand, Talise led him
into the apartment she shared with his cousin’s friend Lois—the one who set them up on a blind date. The aromas wafting through the apartment teased Ace. Glancing around, he snickered at
the dimmed lighting and burning incense. His eyes then settled on the kitchenette
counter/table set.

It was set for two with crystal goblets and china place settings.
Absentmindedly, Ace kicked the door closed. As though in a trance, he followed Talise.
Grabbing a serving dish, she turned around and practically bumped into him. “Here, put that on the table, Ace.”
“I’d rather nibble on you.” He encircled his arms around her and began to make good
on his statement. Usually, Talise had a witty comeback, but she didn’t take his bait. Instead, she busied herself by placing more serving pans on the table. When she seemed pleased with
her handiwork, she lit the two candles between their plates. At the kitchen sink, they played in the water as they washed their hands together. Finished with the task, Ace escorted her around the other side of the open kitchen. He pulled out Talise’s stool, and then took the seat across from her.
Ace had a hard time taking his eyes off her until she insisted. Then they held hands. They
bowed their heads as Talise said grace.
“Jesus,” she said with a pause, as if she was gathering her thoughts.
Opening one eye, Ace squinted. This was not the time for a moment of reflection. Just say grace, so we could eat. “Baby?”
he said softly, studying Talise’s troubled face.
She cleared her throat, but never opened her eyes. “Jesus, please bless this meal.”
Pausing again before mumbling a few more words, Talise finished with “…in
Jesus’ Name. Amen.”
“I’m glad we got through that before our food turned cold,” he joked. Lifting his
glass, he sipped some water. When she didn’t laugh, he proceeded to devour his
steak and sautéed vegetables.
Ace shoved a mouthful of twice-baked potatoes, lathered with sour cream, in his mouth and
swallowed. “Baby, this is good.” He winked. “And just think, I’ll have you all to myself tonight to show you my appreciation.”
Talise mustered a faint smile as she picked with her food. Usually, they exchanged
seductive glances, naughty words and sassy flirts over a meal, but not tonight.
Maybe, Ace was reading too much into it because he was about to lay his heart on the table, or maybe she was going through her monthly hormonal thing. He hoped not.
After digesting a second helping of potatoes, he dabbed at his mouth with the napkin.
“Baby, I want to talk to you—”
“I have something to say to you also,” she interrupted.
Ace snickered and then folded his arms. “Go ahead. What’s in that beautiful head of
yours? ”
Resting her fork on her placemat, Talise pinched at the fabric a few times, but she wouldn’t
look at him. What’s going on? His lady was usually confident and talkative, not sober as her expression indicated. Once he professed his growing feeling, he knew that would put a smile on her face.
“Tay?”
She bowed her head as if she was ashamed of something. “I may be pregnant.”
His eyes bucked as her rushed words finally registered. “What?” he asked to test his hearing.
Lifting her head, she stared into his eyes. “Ace, I may be pregnant.”
Nooooooooo. Not his Tay. She wouldn’t do this to him, would she? Ace was a gambler.
He could count on one hand the number of times he lost. Ace would never have betted that Talise
would have set him up like this. She didn’t blink, while she waited for him to say something.
Act normal, be professional and tactful. You aren’t going down like this, man, he coaxed himself.

The Guilt Trip March Excerpt

Unedited:

Chapter 1

Twenty-eight-year-old Aaron “Ace” Jamieson wasn’t married and never had been married. In fact, he wasn’t planning to pick out a tuxedo and meet a woman at the altar any time soon. To maintain that resolve, Ace displayed the highest level of professionalism when it came to playing the dating game.

Early on, his buddies taught them that it’s around the three-month mark when women began fantasizing about permanent residency. Therefore, his benchmark was seventy-two days or less. Ace was upfront with the ladies that he wasn’t looking for anything serious.

As he shaved, he snickered, recalling some of the tactics women used to trap him into marriage: lavish gifts, on-demand intimacy, or claiming to carry his love child.

Shaking his head in disgust, Ace rinsed off his razor. He methodically massaged aftershave on his face and throat. Women’s bluffs didn’t make him blink. He would not be lured into any baby momma drama.

But something had happened to his determination three months ago when his cousin’s friend introduced him to Talise Rogers. She swept him off his feet on the first date. There was something alluring about her independence, confidence and her exotic dark features on brown sugar skin.

Humph! Their connection was more than the explosive physical attraction. If there was a soul mate, Talise was it.

To Ace, she was his Tay. He was convinced she had an invisible grip on him that was about to bring him down, and he wasn’t complaining. It took some back-and-forth battling between his mind and his heart, but Ace thought Talise just might be the one he couldn’t let get away.

Genuine, honest and gorgeous. When she surpassed the one-hundred-day mark, Ace had stopped counting. “I’m actually losing my mind over this woman,” he mumbled and continued dressing to take her for a Friday night out on the town.

Bobbing his head, Ace slipped his feet into his shoes. Yep. A man would be a fool to let her go. He grinned when he thought about their intimacy. Ace wouldn’t comment.

Before the night ended, he was going to have an out-of-body experience and do something he had never before contemplated: profess that his feelings for her were beyond a physical attraction. Whew.

Talise was the sole reason why Ace had repeatedly turned down his brother, Kevin “Kidd’s”, offer to relocate to St. Louis. Of course, he couldn’t tell his brother that his decision was based on a woman, despite his company having two openings in the area. If Kidd had seen Talise, he would have understood his reluctance to be uprooted.

He swiped his car keys off his nightstand and jogged down the steps to the first floor of the condo he shared with his mother in the Hyde Parke neighborhood of Boston.

Sandra Nicholson paused watching her favorite television show. She glanced over her shoulder and lifted a brow. His mother might as well been eighty years old because all she did was work, church, and home.

“Hmm. You look exceptionally handsome tonight. Are you still going out with that Tanya, Tia, Tor—young lady?”

“Tay, Momma.”

“I knew it began with a ‘T’.” Pointing the remote at the flat screen TV, Sandra muted the sound. She smiled, showing off the same left cheek dimple that Ace inherited.

“Five months with the same woman. When am I going to meet her?” His mother’s eyes danced with mischief. “All I can get out of you is her name.”

“Which you can’t remember. I guess that’s why they sent you an AARP card,” he teased. Her mischievous eyes squinted to instill fear. It didn’t work. “And it’s been four months.”

“I would like to meet Tay.”

That’s not happening any time soon. I need to figure how to define our relationship first. He chuckled. “Good night, Momma Nosy.”

Stepping to the sofa, he leaned over and brushed a kiss against her cheek, then sauntered out the door. That was another first with Ace; he never divulged the names of his conquests. It would mean there was some form of attachment.

Getting behind the wheel of his Dodge Charger, Ace grinned in anticipation of what Talise had up her sleeve for the evening. Each week, they took turns planning their Friday night activities. He was sure he would be pleasantly surprised.

A half hour later, he parked in front of her brownstone. Ace checked his reflection in the rearview mirror. His mustache was trimmed and his jaws were baby bottom soft after his shave. His skin would have been flawless if it wasn’t for the mark on his nose. It was a reminder of the first and last fight he lost. His brother made sure of that.

Next, he rubbed the tamed waves in his hair. Ace still missed his long thick ponytail he relinquished when he accepted the job at Healthcare Concepts two years earlier. He had no choice.

Sandra Nicholson told him and his brother, Kidd, when they were legally old enough to get a job, if a man didn’t work, then he wouldn’t eat at her house.

Getting out the car, he glanced up to the third-floor bay window. There she was, watching him. Talise waved then disappeared to come downstairs and let him inside the building. Ace swaggered from the sidewalk to the entrance.

In record time, Talise opened the massive tall wooden door. Ace’s heart crashed against his chest at her glamour. He had dated many women with model looks and figures, but Talise would reign the top model for years to come.

She had legs to stop traffic. A silver dress gracefully hugged her curves. Beaded straps started at her polished toes and continued to wrap upward, stopping at her ankles. Despite her five-eight height, she confidently commanded her stilettos.

Ace whistled. His nostrils flared as he gasped for more oxygen, but that didn’t stop his assessment. Talise’s hair was naturally long—inches passed her shoulders—and it was always glossy, whether hanging straight or in curls.

The best thing about it—it was all her hair. She was born with it. Ace had nothing against hair extensions except when they looked like hair extensions.