Saturday, February 28, 2015

'Unlocking the Leprechaun (Part 1)' by Fae


Blurb:

Join the beautiful Black Ati, an entitled noblewoman and the secretly insanely sexy Cull ( a hopelessly in love Leprechaun) on an epic, raunchy, and romantic adventure of finding an ancient weapon that will get rid of her evil stepmother once and for all.

http://amzn.to/1C9TdJo

About the author:

A Southern Belle currently hailing from the Far East.

Friday, February 27, 2015

Read an excerpt from 'Only for Him' by Cristin Harber

OnlyForHim


About ONLY FOR HIM

Grayson Ford and Emma Kinglsey--close since they were kids, opposites in every way. He's the stuff high school crushes are made of, Mister Popular, and captain of every team. She's artsy, cute, and not in his league, though fully aware of Summerland's "I Dream of Dating Grayson Ford" support group.

I can't say no. The girl's had my heart since before I knew it went missing.

He hides a life of hell. His father hates him, his mother's gone. Emma is his only savior, yet she doesn't know her power over him. She's the only girl he wants, the only one he could ever tell--though he won't.

I'm stronger, bigger, more of a man than he'll ever be, but because I ruined his life, I've taken his crap, his attacks, the vulgar nature of his existence.

Until she discovers Gray's embarrassment, his humiliation. Emma fights for him and for a chance. Theirs is a Cinderella story that she believes impossible. But as the layers peel back, it's just a guy who needs a girl in order to keep breathing.

My mind is already doodling Mrs. Grayson Ford in imaginary notebooks. He has no clue where my head is at... But, given that I didn't see what just happened coming, maybe I have no clue where his head is at either.

Only for Him. Only series, Volume One. All novellas will release Spring 2015.


Read an excerpt:
“We’re done ignoring us.” His hand cups my face, fingers stroking my cheeks down to my chin. When my lips part, his eyes drop to my mouth, focusing on my lips.

I’ve been kissed. Dates. Dares. However they’ve happened, I’ve had a few solid moments of “PG-rated hookups. Nothing I have ever experienced has anything on this moment, and Gray’s lips haven’t even touched mine.

His heavy weight lies atop of me, but one arm props him up, so I’m not crushed. I can’t think. Just feel. A kiss has never been more meant to be. Then his lips touch mine. I breathe him in.

He groans into my mouth, and I let his tongue sweep mine. Hungry for more of him, I wrap my arms around his shoulders, scarcely believing this is happening. Knowing how big and broad Gray is, is one thing. Wrapping myself around him, feeling him hold me, kiss me—it’s insane.

His hands thread into my hair, and it’s like we’ve unleashed a fire.

dowhat 

  GIVEAWAY Cristin is giving away a $10 Amazon gift card and a Titan series swag pack!
  

RealFeels


Be sure to join Cristin Harber, K.A. Tucker, and Chelsea Fine on March 2nd at 8pm EST for a live twitter chat using the hashtag #RealFeels!

ABOUT CRISTIN HARBER Cristin Harber is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling romance author. She writes sexy, steamy romantic suspense and military romance. Readers voted her onto Amazon’s Top Picks for Debut Romance Authors in 2013, and her debut Titan series was both a #1 romantic suspense and #1 military romance bestseller.


 Text TITAN to 66866 to sign up for exclusive emails!

'Year of Living Blonde (Sweet Life in Seattle #1)' by Andrea Simonne


YEAR OF LIVING BLONDE

by Andrea Simonne

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BLURB:

A funny and sizzling romp about discovering your inner pin-up girl...

Plain-Jane bakery owner Natalie Anderson has always followed the recipe for a safe life. When her husband dumps her for a seductive older woman, it’s time to throw out that recipe and start from scratch. She cooks up a plan to transform herself from mousy brown to sexy blonde. Meanwhile, she’s trying to expand her Seattle bakery, La Dolce Vita, but runs into an obstacle in the form of her irritatingly handsome landlord.

Astronomer Anthony Novello’s good looks and charm usually guarantees him a free pass with women, though that’s not the case with his new tenant, Natalie. Plain, plump, and persnickety—he’s never met a woman more annoying. But when Anthony returns from a telescope observing run, he makes a discovery of the non-celestial kind. Natalie has changed. He’s amazed to find himself attracted to her. Sparks fly as he tries to convince her there’s more to him than meets the eye.

However, when Natalie’s ex-husband decides to win her back, she’s forced to choose. Is her year of living blonde over? Or is this the start of a new and much sweeter life….

Read an excerpt:
Natalie glances at the clock. It’s almost ten. Kind of late for visitors. Pausing the television, she goes over and peeks cautiously through the front window.

A bolt of lightning streaks through her.

Anthony is standing on her front porch. He’s wearing his motorcycle jacket and holding his black helmet at his side. The big bad wolf at her door.

What’s he doing here?

She glances at herself in the hall mirror. No makeup and her hair a mess. Great.

He rings the bell again and she marches over, ready to take the offensive. Ready to tell him to go away. But when Natalie yanks open the door and sees the expression on his face, she hesitates.

“What’s wrong?” she asks finally.

He takes his time with his reply. “I needed to see you tonight.”

“Did something happen?”

“It’s a long story.” He smiles, but there isn’t much humor in it.

She’s never seen Anthony like this before. He never looks anything less than perfect, but there’s strain on his face and around his eyes, and she suspects this is the real man

He takes a step toward her, lowering his voice. “Let me in, Natalie.”

Standing broad-shouldered and solemn in her doorway, he’s an imposing figure, but she isn’t afraid. Despite the fiasco with the bakery, she realizes she still trusts him.

Without a word, she steps out of the way to let him come inside.

The door closes and she walks back into the living room. There’s a sound and she sees that Anthony has dropped his motorcycle helmet on a chair.

“This is a bad idea,” Natalie tells him. “I don’t know why you came here. I shouldn’t even be talking to you.”

“I think you know exactly why I’m here.” His voice is low as it vibrates through the room.

There’s an erotic thrill at his words. “How can I be with you after what happened?”

“Because this isn’t about any of that.” For a moment, his eyes darken with regret, but then turn heated. “Whatever happens next is between you and me.”

Natalie shakes her head, but Anthony moves closer until he’s in right in front of her. She feels his hand on her cheek as the other cradles her head, gently holding her still. “Don’t,” he says, his tone imploring. “Don’t say no. Tell me to stay.”

http://amzn.to/1EsrbGb


AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Andrea Simonne grew up as an army brat and discovered she had a talent for creating personas at each new school. The most memorable was a surfer chick named "Ace" who never touched a surf board in her life, but had an impressive collection of puka shell necklaces. Eventually she turned her imagination towards writing. Andrea still enjoys creating personas, though these days they occupy her books. She currently makes her home in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and two sons.

You can find Andrea at:

Website: http://www.andreasimonne.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/AndreaSimonne
FB: https://www.facebook.com/andrea.simonne.author
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8557240.Andrea_Simonne

The author is giving away a $20 Amazon/Barnes & Noble gift card. Enter the Rafflecopter and then follow the tour for more chances to win!

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Thursday, February 26, 2015

'Vandal' by Carian Cole Release Day Launch

Vandal RDL Banner 

   vandal_teaser8a

Vandal Synopsis:

amazonShe takes my breath away; she is so beautifully damaged.

Yes I had broken her, ravished her life, destroyed her happiness. I brought her to ultimate despair. I was responsible for all the pain and suffering that now brought her to her knees in front of me.

Broken.

Hopeless.

Reckless in her agony.

She is a mirror of my own tortured soul.

But what I took away I can give back.

In ways she cannot even begin to imagine.

She is everything right in all my wrongs.

She loves me. She needs me.

She has no idea I’m the one who wrecked her life.


vandal_teaser4

Exclusive Excerpt:
I slowly walk down the dark hallway and stop at Katie’s doorway. Her pink nightlight is on, illuminating the room. I don’t want to go in, but I can’t stop myself. The mix of her presence and her void is completely overwhelming, and I fall to my knees in the middle of the room. The pain in my chest is like nothing I have ever felt before, as if my heart is being ripped from my body and sliced into tiny pieces. I want her back so bad. I want to just feel her tiny hand in mine and tuck her into bed.

Lifting my head, my eyes fall on Teddy, Katie’s coveted bear that she left here to ‘take care of me’. I crawl to the small bed and lie my head next to the little bear that, just a few days ago, we tucked into her blankets together until she’d be back. Pressing my face against the little bear, I can’t hold back my tears anymore.

Buy links:
Amazon * Barnes and Noble: Pending

(Storm, book 1 in ASHES AND EMBERS)


vandal_teaser14


Carian Cole Bio:

carianI have a passion for the bad boys, those covered in tattoos, sexy smirks, ripped jeans, fast cars, motorcycles and of course, the sweet girls that try to tame them and win their hearts. My debut series, Ashes & Embers, follows the lives of rock band members as they find, and sometimes lose, the loves of their lives.

My first novel in the Ashes & Embers series, Storm, published on September of 2014. Vandal, the second novel in this series is publishing in February of 2015. I currently have approximately nine books slated for this series, as well as an MC series in the works, and a few stand-alones coming in 2015 onward.

Born and raised a Jersey girl, I now reside in beautiful New Hampshire with my husband and our multitude of furry pets and spend most of my time writing, reading, and vacuuming.



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Cover Reveal! 'Smother' by Lindy Zart



Title: Smother

By: Lindy Zart - www.facebook.com/lindyzart
Cover by: Cover to Cover Designs - https://www.facebook.com/CoverToCoverDesigns
Expected release date: May 21, 2015
Genre: Dark NA, Romantic Suspense


Blurb:


You won't like me.
I am not the nice girl.
I am not your friend.
I don't care about you, but most of all, I don't care about me.
Go ahead, hate me.
We all have secrets.
I have them as well—dark, terrible secrets.
The only time I can breathe is when I forget.
I need to be numb. You don't want to know how.
But as long as I can breathe, the past cannot smother me.



Excerpt:
Her head was throbbing and her mouth tasted like sandpaper. As she walked, she looked up and saw the one person she’d rather not. Even so, her steps lightened, like she was relieved to see him, like he could make it all okay. Save her, redeem her. Wash away the bad. Make her good. Remove the last few hours from her soul.

He was leaving the apartment building as she was stumbling toward it, his stride determined. Her shoes scraped against the pavement and his head shot up, his slate-colored eyes locking on her and taking the air from her lungs. They both paused, lost in what they were looking at. She couldn’t breathe, struck by the sheer power of him, the way he held himself, the look on his face. He could be deadly if he wanted to be, she saw that. There was a dangerous element to him that could be ignored due to his quiet nature. It sent a thrill—part excitement, part fear—down her back.

Ryan honked the horn before peeling away. She flinched at the sound, looking away from Leo, but not before catching his unwavering stare on the sports car as it sped down the street. Her skin was crawling, her insides raped even though she’d never told them no. She wanted to cry, needed to hide.

She didn’t stay immobile long, swaying when a light, chilling breeze pushed at her. The bathing suit was dampening her shirt with cold wetness and she shivered. His eyes darkened as he looked her over, seeing all she’d rather he didn’t. Her crimes were not visible, but even so, he knew them. She wanted to hide from him at the same time she wanted his arms around her so that she could hide from herself, from those men, from every man but him. Nothing about her made sense.

His jaw went tight. “Who’s that?” he ground out.

“No one,” she answered, wanting it to be true. She never wanted Leo to know those men. She wanted to forget them as well.

His mouth pulled down as he studied her. She swore he could see each place they touched her—that he knew what they’d done to her even though she’d never tell a soul.

“Am I fired?” she asked slowly, wishing the drugs would clear completely from her brain, even if just for this conversation.

“Want to be?”

She swallowed, looking down without answering.

Yes.

No.


“Hurting yourself.”

Heat flooded her skin and she snapped her head up to glare at him. “No. I’m not.” I do this to stop hurting.

He moved toward her and she straightened, keeping her gaze on his. His mouth pulled down. “Do things to fly, but you always fall.”

“Shut up,” she whispered, her eyes stinging.

“We all fall, eventually.”

'The Reality O' by Candy Sloane

The Reality O Banner 

 Welcome to the release day launch for Candy Sloane's The Reality O, an erotic comedy

IMG_0243

The Reality O Synopsis:


Fifteen Contestants, Twelve Episodes & One Very Big O

When my best friend Allie posted about my need for an inaugural O on a prominent dating website it was meant to be a joke.

A joke she was supposed to delete.

But her post started an internet and media frenzy and, when I was offered fifty thousand dollars to star in my own reality competition show, I had no choice but to say yes.

The Orgasm Virgin was supposed to help me meet a carnal companion who could finally bring me to climax.

Unfortunately, the one person I want to win the undying allegiance of my, well, you know, can’t be in the running at all.

Now in an L.A. mansion with fifteen very persuasive contestants vying for my attention and one undeniably sexy Production Assistant secretly getting it all the word ACTION has a whole new meaning…

Candy Sloane is an erotica author and the fictional creation of Lisa Burstein from the New Adult novel Sneaking Candy. The Orgasm Virgin is her debut novel.

Author's Note: This book is about sex. There are men kissing women, women kissing women, and men kissing lady parts. It is not meant for readers under eighteen, or my mother.

Exclusive Excerpt:
Behind the Scenes  

Make me come for the very first time.

Twenty-five-year-old busty, blond, green-eyed, straitlaced librarian,

looking for a guy to be able to do what no one before him has.

Above you’ll find the joke “Casual Encounters” post my best friend Allie put on Craigslistwithout my knowledge.

On the bright side, she’d referred to me as busty. On the not so bright side, her bawdy prank started a chain of crazier than crazy events that neither of us could have predicted.

Her post was true. I’d never had an orgasm during sex, or anything else I’d done with someone else. Yes, even with tongues, fingers, and things stuck in places my mother and your mother would not want to hear about things being stuck.

My lack of orgasm without my trusty vibrator wasn’t something I bragged about, but I also didn’t think it was that weird.

I mean, Allie told me it was, but it was like rule number one of being friends with her to never believe anything she said. Her self-described sex life rivaled the tips in Cosmo magazine—the good parts that revealed confidences you were pretty sure no human had ever actually experienced, not the embarrassing anonymous stories that made you feel better about your own boring sex life.

Or at least, they’d made me feel better about mine.

I received the first response to Allie’s post while I was at work shelving books in the miniscule poetry section of the Bangor Public Library. I was using my recently awarded Masters of Library Science degree to its fullest for sure.

My phone buzzed in my back pocket. I picked it up with one hand and squeezed it between my ear and shoulder, balancing a huge volume by E.E. Cummings in my other hand.

At the time I didn’t notice, but now, yes, I see the irony.

“Hello,” I whispered, glancing around to make sure I was alone among the shelves. We weren’t supposed to take calls in the library, and that day I wished I would have followed the rule I continually got reprimanded for breaking.

“I want to make you come,” a breathy voice oozed from the receiver, “I’m going to suck on your sweet, throbbing clit until…”

“Excuse me!?!” I screamed. Well, as loudly as you can in the middle of a library. My heart was pounding so chaotically the people using the free internet could probably hear it anyway.

“I’ll start by licking you nice and slow, all around your honey pot, till you’re begging for it, desperate for more. Then I’ll—”

I hung up. My throat ached. My face dimpled with sweat.

Honey pot? I was too freaked out to even appreciate the humor in a guy trying to talk dirty while using Winnie the Pooh as his muse.

Yes, freaked out. I was not turned on. I was terrified. I studied the phone number in my recent call list. It was local.

I tried to gather myself, smoothing my tight ponytail as I went back to shelving, but I couldn’t get his voice out of my head. I kept hearing him. The men I went out with never talked to me that way. No one had ever talked to me that way. I certainly didn’t like it, but I also couldn’t deny the adrenaline shooting and pinging through each limb like my body was a pinball machine.

I picked up a slim Anne Sexton paperback—yet another irony in hindsight—and squatted down. His voice still echoed. My thighs burned as I glided my fingers along the back spines on the bottom shelf looking for its space.

My phone vibrated again.

I glanced at the number before I answered, not the breathy-voiced sicko, another local call. I should have just let it go to voicemail. I should have, but I didn’t.

“Hello,” I answered, hesitantly, rubbing one finger along the frame of my glasses—chunky and bright red, a perfect contrast to my olive green eyes and the one style decision that always made people wonder about me.

“Hey baby,” a growl slithered over the line, “I hear you need a real man.”

“Who is this?” I whispered.

“Your daddy.”

I held out the phone and stared at it like it had come to life. I could still hear his voice thrusting through the receiver.

“You want it, don’t you? I’m going to bend you over a table and shove my twelve-inch-cock into your dripping wet pussy again and again, my finger right—”

I clicked end and threw my phone on the ground. My pulse was pounding so feverishly against my neck it was choking me. What the hell was going on?

Also, who in this world had a twelve-inch-cock? How did he walk with that thing unless he used it as a cane?

My phone came to life again, buzzing and lighting up from where it lay on the floor, like a horror movie where you thought the monster was dead, but really he was invincible.

I picked it up with the tips of two fingers and looked at it, yet another local number I didn’t recognize. I clicked for the call to go to voicemail.

It was 11:00 a.m., too early to take lunch, but I didn’t care. My phone vibrated in my hand as yet another call lit up the screen. I forced it to voicemail and texted Allie to drop everything and meet me at The Sundown.

If it was too early to take lunch, it was definitely too early to have a drink, but I needed one. It had to be five o’clock somewhere considering it was sex o’clock on my phone.

Buy links:


Candy Sloane Bio:
5430977Candy Sloane is an erotic romance author and the fictional creation of Lisa Burstein from the New Adult Novel Sneaking Candy. The Reality O is her debut novel.

Lisa Burstein is the author of the Young Adult Novels: Pretty Amy and Dear Cassie, and the New Adult Novels & Novellas: Sneaking Candy, The Next Forever, The Possibility of Us, and Again. She lives in Portland, Oregon with her very patient husband, a neurotic dog and two cats.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | GoodReads


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Unknown Book Reviews

'Getting Dirty (Jail Bait Series)' by Mia Storm Coming March 19th


Blurb:


Dirty
A poem by Blaire Leon

If sex is dirty, why would I do it with someone I love?
If sex is dirty, then didn’t we all come from the dirt?
What if I like the dirt?
What if I want to get dirty?
What if I want to roll in the mud until I’m so fucking filthy that I’ll never be clean again?

When twenty-five-year-old graduate assistant Caiden Brenner asked Blaire Leon how old she was, she said she was a senior. He chose to believe she meant in college. They connect over Lord Byron’s Don Juan and, as their conversations become increasingly thicker with sexual innuendo, Caiden finds himself obsessing over a totally off-limits undergrad who’s bold, beautiful, brilliant, and one of the most passionate poets he’s ever met.

But it turns out Blaire hasn't been totally honest. She's the seventeen-year-old valedictorian of her high school class, taking courses at Sierra State while awaiting her acceptance to Stanford.

Will Caiden get too deeply into Blaire to back away before he finds out the truth? Or will their connection be enough to seduce him into risking his entire future on Jail Bait?

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Wednesday, February 25, 2015

'Napoleon (Layers of Veronica Book 1)' by Emilia I. Rutigliano Free 2/25-2/26



In five glorious books, the Layers of Veronica series takes you into a real fairy tale which teaches about life. 

Veronica Palese is a New York City girl who has achieved the American Dream that every immigrant hopes for. At thirty-five, she has a lucrative law practice, a designer wardrobe, two gorgeous children and a milieu of friends that is worth all the riches in the world; more so, she doesn't make any excuses for the non-traditional life that she is happy in continuing. 

NAPOLEON begins new journey filled with people, opportunities and lessons that allow her not just to climb, but delve into the most beautiful of lives. 

Written with symbolism, Rutigliano weaves a world evoking literary references that is significantly more than what first appears. 

Note: The book is intended for an adult audience.


http://amzn.to/1E1EhO0
FREE 2/25-2/26

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Have you read 'Chasing Lightning' by Rachel York, yet?


Blurb:

Scarlett Faye Turner belongs to a generation of women undone by love – a fate she intends to escape. When she isn’t mouthing off and shocking everyone in the backward river town of Dillinger, Pennsylvania, Scarlett has her nose buried in a book dreaming of a life far away where fame and money can keep her safe from the bogeymen of her childhood and the consequences of following her heart. Scarlett believes falling in love makes you as crazy as her neighbor who chases after thunderstorms with her camera. She is positive no one in their right mind would risk being struck by lightning any more than they would by love.

But all that resolve quickly crumbles when seductive Gina Jamison shows up Scarlett’s senior year and knocks her heart sideways. Their improbable meeting and steamy love affair starts Scarlett on a journey that will take her across the years and through a succession of lovers…from a women’s college in West Virginia to the magical desert of New Mexico to the sexual liberation of Paris in the 1960s…from the arms of a woman she can never forget to the depths of her own soul and a painful realization that promises to transform her completely.

Read a sample chapter:

Gina was waiting for Scarlett behind the high school auditorium in her sister’s red Mustang convertible. Shiny new with white leather seats, it was the prettiest car Scarlett had ever seen. “Well, come on. What are you waiting for? Let’s go,” said Gina. “Get in.”
Scarlett got in and ran her hand over the leather seats. “Jeez. I’ve never been in a convertible before. It’s beautiful.”
“Yeah, I know. I wish it were mine.”
“How come your sister’s letting you use it?”
“She doesn’t know. She’s away for the weekend so I just borrowed it. I know where she keeps the extra keys. It’s brand new, you know?”
“Yeah. I can tell,” said Scarlett, still admiring everything about it, including the shiny chrome on the gearshift and steering wheel.
“Well, where should we go?” asked Gina, driving off down . “Before the boys spot us in this hot, new car.”
Just about the second that pronouncement left Gina’s lips, Scarlett spotted Skeeter and his buddies in Buford Sales’ l955 Chevy Belair turning off on to . Apparently, her mother either hadn’t found him or hadn’t talked him into going back to the house with her.
“Shit!” exclaimed Scarlett. “That’s Skeeter Boyd in that Chevy.”
“So?” said Gina.
“I didn’t get a chance to call off our date.”
“No problem,” said Gina and she floorboarded the Mustang, burning rubber all the way down .
Buford Sales’ souped-up Chevy took off after them but Gina managed to ditch Buford and the boys by driving down an alley. She pulled over and turned off the engine until the Chevy’s lights flew past.
“Looks like the pussy posse’s going in the wrong direction,” said Gina.
They both laughed. It was sure enough true. That posse was headed for the city dump faster than the speed of light. If they didn’t find the girls, at least they’d have a place to dump all those hormones.
“Maybe we should go down by the river,” suggested Scarlett. “I know Buford doesn’t like to get his car dirty.”
“Neither does my sister. But we can always wash it afterwards. Right?”
“Right,” said Scarlett. “I’ll help you.”
Gina started up the car and drove toward the river. It was a beautiful night. A breeze kicked up from the south blowing a coolness across the countryside. It was the absolute perfect moment for a convertible ride down by the river. Magic rode the road and Gina was driving.
“Turn off at the next left,” said Scarlett. “It’ll take us down to a spot I know.”
Gina slowed down and made the turn. The road was a little bumpy but not enough to discourage them from going to their decided destination.
“Remember this song?” asked Gina.
“Yeah. I remember,” said Scarlett loudly. “Dream Lover.”
Gina turned down the radio. “When it was popular, I had a big crush on Hans Van Prittwitz. Silly name, huh?” she paused and explained. “My dad was stationed in then.”
Scarlett and Gina got quiet and listened to the rest of the song. The grass was getting tall from its spring spurt and swayed gently in the wind on either side of the road.
“Over there,” said Scarlett pointing. “It’s the old boathouse.”
Gina pulled the car up behind the building and turned off the engine. “Okay. Now what?”
“Let’s go out on the wharf,” said Scarlett, sensing Gina’s eyes on her. “You can feel the river breeze there.”
The two new friends got out of the car and made their way to the wharf with the help of a small flashlight that was in the Mustang. They sat down and hung their legs over the edge. The breeze was blowing pretty good now and picking up more coolness off the river.
“Thanks for asking me along,” said Scarlett. “I didn’t really want to spend the evening with Skeeter.”
“I know,” said Gina, sliding out of her shoes and sticking her toes in the water. “Have you fucked him yet?”
Gina’s abruptness stunned Scarlett. She was suddenly uncomfortable and didn’t know what to do but look up at the moon. “Well?” prodded Gina.
“Well,” stalled Scarlett. She wondered if she dare tell her new friend the truth. After a few more seconds of edgy silence, she decided she would. “Yes,” she said. “A couple of times.”
“Did you like it?”
“Not really. But a friend of mine told me that was because he wasn’t the right one,” said Scarlett. “What about you? Have you done it?”
“In . . ,” said Gina with a twinkle in her eye. “Just about everywhere my dad was stationed the last four years.”
“You started young,” observed an amazed Scarlett.
“Yeah,” mused Gina. “I guess I did.”
With that they both fell silent and felt the night. Scarlett couldn’t believe how comfortable she was with Gina. She barely knew her yet they were already sharing secrets.
“A friend of mine drowned in a river like this one,” said Gina. “In .”
“Yeah?” said Scarlett. “I lost a couple of my friends that way too. Right here, Norma and June. A freak current. They never found them. It was terrible.”
“I’m sorry,” commiserated Gina and she patted Scarlett on the back.
The big old fib had just sort of tumbled out of Scarlett’s mouth and now she didn’t know how to tell Gina it wasn’t so. She decided she better keep her mouth shut. If she told the truth now, it might sound like she had been poking fun at Gina’s poor friend over there in . To try and feel better about what she said, Scarlett rationalized her behavior. After all, June and Norma were at the bottom of the Monongahela. There was no doubt about that. They were down there trapped between the pages of a thrift shop book. So what if she had left out a detail or two.
“No more drowning talk. Okay?” said Gina. “It’ll just make us sad.”
“Okay,” said Scarlett, wondering who died in that far away river. There had been pain in Gina’s voice.
“How about a little pot?”
“A little what!” exclaimed Scarlett.
“You know, marijuana. I’ve got a joint in my purse.” Gina took out a square, compact mirror and flicked it open. Inside was a row of hand-rolled marijuana cigarettes.
“I don’t know,” said Scarlett. “I hear that stuff makes you crazy. That it’s just like smoking loco weed.”
“Not true,” Gina said softly, reassuringly, and lit one of the marijuana cigarettes with her lighter. She took a long breathy drag on it and handed it to Scarlett.
“I don’t smoke,” said Scarlett.
“This is different. Just inhale it and hold it as long as you can.”
Not wanting to displease her new friend, Scarlett took the joint and drew in the smoke. She immediately started coughing.
“No. Not like that,” said Gina and took the cigarette back from Scarlett. She inhaled on the joint and leaned over to Scarlett who reflexively leaned back, away from her. “Well, come here. How am I going to blow smoke down your throat if you’re way over there?”
Scarlett hesitated again and then obeyed. She leaned forward as Gina inhaled again.
“Open your mouth,” said Gina and she moved as close to Scarlett as one human being can come to another without kissing them and slowly blew the smoke into her mouth. “Hold it,” she directed, “as long as you can.”
Scarlett counted to ten and then she just had to exhale. The smoke tickled the back of her throat.
“Good,” smiled Gina approvingly. “You’ll feel that real soon.”
It was true. In no time at all Scarlett felt herself relax and the world around her change. The river sounds became louder and richer, the rustle of reeds along the shore more rhythmic and musical. Even her skin felt different. She felt every pore open as a breeze blew across her body.
“How do you feel?” asked Gina.
“Good, I think,” answered Scarlett.
“Well, let’s see if we can take the doubt completely out of it.”
Gina inhaled once again and blew her breath into Scarlett’s mouth, brushing her lips ever so slightly up against Scarlett’s as she did. Scarlett recoiled and felt herself begin to burn inside. Unsure of what to do, she turned away from Gina and looked up at the sky where the little sliver of a moon grew incandescent and the stars brilliant beyond bearing.
“How about another hit?” said Gina, holding up the joint. That twinkle was back in her eyes.
“Cool,” said Scarlett, trying to calm down and control the fire.
Gina leaned over to Scarlett and then suddenly pulled back. “Whoops!” she giggled. “I almost forgot what I was going there for.” She put the joint to her red lips and drew in the smoke.
“Maybe you were going to kiss me,” said Scarlett with a boldness that surprised them both.
Gina smiled. “Maybe I was.”
As she turned back toward Scarlett, the mood was suddenly broken by the insistent backfiring of a l955 Chevrolet Belair. “Shit!” exclaimed Scarlett. “They’re here. The boys found us.”
Buford’s Chevy bounced across the road and came to stop along side Gina’s sister’s red Mustang convertible. All the guys jumped out and admired the car and started commenting, like boys do, on such things as horsepower and all that cam stuff. Skeeter got to Gina and Scarlett first.
“What happened to you?” Skeeter asked Scarlett. “We had a date.”
“Didn’t Boonie tell you to meet us here?” Scarlett replied, making up a name to buy time. “He was supposed to.”
“Who’s Boonie?”
“You know, that sort of silly looking new guy. The one who transferred to Dillinger High the same time Gina did.”
Skeeter looked confused, trying as he was to remember somebody who didn’t exist. Gina winked at Scarlett.
“Come on, big guy. Sit down and have a hit. There’s one here just for you.” Gina took a brand new joint out of her compact and handed it to Skeeter. He looked somewhere between dazed and delighted.
“I didn’t know you smoked grass, Scarlett?”
“I bet you there’s a few other things you don’t know either,” laughed Gina as she lit Skeeter a joint.
The other boys finally came out on the wharf and joined the party. “Hot damn!” yelled Buford. “I smell heaven.”


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Rave Reviews! 4.7 out of 5 *s!

Thank You for this work of art. Your writing felt whole. -tlc31reader 
AMAZING!! One of the best books I have ever read. Coming out in a decade of turmoil, denying your very being. I related to the character in so many ways. Thank you for so eloquently write the trails and tribulations of being a lesbian, for the astounding look into reality. - GEAR 
Rachel York's characters are rich, entertaining, witty and lovable. She is a wonderful story teller. This is a story of true love, love between souls. - Cmy