MALIK
“So,” Dr. Daniels said, smiling while nodding. “The rumors are true. I’m retiring next year.”
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PRESLEY
My eyes scanned the towers of boxes in front of me and around me, listening to my best friend Cori mumble expletives to herself. She sat on the floor in the middle of it all, folding this and tossing that.
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MALIK
Al Green’s voice competed with the sizzle of the chicken frying in the pan. I hummed along to the lyrics as Presley pressed herself behind me, wrapping her arms around my waist.
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PRESLEY
The birds outside chirped a song I could hear even in my sleep. When the soft light peeking through the curtains danced against my eyelids, I squeezed them shut, inhaling deeply before blinking awake.
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MALIK
I always clenched my jaw whenever I heard people—parents mostly—say things like, “Enjoy them while they’re this young because the time flies by,” or “Blink and they’ll be adults.”
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PRESLEY
The wood beneath my feet creaked as I made my way down the foyer. Voices traveled around me, inspiring the smile that pulled at my lips as I grew closer to Malik’s mother’s kitchen.
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MALIK
Hip-hop blasted around me as I swung my arm back, positioning my feet just right to get the momentum I needed. Once I settled into the perfect angle, I took quick steps to the top of the lane and catapulted the shiny bowling ball down the narrow pathway. I watched, my head moving left to right as the ball glided smoothly along the wood, touching no sidewalls, offering nothing but clean form.
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PRESLEY
“And this is the farm,” Cori said, motioning to the expanse of land and crops extending as far as the eye could see.
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MALIK
I stood at the workstation, swiping up the tablet’s screen with my finger. I motioned to the four residents standing in a loose huddle a few feet away, and they approached immediately.
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PRESLEY
“I am so sorry,” I said, tossing my briefcase onto the chair beside me.
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MALIK
My eyes burned and my bones ached, things I noticed as I sat at the BBMC Diner’s counter, tapping a slow rhythm against the surface with my finger.
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PRESLEY
“I can’t focus for shit.”
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MALIK
I need a drink.
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PRESLEY
I stood at the curb with a group of smiling, waving parents, all of our attention pinned to the giant coach bus idling ahead of us. Teenagers packed the windows, too many to count, some waving frantically, some flashing peace signs, my teen included.
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MALIK
I moaned low at the first sip of coffee, reaching for the newspaper I’d picked up from the newsstand down the block about an hour earlier.
Another Saturday at my place. Late morning. Quiet.
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PRESLEY
I’d just returned my office phone to its base when the glass door opened ahead of me.
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MALIK
“What do we got?” I said, moving swiftly toward the paramedics.
Seconds ago, BBMC’s automatic ER doors slid open and a stretcher barreled through, pushed by two paramedics—both already talking fast.
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PRESLEY
“What a fucking mess.”
I blew into my hands, doing my best to stay warm as I stood outside my brownstone with Junior by my side.
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PRESLEY
I stepped into my bedroom, the soft carpet sinking beneath my toes with every step.
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If you don’t already know, I love a good second-chance romance. But this one? This one’s a new fave.
Starting Monday, November 17, I’m kicking off a brand-new serialized story called Truth or Dare, and it’s everything I’ve missed writing… slow-burn, grown-folk, domestic, and unapologetically sensual.
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