at him. He didn’t appear to be joking. He truly didn’t see how I didn’t know the ugly duckling trope. How could I not be falling for this guy? I pulled my dress over my head and then continued the sketchy tale that was my steamy novel.
“The guy is popular and handsome,” I said. “He approaches the heroine because of a joke. Then it turns out he needs her help. And then he starts to have feelings for her.”
“I like it.” Christopher came around the bed and buttoned up the back of my dress. “Let me guess what happens next. The friends and families get in the way of their love? They try to break them apart?”
I nodded. “They’re from different worlds, so yes.”
He turned me to face him. “I don’t see what the problem is?”
“I’m in the middle of the story and it’s sagging. I started off with a bang, but I’ve lost momentum. I can’t figure out where to go next. If I go too fast, it might feel like I’ve missed all the details of why they fell in love. We call that the Fun and Games section in romance writing. If I go too slow, I risk getting too deep into the details and the readers will get bored and might put the book down.”
“It sounds like racing,” he said, putting his arms around me. “When you’re at the starting line, there’s always some jerk-off who revs his engine to show his balls are bigger. It gets attention. But if you rev too high before you take off, you can loose traction and the tires will spin out and you lose all power.”
“So, how do you win?”
“You gotta pace yourself. You gotta know where the sweet spot is. And when you find it, you gotta take your foot off the brake and go full throttle. Wanna see? Come with me to the race.”
Chapter Fifteen
There were women’s booties everywhere that I looked. In threadbare skirts that were knit crochets. In Daisy Dukes riding up their crotches. In skirts I would bet were originally used as headbands. The women were all draped on cars like in the magazines. Or in men’s laps like in porn videos.
“Hey Crow.” A girl wearing a bright yellow bandanna over her ass sauntered over. “Want a tune-up before you get behind the wheel?”
Christopher grinned at her. “I’m good. My girlfriend took care me this morning.”
The girl’s eyebrows rose. I turned redder than the candy apple convertible she sat upon. I didn’t know what shocked me most? That this girl publicly announced that she wanted sex? That Christopher publicly announced that we’d been intimate this morning? Or that he called me his girlfriend.
Christopher pulled me into his side. He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and bussed my forehead. The girl shrugged and went to the next car and its driver.
“Stop playing footsie, Crow," Eagle shouted from across the way. “We got work to do.”
Eagle’s eyes landed on me before he ducked into the racecar. Leaning against the hood of Crow’s racecar, I saw Ellie and Hawk kissing like no one was watching. Next to Ellie and Hawk, I saw a black woman and an Asian man leaning into each other.
Christopher brought me over to them. “MK, you know Eagle, Ellie, and Hawk. This is my other brother, Owl, and his girlfriend, Shakira.”
Owl nodded, his dark eyes bright and welcoming.
Shakira looked me up and down. “I didn’t believe it when Ellie told me Crow brought a girl home. You’re nothing like I imagined.”
I wasn’t sure if I should be insulted? Shakira cocked her head to the side and continued to stare at me. She didn’t frown. It was an assessment. I tried not to take it personally that the two African-American family members didn’t take to me immediately.
“Don’t worry, she said the same thing about me a few months ago.” Ellie came around the car to join us.
“I told you then that Hawk would eat you up and spit you out,” said Shakira. “I was half right.”
The two women looked over at Hawk. Hawk winked at Shakira and blew Ellie a kiss. I looked at the two women and
“The guy is popular and handsome,” I said. “He approaches the heroine because of a joke. Then it turns out he needs her help. And then he starts to have feelings for her.”
“I like it.” Christopher came around the bed and buttoned up the back of my dress. “Let me guess what happens next. The friends and families get in the way of their love? They try to break them apart?”
I nodded. “They’re from different worlds, so yes.”
He turned me to face him. “I don’t see what the problem is?”
“I’m in the middle of the story and it’s sagging. I started off with a bang, but I’ve lost momentum. I can’t figure out where to go next. If I go too fast, it might feel like I’ve missed all the details of why they fell in love. We call that the Fun and Games section in romance writing. If I go too slow, I risk getting too deep into the details and the readers will get bored and might put the book down.”
“It sounds like racing,” he said, putting his arms around me. “When you’re at the starting line, there’s always some jerk-off who revs his engine to show his balls are bigger. It gets attention. But if you rev too high before you take off, you can loose traction and the tires will spin out and you lose all power.”
“So, how do you win?”
“You gotta pace yourself. You gotta know where the sweet spot is. And when you find it, you gotta take your foot off the brake and go full throttle. Wanna see? Come with me to the race.”
Chapter Fifteen
There were women’s booties everywhere that I looked. In threadbare skirts that were knit crochets. In Daisy Dukes riding up their crotches. In skirts I would bet were originally used as headbands. The women were all draped on cars like in the magazines. Or in men’s laps like in porn videos.
“Hey Crow.” A girl wearing a bright yellow bandanna over her ass sauntered over. “Want a tune-up before you get behind the wheel?”
Christopher grinned at her. “I’m good. My girlfriend took care me this morning.”
The girl’s eyebrows rose. I turned redder than the candy apple convertible she sat upon. I didn’t know what shocked me most? That this girl publicly announced that she wanted sex? That Christopher publicly announced that we’d been intimate this morning? Or that he called me his girlfriend.
Christopher pulled me into his side. He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and bussed my forehead. The girl shrugged and went to the next car and its driver.
“Stop playing footsie, Crow," Eagle shouted from across the way. “We got work to do.”
Eagle’s eyes landed on me before he ducked into the racecar. Leaning against the hood of Crow’s racecar, I saw Ellie and Hawk kissing like no one was watching. Next to Ellie and Hawk, I saw a black woman and an Asian man leaning into each other.
Christopher brought me over to them. “MK, you know Eagle, Ellie, and Hawk. This is my other brother, Owl, and his girlfriend, Shakira.”
Owl nodded, his dark eyes bright and welcoming.
Shakira looked me up and down. “I didn’t believe it when Ellie told me Crow brought a girl home. You’re nothing like I imagined.”
I wasn’t sure if I should be insulted? Shakira cocked her head to the side and continued to stare at me. She didn’t frown. It was an assessment. I tried not to take it personally that the two African-American family members didn’t take to me immediately.
“Don’t worry, she said the same thing about me a few months ago.” Ellie came around the car to join us.
“I told you then that Hawk would eat you up and spit you out,” said Shakira. “I was half right.”
The two women looked over at Hawk. Hawk winked at Shakira and blew Ellie a kiss. I looked at the two women and
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