by L. Loren
Messy Mandy Presents
The Lunchtime Chronicles
Fire Roasted
Season 4
Issue 28
September 28, 2021
L. Loren
Fire Roasted
© 2021 L. Loren
All Rights Reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
Warning: the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBO and is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
A Note from Messy Mandy
LUNCHTIME CHRONICLES SEASON 4
Fire Roasted Blurb
Prologue
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Excerpt from Salt Shaker by S. London | Nesa
Excerpt from Bohemian Outlaw
One | Josey
About the Author
Follow her on Social Media
Also by L. Loren
Dedication
Thank you so much to Siera London, for creating this project. It has been fun working with you and Mandy.
To my Season 4 Lunchtime Chronicles contemporaries: S. London, Posey Parks, Keta Kendric, Kenya Wright, and Xyla Turner – What a pleasure it was to work with you all! I look forward to working with you all in the future.
To my husband, Doug, you are my true ride or die! This year has been rough on us, but as always you were right there to help pick up the pieces. Thank you for always having my back and taking care of me. I love you beyond words.
The readers of LTC – Thank you for your continued support of this project. You guys are amazing! Thanks for supporting Mandy’s world and embracing our stories.
Thanks to Dar Albert of Wicked Smart Designs for the sexy cover and to Pam Gonzales of Love2ReadRomance for your fire proofreading skills. To Mandy, stay messy.
A Note from Messy Mandy
Welcome to Messy Mandy Presents: The Lunchtime Chronicles Season 4, steamy, short erotic romance served piping hot. There will be 10 servings in this season. Lunchtime series launched with Siera London’s WHIPPED at the Interracial Romance Author Expo in Daytona Beach 2019. There are 8 books in Season 1 2 and 3. Read them, leave reviews, tell your friends, and then follow my Facebook page: The Lunchtime Dish with Messy Mandy where I spill the tea.
LUNCHTIME CHRONICLES SEASON 4
featuring the following stories:
Book 27 – Deep Dish by Xyla Turner
Book 28 – Fire Roasted by L. Loren
Book 29 – Salt Shaker by S. London
Book 30 – Red Moscato by Posey Parks
Book 31 – Naked Sushi by Kenya Wright
Book 32 – Spice Cake by Keta Kendric
Book 33 – Watermelon Sugar by L. Loren
Book 34 – Mocha Choca Latte by Posey Parks
Book 35 – Italian Ice by S. London
Book 36 – Passion Fruit by Kenya Wright
Fire Roasted Blurb
H-O-T doesn’t even begin to describe Gryphon Long. His brooding demeanor had me panting after him in high school. Things were over before they even began between us. My biggest regret is the time we wasted being apart. If only we had stayed in contact.
It is too late for a second chance now. No way would he want me now that my looks are gone. Destroyed in a fire along with my self-confidence, my beauty is a thing of the past, just like our fizzled relationship.
Pilar Coates was the most popular girl in school. She was also the prettiest female I ever laid eyes on. Just when she began to give me the time of day, summer break ended, and she was off to the big city to attend college. Ten years have passed since graduation, and she finally returned home. I waited all this time for a second chance to show her how much she means to me.
Despite the popular consensus of the small-town gossips, I don’t care about her unfortunate disfigurement from the tragic fire that killed her best friend. To me she still looks as beautiful as the day she left. I just have to convince her there is beauty in the ashes.
Prologue
Pilar
Standing there in my majorette uniform, I found myself anticipating the beating of the drum that would queue my team of dancers to take the field. The nerves had set in and I felt like everything in my stomach was going to come out. That always happened right before a performance. Thank goodness it was only a feeling. The food never actually came out.
As captain of the Heathrow Steppers, it was my responsibility to make sure the girls were on point. I refused to be the first captain in fifty years who messed up homecoming. No way that would happen. Especially not because of a boy. So when Gryphon Long walked by looking like a snack on a platter, I refused to look him in the eye. I had to focus. But when the girls began to giggle, I knew I had to say something. They always laughed at him for being the poorest kid in school, but I never found the humor in it. He was a nice guy and a cutie, even if his handsome face wore a frown most of the time. I really couldn’t blame him. If people treated me like they did him, I would find it hard to smile too.
“Stop that laughing. If I turn around and see even a smirk on any one of your faces, you will not take the field tonight. This is the most important night of the season. If you can’t take Homecoming seriously, then what are you here for? All you should be worried about is making sure your lines are straight and remembering your routines. I swear, if one of you makes a misstep tonight, you’ll be frying fish tomorrow!”
The threat was real, but I infused a bit of humor so the team would relax. The girls and I watched that Tina Turner movie about a hundred times and that was our favorite line. They said I was like Ike when I got mad, and I had no problem with the comparison if it meant they got in line. All I really wanted was for the girls to stop laughing at my friend. Besides, that laughter would really dry up if I was named Homecoming Queen. The only reason Gryphon was walking around the area was because he had been voted to be my escort. I’m pretty sure it was done as a joke, but the joke is on them. I have had a crush on Gryphon since the third grade when he shared his lunch with me on a field trip to the museum.
He tucked his head into the tunnel where the team was waiting. I followed his eyes as they searched for me. As soon as he spotted me, Gryphon’s entire face changed. He went from an angry, scary young man to a sexy, dreamy hottie. Gryph stepped to me and leaned down so only I could hear his words.
“I know you get a little nervous before you perform. Here’s a little treat to help you relax.”
I looked down at my hand where Gryphon had placed a single piece of candy – Cinnamon Disk, my favorite. It was the very candy that my grandma used to hand me in church to keep me quiet. How in the world did he know? I happily accepted the gift.
“Now go out there and kill it! I’ll be watching on the sideline so don’t mess up. I can’t wait to stand by your side as you ar
e crowned the queen of the school.”
Well damn! This guy had mad game. He kissed my cheek, which caused my knees to dip a bit and then he strolled off down the sideline like he hadn’t a care in the world. I unwrapped that candy, popped it in my mouth and delighted in the sweet, cinnamon goodness. Closing my eyes to savor my treat, I could hear my friends whispering about me and Gryphon. I didn’t give a crap. Not even their angst could ruin that moment for me. The candy worked its magic, calming me down and getting me ready to go do what I do best - dance.
Just then, the band dropped the beat, and The Heathrow Steppers took the field like a hurricane in September. We tore that field up, while looking like a live and fast version of Dreamgirls. We were sleek and precise. Not an ugly duck in the crowd. The girls really made me proud. We were the best majorette team in the state. Our reputation for the best choreography and the finest girls around proceeded us anywhere we went. Our uniforms showed off our best features while keeping it classy. Our hair was almost identical, and the moves were always precise. Girls would kill to be on this elite team. It was a privilege and an honor to lead them.
By the beginning of halftime, my two besties from the Steppers, Jailene and Sia, had changed into our Homecoming Court attire so we could take part in the festivities. The icing on the cake of a wonderful night was when Gryphon escorted me onto the field. When they announced that I was the Homecoming Queen you could have knocked me over with a feather. You should have seen the stares Gryphon and I got.
“Pilar, you look so beautiful in that purple dress. It was made for you. The color makes your skin glow. Thank you for allowing me to escort you tonight.”
I smiled at Gryphon like he hung the moon. The boy’s eyes were mesmerizing, but that smile was one gifted by the gods. I was almost rendered speechless whenever he was around.
“No, thank you for agreeing to escort me tonight. I couldn’t think of a better person to stand by my side when they crown me as the queen bee.”
The radiant smile that grew on his face made sweat beads form on my forehead. Gryphon was such a nice guy. He was made for the limelight too. The way he carried himself would lead you to believe he was an upper crust gent who had been born with a silver spoon in his mouth. His brooding manner made everyone believe he didn’t give two shits about what they thought of him. Only I knew he did. He cared very much what others thought of him. However, he would die before he let them see him sweat.
As Mrs. Skinner draped the ribbon across my body, I tried hard to concentrate on smiling pretty for the camera. My mind was fighting me tooth and nail. Flickers of me grabbing Gryphon by the face and tasting his lips kept flashing through my mind. I envisioned us standing there kissing in front of the whole town. Suddenly, a bucket of pig slop was dumped over our heads. It was like a scene from that Stephen King story. I had always had an overactive imagination, and this was no exception. I stood there next to the boy of my dreams, fantasizing about how wrong the night could go instead of enjoying it in real time. I forced myself to snap out of it.
Being this close to Gryphon was driving me crazy. I almost missed the sacred moment when Mrs. S placed the crown on my head, making my rein official. What I didn’t miss was the scowl on Sia’s face. She thought she should have won and was salty. Her weak attempt to hide her hatred failed horribly. It was written all over her face just like that huge pimple on her cheek. If she wasn’t careful, someone was going to pop it.
“I can’t stand Pilar. Look at her standing there with that trash on her arm. That crown should be on my head. She doesn’t even realize that we chose Gryphon Long to escort her as a joke. I think she actually likes the loser. They deserve each other”
Sia didn’t even care that her voice carried in the wind, allowing both Gryphon and me to hear her every word. Rude! I l glanced to my right at Gryph, but he was an oak, unmoved from the scrutiny. I took his queue and pretended not to hear her. What’s that saying? Keep your frenemies close or something like that. Only time would tell how that turned out. Until then I would watch my back.
The best part of the night was after the game. Of course the team won, and everyone was in the mood to celebrate! Gryphon, who usually never hung around after the games, was waiting for me when I came out of the locker room. It was a pleasant surprise. I thought I would be spending the night ducking and dodging the school pest, Jake Hightower. He had a nasty habit of following behind me and an even nastier mouth. The things that boy said should be illegal in all fifty states.
“Hey Pilar, I hope you don’t mind but I wanted to see you after the game. I know it’s short notice, but do you have plans tonight?”
I smiled up at Gryphon as he looked at me with the greenest eyes I had ever seen. They reminded me of the pictures of rolling hills in Tuscany I saw in my Geography textbook. The boy just did it for me. He could literally ask me to go to the moon with him and I would say yes.
“I was supposed to go to a party at Jake’s house with my girls, but I really don’t want to go.”
“Then spend the night with me. I want to show you something.”
He reached out his hand and I took it without hesitation. He walked me to a beat-up Chevy that looked like it was on its last legs, and opened the door for me to get in. In all the dates I had ever had, no boy had ever opened doors for me. I guess his mama raised him right. As he was closing the door, I hear the fait call of Sia in the distance. Acting as if I didn’t hear her yelling my name, I drove off into the night with the boy who had been my crush all these years. We were finally getting a chance to be together. I was not going to let Sia ruin it for me.
Gryphon drove us toward the lake. It was a popular place for kids to go during the spring and summer, but it was fall. Football weather. No one was hanging out at the lake this time of year. The drive took us down a dark path that made me a little nervous. Afterall, I was alone with a boy that I didn’t know all that well, and nobody knew where I was. My mama taught me better, but there was something about Gryph that made me trust him.
When he finally stopped the car, I was treated to a sight I had never dreamed existed. Right there in my hometown was an actual waterfall. A waterfall! Since I was a little girl, I have been fascinated with those beautiful forces of nature. Never in a million years did I think we had one not fifteen minutes from my house. The overlook where Gryphon parked was the perfect location to see the falls. The bright moonlight shone just so, providing the perfect light for us to see. It was the most romantic thing anyone had ever done for me.
We sat in the car listening to old school R&B and chatting about everything our nervous seventeen-year-old minds could think of. We had known each other since we were kids, but we never really interacted. It was time we did something about that. Gryphon reached over touched my face and just stared at me. I stared right back. It was almost like we were under a spell. Then he leaned over and just before his lips touched mine, he smiled. If it was possible to fall in love in one night, then I was gone. This was it. That was the moment of distinction. I smiled back and leaned forward to press my lips to his.
That’s when it all went left. Bam! Bam! Bam! The car window almost shattered with the force of the banging. My heart leapt into my chest as a blood-curdling scream escaped my mouth. I knew it! Out here in the middle of nowhere in the dark. I was about to die at the hands of a crazed serial killer! I should have listened to my mother.
Both Gryphon and I jumped apart like we were being pulled by magnets on opposite walls. Wiping the fog from the windows, I discovered the source of my terror – my older brother Manny. WTF? Couldn’t he allow me just one kiss with the guy of my dreams? Was that too much to ask? Apparently, it was because I was escorted from Gryphon’s car and into Manny’s where I was driven home with a lecture about safe sex drumming in my ears. I would have much rather listened to the radio.
One
Pilar
Ten years later...
“HELP! Someone please help me!”
I shouted at the top o
f my lungs until the smoke burned my throat. I was trapped in my car, upside down in a ditch in the middle of the night. The asshole that ran me off the road did not stop to help. In fact, I am pretty sure he was drunk. All I knew was I was going to die if I didn’t get out of this car. My seatbelt was jammed, and I couldn’t reach my phone that had been tossed about the car when it tumbled over the embankment.
With the smoke billowing in the interior of the car, I knew it was a matter of minutes before things went left and a fire would ignite. I needed someone to hear my cries. That’s when I remembered I had my earbuds in. They were connected to my phone! Yes!
“Siri™, call 9-1-1,” I called out to my phone’s virtual assistant. Unlike other times, she did not let me down on this one.
I must have lost consciousness because the next thing I remember after speaking with the 9-1-1 dispatcher was the sound of heavy boots stomping. There must have been a hundred men walking around because I was surrounded by the sound. Groggy from the accident, I reached my hand up to clear my eyes from the smoke. Big mistake! Excruciating pain radiated from the left side of my face causing me to cry out.
“Ma’am are you alright? Hang in there, honey. We are working on getting you out of there. What’s your name sweetheart?”
The man’s voice sounded like he was in a tunnel, but I could see glimpses of his uniform. A fireman! Oh, thank God. At least there were people here that knew how to get me out of this car and get me to the hospital. I relaxed at the soothing sound of the man’s voice. Thought I couldn’t see his face clearly, he seemed familiar, and it was comforting.
“Sir, can you get me out of here? It’s hot and my face feels like it’s on fire.”
“We’ll have you out in a jiffy. Don’t you worry, Fireman Roast is on the job. I have never lost anyone, and you will not be my first. I just need you to relax and let us work our magic, okay?”
