Prepped For Love
By: Jamila Jasper
Copyright © 2015 Jamila Jasper
A BWWM Pregnancy Romance Novel
Author’s Note:
This story contains sexually explicit content only appropriate for readers eighteen years or older. All characters in this book are 18+ and not blood relatives. All sexual acts in this book are consensual.
This book is a work of fiction. Any similarities to real people, places, or events are strictly coincidental. All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced or distributed in any format without the permission of the author.
The author acknowledges the trademarked status of products referred to in this book and acknowledges that trademarks have been used without permission.
Acknowledgements
A special thank you to my editor J., none of this could be possible without you.
Thank you Georgia and Onyx. The time you’ve taken to help me will always be remembered.
I appreciate your support on this unconventional journey.
I would like to thank my subscribers: T, Donna & Arielle who agreed to receive advanced review copies of this book.
Finally I would like to thank all my subscribers for their continued support and words of encouragement, especially Mannouchka, your emails always brighten my day.
Your support means the world to me.
Best Wishes,
Jamila
Foreword
When I first heard about the idea for this story I was excited! Watching Jamila’s last book touch the hearts of so many people was inspiring. She always supported all of my creative works so I was happy to give her support too.
I was surprised to find out how insecure Jamila was about her writing when I’d always looked up to her as a creative. I always wondered what her secret was to writing stories that could be so popular… When I asked what her secret was, I was surprised by her answer. “My secret is I write every day,” she said.
That was it. Just writing every day made all the difference. When I read the completed manuscript of Prepped For Love, I understood what Jamila meant a little better. This kind of discipline that she exercised allowed her to push through and create a story that so many women could relate to, especially me.
With this story, you’ll get a remix of the class student-teacher romance. There’s a little bit of humor and a lot of warm fuzzy feelings we could all use on these cold winter days. Thank you Jamila for giving me the chance to write a foreword for your book and for supporting me on my journey.
-- Raven Ferrari (BWWM author of Untold Secrets)
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Epilogue
Mailing List
Contact Jamila
Best Seller Bonus Preview
Chapter 1
Jabari Powers was terrified about what would happen when he went home. He didn’t know how he was going to tell his mother about the terrible day at school he just had. Would she be upset if she heard yet another story like the one’s before? Jabari tucked his shirt in and fixed his collar. He breathed in deeply before entering the midsized family home. I hope she’s not mad. He thought to himself. Jabari’s mother Tammy Powers was waiting for him as he arrived. When Tammy saw the look on her son’s face as he walked through the door, she knew it had been another crappy day at school. Luckily, Jabari wouldn’t have to deal with this for very long. Seeing her son coming home disappointed yet again hit Tammy hard.
Tammy was doing everything in her power to protect him and she hated to think of herself as a failure. She was a relatively young mother and she was still self-conscious about her parenting. Even if she’d been at this for years, Tammy still felt like she missed out on having some guidance when it came to being a mother. Most mothers of the child Jabari’s age were in their mid-40s with high six-figure incomes. They had it all; they knew what they were about when they gave birth to a child. Not to mention, they had nannies to help them out. Well, Tammy didn’t have to worry about a six figure income or hiring a nanny. She had more than enough money and more than enough time. But she still felt insecure like the other mothers were judging her either for inheriting her fortune or for being such a young mother of an eighth grader.
“Good afternoon mom,” Jabari mumbled. He was turning into the stereotypical teenager in some ways. Tammy was getting worried that some of these changes were more than typical. She could see the familiar light in his eyes was dimmer. He was always like this after school ever since seventh grade had started. Jabari went to Southwest Middle School in their town. There was no space for a little black boy who was interested only in mathematics and engineering. If his teachers weren’t discriminating against him for his dark skin, Jabari’s peers were mocking him and bullying him to no end. Tammy could see that he didn’t want to tell her the truth of what he was going through but she had found out anyways. Luckily, Tammy had great news for Jabari and hopefully bring back the familiar glint in his eye that she had grown accustomed to in his childhood.
“Good afternoon Jay, come give me a hug,” Tammy said to her son, getting up off her stool at the kitchen counter. Jabari came over and give his mother reluctant hug. Tammy was still getting used to the way he was growing up. Before, he was a little boy who loved hugs and kisses. Now that he was a teenager, things were starting to be different. He’ll always be my little boy. Tammy thought to herself.
Once Jabari had hugged her, Tammy began to tell him her good news. She hoped that it would put a smile on his face.
“Jabari... I have some news for you. I spoke to the headmaster of a Willowcrest Prep and he said that someone got expelled two weeks ago and a seat opened up in the eighth grade class. You can start as soon as you like,” Tammy announced.
Jabari’s eyes lit up. He had heard many tales of Tammy’s time at Willowcrest Prep. To Jabari, attending a school like that seemed like a far-off dream. While Tammy had been blessed with an amazing childhood with two loving parents, Jabari’s childhood experience had been a bit different. His mother Tammy had attended every private school her parents could afford from preschool until high school. Jabari was left in the care of a young single mother without much experience or assistance. While Jabari was pampered in a number of ways, his life wasn’t quite as luxurious as Tammy’s had been. There were very few trips around the world, very few big family vacations and Tammy had been unable to finagle a seat at a private school for her son. (That had nothing to do with money by the way.)
“Really mom? Willowcrest?” Jabari asked. He ran his hands over his head and looked down, not wanting his mother to see how widely he was grinning. Tammy knew that this is exactly the news that her son had been hoping for. He had begged her to find a way to get him into Willowcrest Prep since the beginning of that school year. Jabari was having a terrible time at Southwest. Jabari had even been begging Tammy to get in touch with her parents… That was what made Tammy realize just how far Jabari wanted her to go. She promised to do everything in her power to get him into Willowcrest. Finally she was successful.
Tammy replied, “Yes. I talked to Stan Duffy just this morning on the phone.”
She pulled Jabari in for another hug. “Thanks mom,” he said. This time he hugged her the same way he did when he was a child, holdi
ng his mother tightly as if he was afraid to let go.
Yes, Tammy Powers was a graduate of Willowcrest preparatory high school. The private school was about 50% day student and 50% boarding. It was one of those fancy prep schools like the one JFK attended. Tammy had been privileged to spend 6th grade through 12th grade at Willowcrest. Since Tammy Powers’ family had owned mansion only 20 minutes away at the time, Tammy had attended the school as a day student. As one of four black girls in her year, she felt pretty isolated at first. She was the girl who was into old English literature and Sylvia Plath poetry. She was decidedly a bookworm. Tammy had none of that “black cool” that would have made her a popular figure back in those days. Cool didn’t matter to Tammy back then; she graduated with honors and made her parents proud. (That pride would only be temporary.)
Because the school was small, Tammy knew nearly every teacher and the headmaster incredibly well. In fact, Stanley Duffy, the headmaster, had been Tammy’s Latin teacher when she attended Willowcrest. Now that he had received a promotion to headmaster, he was more than willing to help out one of his brightest students. Tammy was certain that this favor wouldn’t have been granted to anyone else. A part of her felt like she had earned this. Tammy had made a mistake long ago and she was paying for that mistake in many ways. At least Jabari offered a certain degree of comfort. Jabari was the love of her life and Tammy had been dedicated to him from the moment she decided to have this baby. Without Jabari…Tammy didn’t know if she would have made it that far. Would she have had the courage to leave Randall without him?
Tammy had given birth to Jabari when she was 18 years old. She found out she was pregnant a month before graduation. At the time, she had been in love with a man named Randall Combs. Randall Combs was far too old to be sniffing around an eighteen year old like Tammy, but he had found a promising target and launched his attack. Randall had promised her the world and he had delivered absolutely nothing but pain. When he discovered Tammy was rich, his sole goal in life became to impregnate her and eventually marry her so that he could get a piece of the pie.
But Randall didn’t quite understand how money worked in a wealthy family like Tammy’s. When things didn’t go according to plan, he left her high and dry with the baby only five months after Jabari was born. The Powers’ family was not too pleased. They had hopes and dreams for their daughter Tammy. Not only did they have dreams, they were devout Catholics who didn’t believe in premarital intercourse. When they found out Tammy had a child out of wedlock with a man like Randall Combs, they were furious. They had wanted Tammy to meet someone who “shared her status” and when they found out she was keeping Jabari their rage became even worse. (They didn’t detect the bitter irony there.) Tammy had been cut out of her family’s life entirely and she didn’t receive a red cent… At first.
But then, when Jabari was 2 ½ years old, long after Randall had disappeared, Tammy Powers’ father passed away. Although her parents had cut her off, they hadn’t accounted for the fact that one of them might die soon and Tammy was the sole recipient of his inheritance. Over $6 million had been left to Tammy. For the rest of her life, that fat 6 million would sit in a bank account and appreciate. Some far off accountant managed her investments. Tammy only had to worry about collecting checks. Every month, she would receive a dividend of over US$17,000. Tammy never had to work again. While she was grieving the loss of her father, Tammy had received a bizarre blessing. What was the universe trying to tell her? Regardless of the message, Tammy didn’t have to worry about Randall’s true intentions and she didn’t have to worry about where her next meal was coming from.
Tammy’s mother had nothing to say about the mistake on the will. She didn’t contact Tammy personally at all. Lawyers settled everything. But it was too late for Randall… He had already shown his true colors by then and Tammy kept him at arm’s length. While Tammy had plenty of money, she also carried the shame and stigma of being a single black mother in a town full of wealthy white people who all hated her guts. Those people who knew her story judged her. Tammy hadn’t been able to get her son into private preschool or private elementary school because of that judgment. Even if she could afford it, nobody wanted someone who represented her type of “values”. They wanted the children of career women or family women who had the decency to get married before procreating. The subtext was clear. Everyone was judging Tammy for a mistake she had made when she was 18 years old and Tammy didn’t know if it would ever stop.
Finally, someone had given her a chance and Tammy had jumped at it. Perhaps Jabari would have a chance of getting the education that she did and beyond. If Jabari had that chance, at least Tammy could be certain he wouldn’t show up one day pregnant. He could make something of himself and have hopes of doing more than living off of his parents wealth.
The rest of the evening, Tammy and Jabari spent quality time together. This wasn’t unusual for them. Jabari and his mother were very close. Jabari finished up his homework quickly while Tammy cooked them dinner. She wasn’t the world’s best cook but she could whip something up. That night she made spaghetti. There was nothing gourmet about it.
As Jabari and Tammy ate together, he told her all about what happened at school that day. Tammy understood why he was reluctant to share. In their English class, the teacher had assigned them to write a poem. Jabari had written one but he didn’t want to be the person to stand up and share his work. Of course, seeing his reluctance the teacher had prodded him even more. Jabari was forced to reveal his deepest insecurities to his class.
All the boys in his class mocked him for being so sensitive. Some even shouted homophobic slurs at him. One kid had stolen his backpack and hid it so that Jabari had to spend 30 minutes searching for it before coming home. Overall it was a nightmare. Tammy was tired of her son being a target. It wasn’t that Jabari was weak… He just didn’t believe in violence to get his way. He was a peace loving boy and there was nothing wrong with that. The students at Southwest held a different opinion.
Within two weeks, everything was arranged for Jabari to transfer over to Willowcrest Prep. Once his tuition had been paid and all the minor details had been hashed out, Tammy prepared to bring Jabari over for his first day at school.
Tammy got ready to drop her son off at school for his first day. It had been a long time since she driven her little boy to school. But since it was his first day and Willowcrest was her old stomping ground, she wanted to make sure that he was introduced to everyone and that she could get a chance to speak to Headmaster Duffy in person and thank him for this amazing opportunity.
Tammy wanted to dress to impress. This was the first time should be setting foot on the grounds of her old private school; she wanted to make a good impression. She was already well known around town as the teen mother. It was time to shed that image of her past behind. Tammy didn’t want to care or think about judgment. Her reputation from 13 years ago had no bearing on who she was now. Tammy wasn’t here for appearances. She was here to give Jabari the best shot at an education. It didn’t matter what anyone else thought.
As Tammy got ready, she looked in the mirror at her face. Although she was 31 years old, her skin had no sign of wrinkles. Growing up, Tammy had stayed out of the sun. Her parents always warned her about ruining her perfect skin and Tammy guessed it was starting to pay off. Tammy’s skin was a deep coffee color. She was around 5 foot eight and average sized. Tammy’s body was incredibly curvy and thick. She had large breasts, a little tummy pooch and an ass that was to die for. Tammy loved switching up her hair and she changed her look as often as she could. Now, she was wearing a 32 inch Brazilian Remi weave. She thought it looked damn good. Tammy slipped into a professional looking navy blue dress and 6 inch black designer heels.
She did her makeup in a muted, natural look. She definitely looked way younger than her age. Tammy didn’t give a damn anymore. Let them judge her. Jabari was about to have the best middle and high school education that a child could hope for. How could Tammy gi
ve a damn about being “judged” by people who had all inherited their money too? Just because Tammy didn’t have to keep working didn’t mean they were better than her. Plus, her father had died and Tammy had never made amends… Her story was far deeper than anyone knew. There was nothing “lucky” about losing a parent young, especially when that parent died without warning. Especially when she had never been able to say goodbye. Especially since Tammy was pretty certain her father had died hating her guts. He’d never even met his grandson.
Tammy gave herself a little pep talk and motivated Jabari to hurry up and get his butt in the car. Sitting in the front of the bright red Audi, Tammy could tell her son was starting to feel nervous.
“Is everything okay Jay?” Tammy asked him.
“I dunno. I guess I’m nervous,” Jabari confessed.
Tammy replied, “It’s okay to be nervous. But you grew up hearing stories of Willowcrest. I’m sure it’s still the same… No matter what you make amazing friends and you’ll get the best education out there.”
Just talking about amazing friends made Tammy feel a little sad. Some of the best friends of her life had gone on after Willowcrest to accomplish amazing things. Many of them were already married too. Tammy sometimes felt like the failure during their weekly Skype calls to each other. All she had accomplished was inheriting money and having a child. Sure, Tammy thought that raising Jabari to be the boy he was today was an amazing accomplishment but most women these days felt like you had to be a career woman too or your child rearing was worthless. Not to mention, Tammy’s love life was a disaster and it had been ever since Randall. Tammy sometimes wished she could live up to her friends. These days she was wondering if she could even still relate to them...
Prepped For Love: BWWM Pregnancy Romance Novel Page 1
