Four Page Letter
New Year Bae-Solutions
Angela Seals
All rights reserved.
Four Page Letter
Copyright @ 2020 by Angela Seals
Excerpt: Hopelessly Ever After
Copyright @ 2020 by Angela Seals
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, places, incidents, and characters are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to business establishments and events is entirely coincidental.
Cover Design: Sherelle Green
Editor: There for you Editing (Melissa Ringsted)
Manufactured and Printed in the United States of America
Created with Vellum
Thanks to all the ladies of the New Year Bae-Solutions anthology for embarking along this journey with me. Y’all ladies rock, Cheers!!
Acknowledgments
First, I would like to thank all the ladies whom I had the pleasure to work with on this awesome series. When I was first approached to join this anthology for New Year Bae-Solutions, I was super excited. Thank you, ladies! I will be forever grateful!
To my readers, it was an honor to be apart of this series! I hope you enjoy Four Page Letter as much as I enjoyed writing it!
Let’s stay in touch:
Instragram: @sealsangie
Email: [email protected]
www.facebook.com/authorangelaseals.write
Blurb
At a New Year’s Eve Party, four years ago, I met the man who changed the game for me. He was everything I’d imagined for myself and then some! But like a thief in the night, he barged in and stole my heart and hightailed it out of the country without a second glance. Our four-page letters were the only thing that kept us connected. Until they stopped…
Chapter One
New Beginnings …
December 29, 2016
Eve
Dear Self,
Never forget to love you and every part of who you are. Remain loyal to yourself and remain true to your beliefs. Only you can be your worst critic, people will see what you allow them to see. This will be a new year for you, which means new beginnings.
Love,
Eve Jacobs
I was good at writing letters. I majored in English in college because I loved writing myself motivational notes. I was glad I wrote this one before I left the house because I definitely had to recite it to myself now.
Hate, was the only word my mom banned me from using in her house. Dislike. That’s a better word, but it was frowned upon by my teachers and outsiders. However, that word would not accurately describe the way I was feeling right now. Aggravated. Now that’s the fucking word I was looking for to describe my current situation. I would rather be curled up on my couch with a bowl of cereal and my hair in a messy bun, while watching a marathon of Different World until my eyes burned. Instead, I was standing in a corner of a room wearing a tight dress that was nearly cutting off the circulation in my thighs, and the heavy make-up I wore was making my face itch.
I massaged my neck, while glancing around the room at these strangers. This pre-New Year’s Eve party was lame. The only thing that kept me from skipping out on my girl Tessa and heading for the exit sign was the sight of Mr. Gorgeous. Delicious had just strolled into the party like he owned the room. My eyes followed his every move. He was my type. Tall, almond chocolate, medium build, and handsome. His suit was on point as well. He was wearing a black suit jacket, white, V-neck T-shirt, and a pair of black trousers, with white sneakers. Now that was sexy. A man with style.
He placed his hands in his side pockets and laughed at something one of the guy’s standing next to him said. Damn, straight, white teeth, I thought, as his eyes flickered my way briefly and I smiled. No doubt I was looking like an idiot. Well, maybe he didn’t look my way. I was good at imagining things, but there was nothing wrong with a girl wishing.
Anxious. That was what happened to me when I saw my prey. I’ve staked my claim and I was ready to pounce. Slow it down, Eve. You are doing it again. “Let a man be a man.” My therapist’s words echoed through my head. Okay, play it cool, I told myself.
But what if he doesn’t see us? my conscience asked.
We walk away. Now that was something I’d never been good at doing. In my past relationships I was always the one left hanging on, pleading for more. Not this time. I squirmed at the clustered diamonds sticking me in my ribcage. There had to be at least thirty rhinestones on this dress that Tessa begged me to buy, and then in turn stuffed my hundred-and-forty-five-pound ass into it.
Speaking of Tessa. Damn, where is she? She left me as soon as we stepped in this place. It never took Tessa Scott long to find a new prospect. We were polar opposites. I sat back and waited for men to notice me, but not Tessa; she always went for what she wanted. That’s one thing I envied about her.
I spotted her in the middle of the room. “Tessa, I am so ready to go,” I screamed over the music blaring through the loudspeaker at the Grand Marriott Hotel.
Tessa glared over her shoulder and sent me a head nod. She continued to chat it up with a guy looking like a wanna-be LL Cool J. I had a sudden urge to march across the marble floor and snatch Tessa by the ear, but I knew her ass was drunk by the way she kept bobbing her head around in circles. I didn’t want to deal with a drunk Tessa tonight, because a drunk Tessa was loud, annoying, and a fighter. Yes, she loved to fight when she was drunk. That was one of the things I hated about her in college. I spent many nights at sorority parties peeling a deranged Tessa’s fist from a girl’s face.
So, instead of having to beat my friend’s ass four days before New Year’s, I decided to hobble over to the bar in hopes of easing the pain radiating from my big toe. Placing most of my weight on one leg, I screamed out loud at the fact I allowed Tessa to talk me into wearing four-inch, peep toe heels in the middle of a Chicago snowstorm.
“I see we’re both feeling the same way.”
I smiled embarrassedly as I glanced upward at the deep, baritone voice piercing my ears. My breathing momentarily tethered at Mr. Gorgeous. Eyes the color of a pecan pie met mine, and the distance I stood before didn’t do this man’s physique justice. I’ve only seen his body type in Marvel movies. It was a close second to Superman or maybe Batman. Shit, who cares.
He extended his hand and said, “I’m Dale.”
A man’s hands can tell you a lot about him, and one thing I knew for sure was that Dale’s hands were smooth, well-manicured, and big enough to grip the parts of me that were well endowed. However, I stood like a statue gawking, unable to formulate any words. Could it be the man I had watched minutes ago was now standing two feet from me and with his hand stuck out, introducing himself?
Oh shiiit. I gingerly slapped my forehead. “I’m sorry, I don’t know what happened to my manners. Eve Jacobs.” I said, shaking his hand. “I mean, just Eve, stupid me.” I giggled. “Who gives last names anymore?” I giggled again, and this time a loud snort followed.
“Excuse me.” I clasped my hand over my mouth and turned to run in a hole, under a car, or wherever I could hide from the shame of my uncontrollable babble.
“It’s fine.” Smiling, he lightly touched my forearm.
Jesus Christ. He had the nerves to have two deep dimples. This man was way out of my league. What could I possibly do with him? Fuck him. The two words echoed so loud in my head, that I did a quick glance
around the room.
“You don’t have to leave. I’m Dale Huntsworth,” he said with a smirk. “Now we’re even.”
I like him. A lot.
You don’t even know him.
I don’t care.
Eying him, eying me, I didn’t miss the satisfied once over he gave me. His head tilted downward toward my breasts, which were only being shielded by a strip of black lace. His pupils danced with amusement, while his tongue darted out of his mouth to lick those sexy ass lips of his.
His mouth was moving again, but this time I missed whatever he said.
“What did you say?”
He smiled again. “Why is a beautiful lady like you here alone?”
Smiling, I replied, “Well, I’m here with my girlfriend.”
“Hmmm. No man?”
I shook my head. “Where’s your woman?” I asked.
He reared back on his white sneakers and traced his goatee. “I don’t have one.”
“You’re trying to tell me four days before New Year’s and you don’t have a special someone?”
He shrugged. “Shit happens, and right now, I’m glad it did.” He sucked his teeth with a glimmer of mischief shining in his eyes.
I looked away from his intense gaze, my sex purring to life. This man wanted something from me, and honestly, I wanted it, too … but first I needed a drink. So, I turned toward the bar and waved over one of the bartenders. “Can I please get a tequila on the rocks with a lime?
“I need something stiff right now.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Is that right?”
I nodded and took a sip of the drink the bartender sat on top of a cocktail napkin. He motioned toward Dale and leaned over the bar to ask, “Can I get you something?”
He pointed at my drink. “I’ll take what she has.”
The bartender pulled out another glass, filling it with tequila, placed a lime on the side, and slid the glass forward. He punched a few numbers on a computer screen, then sat the bill between us.
“I’ll …” My words died on my lips when Dale placed a silver American Express card on the white check.
“I got it. My mother would kill me if she knew I let a fine woman pay for her own tab,” he explained.
I did three mental checks. Manners. Momma’s boy, that could be a problem. Did he just call me fine? “Thanks, but I could’ve paid.”
He waved his hand in the air and took a swig of his drink. “Nonsense. Why would I let you pay when that may cut me off from my next move?”
“Your next move,” I repeated.
He nodded. “See, I have a confession to make.”
“Oookay!” I stated hesitantly, as my heart started to skip several beats.
“Truth is, I’ve been watching you since I stepped foot in this place.” He paused and took a swig of his drink. “I waited before I came over because I had to make sure you weren’t already claimed.”
“You were watching me?” I responded in shock.
He nodded. “That dress hits you in all the right places. Any man who recognizes beauty will notice you.”
I smiled so wide, I am sure he saw all thirty-two of my teeth.
“The first thing that attracted me to you was your ass.”
That should have been the part when I slapped the shit out of him and walked away, but it turned me on to hear him start to describe my ass. I never had a man look at me the way he was right now. There was such a magnetic, heated attraction linking us to each other. He ogled me in a way that made my clit pulsate.
Down, girl!
“See, I don’t want to be disrespectful, but that dress you’re wearing is banging.” He licked his lips and added, “I really want to get to know you on another level. Is that okay?” He smirked in a mischievous way.
My heart was nearly beating out of my chest from his forwardness. I had to blink twice in hopes that I wasn’t daydreaming or imagining that this man standing before me in all of his six-foot height sexiness actually wanted to get to know me. I knew what another level met, and it wasn’t on a friendship level. It was on the level of can-I-take-you-to-bed-and-smack-that-ass.
After downing the rest of the contents in my glass, I leaned against the bar to gather myself. There were only two ways this was going to go down. Either I was going to accept this man’s invitation to take me to bed or walk away and be another lonely bitch on New Year’s Eve. The latter didn’t sit well with me, and for some odd reason the first choice made me panic even more. Unwanted thoughts of my ex-boyfriend, Rob, floated through my mind. I met him the same way, four days before NYE, but the tables were turned—I was the aggressor. I followed him around the club the entire night until he noticed me. I practically threw my panties at him, and in return I got what I wanted. A lover for one year, and a cheater for the other two years we were together. Tessa said I should’ve seen the signs that a man who stayed out all night and partied every weekend was no doubt a cheater.
However, the longer I stared at Dale, I didn’t see those traits in him. Granted, I didn’t know him yet or his background with women, but a woman’s intuition wouldn’t stray her wrong. Or would it? Could it be that I was doing it again? Wanting something that wasn’t quite ready for me?
He cleared his throat, coaxing me from my thinking.
“I didn’t mean to scare you,” he whispered close to my ear. “But I don’t want you to do anything you’re not comfortable with.”
“You want a one-night stand?” I asked.
He smiled. “Naw, baby, I think this thing between us will last longer than one night.”
“You feel it, too?”
He nodded. “I don’t know what it is but it’s electric and like fire, and whatever it is, it dragged my ass across that dance floor to say something to you.”
I chuckled, slightly holding my stomach in the process. I stood upward and gazed into his eyes. That was my first downfall, because they were intense, staring straight into my soul. His once pecan-colored eyes were now black. Is that even possible for eyes to change colors? I wondered briefly.
He took my hand in his and drew me closer to his chest. I could smell the scent of his cologne clinging to his neckline. Closing my eyes, I ran my hands across his strong, muscular arms. I imagined those arms lifting me high in the air, while his face was buried deep inside of my pussy. I could feel those same arms mounting me on his shoulders, while I rode his face to my satisfaction.
I quickly opened my eyes when I heard Tessa scream my name.
“Eve,” she hollered against my ear.
Turning my head to the side, I saw she stood up on me and was eyeing Dale with a smug smirk plastered across her face.
“What’s up, Tess?” I asked.
“Girl, I see you,” she laughed. “Now he’s fine as hell,” she said close to my ear. She was so loud that I was sure Dale could hear every word she tried to whisper. She clung to my forearm. “I’m about to head out with this hottie right here.” She pulled the wanna-be LL Cool J close to her and kissed his lips. “You good on your own?”
I nodded. Really not having any doubts about the man standing before her. This was who Tessa was. She got drunk and picked up random dudes in the club. Normally, the men looked like nerds or somebody she could manhandle, but we never went off with anyone without getting some information.
Tessa turned to the dude. “Give me your ID?” she slurred.
Frowning, he asked in confusion, “Why would I do that?”
Tessa popped her mouth and placed her hands on her thick hips. “I don’t go off with anyone without my homegirl getting their name and address. I’m not trying to become a victim on Cold Case.”
Dale snickered and looked my way. I motioned with my hand for him to do the same.
“Are you for real?” he asked.
“Yes! Cough it up.”
Both men sighed heavily, reached into their back pockets, and pulled out their IDs. After Tessa and I took pictures, we said our good-byes.
Once we wer
e alone, Dale said, “I wouldn’t think about chopping your sweet, freckled-face ass up.”
Oh, how I hated when people talked about my reddish freckles. I once went to a dermatologist in hopes of getting them lasered off. I was told they were my beauty marks, and the surgery may leave scars. That was a dead in the water idea.
I coughed. “Can you come up with something sexier to talk about than my freckles?”
He tucked his bottom lip between his teeth and said, “My hotel room or yours?”
Damn, I wasn’t expecting that as a comeback. “Cocky.” I eyed him above the rim of my glass.
“I like to call it being confident.”
Gnawing on my bottom lip, I played right into his game. “My room.”
Dale
They say being confident can get you a long way in life. I guess that shit was true because I was trailing behind this bad ass hottie. I mean, ole girl’s body was banging, and her skin was the color of butterscotch candy. She exhibited all the things I must have physically; pretty face, big ass, nice size boobs, some hair—it don’t have to be a lot—and the added bonus she had these pretty ass freckles lining both of her cheeks and a few sprinkled on her nose. I was a different type of man; I found the beauty in the weirdest things.
She glanced over her shoulder, giving me a wink as she scanned the key card to gain access to the room. Once we were inside, I stopped at the door and closed it behind me, while Eve ventured farther in the darkness. I could barely make out her silhouette when she bent over to kick off her red heels. She untied the strings dangling on her neck, and shimmed out of the tight dress that hugged her curves. My mouth watered in anticipation of what was to come. I leaned against the door, watching her every move as she laid down on the couch facing the window and sat forward.
Four Page Letter: New Year Bae-Solutions Page 1
