My Husband's Girlfriend
Page 30
“Huh?” He scowls, looking at me like I’m nuts. “You do want me to stay in the mood, don’t you? Not gonna play a preacher. Let me try playing a good husband, okay? I’ll pretend to be that.”
Actually, the past few months Neil’s behavior has improved. He’s managed to keep Dani at bay, and she accepted our decision without a fight. I guess she got tired of the drama as much as we did.
“A good husband, huh?” I comment. “That’s funny. Okay, you can try that.”
“And if I play like I’m a good husband, who are you going to be?” he asks.
“Hmm,” I say, “how about your girlfriend?” I stand next to Neil and lower myself to my knees. I press my lips against both his cheeks and his lips, kissing him deeply, and rubbing his legs up and down. I find myself getting aroused, and I love how that feels, since me getting horny is still somewhat hit-or-miss.
“Who are you again?” he gasps, squirming and grinning, leading my hand below his waist.
“I’m going to play like I’m…my husband’s girlfriend.”
Acknowledgments
I’ve met quite a few folks during my short time in the biz, so bear with me. Much love to my author crew: Margaret Johnson-Hodge, Marissa Monteilh, Lexi Davis, and Cheryl Robinson. Margaret (Cuz), keep doing your thing. (((Marissa))), my sis in the biz, you are so sweet. My girl Lexi (author of Pretty Evil), I love to discuss writing, share experiences, and laugh with you. I’m happy you were brought into my life. Cheryl, I knew you were gonna make it.
Authors: Nancey Flowers, E. Lynn Harris (who encouraged me to write book reviews on a national level), Nina Foxx, Alisha Yvonne, Shelley Halima (my Detroit homegirl), Tina Brooks McKinney, Phillip Thomas Duck, Tracy Price-Thompson, Nikki Woods, Shelia Goss, MBridges, Frederick Smith of L.A., Darrious D. Hilmon, Elyse Singleton, Philana Marie Boles, Pat Tucker, ReShonda Tate Billingsley, Toy Styles (you are a sweetie), Ms. Erica Perry, Keith Lee Johnson, and Brandon Massey—thanks, Brandon, for your generosity and ongoing participation regarding Book-Remarks.com.
Reviewers and Supporters: Brian K. Walley for the excellent feature with Ebony Expressions Book Club, Romance in Color, Looseleaves.org, Tee C. Royal & The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers, ReadinColor, One Swan Productions, Road to Romance, Romantic Times Book Club Magazine, Avid-Readers.com, and Disilgold.com. Toni Bonita, Simone A. Hawks (thanks for checking on me when I was sick), Simone Kelly, Cynthia Holsome, Mr. Robert Pope (for going above and beyond), Joan Havis, Marla Ofor, and Sheila Lindsay. Mega thanks to Chris Pattyn for hanging out with me in ATL and making me laugh. Let’s do it again.
Bookstores: B&N, Kiso Books, Soul On Wheels, Shrine of the Black Madonna (Houston and Atlanta), Jokae’s, Waldenbooks (in Dekalb Mall, the Houston One Center, Detroit Renaissance Center, and Fair-lane Town Center), Cushcity.com, Black Images, and Karibu Books in Maryland (thanks, Lee).
Bookclubs: Cover2Cover Book Club (Houston)—the first club to sponsor me—Circle of Friends Book Clubs in Columbus, Ohio, and Atlanta; Cushcity Book Club; Ebony Eyes Book Club; The African-American Authors Book Club of Palmdale, California; Ebony Dimensions Book Club; Brownstone Book Club of Houston; Kismet Book Club; Divas Read 2 of Dallas; Carol Mackey of Black Expressions Book Club (you are so awesome); Sistahood Book Review (thanks for a FUN book club meeting); the wonderfully crazy folks in RAW4ALL; Prominent Women of Color; Soulful Literary Experience; Queens In Pen Book Club; The Sistah Circle Book Club; Black Professionals Consortium of Houston; The GRITS; and all the other clubs around the country and radio stations (including FM-107 in the U.K.) that selected My Daughter’s Boyfriend.
Web Sites/media: The Black Library, AALBC.com, The MPB Network, Roads to Romance, Sonya Harris of Sayha Pub, Mybestseller.com, PeopleWhoLoveGoodBooks, JeffRivera.com, The Literary Café, Quarterly Black Review magazine, Publishers Weekly, Booking Matters magazine, Maurice Hope-Thompson of KTSU-FM, and my UH hook-up (Francine Parker, Mike Emery, and Thomas Shea).
Many thanks to Chris Jackson—your editing skills and tough questions made this book a lot better. And thanks to Rachel Kahan, the editor who acquired My Husband’s Girlfriend. Shout-outs to my cool agent, Claudia Menza, who is so enthusiastic and helps to whip my novels in shape. Thanks in advance to my new editor, Shana Drehs. Much apprecation to my wonderful publisher, Crown Publishing Group/Three Rivers Press. Your support means so much to me.
Shout-outs to my relatives in Michigan (hi Mom), Texas (sis and hubby), Louisiana, Illinois (Aunt Michel), Arizona, and elsewhere. (Thanks to my uncle Reggie and cousin Terri for coming to see me in downtown Detroit.)
Thanks to those who support me at the University of Houston. You are a true cast of characters who force me to constantly listen and take notes. Special thanks to Dilip (who’s always raving about my book), Claudia O’Hare (Drama Queen) just because, and all the brothas (you know who you are).
Special thanks to Dawnya Ivey and Kim Floyd for helping me out with reviews.
I can’t forget Marvin D. Cloud of Houston, the first person to publish my nonfiction through Gospel Monthly magazine in the mid-90s.
I appreciate anyone who bought and enjoyed My Daughter’s Boyfriend. Your comments make my day. Visit me online at CydneyRax.com or e-mail me at Cydney@booksbycydney.com.
Last but not least, thanks to God for sustaining me through all my trials, tribulations, triumphs, and victories.
If you read My Husband’s Girlfriend, I want to hear from you. MHG is a story I’ve wanted to do for years, and it’s amazing to write about this topic. Keep an open mind while reading and don’t forget that in real life some men have babies with multiple women and some women are trying to deal with it. And even if we don’t understand or agree with folks’ choices, everyone has a story to tell. I truly love this book and I hope you do, too.
If I mistakenly omitted you from these acknowledgments, please forgive me. I’m always touched by your efforts.
Luv y’all.
Cydney (no middle name) Rax
February 2006
About the Author
Cydney Rax was born and raised in Detroit. A graduate of Cass Technical High School, she earned an undergraduate degree in written communications from Eastern Michigan University. Cydney has been featured in publications including Publishers Weekly, Quarterly Black Review, and Booking Matters, among others.
Cydney is an avid reader as well as creator of Book-Remarks.com, a popular website that is devoted to promoting African-American literature. She has interviewed authors such as Carl Weber, E. Lynn Harris, Eric Jerome Dickey, Kimberla Lawson Roby, and dozens of others. Her author website is CydneyRax.com, and her blog is available at http://cydneyrax.blogspot.com.
Tracey Davenport was only seventeen when she had her daughter, Lauren. Now that Lauren is seventeen herself, she is taking her mother’s advice by choosing to wait instead of having sex with Aaron, a college student and her first real boyfriend. But Lauren’s decision causes a chain reaction that no one could have anticipated. In a few chance encounters, sparks fly between thirtysomething Tracey and twentysomething Aaron. Eventually, what begins as a harmless flirtation turns into something much, much hotter. And that’s when things really get complicated…
Told in the alternating voices of the three lovers, My Daughter’s Boyfriend is the spicy tale of an impossibly tricky love triangle, full of sharp, lively observations about mothers and daughters, black men and women, and the truth about love and lust.
MY DAUGHTER’S BOYFRIEND
1-4000-8313-3
$12.95 PAPER (CANADA: $17.95)
AVAILABLE FROM THREE RIVERS PRESS
WHEREVER BOOKS ARE SOLD.
WWW.CROWNPUBLISHING.COM
Copyright © 2006 by Cydney Rax
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved.
Published in the
United States by Three Rivers Press, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.
www.crownpublishing.com
Three Rivers Press and the Tugboat design are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Rax, Cydney.
My husband’s girlfriend: a novel/Cydney Rax.—1st ed.
1. Triangles (Interpersonal relations)—Fiction. 2. Spouses—Fiction. 3. Domestic fiction. I. Title.
PS3618.A98M93 2006
813'.6—dc22 2006003187
eISBN: 978-0-307-35151-7
v3.0