Copyrighted Material 2016
The day wound down to a bistro that served coffee and the best, buttery bear claws-ever!
By now we were comfortable in one another’s silence-just chill. Then he spoke, causing the aforementioned silence to emphasize his voice.
“I have one more gift- If you’re ready to receive it.” His eyes beckoned for a response.
I never questioned, never hesitated, just took his hand and followed him out the door, into a taxi- world whirring by, his hand caressing my thigh while looking into my eyes and then out of the window.
The cab stopped in front of The Congress Hotel, he paid the driver and we were walking past the doorman, through a busy lobby and into an empty elevator whose doors closed in time to conceal the most passionate kiss known to any two lips.
Now, my back was against the wall, his arms on either side of my head, face looking down into my eyes... “Lord,” my mind screamed. "I love this chocolate brother"!
“Ding!” -screamed the elevator; time to step off, and receive my gift.
In one hand Gregory held the key-card to the room, and in the other, a handful of my ample ass. He was, in a word, aroused.
We entered the cream and chocolate suite with gold accents where baskets of assorted berries, Champagne, and Godiva chocolates rested at the beds side. In the center lay a chocolate negligee with a matching mask and silk ropes.
He stood just behind me gauging my reaction in order to pace his response. When my trance- like stare broke, he moved toward the bed, handing me the negligee.
“Go make yourself ready, my queen.”
Again, no questions, just a lamb-like obedience, rising above my fears, my doubts, and the shame of my massive thighs... I quickly and thoroughly showered, slipping into the chocolate silk that exposed more than I was ready for him to see. I pinned my hair into a lazy bun, allowing wisps of hair to frame my doll-like face,took a deep breath and opened the door. My breath caught when I saw my Chocolate King seated in a plush, white chair totally naked, cock, rock hard, legs spread, balls at rest... He did not rise, just merely extended the mask that dangled from one finger....
Excerpted from "It Always Starts With Sex" by Monica Handy. Copyright © 2016 by Monica Handy. Excerpted by permission. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher. Excerpts are provided solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Through The Darkness~Stories of Hope
The Hindsight of Hot Buttered Bliss
Copyrighted Material 2016
Presently, I am mastering (or should I say doctoral-izing ) the delicate art of self-love and respect versus constant compromise. I am also learning to draw boundary lines around my emerging perimeters, bold enough for the human eye to see. I believe that everyone should have a boundary separating where they end and the world begins, or else you will forever hold your truth in comparison to the world's opinions.
Note: In faith there is no room for dichotomy.
Now, holding on to who you are and letting go of who you think you should be, can admittedly be a balancing act that requires a beam of discernment. Personally, I've had trouble in some areas of "letting go" that have required a great deal of resolve, and at times rejection from those people and things that seem near and dear to me... Observations have revealed that people have scopes through which they become comfortable viewing you; take that scope away from them and things become unfocused; their lines of reasoning become blurred and they don't quite know how to perceive you or your new-found choices. I don't know about you, but my mistake was in trying to convince these people that I had changed and to give me their blessing of acceptance. But, if truth be told, the only way to gain someone's acceptance is to set their perspectives at ease. However, If you are in the process of maturing, your own growth may demand that the onlooker attend to his own perspective.
Note: We have all been the onlooker.
Excerpted from "Through The Darkness~Stories of Hope" by Collaboration In Motion- A Collaborative Work with Monica Handy. Copyright © 2016 Excerpted by permission. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher. Excerpts are provided solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
The Meanderings of Ruby Stewart
Copyrighted Material 2016
It was a new day and so far, turning out to be a pretty good Tuesday morning. The people in the elevator, who believed that I slept my way to the top, did not say, “good morning”- as usual. My hair still wasn’t poofy, despite the humid weather and the light company extended my payment date! Yes! Look out world, here comes Ruby Stewart!
Then it happened… A frazzled Madeline (aka, my boss) came around the corner in her favorite black leisure suit and turquoise pumps.
“Well, aren't you Ms. Sunshine? I was beginning to think you weren't going to show up!”
My eyes darted to the clock just behind her, revealing that it was eight, forty seven. I wasn’t due at my desk until nine. I said nothing.
“Izzy V is coming, and she's all shook up because the model in her latest ad looks like she smells rotting fish… And it's a perfume ad, for god’s sake! So get out there and get some flowers and pastries… The fancy kind; spare no expense, she barked! And then get back here as fast as you can!”
The pug nosed, sixty year old woman was due for a mental lashing but for some reason I hesitated. The wear and tear of this job was taking a toll on her and if memory served correct she had never spoken to me in this tone before. So, I surmised as I arranged flowers in Lalique vases and placed fancy pastries on milk glass, that the real culprit here was Izzy!
Even as I lingered in the epiphany, she and the Vanderpomb team entered the boardroom, and as always I offered coffee to a series “no-s” and one upturned nose.
Purposely, I repeated the offer. “Is that a yes or a no, on the coffee, Ms. Vanderpomb?”
Still no answer, just a gentle response, on her behalf from Mr. Claiborne.
“That will be all, Ms. Stewart. You've done a lovely job with the room… Don't go too far because we may need you.”
And, just like that, I fell deeper in love with a man I hardly knew.
Excerpted from "The Meanderings of Ruby Stewart" by Monica Handy. Copyright © 2016 by Monica Handy. Excerpted by permission. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher. Excerpts are provided solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
HOW TO KILL A LIE-
Chapter~ IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT
Copyrighted Material 2016
Reverend Rodgers awoke with a start! He sat up, breathing heavily, wiping away streams of sweat that rolled down his face and neck. As he reached for the water glass on his night stand the faint figure seated in the corner, moved. The Reverend’s eyes strained through the darkness trying to identify the intruder.
“Who's there?” He demanded! “Show yourself!”
The figure stood up and moved toward the bed. The closer it came the more the moonlight dispelled the darkness and the mystery was solved. Manuel stood at the foot of the bed in stark stillness, staring at Reverend Rodgers. His presence was so unsettling that he turned on the lamp and patted the bed, signaling the boy to come and sit down. Then, and only then did he see traces of a child. The good reverend gathered his thoughts as his feet slid across the floor in search of his slippers.
“Tell me, why are you roaming around in the dark? Why aren't you asleep?”
"I want to hear the story of David, again.”
“He was a shepherd boy,” groping with his foot for the elusive slipper. “Who, one day would be king.”
“He did other things; no, Padre?” Came his Spanish dialect.
“Yes, Manuel, he did. David was known to hold his peace when his enemies confronted him. At times he took flight to save his own life.”
“Then, there were times when he did not run. Isn't that also true, Padre?”
He heard the child's question in his ears, but it was the look in his eyes that gave him pause.
“Yes, that's true.”
“Like, when he faced the giant man who threatened to harm him?”
Reverend Rodgers stood and crossed the room, leaning his haunches on a dresser adjacent to the bed. “Where is this going, Manuel? We covered this thoroughly in chapel.”
“David was justified in killing the giant because he threatened the life of his people. He too, was young and overlooked, but he was chosen to do what no other could do.”
“Also, true. Are you feeling overlooked?”
Suddenly, the boy stood and looked him in the eyes. “Thank you, Padre. Good night.” Then he left Reverend Rodgers to a sleepless night filled with wondering and prayers.
Excerpted from "PART II: HOW TO KILL A LIE: Sequel to: AND THE MIRROR CRACKED" by Monica Handy. Copyright © 2016 by Monica Handy. Excerpted by permission. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher. Excerpts are provided solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
And The Mirror Cracked-The Sequel
Chapter~ Pinky Swear
Copyrighted Material 2015
The two of them, disheveled and disillusioned, stepped off of the city bus and walked slowly up the block to Reverend Rodgers house. Lee-‐Roy stopped short of the front door and led Melody through a side entrance instead. One look at them would reveal that they had not been studying at the library. Melody’s eyes were swollen from the slap and so many tears, while Lee-‐Roy had suffered abrasions and a ripped jacket. They managed to make it into the room where Lee-‐Roy had originally shared his plan. For a moment, they both sat quietly and then Melody burst into tears! Lee--Roy wanted to comfort her but the shame and torment over his manhood retarded his movement. He didn’t feel worthy enough to comfort anyone. In lieu of touch, he spoke soft, gentle words that comforted her from a distance. He knew it was working because she began to dry her eyes and focus on him.
“What did he do to you Lee-‐Roy? I swear I won’t tell! You and I are locked together now. We are a team… Pinky swear,” she smiled.
“Melody, I can barely stand the truth, myself.”
With every good intention, Melody went over to console her new-‐found confidant, who side stepped her touch and tightened his already, folded arms. He kept his distance, almost as if he didn’t want her to even look at him.
“Ok, now you’re scaring me, Lee-‐Roy. What happened?”
Lee-‐Roy’s knees folded as he slid down the wall, to the floor in a far corner and began telling the horrors he tried to forget.
“Oh my God,” she whispered through fresh tears! “The football team?”
Tears began to flow down Lee-‐Roy’s face-‐“I mean, I knew that I was different… I guess everybody can see that. But what they did was so brutal,” he sobbed! And now they want more. …Wish I could just change my name and move away where nobody knows me!”
“What are you talking about,” Melody insisted?
“Dennis, is making sure that I come to another,”-‐posing his fingers in quote, unquote signification-‐ “gathering, on Saturday night…”
“And, if you don’t?”
“He’ll probably beat the crap out of me again! Enough about me. What are you gonna do with Sir Lancelot and his Mustang chariot?!”
“Ha, ha-‐very funny! He never heard me talk to him like that before” she half explained, half pleaded. “It caught him off guard…”
Lee-Roy wasn’t buying it! “You sound just like Mrs. Rodriguez.”
“Who, pray-‐tell, is Mrs. Rodriguez, Lee-Roy?”
She’s that lady who always waves a lace hanky when The Holy Ghost hits her!
Melody nodded in remembrance. “She used to come over, at least twice a week; crying every time. My daddy would take her into his study and Sister Juna would bring a box of tissues and two glasses
of lemonade. Then the door would be closed for a half hour before they’d come out again.”
“Reverend Rodgers was creepin’ with the Mexican, church lady?!”
“That’s what I thought… Until I put my ear to the cracked door. She was crying about how her husband hit her for nothin’! She said she would have dinner ready, the house clean and he would just lose his temper and start hitting her, for nothing. She didn’t know what to do…”
“Oh Lee-Roy! Stop right there. Once I apologize, Gary will too, and everything will be back to normal.”
“Yeah, ok.”
“It will! You’ll see. And by the way, you can tell Dennis, “No!”
“And you can tell that drug pushin, woman beater, “No!”
Turning away from Lee-‐Roy and throwing her hands up-‐“I’m not doing this with you! I gotta go!”
Walking toward the door, she turns around-‐ “By the way, Lee-‐Roy Rodgers, if you ever changed your name what would it be?”
Lee-‐Roy smiled, as though he had given this plenty of thought. My name would be “Clive… Clive Hammond. I would be rich and perfect! …And you, Melody, what would your name be?”
She tilted her head to one side and said, “Something strong… Something biblical… I got it! My name would be, Deborah-‐just like the prophetess in the bible. …Deborah Burrows-because I’m gone plow my way through this world!”
They both laughed and Melody went home.
Excerpted from "And The Mirror Cracked" by Monica Handy. Copyright © 2015 by Monica Handy. Excerpted by permission. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher. Excerpts are provided solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
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