Erotic Romance
Date Published: July 2022
Publisher: Changeling Press
How likely is it that studious coed Melissa will fall for Richard — former
campus jerk and serial womanizer — who’s trying to mend his ways and
win her heart? Not very, since, having made it to the “friend
zone,” he’s afraid to tell her how he feels. It’s even
less likely because Richard doesn’t know Melissa’s already
married to her childhood sweetheart, Sam — who’s really
Samantha.
However… it’s not impossible. Melissa is bisexual, she’s
developing feelings for Richard, and her wife is supportive of her quest to
discover what her bisexuality means. What does HEA look like for a loving,
blended trio?
Excerpt
Chapter One
“WOW! That was one punishing hit on Harrison. Smashed high from the
left! Slammed low from the right! No wonder he did a full three-sixty before
hitting the ground. I bet it knocked the wind out of him. Wait a minute!
He’s not moving, and his leg is bent out at a really troubling angle.
The EMTs are rushing onto the field with a stretcher. Let’s hope
it’s not as bad as it looks. It won’t matter in this game.
Harrison has given his team a twenty-one-point lead with just a quarter to
play. But this young man is supposed to be headed to the NFL!”
When Richard regained consciousness, he was in a fog. He fought to clear
his head but failed. He opened his eyes, but everything was out of
focus.
“He’s awake.” It was his mother’s voice — but with
a serious measure of worry. “How are you feeling, honey?”
He hurt everywhere, and his mouth was so dry he had trouble forming any
words. “Mo- Mom? Wha- What’s g- What’s going on?” he
finally got out.
* * *
Ten months later
The young man tried to hurry up the stairs, but he was still having trouble
using crutches. When he pushed open the classroom door, his backpack swung
around and pulled him off balance. He let go of his aluminum aids to stop
from falling, and the metallic clatter as they crashed against the floor
drew everyone’s attention.
Every face looked his way. Few showed sympathy. Most wore thinly veiled
smirks. Some openly displayed glee. He wasn’t surprised. He deserved
it, and he knew it. A distinguished woman in a lab coat walked over and
picked up his crutches. “Classes began a week ago, Mr. Harrison”
— she handed the crutches to him –”for everyone,” she added
sternly. “And we begin on time.”
“I understand, Professor. There were complications with my surgery.
I’m sorry. I thought this building had an elevator. It won’t
happen again.”
She nodded. “Come with me.”
They walked to the farthest corner of the lab where a plain looking young
woman was adding something to a beaker sitting on a blue flame. She was
staring intently through her large protective glasses to see what kind of
reaction it would produce. “Miss Teaberry,” her teacher
interrupted, “this is Richard Harrison, your new lab partner. I know
you wanted to work alone, but we don’t have enough stations. However,
if you decide this partnership won’t work, I’ll respect
that.” She looked at Richard seriously. “If so, Mr. Harrison
will have to accept the consequences of his actions.”
“It’s fine, Professor. I promise to pull my
weight.”
The young woman looked suspiciously at her new partner. “I’m
Melissa.”
He gave her his best smile and extended his hand. “Sorry to mess
things up for you. I’m Richard.”
After looking at his hand for a few seconds, she grimaced and shook it. She
turned her attention back at the beaker. “I know who you are,”
she added frostily. “You’re Dick Harrison. Let’s just get
to work.”
He groaned inside. There was no question what she meant. Please don’t
let this be a girl I slept with and have completely forgotten. I know I was
bad. But that bad? He studied her face closely. “We haven’t met
before, have we?”
She turned to face him. “No. But you dated my first-year roommate,
Alicia Monti.” The accusing look told him everything he needed to
know.
He winced. She was kind to say he’d “dated” her roommate.
He looked straight back at her. “For what it’s worth, you have
every right to be angry with me. I was a jerk to her — and to more people
than I want to admit. But life has kicked the shit out of me in return. Once
I figure out how to get around with these” — he held up one of his
crutches – “I will apologize to Alicia — and the others. They
may not forgive me. But I at least want to try to do the right thing. In
this class, I only want to be a good lab partner and not flunk out. Just
tell me what to do.”
Melissa raised her eyebrow, eyeing him uneasily. “Are you being
straight with me? This isn’t some sort of con?”
His face was somber. “No. I mean it.” His tone was repentant.
“I know you have no reason to believe me. I also know that a week from
now you’ll want to ask the professor to get rid of me. And not because
I’m not doing my share, but because I’m rubbish when it comes to
chemistry. Which will make me a pain in the ass as a lab partner. But this
was the only science class with an opening. I need it to graduate, so I will
do everything you want me to do. I promise I will work like crazy not to let
you down. My fate is in your hands.”
Melissa pushed her glasses up her nose, silently eyed him for a while, and
frowned. “Let’s see. You’re telling me I shouldn’t
believe you and you’ll be nothing but a burden who will jeopardize my
grade. That’s supposed to win me over?”
“I’m turning over a new leaf,” he replied seriously.
“I’ve been told honesty and humility weren’t my strong
suits. All I’m asking for is a chance.”
She examined the beaker again, then looked back at him. “OK. For this
experiment, I want you to stir the liquid until I tell you to
stop.”
“Done.” He settled on the stool in front of the beaker, took
the glass rod she handed him, and began stirring the blue liquid.
Melissa neatened up their lab area, returned some chemicals to the storage
closet, and came back with more. She jotted down some notes, then read in
her textbook. A couple of times, the professor came by and asked,
“Ready?”
When Melissa replied, “Not yet,” the teacher seemed puzzled.
All the while, Richard stirred. He noticed that no one else in the class
seemed to be stirring their beakers. Also, when the professor checked out
their work, she told them they could leave. When one hand got tired, he
switched to the other.
He and Melissa ended up being the last pair in the classroom. The professor
came by one more time and glanced at the beaker. “Everything looks
fine, Miss Teaberry. I need to leave. Is there a problem?”
“Not at all, professor. We’re just being extra
diligent.”
She nodded. “Very well. See you next time. Be sure to clean up before
you go.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
After the teacher headed out, Richard looked at Melissa as he kept
stirring. “I assume I keep going.”
She didn’t even look up from her book. She simply pursed her lips
tightly, looked at the page, and made a stirring motion with her hand.
Thirty minutes later she closed her book. “OK. You can
stop.”
He rubbed his hands together to loosen them up. He’d been stirring
for more than an hour straight. “What next?”
“Next?” Her eyebrows arched in surprise. “You’re
willing to keep going?”
“If you want me to. Yes. I’ll even stay here alone and do stuff
if you want. I know this was a test on your part. I have to prove myself to
you. If you want me to keep going, I’m OK with that.”
Her look wasn’t altogether hostile. “How’d you
know?”
“It wasn’t hard,” he said with a laugh. “Everyone
else stirred for about thirty seconds. The prof checked their work. They
left. I assume you’d already done the stirring before I got here. The
only explanation was that you needed to see if I meant what I said. You were
giving me a chance, and I want to thank you for that.”
She narrowed her eyes. Was he playing her? He seemed sincere. But
didn’t guys like him know how to fake it so you’d believe them
until it was too late?
“So, how’d I do, boss? Will you let me be your
partner?”
She looked at him seriously. “As long as you do what you’re
told and don’t blow anything up, I guess we should be OK.”
He nodded and smiled. “Not exactly high praise, but I’ll take
it. Thanks. I mean it.”
After they cleaned up their lab space, she showed him where the elevator
was. As they exited the building, he stumbled again on his crutches. She
looked concerned. “Are you OK?”
“I’ll get used to them. I’ll see you in
class.”
As Richard left the building and headed toward his dorm, he heard a shout.
“Dude! Wait up.”
The tall, muscular young man came up and gave him a hard slap on the back.
“Yo, dude! I heard you were back. Great to see you again.”
“You too, Alex.”
“I was afraid you were gone for good.”
“Having my career end was bad enough. I had to take time off for the
operations, but I wasn’t going to completely ruin my life by dropping
out.”
His friend looked at the crutches. “Sorry about the sticks, man. But
I bet they’ll work great with the babes. A bunch of us from the team
are taking the T to the Square to hit the bars. Come with. We’ll find
some hottie to throw you a sympathy fuck. It’ll be like old
times.”
“Thanks. But you and I both know the only reason the other guys from
the team would be glad to see me is to rub it in.”
“No way, man. Everybody loves you.”
Richard snorted.
“Well, maybe you weren’t the easiest guy to love.”
“It doesn’t matter. I’ve got to study. No more
‘athletic A’s’ for me.”
“Right. That sucks. Man, school’s going to be a drag for you.
Word is you even got saddled with some nerd as a lab partner. Is she hot at
least? Any chance of hitting that?”
Richard winced inside. His tone became serious.
“It’s not going to be like that. I did a lot of thinking in the
hospital. I’m done being a jerk who’s just looking to get laid.
I’m not going to say nonstop sex wasn’t fun, but I’m not
heading to the NFL anymore. I need a new game plan. A different life. I need
to be a different person. I need to grow up. Besides, Melissa’s
pre-med, not a party girl.”
“Wait! ‘Melissa’ as in Melissa Teaberry?” Alex
laughed. “In that case, you don’t even have to worry about being
tempted. The Ice Queen herself! I hear if your junk gets within a foot of
her pussy, it’ll quick-freeze and snap off. You be careful how close
you stand beside her.” He chuckled and poked Richard in the
chest.
“C’mon, dude.” He frowned. “Not cool. She’s
being fair to me. And we both know I don’t deserve it.”
“Sorry, man. Just having fun.” Alex slapped him on the arm,
then gestured in the direction of his friends. “One last chance. You
sure I can’t lead you astray with some drunken debauchery? It’ll
be like old times. Fuck ‘em and dump ‘em.”
“Nah. I’m good. New leaf, remember?”
Alex narrowed his eyes as he looked at him. “New leaf? You?
We’ll see. When you come to your senses, you know where to find me —
balls-deep in some luscious pussy. Later, dude.”
“Later, bro.”
Richard watched Alex as he walked away. He sat on the bench in front of the
reflecting pool and looked into the waters. A profound sense of shame washed
over him. A year ago, he’d prided himself on being a man-whore. I
can’t believe I used to be that guy. I was such an asshole.
He also knew that his former teammates had absolutely no interest in seeing
him. They had tolerated his arrogance because they had to. For years
he’d been told how gifted he was as a quarterback. He was going to the
NFL. As far as he was concerned, he was doing them a favor by winning so
many games for them. They rode on his coattails. He’d be one of the
greats. They would be sentenced to boring jobs. He walked with a swagger and
was conceited and condescending.
He shivered with disgust. No more. You’re getting a second chance.
Don’t blow it.
* * *
About the Author
Originally from the East Coast, Jane is married and has returned to
Massachusetts after living in California for a while. She’s written a few
nonfiction books in connection with her current job, and has decided to
transition to erotic romance as her next career.
Jane writes fun, upbeat stories. No dark, brooding, broken, tortured guys
who need fixing. Just great, handsome, smart, sexy, “real men”
whose only weakness is being unable to resist the women she pairs them with.
She especially wants her heroines to be as sexy and passionate as they
desire. She likes her heroes to be their equal — sexy, devoted, and
romantic. No matter what, you can count on the fact that her couples end up
in love and having great sex! OK, maybe they have the sex first!
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