Chocolate Seduction
a novel by
L. Neal
Book Description:
Tasha has finally made it to her senior year in
high school with high hopes of attending college in the fall. Except
she has one small dilemma. She becomes pregnant during her junior year
and has to figure out how she is going to care for her unborn child. She
soon realizes that switching schools was not resolution to her
problems. Senior year is turning out to be one forsaken roller coaster
ride.
Copyright ©2012 by L. Neal
Kindle Edition, License Note
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. Without limiting the right under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form by means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher.
Publishers Note
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental.
Chapter 1
I woke up to my alarm. My cell phone was a pain to me right now. I cherished my cell phone but not when it was waking me up in the morning. I switched off the alarm and walked blindly to the bathroom to brush my teeth and wash my face. I felt woozy. Hopefully it wouldn’t take me long to wake up but I knew it was just wishful thinking. I was drained every morning. I just wasn’t a morning person.
I grabbed my face towel, washing my face with my soap scrubber and rinsing it clean, I was starting to liven up a bit. My phone rang, it was my baby daddy. He hated that I had switched schools for my final year in high school. James was 5ft 8in, light skin complexioned and wasn’t the tallest of guys that I’ve dated. His hair was a nappy sandy brown with a few waves from brushing his hair to death and he only wore American Eagle clothing with black baseball caps. He was like a little white boy who thought he was hard. He reminded me of an ‘Oreo’ but I never told him my thoughts. His personality only made him get into more trouble because he always had to prove himself to everyone. He thought he was so tough but I knew he wasn’t a lame, he just liked to show out in front of everyone.
“Tasha, what it do baby?” James was too pumped up for 7a.m.
“I’m still trying to wake up, you know that. Why do you have so much energy this early in the morning?” I asked sighing. “I’m so jealous.”
I had to switch schools after my Junior year because I was too humiliated to continue at the suburban school I was attending previously. I got pregnant during my Junior year but I wasn’t showing so I switched schools but only my closest friends new why I left. James was so pleased to be having a baby by me. I was disappointed in myself. Wondering was I going to graduate during my Senior year was too stressful. The good thing was...nobody knew me at this new school so if I flunked out from being expecting a child, nobody knew what grade I was actually in since I was the new girl. I moved out of my Dad’s house as soon as I found out I was with child. I had one of my older friends lease an apartment for me so I could have my privacy and have James over whenever I wanted to...I never knew having my own apartment would be like this at all. My apartment was a little shabby, I had very little furniture and no matter how much I cleaned it always smelled like an old wicker chair. The walls were dingy, the wood was scratched on all surfaces but at least I had no roaches. It was my place, in my boring hometown of Cincinnati, OH. I enjoyed living alone but at times I wish I did live back with my father. My mother was no longer with us, she died from cancer. Dad said she was a beauty. She had long black hair, 5ft 6in, a pretty reddish brown skin tone with the body of a goddess. I wished I was half as pretty as Dad described my mother. I was only five when she passed so I didn’t remember her as much as I wanted to...but I always remember the things she would say to me when I was little. She always told me to go to college, have plenty of children and to make her proud. That was exactly what I was going to do after I graduated high school. What major was I going to take up? Who knows, I was going to register Undecided and take some of the basic education requirements to sign up for a degree program at the community college near my apartment.
My Dad is too soft on me. Dad was 6ft 4in, dark skinned with a little acne, and had the roughest hands I had ever seen. I wished he was strict on me because I wouldn’t be pregnant right now if he was...I’d be doing homework at his house and applying to colleges. Nope, I’m the dumb bitty that got pregnant in high school after losing my virginity.
I moved out of my Dad’s house because his friends would call while he was at work tormenting me and telling me I wasn’t going to graduate high school since I was expecting. That would just burn me up on the inside. I moved out, got my own place and decided that I wouldn’t let James move in with me so I could focus on my grades. James was upset about my decision but he wasn’t exactly trying to finish school. Why did I get pregnant by someone like that? I always asked myself that...each time it would make me even madder but I couldn’t complain because he was what I wanted at the time. We weren’t even together but still acted as if we were boyfriend and girlfriend. I didn’t want him to have anymore bad influences on me while I was finishing school. He would still call me all the time, just to tell me he loved me and wanted to be together. I knew he’d been seeing other girls but that was the least of my worries.
I was nervous for my first day of school. I went to a suburban school all my life and now for my Senior year in high school I was attending a public school system. Attending a public school system only meant I would be in class with all black students. I was extremely nervous. The suburban school I attended last year was a mixture of white, black and Mexican students so I felt as if I was the in-crowd. My hands were shaking when I finished getting dressed. I talked on the phone to James but I wasn’t listening to a word he was saying. He talked on speaker phone while I finished getting dressed and didn’t take a breather to even ask my opinion about anything he was saying.
“James, my love, it’s time for me to walk out the door. I have to ride the city bus but I don’t want to while I’m on the phone okay,” I pleaded hoping he wouldn’t get upset and start arguing.
“Oh now you don’t want to talk to me?” James asked getting upset just as I imagined. “You talk to me any other time you walk any where else, what’s the problem today Tasha?”
“I’m nervous about my first day and I just need to breathe,” I said honestly.
He hung up the phone. Not even considering my feelings as usual, he didn’t even say goodbye. He was an asshole most of the time but I was used to it. My main focus was to graduate and attend college next Fall. I was already embarrassed enough as is and with him being my baby’s father was no better. He was a bum but he didn‘t see it that way. He thought he was a bad boy rapper with no career. What did I see in him seriously? I still loved him...at one point he was my world. We didn’t even have sex a lot, we only had sex a few times but it didn‘t feel good to me. He was the only guy I ever slept with and he seemed like he didn’t really know what he was doing when we did make love. I lost my virginity at seventeen and got pregnant by him. How stupid was that? I’m smart, yeah I know. All the talks we would have in Sex Education and I was the dumb ass who didn’t use a condom. I was stuck. My father said I couldn’t get an abortion and wouldn’t sign the paperwork either. I was going to have a baby at eighteen right before Christmas break.
I grabbed my backpack, keys, and threw some lunch in my bag. I had signed up for free school lunch but I knew I wasn’t going to eat that crap. All my friends from my suburban school said public school’s food was disgusting. It’d probably make me nauseous and I didn’t want to heave in front of everyone at school or on the city bus. I walked out the door, said a prayer to make it through the day and made my way to the bus stop.
I stood there, it was so hot outside. Gosh, and my stomach felt tight on the inside. I’m not sure if it was the baby or anxiety. Either way, it was making me feel on edge. I just wanted to get this day over with so everyone could see that I was pregnant and hopefully the stares and humiliation would surpass.
I looked at the time on my cell phone, ten minutes had gone by but it felt like thirty. I gave the bus driver my ticket and walked to the back of the bus. There were no seats and nobody cared that I was pregnant. Everyone sat there staring at me and my stomach like I was an alien. Oh gosh, is this how my day is going to be? I quickly got irritated and decided I didn’t care who said anything about me. It was my business and they didn’t have to deal with it.
The bus ride was long. We finally arrived in front of the school. My heart was beating fast and my palms were sweaty. I stepped off the bus. After loosing my balance, one of the students tried to catch me before I fell but it was too late. I rolled up the curb like a fat blueberry. I was so embarrassed I wanted to cry but swallowed the lump in my throat. I couldn’t let everyone see me cry. I swallowed my pride and grabbed one of the guys’ hands who tried to help me up. He was so sexy and chocolate. The tears started to flow. How did I fall in front of this dark skin god? The dark skinned guy wiped away my tears and told me to keep my head up. He made sure I wasn’t injured but I was okay. I did just that. I felt better after his encouraging words.
I walked into school with my head held high and was stopped immediately by a security guard. What did I do already?
“Heyyy! You with the belly, you pregnant?” the security guard asked. The security guard’s name was not visible but she looked as if she meant business. Her hair was cut short like a bald fade, baggy uniform, large boots and she had that carpet munching aura about her.
“Yes I am,” I admitted holding my head up high.
“I just need you to come get a pass so you’ll be able to take your time getting to and from class without being tardy beautiful,” the security guard explained. Yuck, that’s just what I needed, a gay guard chasing after me.
I took my pass and walked to the office so that I could complete my paperwork and completely transfer to public schooling.
Chapter 2
“So young lady, what school did you attend before signing up here?” the school secretary questioned.
“I went to Albright’s High School in Latterwood,” I answered checking out my surroundings. This school was grimy and the lighting was terribly low. Papers were barely hanging on the wall by old tacs, and the threading on the furniture was unraveling.
“Sign this paperwork here and hurry to class,” the secretary told me smacking on chewing gum like she was starring in a comedy movie.
I filled out all the paperwork wondering was my father supposed to be doing this but I guess they didn’t care since I was a Senior this year. This was totally different than last year. My father had to fill out all of my paperwork including writing notes for absences.
I went to my first class, walking in late did nothing but draw more attention to me. I went and sat in the empty seat in the front row. I could barely fit behind the desk. What was I going to do when my stomach got bigger? This was going to be interesting. I pulled out a notebook writing English on the front cover. I grabbed my purse searching for a pen. The guy next to me asked did I need anything. I whispered to him that I needed a pen in my lowest voice possible. I guess I didn’t whisper quiet enough because the teacher told me to stand up and introduce myself.
“My name is Tasha Jenkins, I’m six months pregnant and this is my first year in public schooling. Last year I attended Albright‘s High School,” I said standing up looking towards the class and twiddling my thumbs out of nervousness.
A few of the girls whispered to each other, I didn’t care. I sat back down while the teacher started class. I looked at the clock a thousand times before the bell rang. I couldn’t wait for this day to be over.
The bell rang and I got up pulling the entire desk up with my stomach. Everyone giggled and made fun of me. I slid from behind the desk making a mental note to self to slide out completely before standing up. I grabbed my backpack, purse and searched for my next class.
My next class was Geometry. I had to take Geometry all over again because I failed during Sophomore year. Sitting in class with a bunch of sixteen year olds was hilarious. I felt comfortable. They didn’t mock or judge me, at least not to my face. We all had to introduce ourselves and one of the girls told me to sit by her. I grabbed my things and eyed the teacher for approval. She seemed really nice. She nodded her head giving me the green light to switch seats. I sat down next to the new girl. She was light-skinned, with sharp features, sandy brown hair cut into a short spikey style was perfectly trimmed like she just came from the beauty salon before class and big brown eyes with no boobs. She had a very small frame, poor thing she was just flat as a board all the way around but she seemed really nice. She reminded me of a little mouse but she was actually cute. The new girl’s name was Trina. We talked during class and the teacher didn’t say anything. Come to find out, she was also a Senior who previously failed Geometry. Trina insisted we hang tight during the school year and I agreed. We’d made a pact to stick together throughout the year. It seemed like we would be very good friends for a long time. I was glad she told me to sit by her. Class was over, went by really fast since the teacher explained everything in detail and made the class interesting. I grabbed my books and belongings and left class.
The day was finally over and in each class I had to introduce myself to everyone. I didn’t sit with anyone during lunch. There were even a few guys who tried to hit on me. I simply told them I was pregnant but one of the guys said he didn’t mind. His name was Nitty; he was ugly, poorly dressed with beat up shoes, cocky and had an arrogance about him that rubbed me the wrong way. He told me he liked pregnant pussy. Ugh, that was disgusting. What were these girls like at this school? He seemed like one of the popular guys in school but I didn’t care who he was, he was not going to have sex with me while I was pregnant. That was just nasty. He tore off a piece of paper and put his phone number inside of my bag without my permission. I walked off leaving him standing there staring at me from behind. I was glad to leave the building.
I got on the city bus feeling exhausted. This was a very long day. I couldn’t wait to get home. I needed to relax and take a bath. The students at this school were wild. They didn’t go to class, stood out in the hallways during class and was having sex with each other in the auditorium after school. I was nothing like the rest of the students but who was I to judge when I was the one pregnant in high school.
Walking home, I turned my cell phone back on to see if I had any messages. My phone powered up and I had three voicemails and a few text messages. I listened to all my voicemails and every single on of them was from James. He was ranting and raving about how he didn’t want to be with me anymore, he wasn’t going to call me anymore, and he wished he never got me pregnant. I didn’t bother to call him back, he was in one of his moods today. I knew he would call again, he was bipolar. I don’t why he thought arguing with me everyday would make me want to settle down with him. He was so stupid at times. That’s who I picked to be pregnant by, silly me. It was my fault. I had to deal with it.
I walked in the door, throwing everything down on the floor. I went straight to the bathroom and ran some hot bath water. I couldn’t believe I had to do this everyday for the next ten months until I graduated. I closed my eyes, swaying, I felt a bit dizzy. I grabbed onto the sink and leaned over hoping I wouldn’t fall over like when I first found out I was pregnant.
I was hanging out with one of my friends when I first found out I was pregnant. I stayed the night with my friend Keisha who was as ghetto as they came with big breasts, ear-length pink and black hair, a big butt, a flat stomach, all the new clothing that her boyfriends bought her and was a curvy caramel complexioned beauty. I was in the shower when all of a sudden, I fainted. I woke up with Keisha standing over me slapping my face begging me to wake up while I was naked, wrapped up in the shower curtain. I laughed out loud and told her if she hit me one more time we were going to fight. She looked relieved. Every since I got pregnant, Keisha doesn’t call or hang out with me anymore. Her parents said she wasn’t allowed to talk me because I was a bad influence. They didn’t know it was the other way around. Keisha was having sex with eight different guys, on birth control and wasn’t using condoms with any of her boyfriends. Now who’s the bad influence?
Snapping back to reality, I turned the faucet off to the tub. I took off my clothes and eased my way into the hot steamy water. My stomach instantly tightened up. I got out of the tub and put some Epsom salt in my bath water. I got back in and turned on the water again so it would be even hotter. Waiting until I couldn’t take the heat any longer, I turned off the faucet. I relaxed, letting my shoulder length hair get wet. I was going to put it in a ponytail anyway. I didn’t feel like wrapping my hair up or flat ironing it. At least I had a ponytail; the girls at school were bald with ponytails as long as a snap of a finger.
I woke up looking around the bathroom, not even realizing that I had accidentally fallen asleep from daydreaming. Good thing my stomach was big so I floated when I slid down in the water. I decided from that day forward I was only going to take showers. The doorbell rang. I grabbed my towel and went to the door. It was my Dad.
“Hey baby, I came to check on you,” Dad said speaking loudly as if he was holding a microphone. “How was your first day of school?”
“It was okay, I fell after I got off the city bus and some of the guys had to help me up,” I said with a groan.
“Oh baby don’t worry about that, we all have our embarrassing moments in life,” he said consoling me.
I went back in the bathroom, dried off and put some clothes on so I could finish our conversation. Dad was something else. He loved to talk to me. He always made my day. I could tell he had been drinking. He always drank two six-packs after he got off of work. I don’t know how he was still alive. I believe God was keeping him here with me since I didn’t have anyone else. James surely wasn’t going to be there when I needed him. He was always in trouble with the law. For some reason, James thought it was cool to be in trouble with the law. I told him to stop hanging with those friends of his but he never listened to me. I was hoping he wouldn’t end up dead like those other guys on the news who were robbing, killing and stealing from everyone.
“Dad, how was work?” I asked making conversation.
“Aw you know those peckerwoods don’t care about us, I work like a slave for change every week. I should have gone to college but I messed that up in my younger years,” he said looking into my eyes. I could tell that meant there was a speech coming on. I sat there not saying a word.
“Yeah you better go to college even if I have to help you watch the baby because yall gone be broke and I’m not gone live forever or be able to help you after I’m gone Tasha,” Dad preached.
My phone rang. I answered and it was the infamous James. I told him I would call him back because I had company. He got loud on the phone and said he was outside.
End of Excerpt
Find out what happens to Tasha in Chocolate Seduction, this is not just another teen romance to push aside. The ending will leave you speechless. What issues did you have in high school? Couldn't be worse than Tasha's. She think she knows what's best for her and her unborn child but she doesn't have a clue what her world has in store.
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