This story focuses on writer Sean Jiles and his jealous girlfriend Eva. Sean gets $100,000 to produce his first stageplay and an invitation to attend his 10-Year High School Class Reunion in his hometown. Sean's life is hectic but he will attend. A vacation from Eva couldn't have come at a better time. Will Sean's departure lead him to lost love or send his girlfriend Eva into one of the most frenzied fits of jealousy ever captured on paper? This book will not disappoint!
Sean Jiles was very popular at Kensor High School on Chicago's Southside. His gifted writing ability, common sense and unwavering loyalty gained him lifelong friendships and a suitable following during his years there. After graduating, Sean moves to Dallas, Texas to attend college and pursue his dream of writing and directing stage plays.
While in college, Sean meets Eva Sparks, a sexy graduate student with attitude. They hit it off right away. Things start out fantastic but Sean soon realizes that Eva is more than he can handle. She is insecure, controlling, possessive and insanely jealous. She is a hot mess! In comparison, a far cry from Jade Brown, his high school sweetheart and true love from more than a decade ago.
Now a graduate, Sean has received $100,000 to produce his first major stage play. Between his career demands and problems with Eva, things are absolutely crazy! At the height of his dilemma, Sean receives an invitation to go back home and attend his 10-Year High School Class Reunion. This is great news!
Although Sean's life is chaotic, he will attend. The reunion is sure to be the highlight of his summer. A vacation from Eva couldn't have come at a better time. As exciting as it seems, Sean understands that the reunion will rehash tons of mixed emotions as well as force him to confront Eva and re-examine his failed love with Jade. Will Sean's departure lead him to lost love or send his girlfriend Eva into one of the most frenzied fits of jealousy ever captured on paper? This book will not disappoint!
Excerpt
A day in the life of Sean Jiles would be rather phenomenal if I could subtract one thing—my nagging ass girlfriend. I met Eva Sparks during my senior year at King College. Her name alone was what initially drew me to her. I got used to seeing it posted on the Dean’s List every semester. Our school’s provost must have decided against being discreet. Lord knows he could have simply printed their names in the quarterly directory but no, he wanted banners. Every semester the stars of academia had their names etched onto placards in our school colors of purple and gold. On most days, I ignored them, but those tacky ass things were impossible to miss.
While in school, I worked as a librarian’s assistant. The gig was simple, and although it did not pay much, I really enjoyed it. Creative in nature, I loved surrounding myself with literature, music, and art. No matter where I stood, the classics were always just a few steps away.
Aside from helping patrons, much of what I did at the library was file books. It was a mind-numbing task. Filing books took real fortitude, but I possessed that level of uncommon serenity. It was a thankless job but who cared? At least I had one.
I can remember the first time that I saw her. Lord knows that if it were not for those tacky ass banners in the library, I would have never made her acquaintance. Eva Sparks. Even her name sounded mystical at the time. She was a name on a banner, but she intrigued me nonetheless.
We met on a rainy Friday night. My merciless boss scheduled me for a twelve-hour shift the night before, and since I had the least amount of seniority, I had to work it. I wasn’t pissed; I didn’t have much of a life anyway. Seeing Eva that night was the highlight of my evening.
I have never been big on fashion. When I went to work, I typically wore the same basic outfit--a starched white shirt, loafers, and pair of pressed khaki’s, but not on that night. Instead of my usual outfit, I grabbed the first clean thing I could find that was in my closet. It was my laundry day outfit. I looked like a misfit. My clothes were mismatched. I looked like a lumberjack, complete with a green and black checker-pattern flannel, a pair of stonewashed jeans, and some tan-colored work boots.
To make matters worse, I looked really grunge. My head wasn’t shaved, and my face was covered with stubble. I was in fashion chaos. It was at that moment that she spoke to me.
“Excuse me, sir. Ooh, Jesus.”
I covered my face from embarrassment. Eva looked like she was more humiliated than I was. Her face turned as red as a stop light.
“Ma’am, I’m sorry. How can I help you?”
I tried to regain my cool, but I was mortified. I was so self-conscious because of my clothes. If I could have done it all over again, I would have, but there was no “do-over” button. Normally, I tend to think of myself as a somewhat charismatic. In fact, sometimes I am even borderline smooth. However, on that night, I was the biggest loser on the planet. Even with all those cool points I had picked up over the years by keeping it real and wearing fresh outfits, I still looked lame.
Despite it all, Eva took an immediate liking to me. We hit it off right away. She even said that I swept her off her feet. We necked in public, hugged in hallways, and hit the town together. In fact, we were so into one another that we just bypassed the whole getting to know each other part and made a beeline to becoming lovers. The first six months of our relationship were the wildest and most exciting times of my life, but Eva flipped a switch. She turned out to be the complete opposite of whom I thought she would be.
Our connection began to grow sour when we began dating exclusively. Although I cared for her, I started to see the signs that we would not make it in the early going. On the surface, we had a great thing happening. We were both college graduates; we earned decent money; the sex was awesome, and we looked good together. If people only knew about all of the arguments we had, they would flip.
Whenever we argued, it was always about the three M’s: moving in, marriage, and money. Eva earned a six-figure income working at a firm in downtown Dallas. She was financially stable while I was anything but. At best, I earned just enough to get by. My money could not even meet hers halfway. My paychecks were pathetic, certainly not paychecks that commanded any respect.
Eva exploited that fact every chance she had. She routinely reminded me of exactly how much more money she took home than me. Even though we had more than enough money to support our expenses, we still argued about it. I was no fool. We might have been talking dollars and cents, but what we were really arguing about was control.
An empathic young nurse driven to help and heal others since childhood after watching her mother languish for months before finally succumbing to cancer, Aziza Lopez abhors cruelty and suffering in any form. When she is assigned comatose patient Davi
