Night By Night is the debut urban BWWM book by author Crystal Williams. An interracial romance.
Jennifer is a strong African American woman, but times have been hard. The lack of a job or a love life has taken it’s toll and something needs to change.
So when she meets a hansom white man on a night out, she does something rather out of character. Will this one night stand turn into something more fruitful?
Night By Night, Read It Now
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Urban BWWM Interracial Romance Sample
Jennifer stirred and fluttered her eyes open, not entirely anxious for the morning, for with it came yet another dim hope of landing a job. Each morning represented a annoying disappointment that she had no job and hadn’t for the past six months; the errands she ran for some institutions could not be so classified as a job and as she walked the streets, she couldn’t help but envy even the waitresses at the diners for being more stably and gainfully employed.
She sighed and rolled out of bed, tiredness still weighing down on her as she went to the small bathroom to freshen up. Maybe if she went jogging her mind would clear and she might have a change of attitude. She slipped into her running gears and bounced downstairs. She had short curly hair that didn’t need much combing; she simply shook it and the heavy curls fell into place. She pulled her door up on her way out and pressed the button on her iPod that would allow relaxing music to enter her consciousness as she jogged. She started off at a steady pace and in no time was at the community park. It was a huge circular property and one full turn of it would last for approximately thirty minutes; that was all she needed. Half way through her jogging, her mind was still racing as she saw several individuals hurrying to work. She pretended not to notice but by the time she was through, it had gotten to her.
She went back home and towel dried herself before flopping down on the sofa. An extension of this would see her funds she had saved for emergencies drying up and the thought of this sent her mind into a panic. She went to the kitchen to make herself some tea, after which she walked over to the computer. Maybe she needed to revamp her current resume to make it more relevant, if that was even possible; she had changed it several times in the last few weeks. She copied a few of them and slipped them into some envelopes. She would try to get something today before her funds completely withered away. As it is, she was pinching and she was glad she didn’t have any one or even a car to maintain.
She went to her bathroom to wash the street dust off of her and then donned a pair of slacks and a shirt. She turned in the mirror, contemplating whether she should tuck it in or leave it out; she finally decided on tucking it in; it gave her a more professional look. She stuck her feet into a pair of matching loafers and grabbed her handbag from the hook in the corner of the room. She whispered a silent prayer and stepped out into the street with a bright smile and a new attitude. She could at least fool herself by so doing.
Jennifer made several stops to law firms, real estate agencies, grocery shops and even at local restaurants and bars. She felt flustered by the time she returned home, having received no positive vibe anywhere except for a real estate company. The place seemed really classy so when she stopped with her last letter, she wasn’t sure they would even look her over twice. The receptionist had seemed rather nice and turned her letter over in her hands before smiling at her. A spark maybe? Perhaps! She tossed her handbag on the sofa and kicked off her shoes. She wobbled to the refrigerator, only now realising she hadn’t really had anything to eat from morning. She took out the milk and some cereal and an apple and made herself a bowl. She sliced the apples and tossed the pieces in before returning to the sofa and flipping the television set on.
Just then her cell phone began to ring. “Hey Sara,” she answered.
“Are you home?” Sara asked.
“Where else would a jobless person be?” she asked.
“Very funny. I am coming over,” she said.
“Wait…” Jennifer began but her words were cut short as Sara hung up. What was she thinking anyway? Sara was the kind of girl who did as she pleased at all times; her saying no wouldn’t have stopped her from coming. She began watching a movie that she wasn’t sure of the title, and before she knew it she had fallen asleep. She wasn’t sure for how long she slept, but it was close to dusk when she jumped up, having heard a sound. She lay there listening, the house in partial darkness, as she steadied her focus and cleared her mind from the grogginess. When she did she realised it was Sara knocking and calling her from outside.
“Jenny, are you in there?” she called.
“Hold on Sara,” she answered, jumping up from the sofa. She hurried to the door and opened it to a flustered Sara.
“Where the hell were you? I have been calling you for the last five minutes,” she said as she brushed past Jennifer. “Don’t tell me you were sleeping again.”
“Again? What else am I to do anyway? I have been on the road since morning dropping off letters everywhere that would take them. Is it against your humanity that I sleep?” asked Jennifer, now getting annoyed by Sara.
“I know what we will do. We are going out tonight. Get your clothes on,” she demanded.
Jennifer stood there looking at her, her arms folded. “I am not in the mood for that Sara,” she finally said and walked off.
“I don’t care what you are in the mood for Jenny. For months you have sat here moping over the ‘poor state of your affairs’. When was the last time you even got laid?” she asked.
“What’s it to you? I don’t want to go out. You can go get laid if you want to but I am staying here,” she declared.
“Come on Jenny. Okay, do it for me then. I want to go out and I would like the pleasure of your company. Please?” she pleaded. Jennifer was unmoved.
“Pretty please,” she said and fluttered her lashes as she spoke. “Come on,” she continued, shaking her shoulders now. “Do it for me please?”
“Alright, alright,” Jennifer conceded. “Anything to stop that whining.”
Sara pranced about the room in a celebratory dance. “Okay, go and get ready. I know about this great place that is the latest rage but I have only been there twice.”
Jennifer rolled her eyes at her and walked off to her bedroom. She returned later wearing a skin hugging jeans and a turtle neck top that lifted her bosom. Her outfit revealed all the curves on her slim figure and Sara couldn’t help but whistle at her.
“Ooh Mama,” she said as she clicked her tongue.
Jennifer ignored her and took up the same bag she had carried earlier. “Come on, before I change my mind,” she said.
“Right away,” Sara grinned. Sara didn’t differ much from Jennifer in appearance as she too had a slim built. She had brown hair that was mostly straight and went very well with her hazel eyes. She was stunning and seemed to always have some man gawking at her. She basked in the attention she received, and oftentimes left the poor fools fanning dust from their eyes when she left them with their heads spinning, wondering what had just happened. For years she had been trying to get Jennifer to ‘loosen up’ and enjoy life, but Jennifer was more the conservative type. She was attractive, and won the affections of many men, but unlike Sara, she often failed to notice. She had other more important things to attend to, like finding a stable job and building her career.
The ‘rage’ was just a few blocks away, and they pulled up to the secluded spot ten minutes after they drove out. Looking on, no one would realise this was somewhere to hang; the place had a rustic look and didn’t seem to have many visitors around. Sara squeezed the car through a very narrow alleyway which opened up into a spacious parking lot. Jennifer wondered how she even heard about this place but she didn’t bother to ask; it was Sara after all.
Sara rolled the car into an empty lot and switched off the engine. “Okay, here we are,” she said as she slid from behind the wheel. She too was wearing jeggings so she was comfortable enough to challenge the night wind that had already begun to chill. Jennifer shivered as she followed Sara up a small flight of stairs and through a back door. Once inside they walked through a semi-spacious hallway that was sealed off by yet another door. As they approached a tall gentleman approached them, and then smiled at Sara.
“Welcome back cupcake,” he beamed as he allowed them through. Disco lights almost blinded Jennifer as she stepped into a world dominated by a kaleidoscope of colours. Jennifer squinted and then cringed as the music from the speakers threatened deafness. It didn’t make sense trying to talk here so she simply pressed through the crowd behind Sara. She would have never guessed that there were so many people inside. Sara made a beeline for the bar, tugging her along behind her.
“What will you have?” she screeched.
Jennifer cocked her head to one side, forcing herself to hear her above the noise. Just then Sara pointed to the bartender and it was then Jennifer realised what she was saying. She took out her cell phone and typed the words “strawberry daiquiri” and then showed it to Sara. This was a more effective way to communicate in here. Sara signalled to the bartender and placed her order; it was amazing how easily he understood her; Jennifer surmised that he must have read her lips-a necessary skill in a place such as this. She turned her back to the bar counter and rested on both elbows, taking in the scene. Just now the deejay was playing ‘thong’ by Sisqo and Jennifer unknowingly had begun to sway to the beat. She saw some unruly young girls throwing themselves on some men in the corner, laughing loudly so they could actually be heard over the music. One of them suddenly held her throat and rushed to the nearby opening bearing an image of a woman. She was obviously heavily intoxicated and the alcohol had exhausted her system so much it had begged for release. She shifted her gaze and met the eyes of a gentleman standing not so far from her, at the end of the bar. She was not sure if it was a smile she had detected while she was turning her head away but she wasn’t about to look again.
Just then the bartender came back with the drinks and Sara nudged her to get her attention. She spun and took the tall glass from her and sipped some immediately; the abnormal crowd had her sweating already and she drank the beverage as if it were lemonade. She turned then to look at Sara who was staring at her stupefied. Jennifer gave her a ‘shut up’ look and smiled. Jennifer then signalled to the bartender that she would like another. Sara stood there sipping her margarita and bobbing her head, and then froze when she looked behind Jennifer.
“Do you know that man?” she asked her as she shouted in her ear.
“Who?” Jennifer screamed back.
“That man at the end of the bar. He has been staring at you since you came in,” she blared.
Jennifer needed not to look to know whom Sara was referring to. She cringed once more as if she had just seen a disturbing image. “So?” she asked.
Jennifer shrugged to indicate that she didn’t know him. “Well, brace yourself because here he comes,” she shouted.
Jennifer could not escape now and Sara slid further from her to give the gentleman some room. Jennifer gave her the stare down but she pretended not to notice. She was already weaving her way into the dancing throng. She would get her for this later. She stood there with her back turned, hoping he would walk on by, but she knew there was no hope of that when she felt him tap her on her shoulder. She turned in slow motion, not in the least bit eager to face this man.
“Hi, I’m Adrian,” he mouthed. For once Jennifer was glad she could not hear anything. She pointed to her ear, indicating she could not hear anything he was saying.
“My name is Adrian,” he shouted, this time closer to her ear. She heard him this time and extended her hand in greeting.
“Jennifer,” she said, pointing at herself.
“What?!” he bellowed. “Hear what, can we go outside for a second?” he asked in her ear again.
Jennifer looked around her for Sara, but she was now entangled with some man not even Jennifer knew. Typical Sara; she was the epitome of fun; Jennifer was the opposite, or so she belittled herself. She remembered the heavyset man she had seen earlier at the entrance and thought she would be safe there. She looked once more for Sara who noticed her this time and used her hands to wave her along. She shrugged ‘why not’ and went with Adrian to the dimly lit hallway.
“So, as I was saying, I am Adrian. And you are?” he asked as soon as they were out of earshot of the bouncer.
That was just the beginning! If you want to read the rest go here.