Interracial Desires: BWWM Multicultural Romance Box Set Read online

  Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  NOTE

  N-Word

  Chiraq Lullaby

  Billionaire Baby Benefits

  Thick Black Snake

  Accidental Attraction

  Stepbrother of Another Color

  Secret Billionaire and Accidental Pregnancy

  Snowed in With Love

  More Than Friends

  Bringing Love Back

  White Drama

  His African Attraction

  Stay Informed

  Reviews

  THANKS

  ABOUT AUTHOR

  OTHER COLOR LOVER

  by Tamara Black

  Copyright © 2015 Tamara Black

  All rights reserved.

  For lovers of all colors…

  This BMWW interracial romance novella box set collection contains adult language, situations, and themes. The characters are all entirely fictional.

  Thanks for reading.

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  N-Word

  ONE

  Shanika

  I looked out the window as I sipped my coffee. The back of the school building was full of green. A lack of high school children running around like crazy people made it even more beautiful. While I absolutely adored all of my students, they could get on your nerves after a while. Retreating to the teacher’s lounge was one of my favorite parts of the day because of the illusion of calm.

  “Have you talked with Charley yet?” Mr. Johnson, the math teacher, asked me.

  “The new sub?”

  He nodded. “He’s got a lot of the kids talking.”

  “I haven’t heard anything yet, but the children aren’t always open with me because I’m so strict.”

  “He’s got a special lecture planned for Friday afternoon.”

  “Really?”

  The peace and tranquility in the room were interrupted when the door opened and Charley, who was covering for the Social Studies teacher, bounded in. A smile animated his entire face as he walked over to the coffee machine and poured him a cup.

  “That’s Janice’s mug,” I said, pointing in his direction.

  “Hmm?” he asked then took a sip.

  “I was saying that’s Janice’s mug, but we have one for the substitute.”

  “Oh, this one is fine, thanks,” he said.

  What an ass! I thought.

  “I just meant Janice might not enjoy you using it.”

  Mr. Johnson looked at me as if he couldn’t believe the words coming out of my mouth. Charley was entirely unfazed. Mug in hand, he glided across the room at sat down across from me at the round table near the window where I always sat. We made eye contact. His eyes were so blue. Neither of us looked away at first. I averted my gaze, glancing out the window.

  “Beautiful day out there,” he said.

  I nodded my head and smiled politely as he took another sip of his coffee.

  “Are you coming to the auditorium for my big talk on Friday?”

  “I’m not sure. What are you talking about?”

  “Well, it’s simple, really…”

  Before he could go any further, I stood up and held my palm toward him as a sign to stop.

  “I have to get to class,” I lied.

  I walked out of the teacher’s lounge and headed toward my classroom where I could find something to keep me busy until my next class. As a teacher, my job was never done. I took my duty to the citizens of the neighborhood seriously. Over the last few years, the children had become increasingly violent, disrespectful and ignorant of a lot of basic knowledge. Still, I did what I could.

  Once in my classroom, I became less nervous and stressed out. The more I dove into my work, the easier it was to forget my personal life, which was in shambled. After dedicating my college years to a guy, I found out he had cheated on me. Since dumping him six months earlier, I’d been absolutely alone in the world other than friends, family, and my students. I wanted to bury myself in work to forget my misery.

  TWO

  Charley

  I watched as the most interesting women I’d met in a long time left the teacher’s lounge. Not many people were so blatantly hostile toward me, especially in such a polite manner. The less she wanted to do with me, the more I wanted to know about her. I turned to the man in glasses I was pretty sure taught math.

  “She’s a firebrand, huh?” I asked.

  He nodded his head and smiled.

  “What’s her name?”

  “Ms. Wilson. She teaches English.”

  Interesting. She’s single.

  “Well, I need to get back to my classroom,” I said, standing up.

  The only reason I’d come to the room had left already. And I had quite a bit of work to do to prepare for the entire school gathering in the auditorium on Friday. On the way back to my classroom, I wondered if she would be upset about my class project. With two more days to go, I was surprised it hadn’t been canceled yet. All the children were not telling anyone in power what was planned.

  “Settle down,” I said firmly as I walked into the classroom I’d inherited for the week.

  I leaned against my desk in the front of the room and surveyed the mix of students. Most of them were from the harshest streets in Chicago and had very little support or help to be able to get ahead in life. Their days were filled with trying to survive and they had no time for enriching their minds, bodies or bank accounts. My mission was to change that for them as best I could.

  “Who has their assignment done already?” I asked.

  Immediately, everyone in the class raised a hand, which gave me a little hope. If I could instill a hunger for information and knowledge into the students, I might be able to help future generations. Education in America was on the bottom of too many lists, and I was sick of it.

  “Big Tone, what do you have for us?”

  Other teachers would lecture me about using his nickname or street name, but over the last few months working as a substitute teacher across the Midwest, I’d found it helped open lines of communication. Modern kids were not stupid. They had eyes, ears, and brains and wanted honesty. I gave it to them. As I listened to Big Tone read his example of usage of a taboo word, I noticed all the other children watching him intently. Their enthusiasm enthralled me almost as much as Ms. Wilson.

  The word I had chosen for my teaching experiment was one with plenty of negative connotations, but my plan was to show how it was just a word and what really mattered was the content or the message. As soon as the principal and others found out what I had planned, they would try to sue me. They didn’t worry me at all. If the students were taught a life lesson, it would be worth all the trouble. To me the word was repulsive, but I recognized it was used in many ways by various people.

  THREE

  Shanika

  On Wednesday, three days after Charley had given his clas
s a special assignment, I finally got one of the teen girls to tell me what he had planned. I was appalled. She said the word as if it had no meaning. Does this child not know anything about history? What the hell is that substitute thinking? After I promised not to rat her out as the source of my information, I headed straight to the principal’s office.

  Ms. Harrison was twenty years older than me and still single. Like me, she had made the education system her entire life. I admired that about her, but she was so close to retirement she avoided rocking the boat. When I walked in her office, she looked up at me from her desk and smiled. I saw right through her attempt to calm me.

  “Have you heard what’s happening at the assembly Friday?” I asked, hands on my hips.

  She sighed, which gave me my answer.

  “Take a seat. We need to talk,” she said, pointing to the chair in front of her desk.

  “I’d rather stand. In fact, I’m standing up to this craziness. We don’t need to be teaching our students that it’s okay to use this word.”

  “I don’t know. To me, this is a very interesting lesson for the students to learn.”

  “He’s just a substitute. Why are you taking his side?” I asked, fuming.

  “Please, Shanika. Let’s try to make Charley feel welcome in our school.”

  I cocked my head to the side and stared at her closely, trying to interpret her facial expressions. Holy chalk! She’s got a crush on him! Instantly, I understood I wouldn’t be able to change her mind.

  “Okay, thanks for seeing me.”

  “I really didn’t have a choice,” she said, smiling good naturedly. “Can you shut the door on your way out?”

  I nodded, pressing my lips together so no more words slipped out. As I walked across the building to the teacher’s lounge, I pondered my options. If I told the parents, one of them would surely make a big thing out of it – and rightfully so. And once that happened, Ms. Harrison would have to shut it down or risk showing her in a bad light so close to her retirement. Can I do that to her?

  Because of the low money, long hours, and lots of headaches, only people who were really interested in the future of children became part of the public education system – especially in the big cities around America. Chicago was low on the list of academic performance, which wasn’t surprising when you considered the fact it took a whole hell of a lot to just survive the mean streets.

  My parents had worked three jobs each and saved so that I could go to college. They were upset at first when they learned I wouldn’t be getting a lucrative degree and was determined to become a teacher. When I explained to them my thoughts about education being vital for the future of not only America but the whole human race, they pretended to understand a little more.

  As usual, Mr. Johnson was sitting at the table near the window working on a Sudoku puzzle. He looked up at me and smiled as I walked in. I returned the gesture as I poured myself a cup of coffee. Sometimes I wondered if he was trying to hit on me. He was a decade older than me – at least, but he was also a man. I sat down across from him at the table and looked out the window, hoping he wouldn’t talk.

  “How’s your day going, my dear?” he asked.

  “Oh, not bad,” I sighed, obviously lying.

  “Students, parents or faculty?”

  “Hmm?” I turned to face him.

  “Is your problem related to a student, a parent, or a faculty member?”

  “All three, I guess.”

  “Things are different these days.”

  “How so?”

  “Well, for one, people care about sports stars more than teachers. When you think about the value and importance of education, it’s ludicrous in many ways. I’m sure the one percent of the population on the top are more than fine with the situation, but no one cares anymore.”

  “Right?” I nodded my head excitedly. “Like this substitute guy thinking he can come in here and do whatever he wants without thinking about the students.”

  As I worked myself up, Charley, the focus of my fury, walked into the room.

  FOUR

  Charley

  As soon as I walked in the teacher’s lounge, I could tell Shanika was upset with me. Mr. Johnson stood up and left, giving me a smile on his way out. I made my way over to the table where she was sitting and took a seat across from her. We made eye contact, and once again I found I couldn’t take my eyes off of her. She was such a beautiful woman. The fact she was a teacher made her even hotter in my mind.

  “I guess you’ve heard about my special assignment,” I said.

  Her eyes opened wide, and she nodded her head, obviously pissed at me.

  “You don’t think it’s a good idea?” I continued.

  “Excuse my language, but hell no. What were you thinking?”

  “It’s an assignment to raise awareness that every time the word is used it’s in a positive or negative context…”

  “Or always negative,” she interrupted. “Look, you’re just here for a week. I don’t know your story, but the children here are important to me. I don’t appreciate someone like you blowing in and doing whatever you want no matter your reasoning.”

  “I’m just trying to start a conversation,” I said.

  “There are better ways to start a discussion about race relations. Have you heard about the civil rights movement?”

  “Well, yeah. Of course I’ve heard about it. I think we’re getting off on the wrong foot. I’m not trying to harm the children in any way.”

  “But you are harming them.”

  “Really? Have you ever seen some of these kids so interested in a school assignment?”

  “I think we’re going to have to agree to disagree on this one,” she said, standing up.

  “Wait. I don’t think I’ve explained it right. Would you have dinner with me tonight? We can discuss it more.”

  She stared at me intently. I looked directly into her eyes.

  “I’m not interested in dating a man like you,” she said finally.

  “What?” I chuckled. “It’s not like that at all. I just want to pick your brain as a teacher and explain what I’m trying to do. I’ve worked as a substitute at a lot of schools around the Midwest recently.”

  A frown formed on her face. Her eyes squinted slightly as she continued staring at me.

  “Okay. Email me the details,” she said. “My address is on the website.”

  I countered her dour face with a smile. “I’ll send it within the next hour. Anything you don’t like to eat?”

  “Anywhere is fine. I’ll give you an hour.”

  She turned and walked out of the room without another word. Before I could find a local restaurant and email her, I had to get to my next class. The students were excited about learning, and I didn’t want to let them down. My education experiment was going well, but I couldn’t give up and get distracted by love or anything else. I headed to my classroom.

  When I walked in, the students stopped talking and turned their attention to the front of the room. I took my usual spot leaned against the teacher’s desk and crossed my arms over my chest. As I looked out at the students, their energy was undeniable. Whatever happened, I had them interested in learning more – possibly for the first time in some of their lives.

  “Who’s ready to read their contribution to this assignment?” I asked.

  A few hands raised. Most of them had already turned in their submission.

  “Let’s hear what you have for us, Mike,” I said, pointing at him.

  He nodded his head as a smile spread over his young face. As he proceeded to read lyrics from the 80s rap group NWA, I watched the reaction of the other children in the room. They were all nearly adults and would be out in the world trying to make their way. Although I would only be in their life for a week, I wanted to leave a lasting impression, and it looked like I was succeeding.

  What I forgot to calculate into the equation was the fact everyone has a smartphone these days. And they all have high
definition video cameras. Footage of Mike spitting the urban rhyme full of crime and gritty reality was combined with a beat. An hour after it was posted to YouTube, it went viral. Whether you hung out on Twitter, Facebook or even somewhere like Google+, you would have seen it.

  The video had high production value in my opinion. That, in addition to the fact it was a kid in public school swearing worse than a sailor, was what caused it to have such an impact on people. Some saw it for what it was – a teaching opportunity – while others condemned it and me personally. With all the publicity, I would have to disappear into the woodwork before too many questions were asked.

  I had managed to keep my real identity hidden from everyone while going from school to school across the heartland, trying to make a difference, but all that would quickly change if I didn’t leave in time. The only problem was that I’d become attached to Shanika. She was truly a special woman. The fact I was pretty certain she hated my guts didn’t bother me in the least.

  FIVE

  Shanika

  After the students left for the day, I stayed in my classroom to take care of all the extra work that needed to be done. While I wouldn’t get paid for the hours, they were necessary to give the children the best experience possible. As I sat at my desk and graded papers, Ms. Harrison walked in. I looked up at her. She had a self-satisfied smile on her face. Sometimes I wondered if she was a pot smoker.

  “He’s gone,” she said, simple and to the point.

  “Who’s gone?”