White Sugar Lover (Interracial Romance Stories BWWM) by Sasha Collins Read Free Book Online

Jake and Tiana met when Tiana’s family moved to his suburban neighborhood 22 years ago. At the time, Tiana was 13 and Jake was 15. Her father had received a promotion to work as the chief editor for the main newspaper in the heart of the city. He refused to move the family to the busy city so they sought out a quaint little neighborhood that was about ten minutes away from his job.

    Tiana remembers the apprehension her parents had about moving to a white neighborhood. Things weren’t always simple. Her parents put a protective wall up around them; a normal reaction among African Americans and Whites back in the 80s and 90s—no one ever really knew how the other would feel or if acceptance was even possible. There was always a discussion in the household that involved history, teaching, and understanding of the importance of acceptance of others.
    Her father was very strict and old fashioned. He was a hard worker and a doting husband and father to four kids. Her mother worked part time as a nurse. She was a very easy going person who laughed a lot and centered her life around her kids. She stayed at home with all of them until they were all in school and then pursued her dream to become a nurse.

    They didn’t live a lavish life. It was pretty simple with family vacations once a year and never a luxury trip above their means. Her parents didn’t believe in spoiling their kids but made sure they were respectful and polite. Tiana’s youngest sister, Sasha was 10 and very independent and sassy. Her two older siblings were nearly old enough to move out of the house; Travis was almost 16 and Kiera was a month shy of 18.

    The kids all had to get jobs almost the second they turned 16; instilling good work ethic was very important and as her parents constantly said, “…necessary to be successful in life”. The kids rolled their eyes at many of the words of wisdom but all had the utmost respect for their parents.

    Once the family was settled into their new home the kids were let loose to go explore their new surroundings. Tiana remembers that day as if it were yesterday. She watched as her siblings disappeared and sat herself on the front porch to take in her surroundings. There were about 10 houses on each side of the street before the next block; all the yards were well kept and the houses well maintained—she thought she was going to really like living there.

    It was a warm sunny fall day; leaves were falling from the oaks that lined the streets. Some of the yards had already raked up big piles of them. Whether the people liked it or not the neighborhood kids were having a blast jumping in the piles. Tiana chuckled to herself as she watched. The kids were squealing, running and leaping into a pile that was just down the street. They disappeared only to emerge looking like the monster from the blue lagoon. They would crawl out; stand up leaving a trail of leaves behind them while many stuck to their hair and clothes.

    It looked like they were having a lot of fun and she wanted to join in. It took her awhile but she finally got up and slowly made her way down the road. She pretended to watch her feet but stole glances to see if the kids had seen her yet. She kicked pebbles off the sidewalk; thought of what she would say when she heard, “Hey that must be one of those new kids we saw moving in the other day?”

    She looked up and the group of kids was all staring at her. She smiled shyly at them hoping . All of the kids smiled back, waved at her and one of the boys said, “Do you want to jump in leaves with us?” She looked at him and immediately she felt a bond with him. Maybe it was his warm smile, or his sparkly eyes, or the way he made it so welcoming by breaking the ice.

    This was the first time Tiana ever met Jake and she would never have suspected the amount of impact he would have on her life in the future.

    Over the years they grew very close. They shared their inner most secrets, cried to each other