Read Online As Time Goes By: A BWWM Interracial Romance by Tiffany McDowell - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Tiffany McDowell
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was
hyperventilating, and in a full blown panic, facing an anxiety attack that left
her fighting for breath.
She was soon covered in sweat, crawling out of the bathroom
to where the phone had landed nearby on the plush carpeting. She managed to
reach it and dial 911 just before she passed out.
XXX
She felt the soft but larger hand of a man clasping her
fingers. Arnold’s hand? She had been dreaming of him in la-la land. Was he now
present in real life as well? But present where? It sure didn’t smell like her
bedroom. Just where the hell was she?
Her eyes fluttered, and flashes of blinding light caused her
to turn her face to the side. The scent of disinfectant taunted her nostrils.
Her half opened eyes picked up a hint of boring grey. The hospital, perhaps?
“Where…where am I?”
“Shhh, you mustn’t try to speak. You almost had a nervous breakdown.”
The voice was squeaky and determined, definitely that of
her younger sister, Delores.
“Delores?”
“Yes.”
“You flew out from Chicago?”
“Earlier today, as soon as I heard you’d collapsed.”
She sighed and glanced briefly at Delores’s beaming but
worried face. Then Marg turned and caused her big brown eyes to remain fixed on
Arnold, the object of her desires. He was still so irresistibly handsome, still
so refined looking, still so adept with his muscular build at making her heart
skip a beat. If only…if only…
She tried to sit up. “Help me up.”
“You should lie still,” Arnold suddenly interjected. “You
need your rest.”
“Don’t get up, Marg honey, just relax,” Delores insisted.“We
were all worried sick about you. Arnold’s right, just lay back and don’t try to
talk right away.”
“I’m in the hospital?”
“Detroit memorial.”
Arnold leaned over and kissed her on the forehead. His hand
clutched hers more tightly. “The doctor says you should be just fine. You’re
going to make a full recovery. They are going to discharge you tomorrow morning,
in fact. But you’ll have to stay in bed at home for another day or two after
that. If you don’t get some rest and just relax, you might have a relapse.”
“Any idea what caused you to have such a massive panic
attack?”
The voice was instantly recognizable, like fingernails
going down a chalkboard. Mother!
She sighed. “Hi mother.”
“Hi right back at you. Good thing you had the presence of
mind to dial 911 before you blacked out completely. So what set you off in the
first place?”
Marg turned her face to the side. “Not sure,” she answered,
trying not to let on that she knew exactly why she had succumbed to her
anxiety.
“You’re not a very good liar,” her mother said softly. “You
surely know what upset you.”
“It was me,” Arnold confessed. “It seems she’s been waiting
for me to get the fencepost out of my butt over whether or not we should get
engaged. When you went to the press and said we were officially engaged, I
realized Marg and I were both going to have to lie about our relationship to
cover your tracks.”
Marg’s mother gasped at the realization her little
exaggeration over her daughter getting hitched had caused everything to unravel
into chaos. It had never dawned on her that her daughter and the heroic Arnold
were not actually going to get married after all.
“I guess I misread how serious you two were about each
other. Sometimes I think I should be just boiled in oil and have my damn big
fat lips stapled shut.”
“It’s okay, mother. It’s nothing you said, honestly. I’m
actually to blame. I’m the one that read things into our relationship that just
weren’t there.”
“The hell you did,” Delores fumed. “Men here like Arnold
are always taking advantage. They are always lying through their teeth, always
leading us women on. I’m sure you’ve made love to him dozens of damn times in
the short time you’ve been dating, for all the good it will ever do you. In
hyperventilating, and in a full blown panic, facing an anxiety attack that left
her fighting for breath.
She was soon covered in sweat, crawling out of the bathroom
to where the phone had landed nearby on the plush carpeting. She managed to
reach it and dial 911 just before she passed out.
XXX
She felt the soft but larger hand of a man clasping her
fingers. Arnold’s hand? She had been dreaming of him in la-la land. Was he now
present in real life as well? But present where? It sure didn’t smell like her
bedroom. Just where the hell was she?
Her eyes fluttered, and flashes of blinding light caused her
to turn her face to the side. The scent of disinfectant taunted her nostrils.
Her half opened eyes picked up a hint of boring grey. The hospital, perhaps?
“Where…where am I?”
“Shhh, you mustn’t try to speak. You almost had a nervous breakdown.”
The voice was squeaky and determined, definitely that of
her younger sister, Delores.
“Delores?”
“Yes.”
“You flew out from Chicago?”
“Earlier today, as soon as I heard you’d collapsed.”
She sighed and glanced briefly at Delores’s beaming but
worried face. Then Marg turned and caused her big brown eyes to remain fixed on
Arnold, the object of her desires. He was still so irresistibly handsome, still
so refined looking, still so adept with his muscular build at making her heart
skip a beat. If only…if only…
She tried to sit up. “Help me up.”
“You should lie still,” Arnold suddenly interjected. “You
need your rest.”
“Don’t get up, Marg honey, just relax,” Delores insisted.“We
were all worried sick about you. Arnold’s right, just lay back and don’t try to
talk right away.”
“I’m in the hospital?”
“Detroit memorial.”
Arnold leaned over and kissed her on the forehead. His hand
clutched hers more tightly. “The doctor says you should be just fine. You’re
going to make a full recovery. They are going to discharge you tomorrow morning,
in fact. But you’ll have to stay in bed at home for another day or two after
that. If you don’t get some rest and just relax, you might have a relapse.”
“Any idea what caused you to have such a massive panic
attack?”
The voice was instantly recognizable, like fingernails
going down a chalkboard. Mother!
She sighed. “Hi mother.”
“Hi right back at you. Good thing you had the presence of
mind to dial 911 before you blacked out completely. So what set you off in the
first place?”
Marg turned her face to the side. “Not sure,” she answered,
trying not to let on that she knew exactly why she had succumbed to her
anxiety.
“You’re not a very good liar,” her mother said softly. “You
surely know what upset you.”
“It was me,” Arnold confessed. “It seems she’s been waiting
for me to get the fencepost out of my butt over whether or not we should get
engaged. When you went to the press and said we were officially engaged, I
realized Marg and I were both going to have to lie about our relationship to
cover your tracks.”
Marg’s mother gasped at the realization her little
exaggeration over her daughter getting hitched had caused everything to unravel
into chaos. It had never dawned on her that her daughter and the heroic Arnold
were not actually going to get married after all.
“I guess I misread how serious you two were about each
other. Sometimes I think I should be just boiled in oil and have my damn big
fat lips stapled shut.”
“It’s okay, mother. It’s nothing you said, honestly. I’m
actually to blame. I’m the one that read things into our relationship that just
weren’t there.”
“The hell you did,” Delores fumed. “Men here like Arnold
are always taking advantage. They are always lying through their teeth, always
leading us women on. I’m sure you’ve made love to him dozens of damn times in
the short time you’ve been dating, for all the good it will ever do you. In
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