A story about an average American guy with a problem. He’s fallen for his roommate’s girl.
Jaeson Rhodes had a great Accounting job and a pretty girlfriend. However, life had other plans. In an attempt to piece his life together with a job at a local coffee shop, he laid eyes on a beautiful girl, who he soon found out already belonged to his new roommate. Of all the luck!
Then, they become friends…good friends.
Update on 2/14/18:
If It Kills Me landed a contract in October 2017 with Keith Publications. Cover reveal will occur after editing has begun.
Update on 8/10/19:
Printing rights for If It Kills Me has reverted back to me and is going through edits.
Update on 2/8/20:
Waiting on editor to return If It Kills Me for second edits. Getting closer.
Update on 7/29/20:
Second edits are complete for If It Kills Me. Proofreading has begun. Release date has been set. Stay tuned for the cover reveal.
Update on 8/21/20:
If It Kills Me Cover Reveal.
Update on 9/21/20:
If It Kills Me is released on Amazon.
An excerpt from my New Adult Sweet Romantic Comedy, If It Kills Me:
Grabbing a city paper, he came across a fortuitous ad by someone named Rick Springer:
Room available in 2-bedroom apartment. Split all utilities. ½ rent is $550. Located on Pine Street few blocks from University of the Arts. Being fun doesn’t hurt.
Jaeson smiled and circled the ad. He could stroll to his job at the coffee shop just down the street. It wasn’t that Jaeson didn’t have a car. It’s just that it was a noisy old blue Volkswagen his parents gave him when he first attended U Penn, now reserved for trips back home to Willow Grove. While in the city, he traveled by bus and train, making going out on dates easier and less embarrassing.
Hmmm, dates. Jaeson hadn’t been out on one of those in a few weeks. After Sharon broke up with him, he took it easy for some time—no commitments. He’d befriended a few girls he could take out from time to time now that he was available. Usually, in the past, they would call him if they needed an escort to a dance or to just hang out at the movies. The time had come for him to give them all a call.
Of course, the day he put all this in motion, an attractive young woman, with a tube—the kind used to store drawings and such—entered the coffee shop. Jaeson couldn’t take his eyes off her even when warm summer air whooshed past his face through the open door, fluttering his eyelashes. Something called out to him. Perhaps, it was the way her chestnut hair whipped across her face or the way she brushed strands aside without missing the pace of her stride. She made a simple blouse and skirt, accentuated by a light scarf tied around her slender neck, look glamorous. Even the sandals she wore seemed to gently hug her ankles. She smiled as she made her order. Jaeson blinked twice before he realized she’d said something.
I think I’m in love. “Oh, I’m sorry. What did you say?” he asked, flushing with embarrassment.
“Iced mocha, please,” repeated the young woman. Her voice sounded like a songbird.
Jaeson fumbled as he got her order. He bumped a full cup, spilling its hot contents on his hand. “Shoot.”
“Are you all right?” she asked.
“Yeah, sure,” he replied and shook his hand. Suddenly, he felt something warm below the belt. He glanced down and discovered, to his dismay, that he’d splashed coffee all over the front of his pants. He glanced up at her to find her shuffling through her purse for change. Jae quickly grabbed a cloth and tucked an edge over his belt so that it hung over his midsection, hiding the worst of the stain. He realized a bit late what the patterns of the cloth he used to hide the results of his unsightly appearance were.
Pink flowers? What is up with this color lately? Maybe she won’t notice.
She finally glanced up to offer him payment for her beverage. However, she wavered at the sight of his makeshift apron.
“Are you sure you’re all right?” she asked, and he could swear the corner of her mouth twitched.
Great! She noticed. “Yeah. It’s nothing,” he said, nervously. “Here’s your order,” he continued before handing her a cup filled with iced mocha, trying not to spill it too. “Thanks for coming.”
After paying for her order, she walked to the far side of the room to sit and read a book.
You’re such a nitwit. The first pretty girl you see, and you act like a klutz, Jaeson scolded himself. Any chance I had of going out with her just stepped away.