Friday, January 12, 2018

First Kiss Friday – An Excerpt from “Stalemate” by Ginger Sharp

Today on First Kiss Friday, we welcome romance author, Ginger Sharp, and an excerpt from her Contemporary Romance, “Stalemate.”

Tony Verducci is a single father with a brooding Jersey-sized chip on his shoulder about life, love, and women. Cassi York is a trusting California Girl who expects the best out of everyone and is slowly becoming disillusioned about romance and men.

When these two lost neighbors meet, sparks fly, tempers flare, and both learn to deal with the baggage in their mutual lives. Stalemate is a modern-day story about how opposites attract regardless of their rocky pasts and present situations.

Can Tony and Cassi prove that love can always find a way, or will they lose each other in the rough waters of New Jersey?


First Kiss Excerpt
Driving home with urgency from work, I park my car. Running up the stairs to discover there’s a note taped to the door of my apartment that I tear down as I am going inside. My apartment is free of my daughter and Cassi.
I go back to the note and read it out loud,
‘Tony,
I had an emergency at work. Please come to NJVH for Izzy. The address is 19 Essex Street, Neptune City, NJ.
Hopefully, we get home before you see this note,
Cassi.’
Pacing in my kitchen, I’m shocked and angered that Cassi took my child to this NJVH place in the middle of the night. I try to call her cell phone, but she’s not answering. Entering in the location address to my phone and I see that it is less than two miles away. I race down the stairs, leaving to go pick up my daughter.
Angrily driving and locating the building, I don’t waste time as I hastily move through the doors. A tired receptionist behind the welcome desk perks up in her place.
Glaring her down, very agitated. “I’m looking for Cassi York?”
The receptionist grins as she stares down at my chest, and then back up to my face. She plucks up her phone and makes a call. After a few minutes, Cassi appears in front of me wearing hospital scrubs.
She gestures for me to follow her. Cassi walks to an employee lounge where Izzy is sleeping on their sofa.
Crossing my arms into my chest, I’m about to reprimand Cassi for taking my daughter out in the middle of the night. I can see the weary look on Cassi’s face. I bend down, picking Izzy up from the couch.
Cassi jerks her head, motioning for me to follow her. She directs me out a back door into the parking lot. She opens my car door for me, so I can place Izzy down on the seat. I seatbelt her in and lightly close the door.
Spinning around and glaring, “You had no right taking Izzy from my apartment. I trusted you to watch her.”
Cassi closes her eyes squeezing them shut, “Tony, I’m very sorry. I received an emergency call and I had to bring Izzy with me. My staff loved having her and she was well cared for by all of us. You know this is the nature of my job.”
Shaking my head, “No, I don’t know. What do you do and why was that woman calling you doctor?”
Cassi sharply inhales, “Tony, I ‘am’ a doctor, a veterinarian. I specialize in exotic animals, mostly reptiles and amphibians, but all other animals as well.”
Crossing my arms, leaning on my car, I speak sternly, “You’re telling me that this emergency could not wait until the morning for a stupid animal?”
She shakes her head, sighing as she speaks, “No Tony, the lizard would have died. I had to diagnose and operate immediately. I must be getting back inside. I may stay here until my shift starts. Again, I’m very sorry.” She turns and walks away from me.
I call out to her, “I can see that you’re tired. We’ll discuss this later.”
Cassi stops short, harshly speaking out, “Tony, there’s nothing to discuss. Just let it go and find yourself a new babysitter. Your daughter was safe the entire time and never put in harm’s way. Please get over your arrogant brooding self.”
Opening my eyes wide, “Wow, someone’s being a bitch.”
Cassi takes a few steps toward me, and then angrily points, “Tony, I think I have known you for a little over a week, and you do nothing but play games with my head. You try to push me around and you also try to control me. I’m not yours to control. If I want to cheat on Jason with some guy at a bar, then I will. I don’t need you to protect me. As you can see, I’m a very big girl and if I want to make mistakes, then I will. Our friendship ends right now and our favors have been squared away.”
She turns away from me again moving hastily toward the building.
My brain is calling me a stupid-ass, but my emotions are disagreeing. I run after her. My heart screams to be careful, but to go for it. Catching up to her, grabbing her, and I spin her around to face me. I curl my fingers around the nape of her neck, leaning in, and forcefully placing my lips to hers.
Cassi tries to resist, but only for a moment. Pushing through her lips to get my tongue into her mouth, I explore her tenderly.
Her warm hands come up to my chest and slowly glide upwards, caressing me. After a prolonged minute, she moans into our kiss. Breaking away slow, I then rest my forehead to hers and listen to her accelerated breathing.
Whispering to her, “There you go, you just cheated on Jason. I promise to never bother you again, since we are no longer friends. Goodbye Cassi.” Rapidly moving away from her to my car, climb inside and start the engine. As I drive away, I look in my rearview mirror to see that Cassi hasn’t budged.
I chuckle to myself wondering what Cassi must be thinking right now. Hopefully, that was a kiss of a lifetime for her. Silly, stupid kid that she is for messing with me. Cassi sure likes to play with fire. Well, it is over now this little game that we both have been playing. I’m relieved, I think. That one kiss shouldn’t get me into any trouble with Melinda, but she’ll not find out about it anyway.
I keep thinking about Cassi. That girl has a real job, a career. She maybe a sexy, smart ass doctor, but she has no common sense. I really must turn off these feelings that I have for her. I’m heavily attracted to the girl living and sleeping just two doors down from my apartment. Things will improve for her later today when she sees her boyfriend. We can move on from this little attraction that we have. No harm done, since it was only one kiss.

“Stalemate” is available through:


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