The Jamie Reynolds Chronicles by Casandra Charles Book Tour and Giveaway :)
Lust & Lies
The
Jamie Reynolds Chronicles Book 1
by
Casandra Charles
Genre:
Urban Drama, Romance
JR
was young, single, making money, enjoying life and on top of her game
as a successful event manager in Atlanta, Georgia. After graduating
from Clark Atlanta University, she focused most of her life on her
career, driven by the need to prove herself while working in a men’s
field. Atlanta was all about keeping up with the Joneses and JR knew
just how to do it. After seven years in Atlanta, she abruptly moved
back to New York to be with her family when her dad had a near-death
experience. During her move, she met Toni, a single, blue-collar,
strong-minded guy who quickly swept her off her feet with his
lies.
Love
was never on her mind, but Toni was different (she thought). Even
though they were at two different places in life, JR let her guard
down and welcomed him in. After only a few months of their
long-distance relationship, things started to move really fast,
making JR really nervous. Then the drama began as Toni suddenly moved
in with her and she started uncovering the hidden secrets of the real
person.
As
JR was coming to terms with the idea of Toni being in her life, she
remained torn between him and her past in Atlanta. A past that
included David, her on-again, off-again lover who was everything JR
wanted in a man: well-educated with a successful career, good looks,
and the drive to want more of everything that Toni didn’t have.
However, even after two years of dating, their relationship was like
oil and water: they just didn’t mix. As Toni’s real personality
was revealed, David looked more and more like the safe place for JR.
When her current situation started to heat up, JR began wishing she
had her old life back.
The
Jamie Reynolds Chronicles: Lust and Lies is just the beginning as JR
tries to find the right balance in her life; however, that happy
balance is not so easy find, especially when it’s full of lust and
lies.
What
a Mess…
“Hey,
girl, how was your time in Atlanta?”
“It
was cool, Angela, but too short. I didn’t even want to leave.”
“I
am so happy for you and Toni. He seems like a really good guy.”
“Thanks,
Ang, he is. He really is. I have so much work to do these next few
weeks. As
much
fun as I had in Atlanta, it really set me back. I’ve been spending
more than I’ve
been
making. I have to be on my grind these next few months. I was
thinking about
picking
up a tax job for the next few months.”
“You
and this tax job thing.”
“Come
on, Ang, you know most of my clients pay under the table; I need a
tax job.
Besides,
the extra cash will come in handy. So a nine-to-five gig would be
helpful right
now.”
“What
you going to do? Go back to bartending or retail?”
“I
don’t know yet, I was thinking retail. This is a new city and all,
and I’m not too
familiar
with the club scene round here. It might be safe to do a retail gig
since I’m living
by
myself and all. I’ll keep you posted. I’m about to walk into this
crazy house in a
minute.
I’ll call you later.”
“Alright,
Jamie, I’ll talk to you later.”
***
Finally
after seven hours of heavy cleaning and packing away, my new place
started to
look
livable.
“I
deserve a drink for all my hard work,” I said to myself as I walked
over to my
cabinet
full of large bottles of liquor and began to make myself a
much-needed drink.
“What
do I have a taste for? Malibu Bay breeze, peach Long Island or a sex
on the
beach.”
I took a long pause and decided to fix myself a peach Long Island.
Ring,
ring, ring.
“Hello.”
“Hey,
what you doing?”
“Nothing,
I just finished cleaning up and I’m about to fix myself a drink.”
“Who
is at the house with you?”
“Nobody,
I’m by myself, why?”
“You’re
making yourself a drink by yourself?”
“Yeah,
why?”
“Only
alcoholics drink by themselves,” Toni said as he began to laugh.
“I
drink by myself all the time and I am not an alcoholic, I’m West
Indian. Besides, I
have
to refresh my bartending skills sometimes.”
“You’re
crazy. What does being from Trinidad and Tobago have to do with
anything?
What
are you making?”
“I’m
making a peach Long Island, and my Trinidadian roots makes drinking a
social
affair,
as West Indians are very social drinkers, like Italians and wine.”
“Italians
and wine, I got it now. Well, enjoy your drink. Wait, what is a peach
Long
Island?”
“It’s
a Long Island ice tea with peach schnapps instead of triple sec.”
“Damn,
you’re making a real drink.”
“Yes,
I am, thanks to Mexico. Remember I told you when Angela and I went
down
there
last year I came back with a suitcase full of liquor.”
“I
thought you were exaggerating when you said suitcase.”
“No,
I was dead-ass serious. When you spend forty bucks on a medium bottle
of Ketel
One
in the U.S. it’s like twenty-five bucks in Mexico, or at least the
part of Mexico we
went
to. I loved it.”
“Spoken
like a true alky.”
“Ha,
ha, funny. I know how to hold my liquor. Besides, one to two drinks
doesn’t
make
me an alky.”
“No,
one to two drinks a week don’t make you an alky.”
I
didn’t have the heart to tell him I meant one to two drinks a day
on certain days.
“Thank
you,” I said with a false sense of security. “Anyway, honey,
enough ’bout me,
what’s
going on with you?”
“Same
oh, same oh. Just thinking ’bout this girl I love.”
“Girl
you love, are you cheating on me? Because I thought I was the woman
you
love.”
“Ha,
ha, very cute.”
“Anyway,
I’m ’bout to fix dinner, enjoy my drink, take a shower and head
to bed. I
have
a busy day tomorrow.”
“Is
that anything new? I’ll call you later, baby. Love you.”
“Ditto.”
Secrets Revealed...The Beginning
The Jamie Reynolds
Chronicles Book 2
Just
as Jamie Reynolds, aka JR, stepped outside of her comfort zone and
lets her guard down with Toni, she quickly understood why she had it
up in the first place. Toni was nothing like he pretended to be, and
after three years of his lies, JR finally had had enough and found
the courage to leave.
JR
didn’t have many friends and was so embarrassed at her life’s
direction she tried to pretend she was okay, but her true friends
knew better. This included David, her past lover, who was happy she
was back in Atlanta, but things just weren’t the same between them.
Maybe because JR was still legally married to Toni, as he refused to
sign the divorce papers, or maybe because David’s life was moving
forward and JR’s life had fallen backwards.
This
new JR was nothing like her old self. JR was once a strong
independent woman, but now she can’t even look herself in the
mirror without falling apart. After years of lies and now emotional
abuse from Toni, who refuses to let her go, she just couldn’t hold
it all in and finally her emotions started to get the best of her. JR
tried to drink her problems away, which only made things worse, as
she truly lost her direction. Then her life unexpectedly came
crashing down after her friendship with Terry took a turn for the
worse. One by one JR not only lost her old friends, but she also lost
her way, which led JR to seek help.
Jenny
was JR’s saving grace, and after diving deep into her past, she
finally began to uncover the hidden secrets of the real JR. Secrets
even JR hid from herself. As Jenny encouraged JR to let her guard
down yet again and explore dating, she met Mike, a
twenty-five-year-old young professional who was nothing like Toni. He
was educated, had a thriving career, and truly supported JR even
after watching the drama unfold between Toni and her, but he never
ran, and JR appreciated his strength.
Lust
and Lies was just the beginning as The Jamie Reynolds Chronicles
continues and JR is faced with the newest chapter in her life, a life
full of questionable memories into her past, present and future self.
Single
and ready to mingle…
It’d
been two months since I last spoke to Toni, and he had been avoiding
my phone
calls.
I was so upset with him, but Jenny told me to make peace with it all
and try to
move
forward. Sooner or later he would sign. I hated knowing I was finally
ready for a
new
relationship and I had this crap hanging over my head.
David
and I had been going strong, but we still never defined what we were.
I was
starting
to get back on my feet, my mortgage dropped by over 50%, so I was
able to
manage
things again. I started working on a new project, and this project
was nine
months
long, which was a blessing. I was able to play catch-up on bills and
start saving
again.
This
client was working me like a slave, and I did the managing,
coordinating and
even
the marketing. My client asked me to join MeetUp.com to reach out to
groups so we
could
advertise the event. I’d never heard of MeetUp.com, so I was
interested in meeting
like-minded
friends for work and, of course, play. Don’t get me wrong, my
friends were
still
around, but I was always open to meeting new people. So I ended up
signing up for a
few
meet-ups such as Atlanta Woman on the Move, Movie and Lunch, Atlanta
Book
Club
and Singles in Atlanta. I was intrigued by the Singles in Atlanta
mainly because
they
did group activities like bowling, happy hour and other social
meet-and-greet things,
which
I was always down for. Also I knew the history between David and me,
so I was
still
trying to keep my options open. Besides, I would never meet anyone
online, not my
style,
not that desperate.
Within
minutes I received a number of emails from the Singles in Atlanta
group.
Maybe
it was because my subject line was “Single and Ready to Mingle.”
I was starting
to
get my confidence back, and even though I was still married, I felt
single. Just needed
it
to be on paper, which I couldn’t tell anyone when this would
happen, but why should I
have
to stay low key when Toni was clearly enjoying his newfound freedom.
It’d been a
year,
so I was good.
I
entertained the emails because I was just having fun. Nothing serious
was going to
happen,
and none of the guys emailing me were my type. I always laughed when
I said
someone
was not my type because my checklist was crazy. I always told Jenny I
had a
certain
type and she’d never pressed me about my type, but I knew it would
come up
sooner
or later. Everyone had a type, so why should I have to settle? This
was always my
thought
as I cut off a potential relationship as soon as I found out they
were not my type.
Why
waste time in a relationship if they ain’t your type in the first
place?
“So,
JR, how is everything today?” Jenny asked.
“I’m
good, last week was interesting.” I began to tell her all about my
time on
MeetUp.com.
“So,
just like that, you didn’t email back?”
“You
say it like it’s a bad thing. They are not my type, so why settle?”
“You
didn’t even give them a chance. Don’t think of it as settling,
think of it as
compromising
for the right person,” Jenny said.
“I
hear you, but it sounds like settling to me.”
“You’ve
mentioned your type often. So tell me your type. What’s on your
list?” Jenny
asked,
but I really didn’t want to share my crazy list with her because I
didn’t feel like
being
judged, but Jenny was such a great help in my life, and I felt
comfortable talking to
her
even when I felt she would judge me.
“Oh
boy, don’t judge me, okay?” I said as a disclaimer. “I know you
will tell me my
list
is unrealistic,” I said before I even began reciting my list to
Jenny.
“It’s
always good to share. I won’t judge,” Jenny said with a smile.
“I
want someone sane, who has a good job, who treats me with respect and
would love
me
for me,” I said with confidence, knowing that was the easy part of
my list, but now
here
was the detailed part. “I don’t want anyone with kids because I
have no kids and
don’t
want any. I need someone who owns a house. I own a house, so why is
this wrong?
A
person who is educated, has a close relationship with his mother and
family, is five
foot
ten, at least one hundred seventy pounds, is in good shape, and who
is well traveled,
which
means they have a passport. I have been traveling with my passport
since I was
six.”
“Okay,
let me stop you there,” Jenny said, interrupting my list as I was
about to go
deeper
into my list of demands. “A good relationship is all about
compromise, and you
need
to be a little more flexible about your next relationship. You can’t
punish your
future
relationship for the wrongs of your past relationship. You realize
everything you
listed
was a fault in a past relationship? Toni didn’t have a passport; he
didn’t have a
college
degree and was a blue-collar worker. Robert didn’t respect you, and
you felt he
was
trying to change you and didn’t love you for you. David has a kid,
and you feel like
you
are number two in his life. Terry didn’t have a close relationship
with his family, and
one
would think you guys got so close because he looked at you like a
little sister but
then
crossed the line. Do you see where I’m going with this?”
I
totally understood what she was doing, but anyone could compare a
past relationship
list
to something no one wanted in the future. So even though I understood
her, I didn’t
agree
with what she was doing.
“I
feel you, but I don’t think my list is bad. I feel I know what I
want now, and I will
be
damned if I settle for anything less.” I was done talking about
this topic, and Jenny
knew
this, so she let it go.
I
was truly enjoying my sessions with Jenny. I didn’t feel pressured
to talk about a
topic
I was very uncomfortable with nor felt like she was judging me when I
said
something
crazy even though I always added a disclaimer before I hit her with
something
crazy.
We discovered I had coping issues because I never really dealt with
most of my
main
issues at hand. I was too busy running from my problems or trying to
be rough and
tough
that I never allowed myself to be honest about how I truly felt. She
thought it all
started
with my childhood. I hated to make excuses for things, but she made
some valid
points.
I was always the tough girl with thick skin growing up when, in fact,
I was so soft
and
emotional. Growing up in Brooklyn was great, but moving from house to
house and
school
to school took its toll on me, and I guess I never bounced back from
this. What
was
I supposed to say to my parents, I
don’t want to move or
I
want to stay in this
school?
Clearly
this wasn’t an option, so I just held in my feelings about yet
another
school
or yet another move whether we were running away from my dad or not.
For
the longest time it was just my older sister, Jenifer, and me, but
twelve years later
my
little sister, Jayla, was born. I watched my parents in a loveless
marriage and didn’t
understand
why my parents would have another child. Jenny thought my fear of
having a
child
came from my parents. I told her I would hate for my child to suffer
in a loveless
marriage
if things didn’t work out with the father. My parents stayed
together for the
kids,
which was the craziest thing they could do, and then having Jayla was
even crazier.
I
truly believed my mother loved my father unconditionally, and I felt
my dad took
advantage
of that love and did what he did. He made his bed and now he had to
lay in it,
and
because of his selfish acts, my mother finally left him, and he had
three daughters. I
just
hoped and prayed none of us had to feel that pain my mother felt when
my father
disrespected
her with those other women. Karma was a bitch and it often skipped
the
person
who truly deserved it.
Jenny
felt that although my marriage to Toni didn’t end well, I still had
hope for
finding
love again. It went deeper than the parents, and the kids were the
ones that
suffered
the most. My sisters and I were proof of it. I wished my mind-set was
set to
forever,
but after my separation from Toni, I’d learned so much about
myself, and I
thanked
God every day for the miscarriage I had. I would hate for my son or
daughter to
have
to go through what I was going through with Toni now acting the way
he was
acting.
Everything happened for a reason, I guess, but Jenny felt I would
never be at
peace
with a child until I dealt with the skeletons in my closet with the
fear of having
kids.
I told her my mind wouldn’t change about kids, but I understood
what she was
saying,
and since I’d never dealt with the fact I had a miscarriage, it
might hurt me in the
end.
Pillow Talk
The Jamie Reynolds
Chronicles Book 3
There
are three sides to every story, her side, his side and the truth, as
the men of the Jamie Reynolds Chronicles tell all. Jamie Reynolds,
aka JR, takes center stage of her own reality as she becomes the
focal point of David, her on-again, off again lover who was
everything JR wanted in a man, yet their relationship was like oil
and water—they just didn’t mix. Blue, JR’s first and only
friend with benefits, thought he was okay with his role of friend and
convenient lover, but ultimately the friendship always outshone his
need for something more. Robert, aka Rob, who didn’t see anything
wrong with having his cake and eating it too as he tried to juggle
Maria (his fiancée), JR (his girlfriend) and multiple other
women.
Terry,
JR’s play brother, wanted to do more than just play. Toni, JR’s
blue-collar and now petty and bitter ex, vowed to make JR life
miserable at any cost. Wes, JR’s first high school love, had to
take a backseat as JR grew up and moved on with a successful life as
he still ran the streets, wishing he had JR back again. And Mike, a
younger man who stole JR’s heart, struggled with growing up as he
battled the thoughts in his head and the passion in his
heart.
Pillow
Talk is a unique twist to the backstory from the point of view of the
men in the Jamie Reynolds Chronicles as they also uncover their true
lust, lies and secrets.
Don’t
Act Like We Don’t Have History…
I
watched JR as she walked in the club doors. I had to admit she was
looking fine and
sexy
as always. JR would never come out of the house looking anything but
sexy. She
was
sexy as hell and she knew it. She was also predictable, so I knew her
ass would be at
the
club within the first hour of the doors opening. And like clockwork,
here she was.
“Miss
Reynolds.”
“Hello,
Robert,” she said with a straight attitude, but she was really cute
when she was
mad.
My
mind started to think of the anger sex we used to have. Damn, I
missed this lady.
“Yo,
you here solo?” I figured once she heard I was coming, she would
have brought
sand
to the beach, but this was going to be too easy.
“It’s
a party, so I didn’t want any baggage.”
“Well,
why bring sand to the beach?” I said, but she had to know what this
meant, as I
bit
down on the corner of my lips.
“You
crazy. Anyway, thanks for coming.”
“Hey,
man. Just like that. Don’t act like we don’t have history.” I
didn’t know what
came
over me, but I had to finish talking to JR. I grabbed her arm so she
couldn’t just
walk
off. Being this open was something I wasn’t used to, and thank
goodness the
waitress
came over because I didn’t know what I would have said next as she
began to
pull
away from me.
As
the waitress gave JR and me a glass, I noticed she was confused, but
I really just
wanted
to make sure she had a great time at her party despite me kind of
crashing it.
“Thanks,
but you really didn’t have to,” was all she could say as she
noticed I’d
bought
her a bottle of Moe. JR was always so humble and low-key about stuff
like this,
but
it was too late, the waitress had already begun opening it.
“Come
on, JR, you know you will always be my girl,” I whispered in her
ear while
toasting
her filled glass and then handed her an envelope, which was her
birthday gift,
and
asked her to open it later.
I
couldn’t do anything but laugh as I watched JR walk away. She
smiled and placed
the
envelope in her purse, and I couldn’t help but notice she was
adding a little extra
swag
in her walk. I noticed she wasn’t wearing any panties under that
hot pink sweater
dress,
as her ass was firm yet jiggling just right. This was going to be a
long night, and I
watched
JR most of the night from the other side of the room. I didn’t care
if I looked like
a
stalker, I was on a mission.
JR
was the one that got away. Maybe it was love, but I was down to find
out for sure
what
had me acting crazy like this. I knew I hadn’t been on my best
behavior when I was
with
her, but she knew who I was when we met. I never lied to her about my
relationship
status,
but she just got caught up and in way too deep.
I
played my role the whole night until I caught her speaking to that
lame cat True. As I
watched
them from the corner of my eyes, it looked as if JR wasn’t enjoying
the
conversation.
After I noticed he grabbed her arm, I knew she wasn’t feeling it,
so I
walked
over to see what was up.
“Yo,
JR, you good?”
“I’m
good,” was all she said with this look in her eyes. A look I never
saw before, so I
was
glad I was around.
As
soon as True saw me, he let go of her arm, and this cat made a fist
as if I was about
to
fight him or he was about to strike JR. Needless to say, JR walked
away, and as soon
as
I noticed True wasn’t about nothing, I walked after her.
“Yo,
you got a ride home?” I yelled as I tried to catch up to JR. I
guessed the party
was
over, as I knew she was upset, and sadly, she was just where I wanted
her. As much
as
I didn’t fuck with True, I did have to thank a brother ’cause
whatever he did to mess
up
with JR was about to pay off for me. I didn’t know what that was
about, but True was
a
bitch, so whatever he did to JR to have her upset, he probably
deserved it because JR
was
pretty forgiving until you crossed the line. Trust me, I knew all
about her wrath when
she
was fed up with the BS.
JR
was clearly drunk, and I hate drunk sex, so I was just hoping to
allow her to sleep it
off
at my place until morning.
“Man,
I should be fine,” she said as she reached in her purse, looking
for her keys.
“Since
when you drive home drunk?”
“I
ain’t drunk. I’ll be fine,” she said, almost falling down.
“Come
on, I got you. I can take you home, or you can come back to my
place.”
She
just paused without answering, so I knew my answer, and I just
grabbed JR’s hand
to
stop her from going in her purse, and walked her over to my car. I
was a perfect
gentleman
so as not to mess up what could happen by making JR feel
uncomfortable,
especially
since I was living in the loft off Howell Mill now. The same damn
loft where
JR
and Mo got into it. That night was crazy, and I swore I would never
forget it. Shit got
way
too real. So I hoped JR didn’t remember the last time she was at or
near my loft
’cause
shit wouldn’t pop off for sure.
To
my surprise she played it cool, and seeing JR in my loft after all I
put her through
over
the years was the best feeling in the world. I needed her to know I
missed her, not
just
sexually but also mentally as well. Shit just wasn’t the same once
JR left my life. So
many
deals fell through in the office, I got in a car accident, Maria and
I fought all the
time,
and I ended up putting on weight, hell, probably because I didn’t
get my daily dose
of
ass from JR, which she called bedroom cardio.
I
was trying to maintain this gentlemanly demeanor longer, but I just
couldn’t and
needed
to see if she was as wet as I remembered, so I licked my finger and
placed it
inside
her. Of course, not much had changed. Not only was she as wet as I
remembered, I
was
right and she still wasn’t wearing panties with dresses. I wanted
her to remember me
as
I took her hand and placed it on my erect penis, pulled her closer,
and asked, “Did you
miss
me?”
I
had her just where I wanted her as she said, “Yes,” and I just
felt her pussy get
wetter.
I wanted tonight to be special, and even though I wanted to just bang
her out, I
wanted
this shit to last, so I slowly undressed JR. I was able to see every
curve in her
body,
and not one thing had changed. She still had that amazing Coke-shaped
body I
remembered.
“Babe,
I missed you so much. I promise this time will be different.”
“Wait,
what? What did you say?” JR said as she pulled me off her.
“Come
on, JR, I want to make love to you. You looked so beautiful tonight,
and it was
driving
me crazy to think of you with another man.”
I
didn’t know if JR got sick because of what I said or because she’d
had too much to
drink,
but next thing you know she ran over to the kitchen and threw up in
the sink.
“JR,
you okay?”
“I’m
fine. I just need to sleep this off.” And just like that, she
passed out on the couch
and
went to bed. I hate drunk sex and even more the smell of throw-up, so
I just took my
ass
to bed myself. Maybe I could talk to JR in the morning during
breakfast.
JR
must have been tired because I woke up around 10 a.m. and she was
still asleep. I
figured
I’d jump into the shower first and clean up; then I’d wake her up
and see if she
wanted
to order breakfast or go out and grab something. But by the time I
got out of the
shower,
she was gone, just like that. No note, no text, not even a fucking
goodbye. JR
won
this round, but I promised she wouldn’t win the next one.
Originally from
Brooklyn, New York, with parents from Trinidad and Tobago. Casandra
“CeCe” Charles graduated college with a BA degree in Mass Media
Arts at Morris Brown College in Atlanta, GA, where she resided for
many years and now has her master’s degree in Adult
Education.
Casandra always wanted to write a book but
hesitated for many years, as she suffers from adult dyslexia. She
never allowed her disability to hold her back on anything, and she
finally completed her first book, Jamie Reynolds Chronicles: Lust and
Lies, in 2015, Secrets Revealed in 2016 and now Pillow Talk in
2018.
She is the successful owner of Smell the Sunset, LLC,
which is an umbrella company for Creative Encores, LLC, an event
planning business, and What’s Good USA, a Good News website that
highlights good news from around the United States, and now her
newest adventure, author.
Casandra loves to travel and explore
and has a bucket list of places to visit a mile long. She lives by
many mottos, but her favorite one is “Live Laugh Love,” which is
also tattooed on her left arm to remind her every day to Live today,
Laugh often and Love always.
Follow
the tour HERE
for exclusive content and a giveaway!
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