MICHAEL: Bwwm Romance

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Epilogue Copyright © 2023 Robin Skye. The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real people, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author. No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher. Chapter 1 Ann “There’s nothing I can do about it, Ann. My job is my job.” I pouted as I listened to Victor’s excuse for breaking yet another date. “That’s the fourth time in the last two weeks, honey.” I grumbled. “I know, sweetie. But it’s unavoidable. Tell you what. I’m going to work super hard tonight and for the rest of the week to make sure I have the time to make things up to you next weekend. What do you say a trip to the beach next weekend?” “It’s winter.” Well, we were soon to enter spring but the weather for the last few years had been unpredictable. “It’s cold in New York. There are many other beaches away from here where it’s warm.” My eyes lit up, and I saw my coworker roll her eyes in amusement. It was a known fact that as soon as I was back in the teachers’ staff room at the end of each day, I called my fiancé, Victor. “So, are you saying we’re taking a trip to a warmer climate?” I asked. “Anything is possible if you want it badly enough. Listen. I have to go now. We’ll talk later.” “Okay, babe. Love you.” I said. I listened as I was greeted with the sound of the call being disconnected. I held the phone to my ear and smiled enough to let any eavesdropper think that my term of endearment had been returned. After a few seconds, I placed the phone in my bag and turned my attention back to the pile of papers on my desk. When I went to college straight out of high school, it had been with a view to change the way the world viewed special needs children. It took four rigorous years coupled with the tragic passing of my father and both sets of grandparents in my final year for me to collect my degree. But at the age of twenty-two, when I walked across that stage, I felt as if I could conquer the world. In an effort to get away from the memories of all the loved ones I had lost, starting at age fifteen when my mother lost her battle with pneumonia after a brief hospitalization, I took a job on the other side of the country. I found myself in Brooklyn, New York, at the American Institution for Special Kinders, AISK, and on my own. And I had to say that for the past three years, I had managed to eke out a fair to fine existence. A scant year after I had arrived, I happened to go into a bank to query an anomaly on my account. There seemed to have been another Ann Huntington in their system, and I had been getting her statements. But my name had no ‘e’ while hers did. The beta customer service representative dealt with the issue efficiently and used the opportunity to slip me his business card. I knew the beta was hitting on me. Though I was an omega and tradition demanded me to mate with an alpha, I was not a stickler for tradition. I had taken his card, one thing led to another, and a year after that, Victor Geddes proposed in his usual ordinary fashion. He had been so casual about the matter that I thought he was joking. But when I looked over at him from my bowl of popcorn at our Friday night at-home movie night and saw him with the ring, I was ecstatic. Life was good, and I could not wait to get married and have a family. Absent-mindedly I filled in a requisition form for the projector room for the following day. I replayed the conversation with Victor and sighed. Lately, he had been working so hard, and we had hardly been spending any time together. At twenty-seven, he was the youngest senior customer service representative at his bank. It was no wonder with his workaholic attitude. But I did wish that he did not have to work so hard. I started to look forward to the plans he seemed to be making for the beach. That was one of the things I missed most about no longer living on the coast. It would be a welcome respite. I finished my work quickly, updating records regarding observations made with students’ progress that day. As a special education teacher, recording this information on the progress report charts was crucial, especially for my charges. I loved my job and my young charges. The remuneration was just a little bit more than that of a regular class teacher as I had more specialization, but it was still not enough to have me living anything more than what a teacher’s salary could afford. I was already looking forward to what life would be like when I was married, and we had to work together to make our resources work for us. I locked my desk and bid goodbye to those who were still toiling away on lesson plans or teaching aids. I stepped into the hallway and pulled on my jacket and gloves. I shouldered my purse and braced as I stepped out into the cold evening. I hurried to my second-hand mini in the parking lot as the