Changing Gene Excerpt

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Changing GeneChanging Gene“Not your traditional inspirational romance novel”

Copyright © 2006 by Suprina Frazier

Author contact info: [email protected]

* * *

BlurbBlurb

“No woman is worth a man’s pride,” Gene Waldenhall once bragged to a

coworker.

Little did he know that he’d have to give up that and so much more in

order to gain the heart of Kylisha Greene. Especially since the virginal

Christian woman will have nothing to do with a womanizing playboy like

him.

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]



Chapter 2Chapter 2 A month later

With his office door closed, Gene opened the brown envelope marked ‘miscellaneous calls’ and checked the personal messages he’d gotten since

lunchtime. A frown instantly creased his brow when he discovered that ten of

those messages were from the same woman – Gloreatha Porters.

Gene was tired of Gloreatha already and they’d only been dating for a

month. She officially wore out her welcome last night when she made themistake of telling him she was falling in love with him. Gene was completely

turned off by that declaration. His frown deepened at the memory of it now.

Nobody falls in and out of love that quickly , Gene mused, filled with

disbelief. Just four weeks ago Gloreatha was on the rebound from anotherman she thought she loved.

Gene balled up Gloreatha’s messages one by one. Then he threw the

yellow wads in the trashcan by the door, one at time, as if he was shooting

hoops on a basketball court. They all went in, revealing his mastery of thesport. There were few physical activities Gene wasn’t good at.

As Gene threw the last message into the trash, his mind churned withpossibilities. He was trying to think of the best way to break up with

Gloreatha before she got even more serious about him.

Unfortunately, this wasn’t the first woman Gene had broken up with at

the I-love-you stage. In fact, whenever his relationships got to this point, hefound himself ready to call it quits. Gene didn’t want any woman to fall in

love with him and vice versa. Falling in lust was good enough for thisplayboy.

Besides, I got enough women loving me already, Gene mused. He had agrandmother, a mother, four sisters, and a niece to shower him with all the

love he needed. What more could a man ask for?

Just then, Kylisha knocked on the door. “Mr. Waldenhall, I have more

messages for you.”

Gene instantly sat upright in his chair at the sweet sound of her voice.

Before giving Kylisha permission to enter, he paused and gave himself aquick once-over. He’d never done that before, at least not on Kylisha’s

behalf. Gene was changing.



Ever since Kylisha drove that garbage truck quite a few things havechanged about Gene. For one, he couldn’t seem to stop thinking about her,

couldn’t seem to stop wondering if she thought about him, too…on apersonal level.

Secondly, gazing into those beautiful green eyes of hers was fastbecoming an addiction for him. Five days a week Gene got to partake of

their beauty. Five days a week he was mesmerized by them. Gene couldn’tput into words how good it felt just looking at Kylisha’s face. Nor could he

explain why.

Now if she’d only give a brother a little something extra to look at, then

I’d feel even better , Gene mused in his usual playboy manner. He would love

to see Kylisha in something more formfitting, maybe a new hairdo.

No such luck today though.

On that unseasonably warm December day, Kylisha wore a loose-fitting,gold outfit with a bell sleeve top and flowing wide legged pants. Besides herhead, neck and hands, not an ounce of her bronze skin was showing. And

yet Gene still wanted to see her again.

After making sure his stone-colored shirt and triple-pleated brown

trousers were still immaculate, Gene said, “Come in.”

As the doorknob slowly turned, his back became as stiff as a board with

anticipation. He couldn’t wait to feast upon the parts of her he could see.

Kylisha breezed into the room with her usual enthusiasm. “Sorry todisturb you, sir, but these just came in for you,” she said, handing Genemore messages. “I wanted to make sure you got them before I left today.”

Gene cocked his head to the side. “You’re leaving early today?” He held

up the black dial silver watch on his wrist, drawing attention to his ring-less

right hand. The watch said 2pm. They usually didn’t knock off until aroundsix.

Kylisha smiled and shook her head at his selective retention. She’d found

a similar trait in most men she knew. “We discussed this earlier in the week,

remember? I’m supposed to help your baby sister with tonight’s fashionshow.”

“Oh, yeah.” Gene nodded. “I forgot Deshawn was providing tonight’s

entertainment. I guess it just slipped my mind.” It had, but it was all coming

back to him now.



On Monday, Mitch mentioned that Gene’s youngest sister was havingproblems finding good behind-the-scenes help for her fashion show. Kylisha

overheard the two men talking and promptly volunteered. She even gavethem a glimpse into her upbringing by sharing how her grandmother taught

her how to cook, sew, and take care of babies because she believed that it

made Christian women better wives and mothers.

Gene’s mental block arose as a result of hearing the word ‘wives’. Butthen again, that word had a tendency to incite amnesia in most playboys.

“So you’ll definitely be at the Christmas party tonight?” Gene continued,soaking up the green in Kylisha’s eyes like a sponge to water.

“Of course…along with the rest of the employees,” she replied, giving himanother subtle reminder. They were not going to some hook-up party

tonight. Tonight’s event was a company gala that many were bringing their

relatives to. “Are you bringing anyone with you?” Gene probed, holding his breath.

Who knew her answer would mean so much to him?

Kylisha shook her head. “No. I’m going stag.” Not only wasn’t shebringing a date tonight, she wasn’t even bringing her grandparents.

Truthfully, she hadn’t asked them to attend tonight’s party with her. Kylishaknew they would only decline the invitation anyway, so why bother. Shoot,

the Greenes hadn’t even attended her technical school graduation.

Thrilled that she wasn’t bringing a date, Gene flashed her one of his most

charming smiles. “Perhaps you’ll save me a dance then.”

Unfortunately for him, Kylisha didn’t seem moved by his charm at all.

Her face remained neutral and she kept her gaze on something in thedistance, not on him. Gene would have given every dime he had in the bank

to know what she was thinking right now. If he knew her thoughts weren’t inhis favor he might rescind that offer.

Pretty boy, you are wasting your gorgeous smiles and your precious timeon me, Kylisha mused, fighting to keep her expression neutral.

“Perhaps we will share a dance tonight, Mr. Waldenhall,” she said in acrisp tone, not promising anything. “See you later.” Then she turned around

and quickly left the room before he could say anything else.

Gene stared after her with a mixture of feelings. On one hand, he felt a

touch of rejection at Kylisha’s abrupt departure. On the other, a hint of excitement in knowing that he’d see her later and possibly hold her in his

arms tonight.



As Gene pondered what wonders this evening would hold, he failed torealize that part of his excitement stemmed directly from the familiar surge

of adrenaline he felt whenever he pursued something new, or rathersomeone new.

That’s the way it has been with Gene since he was eleven years old.

Age eleven was when his biological father died and the Waldenhall family

was thrust into abject poverty. Soon thereafter the young lad becamefascinated with trying to recover what he felt he’d lost. Since Gene obviously

couldn’t get his father back, he became very materialistic and began tocrave everything else. Now not only did Gene always want the next best

thing, he always wanted the next new thing, too.

To him, Kylisha Greene was as new as they came. Unfortunately, that

meant that Gloreatha Porters was now deemed old. In fact, Gene intended

to call her this very afternoon and breakup with her.With his mind made up about Gloreatha, Gene’s thoughts returned to

Kylisha. I should have asked if she bought a new dress for the occasion, he

mused, wondering if her after-hours attire was as conservative as her workattire.

She certainly can afford a new dress, Gene thought, reminded of Kylisha’s month old raise and the fact that she still lived with her prosperous

grandparents. The fact that he hadn’t seen her in anything new over the last

four weeks only affirmed his belief that she’d been saving her money forsomething special.

Gene had no idea that that something special was her own place, which

she moved into just last week. Kylisha also used part of that raise to pay off

the large note on her luxury vehicle since her grandparents collectivelyrefused to give a ‘disobedient’ person like her anything except a place to

stay when she returned home from college.

If Gene had known all that, he might have vied for Kylisha an even

bigger raise.

* * *

As Kylisha swiftly walked to her desk for her purse, she couldn’t help but

be intrigued by Gene’s sudden interest in her. She also wondered why henever wore any flashy jewelry. Most playboys she’d seen had worn at least a

pinky ring or a gold necklace.

Maybe he’s different, Kylisha mused, leaning towards giving Gene the

benefit of the doubt. Nah, playboys are all the same, she promptly amended



as the memory of her father’s shenanigans rose to the surface of her mind inbitter waves.

They’re all the same, Kylisha reiterated, now having second, third, andfourth thoughts about giving Gene that dance he requested.

* * *

Zippers on garments, hems on skirts, and last minute buttons on jackets.Kylisha did all those things and more to help Deshawn meet the demands of

putting together her very first fashion show.

Though tonight’s show was slanted to be a small presentation in front of

mainly family and friends, it was still pivotal to Deshawn’s future since it waspriming her for bigger and better things. The fact that the Rozier basement

had been turned into a sewing/design room showed how serious Deshawn

was about her profession.

Based on personal tidbits Kylisha garnered in the company of Deshawn,the family basement wasn’t the only thing the twenty-one-year-old had

changed since graduating from design school. To show her dedication to her

career of choice, Deshawn did a lot of personal changing, too.

Though Deshawn was still very sassy when she wanted to be, she wasnot quite as loud as before. She also no longer wore tight flashy clothes,

decorative hair extensions and long sculptured nails. These days Deshawn

tried to draw a different kind of attention to herself, particularly to herfabulous designs.

“Your designs are truly unique, Deshawn,” Kylisha said as she finished adecorative hem on the last skirt of the pile she’d been given earlier. “I think

your show is going to be a hit.”

“Thanks to you it will.” Deshawn smiled from the other sewing station. “I

really appreciate your help today, Kylisha. As you know, the females in myfamily were all either too busy with their children and husbands or didn’t

have the right skills to help me with my designs. I needed somebody thatcould come in and hit the ground running. Somebody I didn’t have to teach

technique to.”

As Deshawn spoke, she leaned over her sewing machine to inspect the

fancy stitching on the hem Kylisha just completed. She nodded in approval. “Case and point. Look at that stitching. It’s in perfect unison with the pattern

I gave you,” she said, tracing the design with a thimble topped index finger.

“Had it been my mother helping me out, she would’ve second-guessedherself every other stitch, Grandma’s arthritis would’ve probably gotten in

the way in this cold basement, and my sisters would’ve gotten distracting



calls from either their children or their husbands.” Deshawn snapped herfingers and added, “So you know I was too happy when you came along.”

Kylisha laughed at Deshawn’s sassiness. “Fortunately, I don’t have any of those ailments or distractions in my life, and I’m not easily intimidated by

new projects.”

“I can see that.” Suddenly Deshawn’s silver and gold watch went off.

She looked down at it. “I can also see that it’s time for you to be getting outof here. I wouldn’t dare make you late for tonight’s party. Daddy Mitch would

probably kill me.” She chuckled, revealing her exaggeration at the end. Mitchwas too sweet to kill anybody. However, he wasn’t above scolding Deshawn

for making his secretary late to her very first company social.

Kylisha looked down at her watch, too. “Time sure flies when you’re

having fun. Do you need me to help you tidy up before I go?”

Deshawn shook her head. “No. The only thing I need you to do beforeyou skedaddle is try on your dress and see if it fits okay.” She pointed to ared satin dress draped around one of the brown mannequins’ neck.

“My dress? That dress is for me?” Kylisha stood up from her sewingstation with green eyes full of surprise. She’d never worn anything that sexy

in her life. And yet there wasn’t an indecent thing about the sleevelessgarment. In fact, it was just as wholesome as the conservative black evening

gown Kylisha had waiting for her back at her apartment.

The neckline of the red garment wasn’t a plunging one. Rather it had a

modest V-shape that sloped into an elegant bodice. Furthermore, the onlyskin Kylisha would show in that dress was her shoulders, the top of her back,

and her calves since the hem of the dress stopped just below her knees.

“Of course this dress is for you.” Deshawn stood up as well. Since Kylisha

was in too much shock to remove the garment from the mannequin herself,somebody had to. “I made it two days ago as a thank you gift for

volunteering to help me out. That’s why I asked what size you wore the

other day,” Deshawn continued as she brought the dress over to hernewfound friend.

“I wondered about that, but I just figured most designers wereconcerned about people’s sizes.” Kylisha touched the dress with trembling

fingers. The black dress she bought yesterday was a forgotten entity now.

“Well, wonder no more.” Deshawn paused, cocked her head to the side,

and zoomed into Kylisha’s hair. “By the way, are you married to that longhair?”



Noting how much Deshawn looked like Gene with her head cocked to theside like that, Kylisha almost got sidetracked from the question at hand.

“Uh…no, I’m just so used to wearing it long,” she said, touching a few longstrands as she spoke. “Why? Do you think I should cut it?”

Kylisha actually considered cutting her hair back in college. But aftervoicing that possibility in front of her grandmother and getting such negative

feedback, she quickly changed her mind. Mrs. Greene ranted and raved for awhole day about how a woman’s hair was her glory and how Kylisha needed

to keep her tresses long, despite how unmanageable her thick mane became

at times.

Kylisha had wanted to fire back with the fact that some women’s hair

never grew long. She even had a great example in Shareen Burley, her ex-college roommate. Shareen’s short locks never quite made it past her ears

though she tried every hair care product she could find to stimulate growth.

Yet nothing seemed to help.

To obtain that lengthy look she sought, Shareen frequently wore hairextensions, weaves, and full wigs. At the end of sophomore year she finally

decided to let that long hair dream go and just learn to love her hair just theway it was. Though Kylisha had that excellent natural example to refute her

grandmother’s argument, she held it inside—the way she did most of her

opinions when it came to her grandparents.

“Honestly, I think your hair is long overdue for a cut,” Deshawn replied,snatching Kylisha back to the present. “I also think you should let me show

you a ten-minute makeup routine that will have you looking like a modelevery time.” Deshawn took a step back and assessed Kylisha’s tall, 5’10frame. “Matter of fact, with your bone structure, slender figure and height,

you probably could’ve been a model.”

Kylisha blushed. “Thanks, Deshawn.” No one had ever told her that

before.

“You know what, since you helped me make such good time today, how

‘bout I help you get ready for tonight?” Deshawn looked down at her watchagain. “We got at least three free hours to burn before the show.”

So ready for a change, Kylisha quickly accepted. She might even splurge

on some red lipstick tonight instead of her usual clear lip-gloss.

An hour later, Kylisha looked like a new woman. She felt like one, too.

Now her vivacious outside finally matched her effervescent inside. She wasso pleased. Now if Kylisha could only get her mind to stop wondering what

Gene was going to think about her new look.



* * *

As soon as Kylisha walked through the door of the banquet hall, all eyes

immediately turned to her. Those that didn’t know her assumed she wasanother one of Deshawn’s models. She’d come in the room right behind

them and was now talking freely among them. As if she belonged.

Those that did know Kylisha thought she should have been a model.

They’d never seen her look more beautiful than now in the red gown, stilettoheels and short feathered haircut she sported.

Gene Waldenhall almost choked on his drink when he saw Kylisha’s new

look. Not only was she stunning to him, that dress complimented her slender

figure in every possible way. It showed off her graceful neck, narrow waist,and supple curves that looked downright voluptuous.

Who would’ve thought she had curves like that underneath those boring

work clothes, Gene mused, deciding right then and there to make Kylisha hisnew woman.

That was the only decision he could have made with the current level of

volcanic desire pulsating through his veins. Any minute now he was going tobreak out in a sweat.

A woman like that makes a man want to be fruitful and multiply , Gene

thought, taking thorough note of Kylisha’s apple-bottom derriere and

deliciously curvy, baby-making hips.

He took a long swig of his punch in hopes that it would cool him off a bit.After all, tonight was a family affair. There were little children runningaround even now.

Forcing his eyes upwards, Gene checked out Kylisha’s new hairdo again.

He liked how it brought more attention to her heart-shaped face and

gorgeous green eyes.

Eyes. Wait a minute. Where are her second set of eyes? Gene mused,finding the wide-brimmed glasses Kylisha usually wore absent from her face

tonight. She must be wearing contacts, he deduced. She was.

Deciding not to waste any more time staring at Kylisha when he could be

over there talking to her, Gene discarded his drink and made his way acrossthe room.

Unfortunately for the renowned playboy, Arnaz Donnelly, the musclebound lead driver of the company, had the same exact idea. As a result, the

two men approached Kylisha at the same time. Both with the same request.



“Kylisha, can I have this dance?”



ChapterChapter 33Hearing the same question echoed from two different sources, Kylisha

turned to face her admirers. To her left was Arnaz, looking just as friendly as

ever with his easy smile and perfect teeth. To her right was Gene, lookingmore debonair than ever in his black designer suit and fresh haircut. Both

men had open interest in their eyes. Both had expectant looks upon their

faces.

Feeling breathless from all this unexpected male attention, Kylisha pulleda deep breath into her lungs. She slowly released it, claiming whatever

peace she could from the action.

Though very interested in whom Kylisha would choose, the other women

in her group reluctantly filed away. They had a fashion show to get ready for.

And with Deshawn motioning to them from a side door, they had to hurry.

Turning to the man on her left, Kylisha said, “I’ll be glad to dance withyou, Arnaz, after I dance with Mr. Waldenhall. After all, he did ask me first.”

Blinking the shock out of his eyes, Arnaz cleared his throat. “He askedyou first? Seems to me like we asked you at the same time.”

Kylisha gave her bold coworker a warm smile. “Actually, Mr. Waldenhallasked me for this dance before we left work today.”

“Oh. In that case, I guess I’ll take the second dance then,” Arnaz

conceded, though he still didn’t look too pleased about the issue. How could

he be pleased when Gene was standing across from him smugly brushingimaginary lint off his jacket? If Arnaz didn’t need his job so badly or wasn’t a

Christian, it would be on between the two of them.

“Dance number two is all yours, Arnaz.” Kylisha smiled wider, hoping that

would be enough to soothe his disappointment and help hold his peace. “Andthanks for being so understanding.”

“No problem,” Arnaz replied, shooting Gene a sideways glance. Then

after giving Kylisha a brief nod, he walked away before his tongue and

temper got the best of him.

Meanwhile Gene proceeded to brush the last of the faux lint off his

jacket. He didn’t even bother to look up at Arnaz’s departure. Why shouldhe? Arnaz had no business going after the same woman as him anyway. He

didn’t deserve regard.



“Are you ready for me, Kylisha?” Gene asked when they were finallyalone.

No! Not in a million years, Kylisha shouted on the inside. On the outside,she said, “Of course, Mr. Waldenhall.”

Gene gave her a charming smile. “Good. I hope you like dancing to

Christmas music because that’s the only kind they play at these things.” He

extended his right arm towards her in true gentleman style.

“Christmas music is fine,” Kylisha replied, looping her arm through his. “In fact, the Temptations’ Silent Night is one of my favorite holiday tunes,”

she said, referring to the current song being cued up.

“Mine, too,” Gene replied as he ushered her towards the middle of the

dance floor.

Surrounded by couples on every side, Gene held Kylisha in a respectfulembrace and began to slowly sway. She tried to follow his lead, but her body just couldn’t seem to relax in his arms. As a result, her movements were as

stiff as a board.

Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all, Kylisha mused, barely one

minute into the dance. Heat radiated from wherever Gene’s hands touchedher. Soon it attacked her spine, causing delicious warmth to spread to the

rest of her body.

Kylisha began to tingle all over. Tremors quickly followed. What was

going on here?

Feeling her trembling against him, Gene leaned down to her ear. “What’s

the matter, Kylisha? Are you cold?” he whispered. His breath was warmagainst the side of her face.

Unable to lie, she said, “No, just nervous about dancing with the boss Iguess.” Yes, that had to be it. Right?

“I’m just a man, Kylisha. A flesh and blood man,” Gene said.

I know and that’s the other thing that’s got me all nervous, Kylisha

mused, keeping those thoughts to herself. Aloud she said, “I’ll try to relax,Mr. Waldenhall.” She took a deep breath to speed up the process.

“It might help if you called me Gene,” he suggested. “After all, we’re not

at the office now.”

“All right, G…Gene,” Kylisha replied hesitantly.



Bad move. The tremors returned in full force as soon as her tonguetasted the sweetness of his given name for the first time.

Gene shuddered this time. A low moan vibrated in his throat at the soundof his name upon Kylisha’s lips. It was the greatest aphrodisiac. He held her

closer, causing Kylisha to moan so softly that if his ear hadn’t been near hermouth he would have missed it.

Just then, someone tapped Gene on the shoulder. “My turn now,” Arnazsaid, letting them know that the song and their dance were over.

Gene suppressed a scowl at the interruption. He felt a stab in the gut

when Kylisha readily went into Arnaz’s arms, as if what just transpired

between them had never happened. Though Gene maintained a calmdemeanor through it all, he walked away from them with a storm cloud over

his head.

* * *

Using the time away from Kylisha to get himself back on track, Gene

went to socialize with some of his late arriving relatives. If he’d learned

nothing else over the last three years, it was when to exercise a littlepatience. It was either that or risk offending Kylisha with a jealous outbreak

against Arnaz.

Spotting his oldest sister and her husband, Gene walked towards the

buffet table area. Lavender and Lance were visiting from Kramell, aneighboring city of Marvelston. Their one-year-old son Lanchester was with

them. Actually, Lanchester was “a year and four months, but who’scounting?” as Lavender would say.

Gene received an affectionate hug from his sister as soon as she wasclose enough to give him one. “Hey, little brother,” Lavender said, though he

was only little to her in age. At 6’3, Gene towered over her 5’5 frame.

“Hey yourself, big sis,” Gene replied, giving her a warm squeeze in

return. As usual, Lavender was dressed stylishly along the color tone forwhich she was so named. This time she wore a white lace pantsuit with

lavender sequins on the waist, arm, and leg hems.

“What’s up, Lance? Little man?” Gene said, extending his greeting to his

brother-in-law and nephew respectively as Lavender released him tosocialize with her menfolk.

“What’s up, little brother,” Lance said, receiving the handshake andbrotherly hug Gene offered him. Like many of the other men in attendance,

the brothers-in-law wore black suits with white dress shirts.



Lanchester, who was now walking on his own, held up both arms. “Up,Uncle Gene,” he said, making his usual request.

A smiling Gene refused to disappoint his nephew. “Whoa,” he said, liftingthe solid child into his arms. “Have you been working out with your daddy? I

think I feel two big muscles in these arms.”

“I work out with Daddy all the time.” Lanchester smiled wide, looking just

like his half-Hispanic father. They both had dark chocolate eyes and darkcurly hair that felt like the finest silk. Lanchester had Lavender’s mahogany

complexion, which made him look almost Middle Eastern in appearance.

“Oh really? Make a muscle for me.” Gene winked at his sister as he

returned Lanchester to his feet.

Lavender smiled and shook her head. She was used to her brother’s

shenanigans.

With thoughts of Kylisha pushed to the back of his mind for the moment,Gene proceeded to watch his nephew attempt to look like one of the body

builders they often watched on television. Gene’s eyes danced with mirth as

Lanchester’s angelic face grew very intense in concentration of his task.

* * *

Across the room, Kylisha continued to dance with Arnaz, yet her eyes

continued to watch Gene interact with his family. It was easy to do so sinceArnaz preferred to dance on the outskirts of the dance floor, not right in the

thick of things like Gene had done.

“You know, you really do look beautiful tonight,” Arnaz said, discussing

the change in her appearance once again as they proceeded to dance on yetanother song.

“Thanks,” Kylisha replied, giving him the same response as before. Itamazed her that Arnaz couldn’t seem to stop talking about her new look.

Gene hadn’t said anything about the change in her appearance during theirdance. Rather he’d shown his appreciation through his eyes…and the tender

way he’d held her.

“Unfortunately, some people might see the change in you as a sign that

you’ve changed in other ways,” Arnaz said, dancing around what he reallywanted to say. “But I know you’re the same wholesome Kylisha that you’ve

always been.” He withdrew to look into her eyes. “I can see it in your

beautiful eyes.”



Kylisha’s cheeks grew red from ire and embarrassment. “Of course I’mthe same person. No makeover is ever going to change that.”

“Good.” Arnaz exhaled a breath that sounded a lot like relief beforedrawing her towards him again.

No man is going to change who I am either, Kylisha added silently,

forcing herself not to look in Gene’s direction again.

* * *

“Wow! You got yourself some boulders there, little man,” Gene told hisnephew as the child continued to flex his muscles in deep concentration.

“Yep. Two huge boulders.” He tapped on Lanchester’s biceps as if they weresolid rocks.

Lanchester broke form and smiled. “I’m strong,” he said proudly, looking

cuter than ever in the navy suit and white shirt his mother picked out forhim.

“Yes, you are,” Lance agreed, moving to feel his son’s biceps for himself.

“Do you think you’re strong enough to help Mommy carry some napkins

and paper cups to that long table over there?” Lavender asked. She pointed

to where her other sister Avery and their mother were organizing foodchafers on buffet tables.

Speaking of Roberta, she cooked all of tonight’s food at her restaurant.

However, she didn’t have to decorate the banquet hall alone. The wholeRozier/Waldenhall family helped with that task, including Gene.

“Yes, I’m strong enough for anything,” the articulate child told hismother. “See you later, Uncle Gene, Daddy. I got to be strong for Mommy

now.”

Lance smiled at those words. “He’s going to be a great big brother,” he

said, watching his wife and son trot off together. In the distance the DJ

announced that this was the last dance for now since the fashion show wouldbegin soon.

Gene’s ear perked up, but not about the DJ announcement. He’d blockedthat out in order to listen more closely to his brother-in-law. “Big brother?

Does that mean that you and Lavender are…? Again?” His chestnut eyeswere wide. His smile was, too.

They ain’t wasting no time now , Gene thought with amusement. He

remembered how many fiery trials Lance and Lavender had to walk through

just to be together. One trial even resulted in a life or death situation.



Fortunately, Lance and Lavender survived every obstacle put in their way.Their love was deeper for it.

A sheepish grin spread across Lance’s face. He looked around to makesure no one else overheard his slip of tongue before facing Gene again. “Yep,

you’re the first to know. We got it confirmed yesterday at the health center.We were going to announce it later,” he said in a lower voice.

The health center Lance spoke of was the one his sisters (Latisa -OB/GYN, and Arnita - internal medicine) opened several years ago to help

women stay healthy and strong. An added blessing was the fact that Latisaand Arnita married doctors who also shared in their practice.

“Congratulations, man. I’m happy for you.” Gene shook his brother-in-law’s hand again. “And don’t worry, I’ll keep it on lockdown until you make

your big announcement tonight,” he added, bringing his voice down several

notches, too. “Thanks, little brother,” Lance concluded just as another one of their

brother-in-laws joined them. This one was Skyler aka Skeet.

Skeet was Avery’s husband and also Lance’s cousin. They were cousinson their mothers’ side which meant that Skeet was also half Hispanic/half

African-American. The only missing brother-in-law now was Carlton. He wascurrently on his way from the airport with Gene’s twin sister, Geanette.

Carlton, who used to look like Steve Urkel a few years back, had evolvedinto a mature Stefan Ur’kel persona. That change has garnered him an

increase in female attention lately. Fortunately, Carlton was not a stupidman. He quickly recognized the shallowness of this newfound attention and

thus remained true to his beautiful and loyal wife, who’d seen suaveness in

him when no one else could. In fact, Carlton was more in love with Geanettethan ever.

“By the way, how’s your love life going? Thinking of settling down

anytime soon?” Lance asked Gene after they both shook hands in greeting

with Skeet.

Lance and Lavender were actively believing God for Gene to change his

womanizing ways. He’d made so many other important strides in the rightdirection, they figured why not pray for Gene to go all the way in

righteousness.

Gene scoffed at Lance’s question and laughed. “Settling down? No way.

There are still too many women out there that I haven’t met yet. Besides,how can a man know which one to settle down with when they are all so

beautiful and fine?”



As Gene talked, he failed to notice that Kylisha and Arnaz were amongthe crowd who’d come to get refreshing drinks after the last dance ended.

That Kylisha was now within hearing distance of him and had heard everyword he just said.

If only Gene had turned around. He would have seen Kylisha frown herdispleasure at his words. He would have also seen Arnaz promptly usher her

away from him. Finally, Gene would have known that he’d just lost a lot of ground with the woman of his current desire.

Meanwhile, Skeet took the initiative to answer Gene’s question. “That’ssimple, man. You’ll know which one to settle down with when the woman’s

beauty and body are not the most important things to you. When getting to

know who she is on the inside takes precedence over everything else,including getting into her pants.”

Lance agreed with his brother-in-law/cousin’s comments. “Listen to theman, Gene. As an ex-player, Skeet should know.” Then he decided to add

something extra to the pot in order to make it a well-rounded stew. “I alsobelieve that just like a person has the innate ability to discern the voice of

God, they also have that same ability to discern the voice of their futurespouse. As for the woman you’re supposed to marry, there’ll be something in

her words, in her tone that will just speak to you deep in your heart and

then you’ll know that she’s the one.”

“Now that’s deep,” Gene replied. He wondered if that would ever happento him on both accounts.

So far Gene hadn’t heard the voice of his future wife in any of the womenhe’d dated. As for the voice of God, unless one counted the words of wisdom

that constantly visited his mind from things Grandma Janelle said over theyears, then Gene would have to say that he hadn’t heard the voice of God

yet, either.

“I guess that’s what happened to you guys with my sisters, huh?” Gene

asked his brother-in-laws.

“Bet,” Lance and Skeet echoed simultaneously with wide smiles on their

faces.

* * *

After excusing herself from Arnaz, Kylisha made her way to the ladies

room. An overwhelming sense of disappointment weighed on her heart from

the things she overheard from Gene. Though she expected distasteful thingslike that to come out of any womanizer’s mouth, she hadn’t expected to feel

so depressed when Gene said them.



Having seen the other side of him whenever he was around any memberof his family, particularly the little kids, Kylisha made herself believe that

Gene wasn’t as bad as he seemed. That there was still hope for him. Notwith her, mind you, but with some lucky woman.

Luck? There is no such thing as luck , Kylisha mused, catching herself from adopting the mindset of the world. In her heart, she knew better.

In her heart, Kylisha knew that destiny demolished the very notion of luck, chance, and happenstance. She also knew that she shouldn’t be in here

worrying about something and or rather someone who wouldn’t ever beanything more than a boss to her.

When Kylisha left the bathroom, she returned to Arnaz’s side and stayedthere for the rest of the evening. She didn’t protest when he started to

behave as if they were a couple or soon would be. It certainly kept Gene

away. However, it did not keep his eyes from boring into hers from adistance.

When Kylisha finally made it home, her feet were hurting and she was

emotionally drained. As a result, she fell asleep within a few short minutes.

* * *

On another part of town, Gene couldn’t go to sleep for anything. He

tossed and turned all night. When he closed his eyes, two different sets of

images flashed in his mind. The first set was of Kylisha dancing with Arnaz,sitting close to Arnaz, and hugging Arnaz goodbye for the evening.

The second set started out wholesome, but ended up much racier. Theyinvolved Kylisha dancing in Gene’s arms, snuggling against Gene’s chest, and

finally…calling out Gene’s name in the throes of passion.

I got to get this woman, Gene mused as he rose from his bed to take a

cold shower.

* * * * *

If you liked this excerpt and want to purchase Changing Gene in itsentirety, click on the link below:

http://www.lulu.com/content/1032805





You can find more samples of my writing at the following websites:

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http://stores.lulu.com/suprinaf1 - this is where most (not all) of mypaperbacks can be found.

http://www.myspace.com/michelledodsonstories - this blog contains all of

my literary updates and announcements.

http://storiesbymichelledodson.blogspot.com/ - this blog features lengthy

samples of my secular books. My pen name here is Mi’Chelle Dodson.

http://suprina.wordpress.com/ - this blog features lengthy samples of mybooks and short stories. There are even pictures to go along with each story.

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http://www.freewebs.com/moreofsuprina/index.htm

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http://www.myspace.com/michelledodsonstories

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http://mochainterlude.blogspot.com/

http://suprinasfreeread.tripod.com/

http://www.freewebs.com/moreofsuprina/index.htm

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http://www.myspace.com/michelledodsonstories

http://storiesbymichelledodson.blogspot.com/

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Changing Gene Excerpt