Date With Destiny

by Mason Dixon

  “Yes or no, Rashida?” DaShawn held her by her shoulders then released her. Tilting her chin up, she forced her to look her in the eye. “Do you love me?”

  Rashida brushed DaShawn’s hand away. She longed for her touch, but experiencing it was too distracting. She couldn’t think. All she could do was feel. All she could do was want. Her body ached with need. How, after everything that had happened, could DaShawn still make her feel this way?

  “This is pointless. Even if I said I had feelings for you, what would come of them? We can’t ever hope to—”

  DaShawn didn’t let her finish. “Do you love me?” Lit by a fire from within, her eyes blazed in the moonlight. Rashida felt the heat.

  “Yes,” Rashida cried from the depths of her soul, angry with herself for not being able to get over DaShawn and angry with DaShawn for not letting her try. “Yes, I love you.”

  DaShawn’s smile lit up the night. “I love you, too. Let me show you how much.”

  DaShawn reached for her, but Rashida raised her hands to keep her at a safe remove. DaShawn’s shoulders slumped.

  “You don’t trust me.”

  Tears streamed down Rashida’s cheeks. “No.” The word nearly lodged in her throat.

  “What will it take to make you change your mind?”

  “Time. I need time.”

  “I’ll give you all the time you need. I’ll jump through any hoop you put in front of me. Take any test you decide to give me. Just tell me it’s not too late for me to undo the damage I’ve done. Tell me we can still be together.”

  Rashida shook her head. “I can’t tell you what I don’t know.”

  A series of powerful percussions shook the earth. Fireworks streamed across the sky. Rashida looked up at the colorful harbingers of a new year. DaShawn’s arm slipped around her as they watched the awe-inspiring pyrotechnics. Instead of pulling away, Rashida leaned into the embrace. A sense of calm settled over her. The peace she had traveled thousands of miles to find was here in the arms of the woman who had taken it away.

  “I love you, DaShawn,” Rashida said when the last sparkler finally faded from view, “but is it enough?”

  DaShawn wiped her tears and held her face in her hands. “Baby, it’s all we need.”

  DaShawn leaned to kiss her, but Rashida pulled back. She had trusted DaShawn once, but her trust had been woefully misplaced. Was she about to make the same mistake all over again?

  She searched DaShawn’s eyes, looking for a sign she was being less than genuine. DaShawn didn’t look away. She didn’t try to hide the way she once had. She met Rashida’s gaze. Invited her to look deeper.

  “What do you see?”

  Rashida placed her hand over DaShawn’s heart, certain she was making the right decision. Certain she could trust DaShawn with her mind, her body, and her soul. “I see someone I want to spend the rest of my life getting to know.”

  DaShawn’s defenses dropped. Raw emotion played across her features as she finally showed who she really was. This wasn’t a performance. This was a revelation. An introduction.

  “I’ll make sure you don’t regret a single moment.”

  And she did.

  About the Author

  Mason Dixon lives, works, and plays somewhere in the South. She and her partner enjoy grilling, traveling, and fighting for control of the remote. Date with Destiny is her first published novel. She can be reached at authormasondixon@gmail.com.

  Books Available from Bold Strokes Books

  Date with Destiny by Mason Dixon. When sophisticated bank executive Rashida Ivey meets unemployed blue-collar worker Destiny Jackson, will her life ever be the same? (978-1-60282-878-0)

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  Secrets and Shadows by L.T. Marie. A bodyguard and the woman she protects run from a madman and into each other’s arms. (978-1-60282-880-3)

  Change Horizon: Three Novellas by Gun Brooke. Three stories of courageous women who dare to love as they fight to claim a future in a hostile universe. (978-1-60282-881-0)

  Scarlet Thirst by Crin Claxton. When hot, feisty Rani meets cool, vampire Rob, one lifetime isn’t enough, and the road from human to vampire is shorter than you think… (978-1-60282-856-8)

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  Improvisation by Karis Walsh. High school geometry teacher Jan Carroll thinks she’s figured out the shape of her life and her future, until graphic artist and fiddle player Tina Nelson comes along and teaches her to improvise. (978-1-60282-872-8)

  For Want of a Fiend by Barbara Ann Wright. Without her Fiendish power, can Princess Katya and her consort Starbride stop a magic-wielding madman from sparking an uprising in the kingdom of Farraday? (978-1-60282-873-5)

  Broken in Soft Places by Fiona Zedde. The instant Sara Chambers meets the seductive and sinful Merille Thompson, she falls hard, but knowing the difference between love and a dangerous, all-consuming desire is just one of the lessons Sara must learn before it’s too late. (978-1-60282-876-6)

  Healing Hearts by Donna K. Ford. Running from tragedy, the women of Willow Springs find that with friendship, there is hope, and with love, there is everything. (978-1-60282-877-3)

  Desolation Point by Cari Hunter. When a storm strands Sarah Kent in the North Cascades, Alex Pascal is determined to find her. Neither imagines the dangers they will face when a ruthless criminal begins to hunt them down. (978-1-60282-865-0)

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  More Than Friends by Erin Dutton. Evelyn Fisher thinks she has the perfect role model for a long-term relationship, until her best friends, Kendall and Melanie, split up and all three women must reevaluate their lives and
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  Every Second Counts by D. Jackson Leigh. Every second counts in Bridgette LeRoy’s desperate mission to protect her heart and stop Marc Ryder’s suicidal return to riding rodeo bulls. (978-1-60282-785-1)

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  Sea Glass Inn by Karis Walsh. When Melinda Andrews commissions a series of mosaics by Pamela Whitford for her new inn, she doesn’t expect to be more captivated by the artist than by the paintings. (978-1-60282-771-4)

  The Awakening: A Sisters of Spirits novel by Yvonne Heidt. Sunny Skye has interacted with spirits her entire life, but when she runs into Officer Jordan Lawson during a ghost investigation, she discovers more than just facts in a missing girl’s cold case file. (978-1-60282-772-1)

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  The Dragon Tree Legacy by Ali Vali. For Aubrey Tarver time hasn’t dulled the pain of losing her first love Wiley Gremillion, but she has to set that aside when her choices put her life and her family’s lives in real danger. (978-1-60282-765-3)

  The Midnight Room by Ronica Black. After a chance encounter with the mysterious and brooding Lillian Gray in the “midnight room” of The Griffin, a local lesbian bar, confident and gorgeous Audrey McCarthy learns that her bad-girl behavior isn’t bulletproof. (978-1-60282-766-0)

  Dirty Sex by Ashley Bartlett. Vivian Cooper and twins Reese and Ryan DiGiovanni stole a lot of money and the guy they took it from wants it back. Like now. (978-1-60282-767-7)

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