According to Prophet, Money had an “accident” in prison and was too shaken up to speak about our past runs for Mexico. As much as I wanted to keep tabs on that, for my sake, and my future’s, I made it a goal to keep in contact with Prophet only for positive things, like Rain’s growth, how Khalil and Read were doing, and Prophet’s seeking higher education.
It was tricky, but I had faith that maybe more than one Lindenwood boy could see a brighter day out of the city limits.
Travis was dubbed a hero, and because I owed him in more ways than one, I hung out with him at the Crab Shack a few times to heighten each time he told the story of how we survived a shoot-out. I might have had a knack for penning a good tale, but no one told a story like Travis Catalano.
“School starts in four weeks,” Nandy observed as she peered at the calendar above my desk. “Nervous?”
“After this summer, I think I can tackle anything, even school in Pacific Hills.”
Nandy tossed me a smile and slid onto my lap. Too bad she wasn’t wearing her little uniform. “How much are you changing to the story?”
“I think the lesson and moral can use some work. I think Tyrin needs to experience betrayal and the possibility of losing Queen to see what he has in front of him.”
Nandy leaned over and kissed me, wrapping her arms around my neck gently. “Sounds good. Figured out a title yet?”
I thought about it for a moment, going over the name that had come to me the first time I’d sat at my laptop. It brought me back to the moment in Lydia’s office the first time we spoke. “I’m thinking Summer Knights—with a K.”
Nandy ruminated on the name. “I like it. Very transitional for Tyrin’s character crossing over to new territory. Plus, I’ve always had a thing for knights in shining armor. Reading about them in stories and seeing movies, I couldn’t help but want one of my own.”
I held her as close as I could with my right arm and stared at the beautiful girl before me. “You know what your problem is, Nandy?”
* * *
PLAYLIST
Suicide | Pusha T + Ab-Liva.
I Care 4 You | Aaliyah.
Dear Mama | 2Pac.
All the Above | Maino + T-Pain.
Bitch, Don’t Kill My Vibe | Kendrick Lamar.
Non-Believer | La Rocca.
Make it Home | August Alsina + Jeezy.
What You Want | Mase + Total.
Through the Wire | Kanye West.
When We Were Young | Adele.
LoveHate Thing | Wale + Sam Dew.
West Coast | Lana Del Rey.
Something to Believe In | Aqualung.
Made You Look | Nas.
West Coast | Coconut Records.
Shouldn’t Come Back | Demi Lovato.
Why I Love You | B2K.
Don’t Forget about Us | Mariah Carey.
Ask of You | Raphael Saadiq.
Come Back in One Piece | DMX + Aaliyah.
m.A.A.d city | Kendrick Lamar + MC Eiht.
Summertime Sadness | Lana Del Rey.
Like You’ll Never See Me Again | Alicia Keys.
Close to You | Rihanna.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
First, I have to thank Jeremy, the first of the two boys who inspired Trice. Without Jeremy, there’d be no A Love Hate Thing. We met when we were either eight or nine—a friendship that definitely left its mark on me. He used to come around during the summer with his grandfather who would do lawn work, and he’d hang out with me and my older brother. When my brother was away, I got to boss Jeremy around and get him to do whatever I wanted. He was mine. Until he wasn’t. One day he just stopped coming. I saw him briefly again years later in school, but then he was gone again. The very idea of this book is based off a “what-if.” Like, what if he ever came back, what if our puppy love blossomed into more? So, for always, this book is for Jeremy, and that what-if. PS: I’ll always remember square dancing in the street with you. ;)
Second, I’d like to thank the real Trice, the boy whose toughness and mystique inspired the older version of Tyson Trice. We met senior year of high school, and his hardness left an imprint on me. I always wanted to write about the idea of cracking the code of the tough guy. So thank you, Trice. If you’re out there, I hope you’re doing well.
To Josh Schwartz, because The O.C.!!! It’s my number one favorite show of all time, and I’m not even going to pretend that a lot of the elements of this story weren’t inspired by the wonderful blueprint of The O.C. I mean, Kyle and Shayne are a humble ode to the great Seth and Summer because you can’t not root for them. Thank you for creating a masterpiece and a classic teen drama that’s inspired me in more ways than one!
Kendrick Lamar, because Trice too, is a good kid from a mad city. Your pen game is never wrong, and someday I will meet you and shake your hand to get some of your writer magic.
Wale, ugh, thanks so much for penning “LoveHate Thing.” Beyond being an amazing song, it definitely came in handy for my title.
To my parents, especially my mom. I never wanted to go to college. I always in my heart just wanted to be a writer, and she never judged me for that. PS: Hey, Mom, a Grandison is in print. :) And to my dad, for always encouraging me and believing—and all those random ideas you shoot me. Ha!
To Brittney Coon, for all the late-night texts, emails, PMs, and packages of support.
And last, they say it takes a village to raise a child, and through this experience I realized it takes a village to produce a book! I’d like to thank my agent, Uwe Stender, for championing me and believing in my art (we got one!). I’d like to thank Natashya Wilson, my editor, for helping me shift and tone the novel. Mostly, thank you for believing in it and giving it a chance and making my dream come true. This story’s always been special to me, and hopefully now it can be special to the world.
To the team at Inkyard Press, thank you sooo much for the effort you put into this project. A special thank-you to Gigi Lau, for the amazing cover design, and Bee Johnson, the artist responsible for the cover. It’s such a beaut and captures the true love/hate essence of Trandy!
ISBN-13: 9781488056574
A Love Hate Thing
Copyright © 2020 by Whitney Grandison
Mortal Man
Words and Music by Mark Anthony Spears, Kendrick Lamar, Stephen Bruner and Fela Anikulapo Kuti
Copyright © 2015 Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Beat Bully Productions, EMI Music Publishing
France SA, BMG VM Music France, Fko Music, WC Music Corp., Hard Working Black Folks, Inc., Top Dawg Music, Third Side Music [and Unknown Publisher]
All Rights on behalf of Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Beat Bully Productions and EMI Music Publishing, France SA Administered by Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, 424 Church Street, Suite 1200, Nashville, TN 37219
All Rights on behalf of Fko Music and BMG VM France Administered by
BMG Rights Management (US) LLC
International Copyright Secured All Rights Reserved
Contains elements of Houston Person’s “I No Get Eye For Back” written by
Fela Anikulapo Kuti
Reprinted by permission of Hal Leonard LLC
Mortal Man
Words and Music by KENDRICK LAMAR, MARK SPEARS, STEPHEN LEE BRUNER and KUTI OLUWASEUN ANIKULAPO
Copyright © 2015 WB MUSIC CORP., HARD WORKING BLACK FOLKS INC., TOP DAWG MUSIC, BEAT BULLY PRODUCTIONS, THIRD SIDE MUSIC INC. AND COPYRIGHT CONTROL
All Rights on behalf of Itself, HARD WORKING BLACK FOLKS INC. and TOP DAWG MUSIC Administered by WB MUSIC CORP.
All Rights Reserved
Used By Permission of ALFRED MUSIC
All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this ebook on-screen. No part of this text may be repr
oduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 22 Adelaide St. West, 40th Floor, Toronto, Ontario M5H 4E3, Canada.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
® and ™ are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office and in other countries.
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