Between Lovers

Table of Contents

 

 

 

 

 

“Another winner ... from an author who only seems to be getting better. Dickey shows a skillful hand once again with sensational relationships and heady sensuality.... Another spicy slice of African-American dramatic fiction.”

—
Publishers Weekly

 

“A hip, funny, and realistically bittersweet love story of our times.”—
Washington Sun

 

“Provocative and complex.”—
Ebony

“Between Lovers
will hook audiences and draw them into a world where characters are multilayered, language is street-smart, and emotions are intense. But most important, Dickey's latest novel reminds us that no matter how far into someone else's world we get, there is always part of the story that we never quite understand—that part is what goes on between lovers.”—
Style
Magazine

 

“A refreshing voice in contemporary literature.”

—
The Macon Telegraph & News

 

“Another gold star for Dickey.”

—
The Detroit News and Free Press

 

“If two's company and three's a crowd, it's about to get a little crowded as Eric Jerome Dickey serves up an all-new sexy, unique tale of a love triangle.”—
Urban Spectator

 

“Emotion-packed and filled with love-laced excitement.”

 

“Hot stuff. There's a lot of searching, soul and otherwise, as the bestselling Dickey tells a good story and adds his special brand of wisdom.”—BookPage

 

“Steamy romance, betrayal, and redemption. Dickey at his best.”—
USA Today

 

“Fast-paced ... sexy, sassy ... a high-spirited roller-coaster ride of a novel.”—
Florida Star
(Jacksonville)

 

“It's almost scary how well Eric Jerome Dickey knows women.”—
The Cincinnati Enquirer

 

“[
Liar's
Game] really has the power.”
—Kirkus Reviews

 

“Skillful... a rich gumbo of narrative twists.”

—
Minneapolis Star Tribune

 

“Brimming with steamy romance, stinging betrayal, sweet redemption, and well-placed humor.”—
Miami Times

 

“A deftly crafted tale about the games people play and the lies they tell on their search for love.”—
Ebony

 

“Wonderfully written... smooth, unique, and genuine.”

—
The Washington Post Book World

 

“Raw, street-savvy humor.”—
Publishers Weekly

 

“You can't read
Cheaters
without becoming an active participant.” —
Los Angeles Times

 

“What gives the book a compelling edge is the characters' self-discovery.... Thankfully, Dickey often goes beyond the ‘men are dogs and women are victims' stereotype.”

 

“Hot, sexy, and funny.”—
Library Journal

 

“Crackles with wit and all the rhythm of an intoxicatingly funky rap. A fun read.”—
The Cincinnati Enquirer

“[A] sexy, sophisticated portrayal of hip black L.A.... engaging, dynamic.”—
Publishers Weekly

“A colorful, sexy tale.”—
Marie Claire

 

“Written with wit and sarcasm... produces both laughter and tears.”—
The Cleveland Plain Dealer

 

“Steams away clichés of interracial romance.... Dickey fills his novel with twists and turns that keep the reader guessing as he describes a true-to-life, complex story of relationships. Along the way he smashes one stereotype after another.”—
USA Today

“Fresh... heartwarming and hilarious.”

—
The Cincinnati Enquirer

“Frothy and fun.... Characters who come to feel like old friends.”—
Essence

 

“Dickey is just as adept at giving voice to female characters as he is to males.”—
New York Daily News

“Dickey imagines [his characters] with affection and sympathy.... His novel achieves genuine emotional depth.”

—
The Boston Globe

 

“Bold and sassy... brims with humor, outrageousness, and the generosity of affection.”—
Publishers Weekly

“A good summer read you won't be able to put down... depicts a hard-edged reality in which women sometimes have their dreams shattered, yet never stop embracing tomorrow.” —
St
.
Louis Post-Dispatch

“One of the most intuitive and hilarious voices in African-American fiction.”—
St. Louis American

Other Books by Eric Jerome Dickey

 

 

Anthologies
Got to Be Real
Mothers and Sons

For Virginia Jerry
Miss ya

New American Library
Published by New American Library, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.,
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA
Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700,
Toronto, Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada
(a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.)
Penguin Books Ltd., 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
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(a division of Penguin Books Ltd.)
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Victoria 3124, Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty. Ltd.)
Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd., 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park,
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Auckland 1310, New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd.)
Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty.) Ltd., 24 Sturdee Avenue,
Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa
Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices:
80 Strand, London WC2R ORL, England
Published by New American Library, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
Previously published in Dutton and Signet editions.
First New American Library Printing, May 2003

Copyright
©
Eric Jerome Dickey, 2001

All rights reserved

eISBN : 978-1-101-14243-1

1. Triangles (Interpersonal relations)—Fiction. 2. San Francisco (Calif.)—Fiction.
3. African American men—Fiction. 4. Children of clergy—Fiction.
5. Oakland (Calif.)—Fiction. 6. Marathon running—Fiction.
7. Race relations—Fiction. I. Title.
PS3554.1319 B48 2001
813'.54—dc21 2001021333

 

Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

PUBLISHER'S NOTE

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are 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.

The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party Web sites or their content.

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I'm naked.

Across the room, in my rented bed, Nicole is naked too. Her honey-blond locks shadow her face.

Next to my open laptop is the novel
Lolita.
And next to that novel are a few pictures, some pretty beat up. Memories stained by time, coffee, and tears.

A lot of these photos were taken an hour before me and Nicole stood in front of one God and two families. I pulled them out a while ago, propped them up on top of my cassette recorder, and sat here with my feet bouncing in another chair, my testicles and penis at ease, cold, but ready for play.

I'd been reading
Lolita.
An obsessed man who modified the truth to fit his own needs.

Jack London Square is yawning in the fog. Underneath my fifth-floor window, men unload a truck on the cobblestone walkway between Jack's Grill and TGIF. Then somebody drops something heavy and it crashes to the cement, loud enough to make me jump.