Free Fridays

Dear Reader:

What if married couples decided to give each other a free Friday once a month to do whatever they want? Follow Leela and Riley, whose best friends, Bill and Samantha, become newly single and encourage them to join them on the social scene at bars and parties. Eventually, Riley suggests he and his wife try an innovative approach to saving their marriage. Although it's his idea, some surprising uncertainty comes along with the experiment.

Discover what happens in this thought-provoking read where relationships intertwine; some are new hookups and others are reconnections—for better or worse. In addition to her marital woes, Leela finds herself in the middle of family drama, including a stunning secret in her grandparents' marriage and its troubling effect on her mother, Linda, who struggles to cope once the revelation comes to light.

As always, thanks for supporting myself and the Strebor Books family. We strive to bring you the most cutting-edge, out-of-the-box material on the market. You can find me on Facebook
@AuthorZane
or you can email me at
[email protected]
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Blessings,

Publisher

Strebor Books

www.simonandschuster.com

I thank God for the endless blessings bestowed upon me. All of the love I can muster up to my patient and wonderful mother, Deborah Tucker Bodden; and the very best sister anyone could ever have, Denise Braxton; my handsome, loving husband, Coach Wilson, and the rest of my entire family. It is a challenging time in publishing so I wanted to give incredible high praise to ______________ (your name goes here!!!) Yes, you, the reader! I know now more than ever before you are bombarded with choices and that's what makes your selection of my work such a humbling experience. I will never take your support for granted and I vow to keep writing great, jaw-dropping stories for your reading pleasure. If I have forgotten anyone, and I'm sure I have, please be sure to charge it to my head and not my heart. Please be sure to connect with me on social media:

Pat Tucker

Authorpattucker

authorpattucker

Always feel free to drop me an email at
[email protected]
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“
W
hat the hell?!” a stunned voice exclaimed.

Expensive champagne sprayed from Leela Franklin's perfectly painted lips as her eyes widened in stunned disbelief. Her mouth fell open and she struggled to believe what she saw.

“Jeeee-sus!” someone shrieked.

The Waterford crystal flute slipped from Leela's fingers and broke into pieces as it hit the marble floor. Two people jumped out of the way; droplets flew in every direction.

“OhMyGod!”

Leela's heart pounded against her chest. She looked around anxiously. Where was her best friend, Samantha Thomas? Better yet, where was her husband, Riley?

Every eye in the room was glued to the screen; the mouths of many people hung to the floor.

“Umph, umph, umph. Ain't that Samantha's husband, Bill?” Linda, Leela's mother, leaned closer and asked. “Chile, what kind of Mickey Fickey foolishness are these folks into?”

The dimmed lights that blanketed the room made it nearly impossible for Leela to make out where Samantha stood.

Had she planned this?

Why do it in front of an entire house full of friends, family, and co-workers?

Leela was embarrassed for her friend.

Minutes earlier, Samantha said she needed go get something from her bedroom and vanished. That was when the
anniversary video
started. Leela never thought much of Samantha's abrupt disappearance at such a crucial time. She figured Samantha had gone to find her husband. Wouldn't the happy couple want to be near each other while the video played?

But Bill had been across the room talking to Leela's husband, Riley, and a few of their colleagues.

Bill and Samantha Thomas were Leela and Riley's closest friends. Plans for their tenth anniversary party had been in the works for the past two months. Leela and Samantha had painstakingly gone over every detail. The video was supposed to set the tone for the evening and put everyone in a festive, celebratory mood. It was supposed to be a compilation of pictures that chronicled Bill and Samantha's life together.

Instead, it looked more like a raunchy, homemade, sex tape. The couple on it seemed to hump each other vigorously, on furniture, on the floor, and several times, in various showers. Their different outfits indicated that all the screwing had occurred over a period of time.

It was obvious that the video was recorded in secret, because it looked grainy, and from an angle that implied the camera was too far away to get the clear, crisp images most could appreciate.

Unfortunately for Bill, even with it being shot from a distance, the image of him and the woman who was not his wife was clear. This was despite the fact that some shots looked like they were blocked by furniture and even curtains.

Soon, gasps and whispers rose from the crowd gathered in the room. Noises and chatter grew louder as the shocking images continued to play out on the seventy-inch flat-screen. The size of the screen made their explicit acts appear larger than life.

“I need to find Sam!” exclaimed Leela.

She looked around, and cautiously stepped over the liquid and shattered glass at her feet, and went in search of Samantha. But a sudden rush of brightness stopped Leela cold. She looked up and saw Samantha perched on the second-floor landing, looking down at the crowd.

The expression on her face was not one of horror or devastation like Leela expected to see.

How could she appear so calm and collected while all of this was going on? People in the room were seconds away from flying into a frenzy, and Samantha was upstairs, seemingly coasting above it all.

“That's just a glimpse of the steamy love affair that's been going on between my husband and his tramp at the office,” Samantha said. Her voice was just as calm as her demeanor.

Samantha wore her fancy sequined dress, but was barefoot, and her hair looked like she'd been on the losing end of a tussle. Leela struggled to get a handle on the situation. When had things spiraled so out of control? Earlier, Samantha seemed fine, didn't she?

“You nasty, cheating bastard!” Samantha finally screamed. She pointed a crooked finger in Bill's direction.

All eyes found, and zeroed in on Bill.

Bill appeared nervous under the glare of the sudden attention. The color seemed to seep from his face and perspiration settled on his forehead. He was fidgety and he wore a guilty expression.

“Samantha! Stop this shit right the hell now!”

“You don't tell me what the hell to do! I'm not Kelly! Go tell Kelly what to do! All of the lies and deception. You are one sick, cheating, low-life bastard!”

Riley looked back and forth between the two, as did almost everyone in the room.

Bill made a move toward the staircase, but Riley stepped in and blocked his path.

“Not a good move, Dawg. You're too mad right now,” Riley said.

Bill's nostrils flared; rage flashed in his eyes. He looked at his friend, then up at his wife, as he balled and unballed his fists. “Samantha, this is completely uncalled for!”

“Oh, I'm just getting started!” Samantha spat. “You wait 'til I'm done with your no-good ass!”

The video still played while they fussed at each other.

Leela's body stiffened. Her eyes were touched with alarm as she glanced around the crowded room. She wasn't sure what she should do.

All of a sudden, a loud clapping noise sounded, and Linda's voice rang out. That seemed to pull people's attention away from the video and the argument.