Chapters (52)
- Cover
- Title Page
- Dedication
- CHAPTER ONE
- CHAPTER TWO
- CHAPTER THREE
- CHAPTER FOUR
- CHAPTER FIVE
- CHAPTER SIX
- CHAPTER SEVEN
- CHAPTER EIGHT
- CHAPTER NINE
- CHAPTER TEN
- CHAPTER ELEVEN
- CHAPTER TWELVE
- CHAPTER THIRTEEN
- CHAPTER FOURTEEN
- CHAPTER FIFTEEN
- CHAPTER SIXTEEN
- CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
- CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
- CHAPTER NINETEEN
- CHAPTER TWENTY
- CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
- CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
- CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
- CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
- CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
- CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
- CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
- CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
- CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
- CHAPTER THIRTY
- CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
- CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
- CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
- CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
- CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
- CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
- CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
- CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
- CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
- Epilogue
- Acknowledgments
- Discover More
- READING GROUP GUIDE
- Book ClubDiscussion Questions
- Q&A withFarrah Rochon
- Bonus Scene
- About the Author
- Also by Farrah Rochon
- Praise for Farrah Rochon andThe Dating Playbook
Taylor’s head snapped back and they both looked toward the snickers. A half-dozen teens held their phones pointed toward Taylor and Jamar.
“Well,” Taylor said with a breathy laugh. “I guess we know what we’ll see on TikTok tomorrow.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Despite the whirl of the professional-grade blender, the light rock streaming from the speakers, and the cacophony of voices buzzing throughout the bookstore, Taylor slurped her iced coffee as silently as possible as she perused the glossy magazine covers. Her visits to the library as a shy sixth grader on base at Hohenfels Middle School had conditioned her to be quiet when surrounded by books.
She picked up a copy of Fitness magazine and brought it to a nearby table in the bookstore’s café. But as she flipped past the full-page ads for erectile dysfunction and toe fungus medications, her thoughts meandered back to Jamar’s kiss. A fake kiss, she reminded herself. Although, if that was fake, Taylor was ready to sell her vintage Snow White cookie jar for the chance to experience the real thing.
And that’s the kind of thinking that will get your ass in trouble.
Determined not to let her mind tumble headfirst into the gutter, she retuned her attention to the magazine. As she thumbed through the pages, she couldn’t help but roll her eyes at the headline of one of the articles: GET THE PERFECT BOOTY WITH THIS BOOT CAMP WORKOUT. Taylor recognized the flash of resentment that rushed through her for what it was: jealousy.
Her mood had a tendency to turn salty whenever she came across a piece written in that fun, hip vein. She would have been writing these features if she’d landed that job with Modish and Melanated, one of the hottest lifestyle sites for young black women on the web.
She pressed her hand to her stomach, warding off the sickening feeling that attacked her whenever she thought back on that day a few weeks ago.
At first, Taylor thought the email from Ashanti West, Modish and Melanated’s editor at large, regarding an opening for a health and wellness contributor was the universe’s idea of a cruel joke. She’d just lost the homeschooling job the week before and—because life could be a real bastard at times—had overdrawn her bank account that very morning.
Ms. West had reached out after running across the Taylor’d Conditioning Instagram account. But when Taylor forwarded her résumé, the editor at large had replied that readers came to Modish and Melanated with the expectation of receiving vetted expertise and that she could not in good conscience hire someone for the position who didn’t hold a degree in a field of study relevant to fitness and wellness.