{"id":37,"date":"2020-02-09T18:13:34","date_gmt":"2020-02-09T18:13:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/vasilasbooks.com\/?page_id=37"},"modified":"2020-02-09T18:13:44","modified_gmt":"2020-02-09T18:13:44","slug":"delicious-romance","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/vasilasbooks.com\/?page_id=37","title":{"rendered":"Delicious Romance"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"478\" height=\"750\" src=\"https:\/\/vasilasbooks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Delicious-Romance-New-Cover_Copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13\" srcset=\"https:\/\/vasilasbooks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Delicious-Romance-New-Cover_Copy.jpg 478w, https:\/\/vasilasbooks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Delicious-Romance-New-Cover_Copy-191x300.jpg 191w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 478px) 100vw, 478px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tony Cross was an average boy, who wanted nothing more\nthan to be a great chef like his father.&nbsp; He then met Annie Roberson the\nmost beautiful girl he has ever laid his eyes on the fell in love. A tragic\nevent changed their lives when a tornado took Tony\u2019s family away from\nhim.&nbsp; Afraid of going to a foster home or an orphanage, two places he\nwould rather not be, he decided to run.&nbsp; A second tragic event took Tony\naway from Annie and he was presumed dead. But Tony had amnesia, not knowing who\nhe was, or where he came from.&nbsp; The only thing he remembered was his\nmartial arts fighting skills and his ability to cook.&nbsp; The Browns, a kind\nfamily, took him in and became his family. Tony Cross was reborn as Troy\nWitt.&nbsp; He found he was falling in love with Jackie Brown.&nbsp; Will he\never remember who he is, and if e does, will he stay with Jackie, or go back to\nAnnie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>PROLOG<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>\u201cLOOK!&nbsp; A ZOMBIE!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As the tornado ripped through the town of Pine Lake, it\ndestroyed everything in its path.&nbsp; A young couple was running, trying to\nstay ahead of it.&nbsp; The boy had a grip on the girl\u2019s hand\u2026knowing that if\nhe lost her, he would not be able to handle it.&nbsp; The couple was Tony Cross\nand Annie Roberson.&nbsp; Annie was having trouble keeping up with Tony.&nbsp;\nDebris was flying all around them and the sound of the wind was\ndeafening.&nbsp; Suddenly Tony realized that he was no longer holding Annie\u2019s\nhand and turned just in time to see her being sucked into the tornado.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tony was 11 years old.&nbsp; He had been sleeping, but\nsat up suddenly, sweaty and breathing hard.&nbsp; The dream had shaken him to\nhis core.&nbsp; Tony was finally able to bring himself to look at the time and\ncouldn\u2019t believe how long he had been sleeping, \u201cShit, I\u2019m late.&nbsp; She\u2019s\ngoing to kill me.\u201d&nbsp; He managed to get his right foot into the pants leg of\nhis jeans and tried to balance himself while getting the other leg into his\npants.&nbsp; It didn\u2019t work.&nbsp; He jumped up, zipped up the jeans, and\nslipped on his running shoes.&nbsp; Next was his T-shirt\u2026it was a hot summer\nnight and he had a long run to make to the other side of town.&nbsp; He would\nhave to make his trek to the old abandoned power station, just north of town,\nin record time or there would be hell to pay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He managed to climb out the window and he ran like the\nwind.&nbsp; Pine Lake was a small southern town of 900 people, give or\ntake.&nbsp; Nothing really happened there and everyone knew everyone\nelse.&nbsp; Just sneeze and it would make the front page news.&nbsp; The\nbiggest event since the union troops and ridden into town was when they got\ntheir first traffic light\u2026the one and only traffic light.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tony was out of breath by the time he reached the old\npower station, which was a large complex with several building that had been\nlong forgotten when a new, and bigger, station had been built further\nnorth.&nbsp; It had been taken over by a group of homeless kids that had made\nthemselves into a kind of \u2018family\u2019, and the station was their home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One day, when Tony had been playing in the park, he met a\nlovely girl by the name of Ashley Moore.&nbsp; They had just happened to run\ninto each other and at first, it seemed like they were going to become very\ngood friends.&nbsp; Tony had never had a girlfriend before\u2026she was his\nfirst.&nbsp; He found the whole thing very interesting, and boy did she smell\ngood.&nbsp; She was older than him..by two years, with medium-length long black\nhair.&nbsp; Tony had realized that the world around him was changing and\nsomehow he found that he was looking at girls differently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tony enjoyed the time talking with Ashley.&nbsp; She was\nfunny and her smile\u2026let\u2019s just say her smile did something to him\u2026it confused\nhim.&nbsp; She had started telling him stories about her father who was an Air\nForce combat pilot.&nbsp; Tony was fascinated.&nbsp; She had told him to meet\nher at the power station, and she would tell him more stories. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The only problem with Ashley Moore was that she belonged\nto the leader of the gang.&nbsp; They had become almost like a mother and\nfather to all the kids, so Tony was definitely taking a chance coming to this\nplace but he was excited\u2026taking chances gave him a little spice in life.&nbsp;\nIt was better than sitting at home all the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tony had managed to get near the center of the main\nbuilding by keeping in the darkness and not being spotted.&nbsp; He was\nstanding just outside the main club room where everyone was asleep.&nbsp; The\nroom was lit by fires in old oil drums.&nbsp; The sun was just breaking the\nhorizon when Tony jumped as a hand touched him from behind, or should one say\nthat he almost wet his pants.&nbsp; He tried to calm himself.&nbsp; \u201cYou scared\nthe crap out of me, Ashley,\u201d he said as she snickered at him.&nbsp; She grabbed\nhim by the hand and led him away from the room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;On the second floor, the two found what looked like\nit might have been an office at one time.&nbsp; The room was a wreck with trash\non the floor, broken furniture and a balcony that might have been glass\nenclosed at some time.&nbsp; The sun was just coming up and was providing the\nlight in the room.&nbsp; They found a little corner and sat on the floor\ntogether.&nbsp; Ashley continued her stories from where she had left off the\nother day.&nbsp; Then, with only one thought on her mind, and not giving him\nany sign or warning, she kissed Tony.&nbsp; He pushed her away from him and\njumped to his feet.&nbsp; \u201cWhat are you doing?\u201d&nbsp; He asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt\u2019s called a kiss, Tony.&nbsp; There is nothing wrong\nwith a kiss.\u201d&nbsp; She sat there, looking up at him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI thought we were friends\u2026I thought you understood\nme.\u201d&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ashley knew by the tone of his voice that he was upset\nand stood up to face him.&nbsp; \u201cIt was just a kiss\u2026that\u2019s all.\u201d&nbsp; She\ncouldn\u2019t understand his reaction to what had happened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI don\u2019t think I should see you anymore.\u201d&nbsp; Right on\ncue, on his last word, Glenn and an army of kids completely loyal to him,\ncharged into the room and surrounded Tony.&nbsp; This is what Tony had worried\nwould happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Glenn marched up to Ashley and slapped her, enraging\nTony.&nbsp; He wanted nothing more than to beat the crap out of Glen, but he\nwas being held in place by some of the kids.&nbsp; Glenn went to face\nTony.&nbsp; He looked him over and didn\u2019t like what he saw.&nbsp; \u201cAnd who are\nyou?\u201d Glenn asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cFuck you,\u201d was all Tony said in response.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYou think you\u2019re really something, don\u2019t you.&nbsp;\nSneaking in here and making out with my girl.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cGlenn, nothing happened,\u201d Ashley countered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Glenn snapped his head around to look at her.&nbsp; \u201cShut\nup, Woman.&nbsp; You\u2019re in enough trouble as it is,\u201d he said with a voice that\nsent a chill up her spine. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And then Tony shouted out, \u201cA ZOMBIE\u2026\u201d&nbsp; Yes, it was\nthe oldest trick in the book, and they knew it, but had to look anyway.&nbsp;\nAshley had to laugh at Tony for having the guts to pull it off and make his\nescape.&nbsp; He was climbing down the fire escape as Glenn yelled for his boys\nto go get him.&nbsp; The group scurried out of the room, using the same fire\nescape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tony was fast on his feet.&nbsp; There weren\u2019t many kids\nthat could keep up with him when he was running the way he was down Main\nStreet.&nbsp; As he ran past the old buildings, he looked behind him to see\nwhere his pursuers were.&nbsp; Most of the kids had stopped but Glenn and two\nothers were beginning to close in on him.&nbsp; Suddenly, Tony ran into a woman\ncoming from one of the shops, and knocked her to the sidewalk.&nbsp; He helped\nthe woman to her feet, apologizing to her.&nbsp; It was probably a good thing\nto do, but not the best idea, since it allowed Glenn and his friends to shorten\nthe gap.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tony left Main Street and headed for a line of trees that\nlined the lake.&nbsp; A short time later he emerged from the trees and\ncontinued running down the shoreline, his feet pounding hard into the\nsand.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Annie Roberson was one of four Roberson children and she\nwas the youngest of the bunch.&nbsp; She was 10 years old, with fair skin,\ngrass green eyes and long blond hair that was blowing from the breeze from the\nlake.&nbsp; With her fair skin, she sunburned very easily.&nbsp; She always\nwondered why her mother always put a sun block on her that had a rating power\nenough to withstand a burst of radiation and let the wearer live to tell about\nit.&nbsp; She was spending the morning at the beach with her mother and while\nher mother was sunbathing, Annie was building a sandcastle.&nbsp; She loved\nbuilding sandcastles and then taking pictures of them before the tide washed\nthem away.&nbsp; The castle she was building was her best one yet.&nbsp; It had\ntowers, a moat and windows\u2026even brickwork.&nbsp; She could just imagine\neveryone\u2019s reaction when she showed them the pictures.&nbsp; It was obvious\nwhere Annie got her beauty, she was almost a carbon copy of her mother.&nbsp;\nNancy started to gather the things around her.&nbsp; \u201cAnnie, it\u2019s time to\ngo!\u201d&nbsp; Annie was kneeling beside her castle\u2026she was almost finished.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cPlease, Mother\u2026just a few more seconds\u2026I\u2019m almost done.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAll right, Sweetie.&nbsp; But when I get back we will\nhave to go.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAll right, Mother\u2026thank you.\u201d&nbsp; She went back to\nwork\u2026just a couple more things to do before time to take the pictures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tony was running by a couple of women sunning themselves.&nbsp;\nHe couldn\u2019t take his eyes off them.&nbsp; Yes, they were older, but soooo\npretty.&nbsp; He just couldn\u2019t understand his sudden fascination with the\nfemale of the species.&nbsp; It was really confusing him, and he had been\nembarrassed to talk to his parents about it.&nbsp; Still eyeing the women, he\nwasn\u2019t watching where he was going and plowed right into the sandcastle that\nAnnie was getting ready to photograph.&nbsp; Tony found himself lying on his\nback looking up at a 10-year old female that looked like an evil dragon ready\nto devour him for lunch\u2026he could have sworn he saw fire coming from her nose.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Tony Cross was an average boy, who wanted nothing more than to be a great chef like his father.&nbsp; He then met Annie Roberson the most beautiful girl he has ever laid his eyes on the fell in love. A tragic event changed their lives when a tornado took Tony\u2019s family away from him.&nbsp; Afraid [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-37","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","post-preview"],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/PgJz3y-B","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vasilasbooks.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/37","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vasilasbooks.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vasilasbooks.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vasilasbooks.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vasilasbooks.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=37"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/vasilasbooks.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/37\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38,"href":"https:\/\/vasilasbooks.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/37\/revisions\/38"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vasilasbooks.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=37"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}