Marius Rabineaux lives with his daughter Sherie in an apartment complex. Across the hall is computer tech Xavier McDay, whose niece, Tonya, is best friends with Sherie. Taciturn, clueless nerds have never been Marius's thing, so no matter how hot he may find ‘Uncle Cranky,’ Marius leaves well enough alone. One evening when Marius picks up Sherie from her playdate with Tonya, Xavier insults his parenting skills. Later, Xavier turns up at Marius’ workplace and, instead of apologizing, further offends him by disparaging his work ethic. Xavier finally gets it and apologizes to Marius, who decides to give his clueless neighbor another chance. He accepts Xavier’s offer inviting him and Sherie to dinner. The evening is a fun affair, and while the girls have dessert in Tonya's room, both men get to know each other better. Then Marius challenges Xavier to a night away from computers by going out to a night club. One thing leads to another, and they wind up back at Xavier’s apartment. As things crank up between them, will they get more than they bargain for ... and perhaps a chance at something more?

Crank Me Up

I let my head fall to the table. “Stop it, Larry. It’s really not like that. He thinks I’m beneath him. He doesn’t get how the rest of us folks function day to day. Momma said I should try to broaden his horizons. I don’t see why I have to be the one to do it, damn it.”


Larry chuckled, then took a sip of water from his bottle. “Such a drama queen. What’s this guy’s name, anyway?”


“You saw him in the store the other day, remember? When I asked you to take a customer to look at top-loaders?”


He stared at me in shock. “No way, man! Xavier McDay? Dude, if I was gay I would definitely hit that. Man is fine. And loaded. What’s wrong with you? Get off your damn high horse and get in the trenches, baby. Whatever he did to you, you need to get over it. You were always so touchy about stuff like that growing up. Thisright here is why I really call you Mary.”


Chapter 8