Fall Black In Love 1: When Henry Met Millie Read Free

help a brother out.”
      Henry stopped for a moment. “Bill, you don’t want to use another guy’s words to get your girl. I’m not your Cyrano.”
      “Who is Cyrano?” Bill asked confused.
    Henry shook his head and went back to his part. “Read a book before you propose.”
      “Are you coming to the next game? It’s the last one before the championship.” Bill informed him.
    Henry shrugged. “I might.”
    Bill smiled. “You gotta admit I was right about Honey.”
      “If I do, will you shut up and do your job before you get us both fired?” Henry asked.
      Bill looked at Henry. “On second thought, I don’t want you thinking about Honey. You might try to steal my girl.”
    “The girl whose real name you don’t know?” Henry challenged.
    Bill frowned again. “Honey just doesn’t go around talking to guys.”
      “Interesting…” Henry continued with his work duties.
    ******
      Millie Gaines sat in class replaying her game from last night. She’d played well along with the rest of her team. Two more wins and they would be the champions. Millie loved baseball. It was the one thing she’d shared with her father that was special between the two of them. She knew he would have been proud of her and what she’d accomplished. Not only was she a great baseball player, she was an excellent nursing student. Her dream was to finish school and get a job at Detroit Memorial Hospital.
      With her grades and personality, she seemed to be a shoe in but in this day and age black nurses had to be exceptional to gain the coveted positions. Her training program at the community college was created for that purpose, to train black nurses to be able to compete and Millie took her studies seriously. She’d allowed herself one distraction: softball. When a few of the students wanted to start a team, Millie had been completely on board. This was their second year playing and they were vying for a championship.
      She opened her book and hid smile. She might as well let her mind focus a few minutes on what had been running through it since last night. Mr. Henry Patterson. He’d gotten her attention…attention that she didn’t relinquish easily. He was handsome and…and… charming, effortlessly. He had an aloofness that intrigued her with his nice haircut and clean shaven face. She secretly hoped that he would attend another game. Maybe she’d get to hear that deep baritone with the southern accent once more.
      “What are you over here smiling about Honey?” Irma asked taking the seat next to her.
      “Just thinking about the game.”
    Irma smiled. “Did you see the guy with your stalker?”
      “Don’t call him that, that’s mean.”
      “What’s his name then?” Irma asked.
    Millie shrugged. “I don’t know. He’s never talked to me.”
      “So he shall remain your stalker.” Both women laughed. “Back to the guy he was with…I’m diggin’ him.”
      “Irma Anderson, stop it!” Millie admonished.
    Irma smirked. “You thought the same thing. I saw you watching him from in the dugout.”
      “I wasn’t watching him,” Millie protested.
      “Okay Honey, you can fool everybody else but I know you.” Irma watched her. “Where’d you disappear to after the showers?”
      Millie closed her book. “I needed a minute to settle my mind. You know the crowds get to be too much sometimes.”
      “That’s what happens when you’re so good,” Irma teased.
      “We’re all good.”
    Irma smirked. “It’s okay Honey. We all know you’re the star. We’d lose nearly every game without you.”
    Millie laughed. “I’d call that a hyperbole, if I’ve ever heard one.”
      “A what?”
    Millie focused on her book. “Irma, read one of these outside of school work.”
    ******
      A few days later, Henry found himself sitting on crowded bleachers next to Bill, listening as the group chanted Honey’s name. Her team was down by two runs and he could see the concentration on