Within the Shadows Read Online Free PDF Page A

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    Can’t do that again, man. Too risky. Remember, five years of friendship, five years of friendship, five years of friendship . . .
    “What the hell are you two doing?” a man’s voice boomed.
    Eric stood in the doorway, fists bunched on his waist. Dark-skinned, six-feet-three and lanky, he wore a white apron with words printed in big red letters: “Don’t F%$K with the Cook!”
    Andrew looked at Carmen. Her eyes were wide—and embarrassed. Just like he felt.
    Why should he feel embarrassed? They hadn’t done anything.
    But you wanted to. Don’t lie.
    Eric’s face was stern. “I leave you two alone for five minutes, and you’re in here about to get freaky on the top of the bar! Don’t you understand that there are children here?”
    “We weren’t doing anything, man,” Andrew said, wondering why he was explaining himself to his friend. “Seriously, we—”
    Eric broke into a grin.
    “I had you two going, didn’t I?” He shook with laughter. “Damn, you should’ve seen the looks on your faces!”
    “Always the comedian,” Andrew said. “Don’t you have some food to grill?”
    Eric spread his long arms. “All done, bro. Grill master Patton has done it again.” He bowed theatrically. “Thank you, thank you very much.”
    “But did you clean up after yourself?” Carmen asked. “I remember what you did the last time you barbecued at my house, Eric. You left behind a mess.”
    Eric made an expression of mock surprise. “Can you believe this woman? How dare you imply that I, Grill master Patton, have neglected my sworn responsibilities as a grill master? Go look for yourself, woman!”
    “I think I’ll do that.” Taking her plate, she left the room, but not before paying Andrew a meaningful glance.
    Eric watched her leave, and turned to Andrew. He raised an eyebrow.
    “Man, what were you guys doing, anyway?”
    “Just fooling around.” Andrew bit into the corn.
    “You two going to finally get together?”
    “We’re just friends, same as always. It’s not going anywhere else.”
    “But you want it to.”
    “Not at the risk of ruining our friendship.”
    “You’ve got to be friends before lovers, bro,” Eric said. “Y’all have that covered, so why not go for it? Like that song by Jagged Edge—you ain’t getting no younger, you might as well do it.”
    “You act like I’m forty. I’m only thirty-one. I’ve got plenty of time.”
    “I don’t know what I’m going to do with you.” Eric folded his arms on the counter. Thirty-three years old, Eric had been married for seven years, wedding his college sweetheart shortly after he graduated from Emory Law School. He never tired of praising the virtues of life as a married man. “Imagine, bro, having a woman who’s got your back—for life,” he’d preach to Andrew. “No more of that nonsense you get on the dating scene, dealing with those trifling females playing head games. Marriage is work, no doubt, but there’s nothing in the world like sharing your life with a woman who you love. It’ll make you a stronger man in ways that you can’t even imagine.”
    Andrew had known Eric for his entire life, ever since their families had lived next door to each other in East Point. Eric was like a big brother to him and often provided wise counsel. But sometimes, he was way off base.
    Like now.
    “I’ve told you, it’s not that I don’t want to settle down,” Andrew said. “I really do. I’ve been blessed with almost everything that I could want in my life—the successful career, this house, friends like you. A woman would make it all complete.”
    “But?”
    “But I want to make sure I marry the right woman.”
    “No doubt.” Eric nodded. “But if Ms. Right is already here, why wait? She’s not going to wait on you forever.”
    “She has a man, you know that.”
    “That buster she’s been dating for three months? Please. He’s just filling time for her.”
    “You assume I’ve already met Ms. Right. What if I