If Only for One Nite (A B-Boy Blues Novel #3) [Paperback]

James Earl Hardy (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1998

An Excerpt

Have you ever had a crush on a teacher? I'm sure we all have. From the first day, the first moment you meet them, you're·

Captivated.

Captured.

Committed.

Convicted.

My very first crush was on an English teacher named Mr. Weatherspoon in the second grade. He was fresh out of college and looked so fresh (uh, young) that, after meeting him on parent-teacher conference night, my mother just knew she was on Candid Camera: She thought he was a student masquerading as a teacher. He just took her observation as a compliment and flashed that smile. Lord, that smile. He had what you would call a baby-grand grin. Whenever he flashed it, I would hear them ivories and ebonies being tickled (notice how most forget to mention those black keys). And I don't know what tune was being played, but whatever it was, it was hypnotic - just like him. He always came to class dressed down in a shirt, jacket, slacks, and tie, and his scent was an aftershave lotion called Blue Musk (yes, I had the gall to ask; there was a reporter in me at that age).

I looked forward to when he would hunch over my desk, give me one of those smiles, reach out with that big, brown hand, and crown me the winner of our weekly spelling bee by brushing my head and saying, "Outstanding, Mitchell. Just outstanding." And I earned that reward every week: I studied an extra hour each Thursday afternoon to ensure that I held on to my title. When he smiled at me, when he touched me·I don't know, that button was pressed. Yeah, it was an innocent gesture and in no way sexual, but it had the opposite effect: Those homohormones really kicked into gear. I didn't know at that age what it was I was feeling or why I was feeling the way I was, but I knew that I loved the feeling.

But I was fully aware of what I was feeling and why I was feeling it this time. And I was truly enjoying what those homohormones were doing to me. I was in a daze, a haze over Mr. Reid: I just stared into space in all my classes, daydreaming about him. And at night? My wet dreams were so wild that I found my pillow and sheet on the floor in the morning and my underwear soaked. In a sense I had my art teacher, Ms. Yearwood, to thank for that. I dreamed of Mr. Reid

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Alyson Books (May 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1555834671
• ISBN-13: 978-1555834678
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #539,658 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

JAMES EARL HARDY is the author of the best-selling B-Boy Blues series: B-Boy Blues (1994), praised as the first gay hip hop love story and prominently featured in Spike Lee's Get On The Bus; it's sequel, 2nd Time Around (1996); If Only For One Nite (1997); The Day Eazy-E Died (2001); Love The One You're With (2002); and A House Is Not a Home (2005). The sextet chronicles the relationship between a Buppie from Brooklyn and a homeboy-bike messenger from Harlem. The seventh installment in the series, "Is It Still Jood To Ya?", is featured in the best-selling anthology, Visible Lives: Three Stories in Tribute to E. Lynn Harris (2010). B-Boy Blues was a Lammy finalist in 1995 (Best Small Press Title) and has become required reading in many African American/multicultural literature and gay/queer studies college courses. Mr. Hardy contributed the new introductory essay to the reissue of the groundbreaking Black Gay anthology, In The Life (2008), and his short story, "The Last Picture. Show.," will be included in the upcoming Best Gay Erotica 2011.

He also recently added playwright to his literary resume: his first theatrical production, Confessions of a Homo Thug Porn Star--a one-man show about adult film star Tiger Tyson--recently won the Downtown Urban Theater Festival's Best Short Prize.

In addition, Mr. Hardy is an award-winning entertainment feature writer and cultural critic. A 1993 honors graduate of Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism, his byline has appeared in The Advocate, Entertainment Weekly, Essence, New York Newsday, Newsweek, OUT, The Source, Upscale, Vibe, The Village Voice, and The Washington Post. His work has earned him two Educational Press Association Awards; grants from the E.Y. Harburg Foundation and the American Association of Sunday & Feature Editors; and scholarships from the Paul Rapoport Memorial Fund, and the New York and National chapters of the Association of Black Journalists. His essay, "Sylvester: Living Proof," was a GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) Media Award finalist. He has also penned biographies on filmmaker Spike Lee and the pop music group Boyz II Men, both a part of Chelsea House Publishers' Black Achievement Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars not up to par...but good nonetheless., August 16, 2001

By 

S. Police (Stamford, CT USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: If Only for One Nite (A B-Boy Blues Novel #3) (Paperback)

i guess B-Boys Blues has spoiled me. it was sexy, funny, exhilarating, sexy, sexy....did i mention sexy!? but not only that, it had a certain appeal to it that If Only for ONe Nite did not capture. i'll admit, the whole time i was reading this, i kept thinking, 'God, this coach is committing a major crime here!' Not only that, but it was hard for me to relate to the younger lil' bit (i'll always call him that). He seemed to be thinking on the same level as his 'older self', only he was in high school.

I don't know, the whole story was just sorta unbelievable. and, God, this coach was committing a major crime....did i mention that already!?

If you've read B-Boys and you buy this, you WILL read the entire book because you'll be waiting for something, ANYTHING to hit you the way Pooqie and lil' Bit did...but in my humble opinion, you won't find it.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THIS BOOK IS HOT !! SIDESPLITTING !!, January 19, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: If Only for One Nite (A B-Boy Blues Novel #3) (Paperback)

This tome was worth it !! A must read, to encourage anyone to press on, despite the person in your life. No matter what they do to you. You are worhtwhile, everyday of your life !! It is funny, sad, serious, and sexy -all in one !! A must read !! Get it as soon as possible !!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars HARDY HAS DONE IT AGAIN, June 12, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: If Only For One Night (B-Boy Blues) (Hardcover)

I read this book in one night (or is that nite?) and I truly enjoyed it. While not as fast as B-Boy Blues or deep as 2nd Time Around, it was sexy and seductive, just like the voice of the singer whose song Hardy used for the book. I recently went to my high school reunion, and it was just as unpredictable and shocking as the one Mitchell attends in the book. And I was so glad to see that coach get it in the end; Mitchell handled himself well with him, never losing his dignity or integrity. A short but sweet novel.