A Taste of Honey

by Darren Coleman

  “You are a stranger. But I wouldn’t want to dump my worries on my worst enemy right now.”

  “Well, if you’re sure you don’t want to talk then I might as well introduce myself to you. I’m Khalil. Khalil Graves.”

  “My name is Honey. Just Honey.” She almost smiled.

  “Well it’s a pleasure meeting you. Were you in Miami for the film festival or for a vacation?”

  She turned so that she faced me as she leaned back toward the window a bit. “What makes you think I don’t live in Miami?”

  “I don’t know. The accent probably. You sound more like you’re from…”

  “Get it right.” She laughed.

  “Virginia?” She frowned. “D.C.” She nodded. “So is that where you live?”

  “I live just above the line in Chevy Chase. What about you?”

  “I live a couple blocks east of Capitol Hill. You never answered my question. If you were here for the festival.”

  “Oh, not really. I was here for a meeting. And you?”

  “I was actually a judge for the film fest.”

  “So you’re in the film industry.”

  “Sort of. I’m a cinematographer by trade but I just finished shooting my first film that I’ve directed, it’s called Shades. It’s an indie but I have really high hopes for it. Right now it’s in postproduction. Before that I’d mostly been doing music videos for the last few years.”

  “Anyone I might have heard of in it?” she asked. I was used to that tone. She wanted to know if I was a legitimate filmmaker.

  “Actually yes. You’ve heard of Shawn Simmons?”

  “Of course.”

  “What about Nate Montgomery?”

  “The boxer?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Of course I’ve heard of him.”

  “Well he’s in it too.”

  She chuckled and then said, “I just saw him in the club last night.”

  “Oh okay. He’d invited me to The Point last night. So you went?”

  “Unfortunately.”

  We downed another couple bottles and the conversation began to flow freely and we didn’t stop talking for the next hour and a half. When we landed she said, “You know, Khalil, I feel a little better than I did when I boarded.”

  “Well it was nice talking to you and meeting you.” We climbed off of the plane and headed toward the baggage claim. We walked together almost like a couple and stood next to each other once we reached the luggage carousel. From looking at her presentation I wasn’t surprised when she stepped toward the conveyer belt to take the Louis Vuitton luggage. I was surprised at the size of the two huge pieces. She had a ton of stuff.

  “Honey, let me help you with that,” I said as I grabbed the first of two fifty-pound pieces. “How long were you in South Beach for, a couple of weeks?” I said sarcastically.

  “One of those was nearly empty when I went. I filled it up, courtesy of Bal Harbour Shops.” She smiled.

  My luggage came and I said, “Is your ride here or did you drive?”

  “Oh, I’ll just catch a cab.”

  I started to part ways then. I knew that my girlfriend wouldn’t approve of what I did next but I told myself that it was harmless.

  “Well consider today to be your lucky day. I drive an SUV so I can give you a ride home. That way you don’t have to ruin some poor cabbie’s shocks with your ton of luggage.”

  “Are you sure? I catch a cab home from the airport all the time.”

  “Absolutely. Come on. As a matter of fact, let me wheel one of those for you.”

  We pulled out of the garage in my Cadillac EXT and hit 395 headed for Chevy Chase. It was blazing and humid so I turned on the air but she still put her window down. “I need some air, maybe the liquor,” she said.

  “No problem.”

  “So, Khalil. Do you love what you do?”

  “I did love it at one point. I still like it.”

  “If you don’t love it anymore, why do you do it?”

  “It pays the bills and it’s a stepping stone to greater things. Plus I’ve made a lot of connections to help me with my future in directing.”

  She nodded as she stared straight ahead. “So do you make a lot of money doing what you do?”

  I laughed. “I do all right for myself. Why do you ask? You thinking of getting into the profession?”

  “No reason. I hope I didn’t offend.”

  “Not at all.”

  Then she turned to me and asked, “So do you have a wife, a girlfriend?”

  It amazed me that we’d talked for the last couple of hours but this hadn’t come up. I looked over into her beautiful face and realized that I probably hadn’t brought it up for a reason. And although I had never cared enough about any woman not to cheat on her, my situation now was different.

  My life had been in turmoil. An abusive situation, to foster care, to more abuse had been my journey. Through it all I’d learned to travel light and look out for myself. No matter where I was mentally the only constant was that school at first, then work, had been my refuge and I’d stayed out of trouble as best I could. I kept my grades up and in the fall of my senior year I’d applied to both Howard University’s and NYU’s film schools. I’d been accepted into Howard and thus landed in the nation’s capital.

  On my own it had been a free-for-all. I’d left the poor, beaten, and battered Khalil behind and introduced everyone to a new me. The one who didn’t care about anyone other than himself, and what I found amazed me. Women loved it. The nonchalant attitude seemed to be an enigma, even a challenge that they stepped up to the plate to meet, one after the other.

  I crushed them all. Even the nice ones, for reasons I couldn’t really understand at the time. That was until I met the girl who I believed was the one.

  Now here I was, riding along with a stranger, playing the role of the Good Samaritan. In all actuality, I was captivated by her charms. Still, I felt compelled to answer her truthfully once I replayed her question in my head.

  “So do you have a wife, a girlfriend?”

  “Yes, I have someone I’ve been seeing.”

  She nodded. I expected the conversation to turn cold from that point. Honey didn’t seem like the type to date anyone who’d try to make her play second string. She was far too stunning for that. I imagined that my dropping her off would be the last I’d see or hear of her. Instead she stayed the same. “Well, she’s a lucky girl, whoever she is.”

  “Thanks.”

  We pulled up onto her street and as she directed me to her house she gasped then yelled out, “Oh my God.”

  “What?” I said back as I watched her slide down in her seat.

  “Keep driving,” she said in a whisper. “Just keep driving.” My heart began to pound, because I didn’t know what was happening. I looked over and saw a huge man walking down some steps but that was it. “Make a left at the corner and just keep going.”

  “Okay. But what’s going on?”

  “Please, just drive.”

  I did as she asked. “So where are we going?”

  “I don’t know. I need to think,” she said, sounding nervous as a spy whose cover had been blown.

  “Do you want me to take you to my place?”

  “What about your girlfriend?”

  “She’s out of town. She sort of lives out of town. She’s doing a residency in Richmond.”

  “Okay, please then. That’ll be fine. It’ll gimme some time to think this through.”

  I turned the radio down a little and said, “You’re gonna have to tell me what’s going on though.”

  She began to tear up again and then she said, “Okay, I will.”

  We pulled up in front of my house a few minutes later. I was glad that I didn’t see any of my neighbors as we walked to the door. She breathed a sigh of relief as the cool air hit her in the face. I motioned toward the living room and she walked in and took a seat on the couch while I offered her a drink. I carried my bags upstairs and w
hen I came back downstairs she was looking at a picture in a frame that sat on the end table.

  “Is this your girlfriend in the picture?”

  “Yes.”

  There was an uncomfortable silence. I didn’t think it was possible but she suddenly seemed to be even more agitated than she was before. Then out of the blue she said, “I’ll tell you everything, but there’s something that I need you to do first.”

  I nodded in agreement without even knowing what she was about to ask. “Okay.”

  “Take me upstairs and make love to me.” With that she stood up and moved toward me. “Now.”

  9

  HONEY

  I was like a leaf blowing in a hurricane, completely at the mercy of life’s brutal winds. Through no fault of my own, I’d been sucked into a potential scandal that could rock the sports world even more than Kobe’s romp with the desk clerk. Though I hadn’t seen Priest disposing of the body, I had seen her pumping herself full of drugs that he provided. Now I’d just spotted Priest’s bodyguard, Big George, in front of my home. How he learned my address and beat me home I’d never figure. What I did know was his being at my home couldn’t have meant anything good for me. I’d warned him about giving the girls drugs and I guess now he wanted to dispose of any witnesses.

  My mind was already spinning, fighting to keep from taking me over the edge amid the possibility that my life could be in danger when I picked up the picture and saw her face. I’d never forget her smile, even if it were thirty years that had passed instead of thirteen. I couldn’t figure out why all of a sudden this was happening. My stomach was turning as the anger and pain all came rushing back. I knew all along that our paths would cross again and I wondered what would happen. Would I want to kill her?

  Never could I have imagined this scenario. This man standing before me. This beautiful young brother was her man. Rorrie, the bitch who’d been the cause of all my pain, was his girlfriend. Her conniving had cost my mother and Manny their lives and destroyed mine in the process. Meanwhile, she’d gone on living her life as if nothing had ever happened. Now as I looked at Khalil, it was clear to me. He’d been delivered to me for a reason. I knew that the time had come to have my revenge.

  “Where is all this coming from?” he asked in response to my request that he make love to me.

  “Does it matter? Khalil, I’ve seen the way you’ve been looking at me all day. I know you want me.”

  He bit his bottom lip and took a deep breath and began to shake his head no. “Honey…I mean, you’re beautiful, but I can’t do this.”

  “Why, because you love her? Or because she loves you?”

  When he didn’t answer right away I looked at him with a slight smirk. I walked past him and toward the steps. I could feel his eyes locked on my ass as I hit the steps. I unzipped my top and dropped it on the steps as I ascended them.

  “Honey?” he said as he began to follow me. “Where are you going?”

  At the top of the steps I casually stepped out of the bottom to my suit and continued my search for the bedroom. The first room I saw was nearly empty. The second had a computer desk that took up the entire wall. I could hear Khalil calling my name from the base of the steps. I headed for the last room, certain that it was the room in which I would send Rorrie’s life crumbling to pieces. I reached behind me and unclasped my bra and dropped it onto the parquet floor of his hallway.

  “Honey,” he called out as I heard him climbing the stairs. “Oh shit,” he yelled out. “What are you doing, girl?”

  I’d found his bedroom and dropped my panties on the floor in front of the bed. When he hit the door of his room he saw me there on the bed, naked. He locked eyes with me and walked over to the bed.

  “Why?” he asked. His eyes showed conflict. He must have loved Rorrie. But typical of a man, he’d made a series of bad judgments that had landed him in this situation. Thinking that he could handle things, that he could be a knight in shining armor without it leading to this. Perhaps things were out of his control from the second he saw me. It really didn’t matter now. I was in control of him. What I was about to give him usually cost thousands, but this time it was free. He was staring at me with hunger in his eyes. The shades and curtains were closed in the room, only allowing for a pinch of sunlight to invade. Still there was enough for him to see every detail and every curve. The distinct contrast of my skin and my areolae, my deep-chocolate nipples sitting up off of my breast.

  I sat up on my knees and grabbed his face in my hands as I pulled his mouth to mine. “Just know this,” I said in a whisper. “Once you make love to me, your life will never be the same. I can promise you that. Once you get inside of this, you’ll forget all about her,” I spoke softly into his ear. “I promise that I’ll have you coming so fast and hard you won’t be able to think of anything else, ever.”

  His eyes were closed and I began to kiss his face and neck. When I heard him moan I knew that he was a goner. This was routine for me, all about giving him pleasure. It was just a means to an end for me. I’d never been emotionally connected to any partner even if I found them attractive, which was almost always. Even still, I seldom took on any client that I didn’t find attractive. I’d believed that intellect and power were very sexy when used properly between lovers. With maturation, I’d come to learn that being attractive didn’t always equate to physical looks.

  Still in all the years I’d been having sex, I’d been with only a selected few outside of business. And in those situations the cards were always on the table beforehand. But this moment with Khalil was different. He began to do that which I had never allowed anyone since Manny to do, which was kissing me in the mouth. It felt strange but good. I began to lose track of myself and what I was trying to do.

  I felt flush as I fought to regain my control. This was about Rorrie, I said to myself as I pushed his lips away and grabbed his shoulders. There was still the conflicted look on his face. He was disappointed in himself for wanting me so bad. He was so easy to read. The desire he was feeling for me was his weakness.

  “Lay down,” I demanded. I reached for his pants and unbuckled them. When I pulled on the sides and slid them off I was pleasantly surprised by the size of his tool and the fact that he wore no underwear. I motioned for his shirt and he leaned up enough to yank it off. I gazed upon his totally naked body. He was definitely handsome from head to toe and I reasoned that most any woman would fall for him.

  I straddled him and began to kiss his neck and shoulders. All the while he could feel the thin strip of hair above my vagina rubbing against his penis. I slid down to his chest and began to softly pinch and lick his nipples. I looked into his eyes and saw that he was mesmerized. My hand was now stroking him, gently, professionally.

  His skin tasted clean, yet manly. Without my permission his body’s natural aroma invaded my nostrils and sent an unfamiliar rush through me once again. My grip was firmly on his manhood and I noticed that he was lifting up from the mattress. I was shocked when the words slipped from his mouth. “Honey, you gotta stop. I can’t do this. Rorrie is my fiancée.” He tried to rise up from the bed.

  I don’t know what came over me but I felt an almost out-of-body experience. My desire to take him, to break what he shared with my enemy overtook my sensibilities. Anger and passion for what I wanted swept over me and I smacked him across the face. Hard.

  He was stunned and his eyes were wide-open as I quickly mounted him. His thickness shot up into my center in an instant. Before he could even understand what had happened I had both of my hands on his chest as I fucked him. He was silent for a few moments as he stared deep into my eyes.

  I bounced and grinded, preparing to do to him that which I’d done to every man that I’d experienced. I knew that it was just a matter of time before he lost control. The look on my face had turned into a sinister grin.

  He began to pant and I began to count down. I looked at the clock and then back at him. One minute. I could feel my wetness just about to envel
op him. There was incredible friction. This was the first man that I’d been with unprotected in ten years. I’d had a couple of condoms break and fortunately for me I hadn’t paid a price, but this was different. I was being extremely reckless but I didn’t care. The only thing I cared about was taking his mind and getting him to lose any feelings that he had for Rorrie. It would be in that moment that I would go out of my way to let her know that her pain was at my hands.

  His breathing grew heavier and I poured it on. I clenched my vaginal walls on him and bounced harder. I saw a different look on his face. He looked almost angry as we were now fucking. He didn’t want to succumb to my will to make him explode. I rode him harder and realized it was time to talk him over the edge.

  For the next couple of minutes I spoke the words that I knew would drive him to his climax. “That’s right, Khalil. Tear this pussy up. How does it feel,” I growled. “You’re so big, Daddy. Mmmmmmm. Fill me up.”

  He reached and grabbed my ass cheeks and continued to bang from underneath me. I looked at the clock, three minutes. I was growing impatient on the surface as I began to wonder if he was enjoying the feelings.

  Suddenly he reached up and grabbed the back of my head and pulled my face to his. His tongue began to dance inside of my mouth and for the first time I felt stimulated by more than my own power. I felt his weight shift and him pushing me onto my back.

  In a few swift motions he was on top of me with my legs in the air. He began to slide masterfully in and out of me until I began to feel something that I couldn’t explain.

  He settled into a rhythm and I honestly began to lose track of time and space. My muscles were clamping down on his shaft without warning. The room began to grow dark then light again and I tried to look over at the clock but the numbers were blurry. I couldn’t hear him breathing anymore over my own breath. The only thing I could hear was the smacking sound of our bodies colliding. When he spoke his voice seared my insides and commanded a reaction.

  “Honey, this pussy…”

  “Yes, tell me.”