A Taste of Honey

by Darren Coleman

  My phone finally rang again at two fifteen. Hearing it angered me. I was feeling too constricted to move. Either my conscience was getting to me or Rorrie sensed something and was trying to slip a noose on my neck. I glanced at the number to be sure it was Rorrie before I put it in the seat next to me and sat up. I finally decided that it was time to go home.

  I started my engine and began to pull up the block when a car passed me and took my spot. Wishful thinking or not, I thought I saw Honey driving. I pulled out onto Connecticut Avenue just long enough to make an illegal U and pulled back up the block. When I saw her walking toward her house I felt myself growing light-headed, heart skipping a beat like a kid with his first crush. I saw a spot on the other side and pulled into it quickly. She didn’t see me as I climbed out of the truck and crossed the street.

  She was thirty yards or better ahead of me and I was about to call her name when I saw a figure step out from the bushes beside the door of her home. When the man grabbed Honey I heard her scream out. I couldn’t move fast enough. I saw her jerk away and attempt to use pepper spray. She didn’t react in time and he landed a blow to her face that dropped her to her knees. She would have hit the ground except for the fact that he held her.

  He didn’t see me coming as I lunged at him like Ray Lewis coming for a quarterback. He was huge, barely moving when I made contact. I did get him to the ground but it turned out to be a bad move as his weight allowed him to pin me down. From there we traded blows with me getting the worse of it. I was glad that he seemed to wind easily, almost gasping for air. I took the opportunity of his slowing down to go for his eyes with my thumbs. I jabbed him good in the left and this time he screamed out in agony. I easily rolled from under him and climbed to my feet. He struggled to stand, still holding his eye, and he wasn’t paying attention as I swung my foot toward his balls with as much power as I could muster. When I made contact he groaned like a wounded animal.

  Honey was now at my side as we watched him hit the ground. She moved toward him and began to empty the bottle of spray. Then she yelled out, “Khalil, come on, quick.”

  Thinking he was subdued I moved slowly but luckily she’d been more alert as he pulled a pistol from his waistband. My heart nearly burst open as he fired a single shot toward the security door a second after we’d cleared it.

  From the second-floor window we watched as he headed for a vehicle that was parked up the street. Two minutes later sirens whirled out front as we sat nervously inside her apartment. It looked like she was in the middle of moving. There were boxes labeled and stacked neatly in the living room and more piled up in the kitchen.

  “Now tell me again why you don’t want to tell the police,” I asked her as I sat nestled on her couch, holding against my cheek the frozen peas she’d given me. She was using the ice pack on hers.

  “It’s such a long story, Khalil. I don’t even know where to begin. I will just say that I am really glad you happened to show up. I’ve been going through some changes with a guy I used to see. Obviously he isn’t getting the message.” She didn’t seem as rattled as I would expect, almost like she dealt with things like this routinely. About a minute later she remembered to ask me, “So what are you doing here at two thirty in the morning anyway?”

  Leaning my head gently back on her sofa I thought about the deeper meaning and what it may have looked like to her. I decided to open up to her as best I could. “I’m not really sure. I just needed to see you. I haven’t stopped thinking about you since the day we met.”

  She smiled but looked reluctant in doing so. “Really?”

  “You have no idea.”

  Her arms were folded. She’d dropped the ice pack on the coffee table after offering it to me. “Well it definitely felt a little awkward when I bumped into you earlier.”

  I couldn’t resist the urge, so I asked her, “So do you normally frequent strip clubs?”

  “No, it was actually the first time I’d been to one in years. I was just hanging out with an old friend and he wanted to go after we’d had dinner, so I went. Nothing serious.”

  “Did you enjoy yourself?”

  “It was cool. It wasn’t like I got my jollies off or anything. I’m definitely not gay, if that’s what you’re implying.”

  I laughed, relieved. “No, I didn’t think anything of the sort.”

  “So,” she breathed out. “How are things with your fiancée and you?”

  I twitched nervously. “I’m not sure. Like I said, I can’t seem to get this other woman off of my mind,” I said in a playful tone. “I must be crazy. One day I spent with you and now I’m questioning everything.” She sat there silent and I looked into her face. She still had a light coat of makeup on. Even sporting a slightly bruised cheek, she was beautiful. “Do you think I’m crazy?”

  “Not at all, Khalil.” She moved over next to me and kissed me on the cheek. “It’s sweet really. I mean it. Also it’s very flattering. I’m sure a handsome man like yourself can have his pick of women. For you to tell me that I’ve been on your mind, I won’t even deny the fact that it means a lot.” She stood up and said, “Listen I want to grab a few things. As you can see I’m in the process of moving but this incident is going to speed up that process. I’m gonna get out of here tonight.”

  I was still curious as to why she seemed unsurprised that she’d been attacked. “So where are you going to stay? You have family?”

  “No, but I’ll be fine. I’ll get a room…”

  Before she could finish I said, “I’m going to follow you and make sure you get there.”

  “You don’t…”

  I cut her off again. “I’m following you. You don’t want the police involved. I’m following you.”

  It was nearly four in the morning when she checked into the room at the Embassy Suites. Once she checked in I carried her bags up to her room for her. I knew it was late and I needed to get home but I wanted to stay. “I would ask you to stay but I don’t think I should, Khalil.” She was seated on the bed and had grabbed the remote. “I really appreciate everything you’ve done for me.”

  “I wanted to. You don’t have to thank me.” I walked toward her and once I was a foot away I leaned in to kiss her. She turned and gave me her cheek, sending my heart to the floor. “I thought you wanted me to stay.”

  “Not for that, though. Not for that.” I didn’t respond. Seeing my confusion she went on. “Khalil, I have a lot going on right now and so do you. I’ll admit that I find you enticing.” She stopped and laughed. “I really think you are mad sexy, but maybe we could just be friends for now.”

  “Friends, huh?”

  She stood up and put her hands on her hips. “It’s not like you can do much more than that. I mean what…we gonna get together, steal a few seconds here and there? You gonna sleep with me and then run home to her with my scent on your lips?”

  She was now inside of my personal space, a few inches from my mouth. “I don’t know, Honey. I just want to get to know…”

  She hushed me by putting her finger to my lips. “Good night, Khalil. I have to get some rest. I’m going to have my things moved tomorrow. I’ll be up early.”

  “So there’s still no way that I can call you?”

  She opened the door. “Good night.”

  “Good night,” I said halfheartedly as I backed slowly out of her room, reeling from another round of her rejection. She winked, moved away from the door, and let it slam shut.

  I reached my truck and started down Wisconsin Avenue toward the heart of the city, a million and one thoughts running through my mind as I drove. I flipped from WKYS to WPGC, trying to find some fast-paced beats to get my mind out of the weird state that I was in.

  When my cell rang I was ready to throw it out the window. I was convinced that Rorrie had lost her grip. I picked it up ready to light into her. She didn’t know that I was hurting over another woman but it didn’t matter. She was there and I was going to take it out on her.

  “Hello,”
I barked into the phone, making my disgust clear.

  “If you want to get to know me, come back.”

  “What?” I looked down at the number. It wasn’t Rorrie, as I could tell when I heard the voice. “Honey?”

  “If you want to get to know me, come back to the hotel.” I thought I was dreaming but then she said, “But don’t expect me to have sex with you.”

  She didn’t wait for a reply. Just like that she hung up.

  13

  HONEY

  If I had been a gangster then Priest’s days would have been numbered. He was fortunate in one way but as good as screwed in another. After he’d sent his enforcer to come and do me bodily harm I got angry. I did my best to hide it from Khalil, who’d been my saving angel. But from the second I realized that Priest had sent Big George back to my home, obviously to silence me, it was now a war. A war that I was sure he was too stupid to win. I’d never met an athlete smart enough to outwit a groupie, let alone a cunning diva like myself.

  My belongings were in storage for the time being. I was going to go hotel-to-hotel until I got it all straightened out and once I did, money would never be an issue again. Priest had me fantasizing about what it would be like to retire from the life that I lived. I’d go somewhere, warm preferably, to open up a boutique filled with the types of clothes that I like. I’d be able to drive every day with the top down and a pair of Jackie-Os on my face.

  I sat patiently in the rental car, waiting for the private investigator to arrive. On cue the silver Navigator pulled up. I hit my lights and he drove over to the corner of the lot where I was sitting. We were in the parking lot of Morton’s, a steak house in Hackensack, New Jersey.

  “How are you, Miss H?” he asked respectfully. He was a short man and I stared, almost rudely, as he climbed carefully out of the big truck. He might have been five foot three.

  “I’m fine.” I reached into my purse and pulled out an envelope. “Three thousand, it’s all there. Mr. Amory spoke highly of you. Said you were the best. A real pro.”

  He handed me two envelopes. “You’ll see for yourself. One of those is a set of copies. The third set, I mailed to the address you gave me. I hope that everything works out for you. I had to climb a telephone pole sixty yards up for some of those.”

  “Oh, I’m sure it will. You especially made sure of that. All I was looking for was a house, a wife, and a few other tidbits, but you, Mr. Cason, are a phenom.”

  He smiled and laughed out loud. My flattery had him tickled. “Well thank you much,” he said. “I guess I’ll be off. Call me if you need me.”

  “I sure will. As a matter of fact, I might need you really soon. Do you work out of town?”

  “How far?”

  “Not sure yet.”

  “How long?”

  I shrugged my shoulders. “A day, maybe a week. No more.”

  “You call, I’ll come,” he said, grinning ear to ear. I was sensing that the black Danny DeVito had a crush. “I might go to hell and stake out Satan if the price is right.”

  I didn’t laugh with him. Instead, once he left I sat in the car and looked into the envelope. I had two addresses for Priest and a few pictures of him with a woman other than his wife. Mr. Cason had taken photos of him carrying diapers and toys up to the door, kissing a pretty Puerto Rican girl and a baby. I was sure that this was going to be interesting to his wife, if the child turned out to be his, but what had me thinking about retirement were the next few photos. I smiled at the clarity of the images of him leaning back in a truck, getting head from none other than Big George. I couldn’t believe the angle Mr. Cason’d shot the pics from.

  What amazed me was that Mr. Cason had hit a goldmine himself, if only he’d wanted it. Instead he handed them over to me to do what I chose. He could have sold the pictures to any number of tabloids, but he gave them to me for the price we agreed upon. Either he was a real stand-up guy, or the name and face of the man he’d stalked for me hadn’t rung any bells. I was inclined to believe that he simply operated out of integrity, since Priest had been an All-Star more than once.

  Then again the pictures were worthless if you weren’t going to sell them or you weren’t planning to commit a felony with blackmail. I was.

  When Priest walked out of the restaurant and to his car I waited for him to pull out into traffic and I followed him. The white man he’d eaten with was his agent. They were both riding high, I was sure. A newly signed contract, a fat signing bonus, and life was good for them.

  He was heading for Englewood Cliffs, where he had a three-million-dollar mansion. I had the address written down and could have used the portable GPS to beat him there if I chose, but he was oblivious as he blasted the music out the windows of his Mercedes. I lagged behind when we reached the entrance to his development and carefully waited as he turned each corner before I pulled too closely. A few minutes later he arrived at his driveway and the gate opened.

  Once he drove through the gate I waited for it to shut and then I pulled up right behind him and parked right in front of it. I looked up the long driveway; a half a football field away I saw his brake lights and then, a moment later, the reverse lights lit up. He began to wheel back toward the gate. I remained in the car until he reached the gate and stepped out. I opened the door and stepped out of the rental.

  We were face to face now, separated by the white metal bars. “What are you doing at my fucking house? Are you crazy?”

  It dawned on me that he had the nerve to call me crazy, yet he’d sent his henchman/lover to my door. “I think you know why I’m here, Priest. You’re lucky I haven’t gone to the police. What did you think you were doing having your goon show up at my house?”

  He looked at me quizzically. I was sure he was wondering if I was setting him up. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “I think you do. As a matter of fact, you know he got his fat ass kicked that night by my man. And if he comes back…”

  “Your man? Bitch, you’re a fucking whore. A high-class one, but still a whore nonetheless. Any man who’s claiming you has got to be some pussy-whipped idiot. C’mon now.”

  I don’t know why but his words hit me like a ton of bricks. I don’t even know why I had called Khalil my man, but I didn’t appreciate Priest’s sick tail having the nerve or the grounds to put him down.

  He went on, “So what the fuck are you doing here?”

  “It’s okay with me Priest, that you’ve decided to take it there, but you should know you’re way out of your league with me. I’m not going to talk you to death,” I said as I stepped back to the car and reached for the envelope. I walked up to the gate and handed him the envelope. “It’s really simple.”

  He opened the envelope and pulled the stack of photos out. It was like watching someone have their soul snatched from their body. I swear his eyes caved in and his bottom lip began to quiver. “Bitch, you’ve been following me? I’m going to kill you. You know who I am?”

  I laughed at him. “You already tried that, remember? The fat faggot in the picture, you sent him to do a man’s job.”

  He looked at me, his eyes full of hate. Just then his cell phone rang. He looked down at it then backed up toward his house. I waved him off and moved back a few feet but could still hear him clearly. “Hey, baby, I’m coming. I’m just talking to a Realtor. She’s trying to convince me to sell…no I’m not. Gimme a minute I’ll be there.” He hung up. “Honey, listen. All I wanted was to talk to you.” His tone had softened up and he’d changed his demeanor. “I only wanted to make sure that whole thing in Miami was going to stay quiet. I told my agent about it and he advised me to make an offer to you just to be sure…”

  “To be sure that I was dead too?”

  He shook his head. “No, no. Honey, you don’t understand. There’s a lot of money on the line. I have to keep my name clear of scandal. Like with that Kobe situation. You know how many millions of dollars other people lost when he lost his endorsements. It took him like three
years just to get his image back to the point where he can use his persona to make money. I don’t have that kind of time left and my agent has been riding me like crazy. All he asks is have you talked to the…”

  “To the whore.”

  “I didn’t say that. He’s just been on edge like a motherfucker and that’s gotten me on edge.”

  “So you sent your goon, or rather your boyfriend, to make sure that I’d keep quiet?”

  “That’s all. I just wanted to make sure you and I were cool. We went to your room and you weren’t there.”

  “I came after you did and what you did was break into my room.”

  “Well you never even told us you were leaving. It looked strange. I thought you might have gone to the police.”

  “Yeah, right. You know Priest, your ass is sounding real guilty right now.”

  He shook his head “no.” “I didn’t do anything to that girl. I swear. The bitch just wouldn’t put the brakes on with the drugs that night.”

  “What about her friend?”

  “I don’t know nothing about her friend.”

  “Yeah, well she was missing too and I’ve been following up on it and it seems like nobody has any answers as to her whereabouts.” That was the reason why I had barely been home. I honestly didn’t know what Priest was capable of. I was too smart to get caught slipping though.

  “I swear I don’t know anything about that, but I’ll tell you this…the first trip to your house was merely because I wanted to drop some change on you to make sure everything with us was good. That’s the only reason I sent the big man. I just don’t need the controversy.”

  “That’s exactly what I was thinking. But I’ll tell you this.” I reached into my pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. “It’s gonna cost you more than some change, especially with these pictures.”