Chapter 12
Weeks later
“Good morning, Miss Janie.”
I greeted the elder woman with a big smile. She looked me up and down with narrowed eyes. She hadn’t been a fan of me, no matter how much Honey tried to convince her I was a good man.
“Good morning, Marquise. What do I owe the pleasure of you stopping by?” she asked with her arms crossed against her chest.
“I know you’re not the biggest fan of me and Honey being together, but your presence in her life means a lot.”
“Oh Lord, chile. Come on in and help me crack these pecans for my pie.”
Without another word, she walked away from the door and disappeared into the house. A soft chuckle escaped my lips before I entered the house and locked the bottom lock of her door. The trip to the dining room was short. There was a large bowl of pecans on the table with a bag of discarded shells and a plate of the small oval-shaped nuts.
“Wash your hands and have a seat.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Once my hands were clean, I claimed the seat next to her and grabbed the nutcracker. I placed the round shell in the hole and squeezed until it cracked. I separated the nuts from the shell and added it to her plate.
“I can imagine the conversation you came to have, so let’s get to it.”
“Yes, ma’am. I can admit, my rap sheet is extensive, and most concerned guardians would have some issues with me dating their loved ones. My choice in lifestyles wasn’t ideal.”
“Sure wasn’t. You are a drug dealing murderer.”
“I never allowed my actions to interfere with Honey’s future. A few weeks ago, I left the business. I’d almost died fighting for my life too. I did it because I knew if I continued down the path I was headed, Honey wouldn’t have stayed much longer.”
“Mm-hmm,” Miss Janie hummed.
“Anyway, long story short… I want to get your blessing to marry your granddaughter.” I reached into my pocket and retrieved the black box. She shook her head as she grabbed it and lifted the lid.
“My goodness.”
The diamond was huge and cut into a princess diamond. Honey was my princess, and she deserved the world. I’d paid a pretty penny for the rose gold band with our anniversary date engraved.
“Do you think she’ll like it?” I asked shyly. I’d regressed into a scared little boy as I waited for Miss Janie to respond.
“I know she’ll love it. However, I don’t know if I can give you my blessing, Marquise. You both are so young, and you’ve only ever known a hard knock life. How can I be sure your trauma won’t come back and hurt my baby girl?”
“I understand where you’re coming from, Miss Janie. I really do.” I rubbed my hands together and turned my body to give her full access to read my face and body language. I needed to be an open book for her to understand how genuine I was at the moment.
I searched for the right words to say. “I believe I have a lot of healing to do to manage the damage my childhood and lifestyle created for me. I know regardless of that trauma, I can be everything Honey needs and more. She values your opinion and loves you more than anyone else. With your blessing, I promise I would never intentionally hurt Honey.”
I offered a soft, genuine smile to seal the deal.
Miss Janie eyed the ring for a long moment before she returned the box to me. “Marquise, I give you my blessing. Please don’t make me regret it.”
I jumped up and pulled her into a tight hug.
“Let me go, chile!” she exclaimed, even though she hugged me back.
Something in me broke at the warmth of her hug. I fell to my knees and held her tighter. My eyes wanted to cry, but the men in my family conditioned me at a young age to never show weakness. I didn’t think my eyes could produce a real tear, even if I tried.
“Sorry about that,” I mumbled as I let go of her and stood on my feet.
“It’s okay. A grandmother’s hug can heal the soul sometimes.”
I smiled. “Do you have time for a crash course in one of Honey’s favorite meals?”
“I’m going to charge you for my services.”
The chuckle eased the tension in my shoulders. “Name your price, and I got you.”
“What are you trying to cook? If it’s something I can walk you through over the phone, that might be the best option.”
“I want to make her some crawfish etouffee,” I replied confidently.
“Oh, no, baby. You will not make that.”
“What? Why not?”
“That’s an advanced dish. We need to start you off small, with maybe some fried chicken wings and fries.”
I laughed. “A’ight, Miss Janie. I’ll try that.”
“Frying chicken wings is easy as long as you’re not afraid of the grease. I’m going to write down your grocery list. You need everything I tell you to get, okay?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
It was weird to take instructions from such a small and old lady, but she was fierce. Miss Janie could command a gang of men if she wanted to. Everyone respected her, and it would have been in my best interest to remain in her good graces.
* * *
“Man, Miss Janie, I’m gon’ fu—mess this up.”
“Chile, hush up. You’re doing good.”
Miss Janie had been on the phone with me for about an hour as I prepped and prepared the meal. My first batch of wings was too dark. Somehow, I ended up with a burned crust with raw meat inside. I felt like a failure. I was on batch number three and had felt defeated.
“Put your fries on a baking sheet, season them with salt, pepper, and a hint of garlic powder. Back in the oven on 425 for twenty minutes. You’ll flip them and put them back in to bake when your timer hits ten minutes,” Miss Janie explained in a soft tone.
I did as she told me to, spreading each French fry out to cook properly. I sprinkled some salt and pepper on the fries and then lightly added some garlic powder. Once the fries were in the oven, we brought our attention back to the wings.
“Now, let’s work on the sauce you will use to toss the wings in when they are done.” She continued.
We walked through the honey hot wing flavoring recipe. Shit was crazy. I had followed the instructions and made a thick and sticky sauce that actually tasted good. Once the sauce was done, I grabbed the drying rack and placed paper towels underneath the bar to catch the grease that dripped from each piece of chicken.
“Grab a second pan and lay it down with a lining. This is where you’ll place the tossed wings to sit until the fries are done.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Twenty-three minutes later, I had made both plates and sent the final picture to Miss Janie. As I looked at my final product, a sense of pride washed over me.
“You did great, chile.”
“Thank you so much. I hope Honey likes it.”
“I know she will. Enjoy your night, and try not to make me a great grandmother tonight.”
I grinned widely. “Can’t make any promises, Miss Janie, but if we do, you know that baby gon’ be straight.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
She hung up the phone, and I went to take a quick shower. After the shower, I put on Honey’s favorite cologne of mine and pulled on some black sweatpants and a gray T-shirt. I put on some socks but opted not to wear any shoes.
I was the type of person who would watch his lady’s location to know the exact time she would arrive. Tonight was no different. I looked at the circle with her face on it and watched her speed down the highway. Her ass was a speed demon just like me—except she liked to hit curbs in residential areas. She tried to be like me, but those curbs tore her tires up.
“She might want a bath too. Let me go run that for her. She’ll probably want her favorite wine chilled too.”
My girl would be twenty-one in a few months, but I’d been getting her liquor for much longer. She was uppity about her drinks too. She liked mimosas, sparkling wines, and red wines. She wasn’t a fan of bitter white wines. She also loved a good wine cooler and spiked drink. Her favorite were those cans of spiked lemonade. She could drink a whole box of those by herself.
Once the bath was ready and the drinks were chilled, I sat by the door and counted down the seconds until she entered the house. She had me sprung and didn’t give a fuck.
“Marquise, I’m home—oh, hey handsome.” She giggled when her eyes landed on me after she entered the house. I stood up and wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her into a sloppy, wet, nasty kiss. My tongue was deep in her mouth.
“Mmm.” She moaned against my tongue.
I pulled away from her and grinned. “I missed your pretty face.”
“I missed your handsome face too. It’s been a while since I sat on it. Let’s change that.”
She tugged at the waistband of my sweatpants.
“That’s on the agenda, but first order of business is dinner. I cooked for?—”
“Stop lying. You ain’t cook for me.”
I smacked my lips. “Yes, I did. Go into the kitchen and look at the plates I made.”
Before I could get my words out good, she bolted into the kitchen with me hot on her tail. She gasped at the sight of the warm food on the stove.
“You made the sauce too?”
I nodded. “With the help of someone special.”
Honey eyed me as she picked up a drumstick off the plate and bit into it. The satisfying crunch of the breading made me smirk. Her eyes closed as she chewed the chicken.
“You know you fucked up, right? You’ll be cooking for me at least once a week now, and I’ll want you in the kitchen with me on Sunday dinners. This is so good, baby. The fries have a nice golden color to them too.”
“I don’t know if you’d want me in the kitchen with you. I went through two batches before I got it right.”
“So? You know cooking is my love language. I’ll make sure we only need one take.”
I chuckled. “A’ight. I’ll bring your plate to the table. Grab you a drink out of the fridge.”
I lifted the plates off the warming tray and walked into the dining room to sit at the table. I set her plate across from mine and lifted a questioning brow when she came back with two bottles of water.
“No wine?” I asked.
She shook her head. “Nah. I need to hydrate for the rounds we’re about to go tonight. We both missed you too much.”
“I missed y’all too.” I chuckled at the way she added her pussy into the conversation. We both agreed I couldn’t get in her guts until I healed from my injuries and got back to 100 percent health.
We ate in a peaceful silence, stealing glances every few moments. I was proud of the meal I’d made and could understand why she loved those moments with her grandmother.
“Who was your secret helper in the kitchen?” Honey washed the last of her food down with the bottle of water.
“Take a guess,” I replied.
“YouTube University?”
“Nope.”
“Google?”
“Nope.”
She frowned. “If you didn’t watch YouTube videos or Google a recipe, who helped you?”
“The same woman who helped you. Miss Janie.”
Honey’s jaw dropped. “For real? How did you get her to help?”
“I stopped by earlier to get her thoughts on a couple of things. Then she agreed to help me cook you a nice dinner.”
“What did you get her thoughts on?” Honey asked with a raised brow.
“I wanted it to be romantic, but I really don’t want to wait another moment.” I stood up and walked around the table. I got down on one knee and watched as Honey’s neutral expression morphed into one of pure shock. Her jaw would’ve fallen to the floor had it not been attached to her mouth.
“Marquise…”
“Baby, you are the light in my dark ass life. You brought me a sense of peace in my chaotic world. You are the best thing to ever happen in my life, and I’d be a fool not to put a ring on it. Honey Hix, will you do me the honors of being my forever? Will you be my fiancée and one day my wife?”
Tears poured from her face. “Yes! A thousand times, yes!”
I slid the ring on her finger in just enough time before she jumped into my arms. I held her and allowed her to scatter kisses all over my face—wet kisses.
“I love you—so much.” She sobbed through her words.
I lifted my hands and wiped her teary face with my thumbs. I cupped her face in mine and smiled. “You ain’t got to cry like this, baby. I got you forever.”
“I know… It’s just…”
“Shh.” I pecked her lips a few more times before I straightened up and held her hand.
“I got a bubble bath for you upstairs. Relax and soak in the tub. When you’re done, I got some dick and a side of head waiting for you.”
She tucked her bottom lip between her teeth. “Okay.”
I led her to the main bathroom and helped her strip out of her school clothes. Honey was so fucking beautiful. She was so fine with her deep brown skin. Her current hairstyle was a silk press. Unfortunately, I’d have to hear her mouth in the morning when she looked in the mirror and saw her silk press morphed into a wild mane all over her head. She was about to sweat out that style from the amount of work we were going to put into the lovemaking.
Every moment with Honey was one to remember. She kept me on my toes. Men on social media put on a front like they hated to have their woman under their skin. Shit, I loved to share a space with Honey, even if all we did was sit up under each other and do our own thing.
I let her bathe by herself as I made the bedroom perfect for the night. I lit a couple of scented candles, turned the overhead lights off, and switched on the LED lamps. I put on the purple lights. It was something about seeing Honey’s skin under the purple hue that made my dick harder than a rock. I turned on our favorite sex playlist and let the soft tunes fill the air. I’d stripped down to my boxers and waited at the foot of the bed for her to come out the bathroom.
“Oh, you’re trying to slut me out?” Honey asked as she sauntered out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her body.
“Fa sho. C’mere.”
My mouth salivated at the sight of Honey with a light coat of water on her exposed skin. Her scent of vanilla and shea butter with a hint of something citrusy almost sent me into a feral state of primal need.
“You come to me,” she requested. The mischievous grin on her face made my dick jump. She was about to make me work for the pussy, and I would enjoy the games—for now.
I let my boxers pool at my feet while I stroked my dick. He was already begging to enter her wetness, but he’d have to wait a minute. First, I had to feast on her pussy. I moved my hand up and down my length slowly as I approached Honey. My dick was ten inches and had a curve with some good girth. The first time Honey got a taste, she made sure I was aware no one else could ever taste my dick again.
“You know what? Never mind all that. I need you to lie down on the bed and let me swallow that dick, papa. It’s been so long. I need to feel you in my throat.”
“When did you become so nasty, baby?” I asked as I lay on the bed and crossed my arms behind my head.
“All these pent-up emotions got me talking crazy. Never let me go this long without that dick again, okay?”
“Heard.”
She climbed onto the bed and straddled my waist. She discarded her towel along the way and her perfect body sat atop me. My hand found her hips and slid down to her plump, round ass.
“I want it on my face,” I demanded as I spread her cheeks and wiggled them in my hands.
“No. I’m in charge. If I want to sit on your face, I will… just not yet.” Her eyes gazed into mine as she moved down to greet my dick. She licked the tip like a lollipop and held the shaft in a firm grip. Her firm hand moved up and down my length. I loved the way she stroked me.
“Fuck, bae. That feels good.”
“I know it, papa.”
She stuffed my length down her throat with hollow cheeks. My knees buckled as I placed my hand on her head. There was no use in trying to preserve the nut. She was going to get all this dick and the nut that followed.
There was a puddle of slobber under me as she sucked the soul out of my dick. My core heated as my orgasm slowly inched forward. “I’m finna buss,” I hissed. I tucked my bottom lip between my teeth and held her head in place. She didn’t mind the force as she hummed to intercept her gag reflex. Our eyes met as I fucked her warm, wet mouth with precise strokes until my seed came out in a powerful stream down her throat.
“Fuck, baby.” I caressed her cheek as she swallowed my nut. She trailed kisses up my body. She licked my chest before she made her way to my neck and firmly bit down on the skin. My hands continued to roam her body as she had her way with me. When her lips met mine, I smirked as her nasty ass stuck her tongue in my mouth. I was a real nasty nigga who didn’t give a fuck about a little after-nut smooch.
“Are you ready to sit on my face?” I queried as I gazed into her hazy eyes.
“You can eat me later. I need to feel that dick in me right now. My pussy is soaking wet. I need it now.”
Her request was granted.
“Mount that shit and let me see how well you ride this long dick.”
“You better hold on tight.”
Like a professional jockey, she straddled me and slowly stuffed all ten inches inside of her. The pleasure on her face made me brace myself for the ride of a lifetime.
“I don’t wanna hurt you, ma. You know you should have let me stretch that pussy first.”
“I played with it while I sucked you. I’m good to go.”
“Impatient ass.”
She rolled her eyes as she placed her hands on my chest and slowly rocked her hips. Inch by inch, I slowly entered her. The warmth of her wetness had me hard as a rock again. Honey’s pussy had the fountain of youth in there because I swear once I entered her, I became the Energizer Bunny in that wet mothafucka.
“You look so good with my dick inside of you, beautiful.” I lifted my hand up and pinched her nipples between my pointer finger and thumb.
“This is a new type of dick. Fiancé dick.” She giggled softly. She rotated her hips in a circular motion. She started off slowly, but her pace sped up as she loosened up to my size.
“Can you handle all this dick, ma?”
“Mm-hmmm. I can. I want to show out for you, fiancé.”
“Go crazy.”
She planted her feet firmly on the mattress as she grabbed the headboard behind me. She found her angle and got to bouncing on my dick like she was a professional porn star. She gave caution to the wind and pounded her pussy on my dick. I grabbed her waist to help keep her steady.
“I’m so close.” She panted. I met her bounces halfway, tapping that button in her coochie that drove her crazy. When her movements became too sporadic, I took control. I held her in place and treated her ass like a jackhammer. I assaulted her spot until she unraveled all over me. It was like I’d broken a fire hydrant the way her juices sprayed down on me.
“Ah, fuck! Baby!” Tears fell from her eyes as she rode out her orgasm. The tightness of her walls had me shooting my nut deep inside of her.
“Shit.” I hissed as she collapsed onto me.
“I can’t… feel my…” I lifted her off me and let her hover over my face. I massaged her lips and put my mouth over the swollen bead. The mixture of our orgasms slid out of her and into my mouth. Once I’d gotten a mouth full, I sat up and tilted her head back. I spit all of it into her mouth and watched with a smirk as she swallowed it.
“I love your nasty ass,” I commented.
“I know you do, baby.”
She pecked my lips a few times before she stood up on trembling legs.
“Lay back down. I’ll get a towel to clean you up.”
“Thank you.”
I rolled out of bed and went into the bathroom to clean myself up. Once I was clean and had gargled with mouth wash, I warmed up a few towels to get her cleaned up. When I entered the room, I cleaned her, getting all her creases and crevices. I kissed her inner thigh as she rubbed my head. Her expression softened.
“Marquise, I have something to tell you.”
“What’s up?”
“I, um?—”
BOOM.
The sound of the front door being kicked in downstairs had my senses heightened. My gut told me whatever was coming would be serious.
“What’s wrong?”
I lifted my hand to my lips. “Go into the closet and close the door. Put on some clothes.”
She shook with fear but listened to my instructions. I quickly pulled on my clothes from earlier and grabbed my gun from the bedside table. I made sure the gun had a full magazine, and I stood a safe distance from the door. I would go down with a fight.
You just proposed to Honey. You don’t need to scare her with a gun show.
I placed the gun on the bedside table and sat on the foot of the bed. I crossed my hands together and braced for the impact.
BOOM.
SWAT entered the room with guns aimed at me. My heart sank. All the hard work I’d done to get out of the game, and my bad deeds had caught up with me, anyway. Defeat washed over me. No matter how much I tried to run from this ending, it found me. My mind reeled with possible snitches. Could it have been one of Gee’s people in an act of revenge? Could it be someone from Merlot’s Cartel?
All I knew was the judge was about to make an example out of me.