Chapter 16
“Thank you for starting right away. We appreciate your willingness to get back on your feet after being in prison. All we ask is that you limit your interactions with customers. We know about your anger issues and do not want that to interfere with your job. Let’s face it; these customers can bring out the worst in people.”
I nodded as I listened to the manager of the local grocery store. The job with my uncle didn’t pan out how I wanted it to, so I allowed my PO to set me up with someone she thought could help me establish a good foundation. I would make eighteen an hour, which wasn’t bad, considering the minimum wage hadn’t changed since I was a kid.
“Thank you for the opportunity,” I replied.
“For sure. My dad went to prison back in the day, and no one gave him a chance to make a living. It took Mister Okafor opening his store for recently incarcerated individuals to really make a difference in the community. My husband took over the store not too long ago and kept that same ideology. All people ever really need is a chance to show the world they aren’t who they used to be.”
“Fa sho. I’m grateful.”
Henrietta was a cute older woman with a kind voice. She had the southern hospitality down. She gave me my uniform shirt and told me to wear black pants and slip resistant shoes to complete the look. I’d have three shirts to keep in rotation. I’d work five days a week and would have two consecutive off days, which varied depending on the schedule. My new norm would take some time to get used to until I got the government off my back and could touch my money stash.
“Aliza will help you until your lunch break. Let me go take you to her.”
Henrietta led me to the storage room where a couple of people worked. She introduced me to everyone: Caleb, Mark, and Aliza. Aliza was fine as hell. She was about the average height for a woman, and her body was crazy thick. I could see her ass from the front.
Aliza was a light-skinned woman with her hair pulled up into braids. She had hoop earrings and shiny clear lip gloss on her juicy ass lips.
“Aliza, this is the new hire, Marquise. Marquise, this is the warehouse manager, Aliza. She will get you situated with the rest of the crew.” Henrietta left us be.
I licked my lips as I gazed down at Aliza. “What you need me to do, beautiful?”
She batted her long lashes at me as she took in my appearance. I towered over her with my muscular build. I got my signature style back down to the low-cut fade and my beard returned to the low trim as well. I was never an ugly man, and the women always made me feel loved.
“Um, you can start with loading the cart up to stock the refrigerators. Packs of water, sports drinks, beer, and stuff like that.”
“Fa sho. I got you.”
“If you need anything, just call my name.” She placed her hand on my arm and grinned. She had a pretty smile, but she looked young. If we were going to flirt or fuck, I needed to make sure she wasn’t too young to deal with me.
“How old are you, ma?”
She smirked. “Grown.”
I shook my head. “Grown will get my ass sent back to prison. I need a number.”
“I just turned twenty-three.”
“Your young ass.”
“How old are you, then?”
“I got five years on you.”
“That’s nothing. I’m grown. You’re grown. I don’t know how long you were gone, but I know you ain’t had no good pussy in a minute.”
I adjusted my dick in my boxers and chuckled. “This shit will have you hiding in my bushes, baby. You don’t want that.”
She licked her lips. “I’m a big girl. I can handle all that.”
“Fa sho. We’ll see about that. I need to get to work, though.”
“Mm-hmm. Once you’ve loaded the cart, push it to Caleb, and he’ll show you where to go.”
I walked away from her and went to the large array of boxes. I pulled up my pants, put my headphones in my ear, and jammed out while I loaded the cart to stock the shelves. Constant movement made the time fly by. Before I knew it, I was clocking out for my lunch break.
I opted to go to the deli and get a ten-piece wing and potato wedge combo. I had a Sprite and chocolate chip cookie for dessert. As I ate my meal in peace, I scrolled on my phone. So much had changed in the world. It was weird to see how powerful social media was these days. Folks could become billionaires from setting up a camera and talking on the screen. It put a lot of shit into perspective for me. I was too private of a person to let millions of people know my moves in these streets. I may not have had the power anymore, but nobody needed to know my every move.
“Hey, you.”
I looked up from my phone to see Aliza. She stood a few steps away from the table I set up shop at. She gave me the look most of the bitches on the block gave me. Back then, I never gave them a chance because all I needed and wanted was Honey.
Fuck, man…
Honey Hix was the love of my life, but my actions caused her to ghost me. The thought of my lady made me feel a way. Six years without her touch. Six years without her smile, her scent, and her pussy.
I cleared my throat. “What’s up?”
“Do you want company?” she asked as she tucked her bottom lip between her teeth.
I was a man who could read a woman like a children’s book. It was clear as day what she wanted. I had six years’ worth of nut ready to paint her walls if she wanted it. The shit I saw in prison was enough to keep my dick tucked away. I didn’t even beat my shit because wasn’t nothing in that mothafucka worth nutting to. I put all my attention into working out, which was why I was so fit now.
“I’m finished eating. I got about twenty minutes left before I need to get back to it. What are you trying to get into?”
“I know a place we can go.”
I smirked. “I’ll go if you promise you not gon’ stalk me after. We work together, and I need this shit to work out for me.”
“I pinky promise.” She held out her manicured pinky finger. I hooked mine with hers as she giggled.
I licked my lips. “Lead the way.”
She turned on her heels and walked away. I gathered my trash to throw away as I stood up from the table. I stayed a few steps behind as she led me to an office in the back of the store. When I was inside, she twisted the lock and closed the blinds so no one could see what we were in here doing.
“Whose office is this?” I asked as I sat in the leather seat and looked around the desk for a nametag.
“My dad’s.”
I blinked. “Your dad?”
“Yeah. He sort of owns this specific store. My mom was the one who hired you.”
“Nah, baby. You want me to get fired on my first day?” I laughed.
“Not at all. My dad only comes to the store on Wednesdays and Thursdays. My mom just left for her lunch break. She goes home to eat. Now, we have a good fifteen before you have to give Caleb his next break, so shut up and drop those drawers, sexy.”
“Go crazy then, ma.”
She got down on her knees and tugged at the button on my pants. She removed my dick from my boxers and wasted no time swallowing me up.
Her mouth was wet and warm. Her hands were firm on my base. I could tell she wasn’t used to a dick as thick as mine, so she gagged a couple times before she stuffed me down her throat.
“Fuck, ma. You better slow down.”
She hummed and slurped me up as she stroked my shaft. I closed my eyes and held her braids in my hand. I thrust up into her mouth repeatedly until I nutted down her throat. The nut was powerful. It felt like I’d poured a gallon of cream down her mouth.
I almost farted from the power of my release.
“Shit…”
She licked me clean before she stood up and pulled down her pants. “Do you have a condom?”
I shook my head. “Nah. I don’t.”
She poked out her bottom lip into a cute pout. “Fine. We can pause for now. However, I’m going to need my nut too.”
“Fa sho. I want you to get your nut too, ma.”
“Here… Call me when you’re ready to drown in this pussy.” She grabbed a sticky note and wrote her number down. She placed it in my hand and stepped back.
I chuckled. “Fa sho.” I stood up and made sure I looked presentable before I walked out and headed back to the storage room. On my trip, I stopped and grabbed a bottle of water out of the refrigerators near the check-out lines.
“Jenifer, hold on. I think we need to get an extra heavy whipping cream.”
The voice.
I froze in place as I closed my eyes. This had to be my mind playing tricks on me. There was no way my Honey was in the store, right? There was no way we’d be here together. I slowly opened my eyes and turned toward the sound of the voice.
The air in my lungs depleted.
Honey.
She looked so fucking good. She had her hair pulled into a ponytail. She wore a simple tank top and leggings, but got damn, her body was spectacular. She’d gotten thicker since the last time I saw her.
Do I approach her?
What do I say?
How do I say it?
Memories of our last conversation flooded my mind. “I can’t wait for you. I’m sorry. Please, don’t contact me.”
Those words haunted me all six years. For the first year, I assumed she’d come around. How could she completely wash her hands of me after all we’d been through together? When one year turned into three, I accepted my fate. I’d lost the love of my life.
However, she was a few feet away from me now. Was it God who put us here at the same time? I couldn’t let her go without at least speaking to her, right? Would she even want to see me?
As my mind swirled from the chaotic thoughts running through my head, I hadn’t realized my feet moved until I’d crashed into the source of my turmoil.
Honey.
The feel of her body against mine unlocked memories I’d suppressed long ago. Her scent differed from what I remembered but was captivating. When our eyes met, my soul awakened once again.
My Honey.
“Hey.” I smiled at her.
Her eyes widened as if she’d seen a ghost. Granted, it probably felt like it.
Lord, don’t let her reject me again.