BEES STING WHEN PROVOKED
“I’m finishing the final settlements with the women I recorded,” I revealed, stabbing into my pancakes.
Maple syrup.
Fucking pancakes.
Maple syrup and pancakes.
Pancakes made everything right.
Across from me, Serenity sat chewing a red velvet pancake from the variety platter I’d ordered. She didn’t speak. Didn’t screech, buzz, or make a peep. Quiet wasn’t her default. Not with me. The subdued mood placed me on high alert. It wasn’t how I’d left her. Something was off.
Forking a sweet potato pancake from the center of the table, I placed it on my plate and bathed it with maple syrup. The gym was next on my list of things to tackle for the morning. The gym and calisthenics to work all this sugary shit off.
“Is that the best course of action?” Finally, she asked, starting to work on her eggs.
“Baby, it’s been the course of action. You already knew about this from several months back. It’ll keep all parties silent. And now they’re informed of who has possession of the video, so if Mya decided to leak them, she’d be charged with revenge porn.
“Hmm.”
Relaxing in my seat, I looked at Serenity. Something was definitely off. Something was bothering her. Her spirit was troubled. Something she wasn’t saying. It was feasting on her. Eating away at her usual honey-filled mood.
“That’s all you’ve got to say?”
“Mmh hmm.”
My eyes scrunched as my head tilted. “Bee, what’s up with you? You’ve been quiet since you walked through that door.”
“I went to see Mya.”
Resting my fork down, I ran my hand down the back of my head. A thousand wrinkles were born across my face. I thought I was finally putting this bullshit to rest. Wildly, the vein in my temple throbbed.
“Did anything I said this morning register?”
“I heard you loud and clear.”
“Mmh.”
Through pursed lips, I nodded my head. Something felt off when I woke up this morning. It seemed I’d located the source. Serenity wasn’t quite Serenity. I couldn’t place it, but now, with this …
“Don’t you want to know what she told me?”
“Nope. If you ever feel like you gotta choose sides with me, it’s fuck you and fuck them.” With my chair scooted back from the table, I sat with my arms crossed.
“So, fuck me , really, Duke?”
“Don’t twist my motherfucking words.”
“Don’t talk to me like I’m one of your niggas.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m your girlfriend— your woman , not one of the boys!” Her little fist banged the table as she screeched.
“I don’t need an explanation on why I should address and speak to you a certain way. I’m asking you why the fuck you—” I pointed directly at her. “—Felt the need to go downstairs when I specifically told you to stay away from her, Bee?”
“You’re always telling me what the fuck to do, Duke,” she calmly clipped and, in turn, fractured my fucking heart.
Never had I intended to overstep with Serenity. Maintaining a healthy degree of boundaries when it came to her and the advice I gave was always at the forefront of my thoughts. I thought she enjoyed being told what to do. Nothing about her demeanor screamed that I’d been too pushy or too helpful. I didn’t know she felt like… this . “Tell me how you really feel.”
In and out, a stream of air fled my chest. This wasn’t my Bee. This was Mya and Duke on rewind. That bitch had rubbed off on my woman just that quickly. She was toxic, like a fucking pathogen in the air.
“And answer my question, Bee.”
“Because she has everything! She took everything. All the things you once desired, you now don’t because of her. Have you seen that fucking condo? She doesn’t deserve that shit, Duke. She doesn’t deserve to have all this fucking power over you. She doesn’t deserve to have her hands in your pockets!
“What if I want kids? What if I want to get married? She’s wearing your last name like a fucking badge of honor. Why the fuck do I have to share her with you? Why do I have to settle with the man of my dreams?!”
Tears mounted her lids, threatening a hurricane. In turn, she knocked the wind from my fucking chest. Always did. Expect the unexpected with Bee. That was the thing with bees, though. They stung when provoked.
This was jealousy squared.
Rising from my seat, I eased over to her side of the table. Cupped her chin. Traced that place with my thumb. Forced her eyes on me.
“Who the fuck told you that shit, hmm? Was it Mya?”
Thunder and rain. In her eyes, I witnessed it brewing. This was the calm and the storm.
“You don’t have to settle with me, Bumble Bee. You can have whatever it is your heart desires.”
Dipping lower, close enough to kiss her lips, I said, “You want babies? You want to be Mrs. Serenity Stepford? You want her to drop my name?”
She blinked, fanning away tears with her long-ass lashes.
“Tell me, baby,” I urged, kissing her lips.
Whatever the fuck she wanted, I was prepared to give it. The world. The whole fucking universe was at her fingertips.
“Everything and anything for you, Bee.”
Wild and untamed, the affirmation surfaced, and I meant every fucking word.
“Duke?” SHe sniffed.
“Yeah?”
“I’m sorry. I don’t feel like you overstep when you give me advice. I just... What is happening to us?”
Myaquanna Juliette was happening. The past few months had been rocky per her interference. I’d given her far too much leverage over my present. It was time to put her and all things concerning her to rest. It was past time.