Page 24 of Honey Sugar
A knot lodged in my throat while I continued to tickle her ribs, higher and higher. Ivy laughed and laughed. Her laughs rolled out one after another until the tip of my middle finger slipped beneath the band of her lacy bra.
I yanked my hand away like I’d touched lava.
My skin burned with black thoughts. I was glad what was in my head wasn’t seared onto my skin for her to see like some kind of fucked up novel. I moved away from her and stood up.
Ivy sat up slowly. She lifted her hand to her ear immediately. Her cheeks glowed bright pink while her sage green eyes bounced around the room looking for somewhere to land.
“My bad, Ivy. I wasn’t trying to…”
“I know,” she said, shaking her head. “We were playing around. That’s all. I’m still not taking your money.” She broke the ice with a single joke sharp enough to penetrate the thorny moment.
“Yeah. We’ll see,” I said. I couldn’t stop looking at her. When the fuck did she fill out like that? Last time I stayed on Bayou Drive, Ivy Marchand was skinny as a blade of grass. Now she had full breasts and thick thighs with hips that any man would have been happy to hold on to.
“Sit. Let me do your hair.” She sat on the bed and spread her legs wide enough to accommodate my shoulders. I sat in the space designated for me and I tried to ignore the sweet, familiar smell coming from her.
I closed my eyes and stumbled over a prayer to the ancestors in my head. Something had to fucking give. I couldn’t stay in this damn house thinking the way I thought. I was navigating choppy waters and I already had holes in my boat. I was bound to capsize eventually.
We sat in her bedroom with the door open, watching TV while she parted and greased my scalp before she cornrowed each section of my hair. She paused when she heard laughter and talking coming from downstairs. Laughter and talking wasn’t something that normally happened in their household. Even I knew that and I hadn’t been around in seven years. Ivy hopped off the bed and stood in the hallway.
My eyes were disobedient again. They focused on the jiggle of her ass when she moved. I shook my head and prayed harder in my mind.
“Titan, come here.” I met her in the hall and listened over the rail with her. Aunt Liv was actually laughing. Once the foreign sound died down, I heard another familiar voice.
Mama.
Ivy and I exchanged glances before bolting down the steps like children on Christmas morning. I had to have been hearing things. I knew Mama’s voice though. Her voice was the first thing I’d ever heard so I never mistook it for anything other than what it was.
Ivy and I rushed into the parlor and found the two sisters sitting on the couch, talking like no time passed between them. “You just pop up without calling or texting, Mama?” I stood there with a child-like grin stretching across my face. Seeing my mother turned me into a little boy. She stood up and we crashed into a hug.
“Surprise, Titan,” she laughed.
“What’s up? What are you doing here?”
“I wanted to show you something.” She looked past me at Ivy and her mouth hung open. “Oh my lord, Ivy Lynn.” She took slow steps toward Ivy like she’d disappear if she moved any faster. “You grew up on me. Look at you. You’re absolutely breathtaking.”
She wasn’t lying.
I stared too. Her green eyes hooked me every fucking time and I wished to god that they didn’t. “I guess I can’t call you baby girl anymore, huh?” Mama chuckled, touching Ivy’s soft hair.
“Hey, she’s always baby girl to me. I don’t care how old she gets.” I looked at her and her eyes locked onto mine.
“Nothing about this child is a baby anymore. You used to be so skinny! Look at you. I bet you chase the boys away left and right, don’t you?”
“No, Auntie Sarah. I keep my nose in my business. Nobody is interested in me.” That shit had to be a lie. I kept the thought to myself though. Quiet and tucked away in my brain.
“Uh huh. At least that’s what you tell the grown-ups.” Mama winked at her and turned to me. “You been keeping out of trouble, Titan?”
“Of course,” I grinned. “Now what did you want to show me?”
“Oh, yeah. Come on, Ivy. I’ll show you too.” She did the little shimmy she only did when she was excited.
We followed her to the front door and then in a big dramatic fashion she pulled it open. Outside, sitting in the driveway, was a shiny new Chevy Impala. I smiled then turned around and hugged my mother tight.
“You got yourself a car. I thought I was going to have to pull up on you,” I joked.
“No. I listened. I paid for it with cash and got some money knocked off for the trade in value from the Focus.”
“So you brought my change back is what you’re telling me?” We all laughed and went back inside. “I’m just playing, Mama. Keep the money. Can I talk to you for a second?” I pulled her off to the side while Ivy and Aunt Liv went back to the parlor.
