Page 85 of Honey Sugar
“I just see a bunch of bushes.”
“I know. You have to drive through them. The mouth of the road is hidden. You won’t see it until you drive through the shrubbery a little.” Bear looked at me like I’d grown three heads. The expression made me laugh a little. I knew exactly what was wrong with him as we sat stopped in the middle of the road.
“You don’t want to scratch your paint.”
“Yeah. Exactly.”
“The car will be fine. Trust me. I used to have boyfriends that parked over here all the time. They had crazy-ass paint jobs and they never complained.”
“They were coming to see their girl. I’m not.”
“Okay. You’ll be fine though,” I shrugged. “You won’t get a scratch on it.” With a heavy huff, Bear put the Monte Carlo in drive and steered through the bushes. I could see him tense every time a branch brushed the shiny black paint on his car. Seeing him be so human made him not as scary.
Once we pulled onto the road, he visibly relaxed. “See? You didn’t die and the car didn’t fall apart.”
“Uh huh,” he grunted. “How far down should I drive?”
“Come down here until you see a brown shed.” I directed him to the shed where Daddy kept the moonshine stills. His car came to a stop before the road ended in a field of wildflowers and honeysuckle bushes.
We walked along in silence for a while before I said, “You know…Bear, it wouldn’t be such a horrible idea if you and Shadow became friends. You seem to be a lot alike.”
“Oh yeah? How’s that?” He asked. I looked down at his feet as he passed through clouds of dust my feet kicked up involuntarily. His shoes had been pristine before, now they were dingy with brown. I sure hoped it rained like the sky was promising. Sugar Bayou could use some water.
“You’re both quiet. Both keep to yourself. Nobody knows anything about either of you. That can get lonely, right? Why not have a friend. One person you know you can trust.”
“I don’t trust people, Ivy. Shadow is cool though. Besides, he has you. Any man who can find real love has everything he needs already. Thank you for looking out though.”
“Yeah but I’m his…I mean me and him are…” Bear slowed in his stride a little and smirked at me.
“Still having trouble admitting it?”
“I’m his girlfriend,” I said with pride, tipping my nose in the air. Bear nodded and kept walking.
“Good for you, Ivy.”
“You know what I mean though, Bear. It’s different when you have a friend and not a girlfriend or a boyfriend.”
“I know what you mean, Ivy.” He didn’t say another word. He was so much like Titan it was scary. It gave me a glimpse into what Titan could be if he had less regard for human life.
When we got back to the house, Titan met us at the front door. “Mind if I sit in the backyard while everything goes down?” Bear asked us. I shook my head and Titan shrugged.
“As long as it’s okay with Ivy.”
“It’s fine,” I said.
“Cool. Lure his snake ass outside when you’re ready. I’ll be on the bench.” He took his airpods out, settled them in his ear. I watched his thumb scroll through tons of jazz songs. I recognized most of them from the music selection Mama would play in Honey Sugar. When his fiery eyes caught me looking, I looked away. He chuckled then went out of the backdoor.
“I can’t tell if I like him or if he scares the fuck out of me. You two are so much alike that Iwantto like him,” I said, looking into Titan’s coal eyes.
“Bear is cool. Don’t forget who he is though,” Titan warned. His stare warmed my skin until I had to look away. Now wasn’t the time to get caught up in the galaxies I saw stirring in his eyes.
“I know. I know. I seem to like the quiet, dangerous type.” Titan’s eyebrow lifted but there was no smile on his handsome face. I fidgeted in my spot, shifting my weight from one foot to the other. He took a single step toward me and grabbed my hair in his fist.
“I’m the only type you need to like.” His voice was a low and rough growl that made my panties wet.
“What? So I can’t like Bear too?” I teased. Like I said, pushing Titan’s buttons gave me a thrill I couldn’t get anywhere else. The way his top lip curled right before he wrapped his hand around my throat almost made me come on the spot. My head thudded against the wall as his long fingers closed in tighter. He lowered his face and turned to the side so his ear hovered over my lips.
“Stop fucking playing with me, Ivy Lynn Marchand. Who’s your type?”
