Page 2 of F Is for Honey Bee

“I would believe you if you told me nothing was going on,” he answered honestly. “I certainly wouldn’t have put my hands on you.”

“You shouldn’t have pushed me that far.” Flint spoke in a matter-of-fact tone, as if he hadn’t done anything wrong. He was blaming Jonah for the argument and physical attack, as if it was all Jonah’s fault for pushing him too far.

“You’re blaming me for your actions?” Jonah’s mouth hung slightly open.

Flint ignored his question, instead maintaining his unnervingly calm tone. “Just admit you’re still screwing Arlo behind my back and we can work this out.” A slight twitch started under his left eye.

That was not a good sign. It was a warning sign that he was struggling to hold back his anger, like a bomb with a dangerously short fuse.

“I’m not admitting to something that isn’t true.” Jonah feigned shifting his weight to his other foot, giving him the chance to inch closer to the lamp. “Your jealousy is causing you to become paranoid and fueling your irrational beliefs.”

“My beliefs are not irrational!”

Jonah flinched as his muscles tensed, his breath coming out in quick bursts. All he wanted was for Flint to leave. They’d only been dating for six weeks, and four of those weeks had been filled with intense arguments about Arlo.

Jonah’s honesty had backfired in a spectacular way. Only two weeks into their relationship, they’d been cuddled on the couch when the subject of exes had come up.

Flint opened up about his past with his ex-boyfriend, Shane, who would often start arguments over nothing and sometimes exploded in fits of rage. In response, Jonah mentioned that at least Flint didn’t have to see his ex every day at work.

Though Jonah hadn’t known it at the time, the seemingly innocent remark had been the nail in the coffin of their relationship.

At first, Flint had asked about Arlo out of “curiosity,” but then he’d started showing up at Jonah’s workplace after his shifts ended.

Once Flint had gotten his first glimpse of Arlo, the arguments and accusations started. That was when things should have ended between them.

Now Jonah just wanted to forget this nightmare of a relationship and move on, but Flint refused to leave.

They glanced toward blue and red lights swirling over the living room walls.

“You called the cops?” Flint gestured toward the windows.

Jonah looked at him with disbelief. “Have you seen me holding my phone or making a call this entire time?”

The doorbell rang, and Jonah began to make his way toward it, but Flint was already there. A bewildered expression snapped into place before he opened the door, as if he had suddenly been thrust into the spotlight and the performance had begun.

“Can I help you, officers?”

Now Jonah wondered if Shane had been the one who’d started arguments or if it had really been Flint.

You know damn well it wasn’t the ex-boyfriend.

He took a few steps forward until he saw two deputies on his porch. The one on the right had a tag on his shirt that read “Deputy Tenshi,” and his hands rested on his utility belt.

On the left stood Deputy Kingsman, his hands loose at his sides.

Despite their often intrusive nature, Jonah’s neighbors may have actually saved his life tonight.

“We received a disturbance call,” Deputy Tenshi said as the radio attached to his shoulder erupted with someone talking police jargon.

“A disturbance?” Flint kept up his act of innocence, sounding confused. “My boyfriend and I simply had a disagreement, but there was no reason for the neighbors to involve the police.”

Deputy Tenshi focused his piercing brown gaze on Jonah, his expression revealing nothing. After an intense moment, he shifted his gaze back to Flint.

Yet, Jonah felt like Deputy Tenshi was still closely observing him.

“Mind if we come inside?” the deputy asked.

“I told you—”

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