Page 15 of Honey Sugar
It was a hug we both needed.
“I love you too, baby girl.” When we broke our embrace, I looked at her and said, “So this means I don’t have to watch Breakfast at Tiffany’s…right?”
“I guess so.” She pouted then stretched her legs out. “Can I ask you something else while I’m digging through your business?”
“What’s up?” I quizzed.
“I heard a few years ago that you were in New Orleans selling drugs.” Her voice dropped down to a whisper.
“If weed is a drug then I guess that’s true. I don’t sell any hard shit.”
“You sell weed?” Her interest seemed piqued and I couldn’t do anything but laugh at it. I never pictured Ivy as a weed head but I hadn’t seen her since I was twelve. Things change.
“I grow it. That’s my passion. Selling it brings in money so I can help Mama around the house. Using it relaxes me.”
“Do you smoke?” She tugged on her ear a little and fidgeted in her spot.
“Not really. I’m more of an edibles and tinctures man. I’ll vape sometimes though. Depends on my mood I guess. If you really want to ingest THC and make it worth your while you should be eating it and not smoking it. You get a more potent high that way. Smoking is wasteful.”
“You’re like a weed guru, huh?” She smiled.
“I wouldn’t say that. You know how candy is your happy place?” I asked. “Weed is mine.” I looked down when my phone buzzed with another text from Mario.
Mario: Answer the phone, Shadow. We gotta talk.
I pressed my index fingers against the bridge of my nose and tried to figure out what the fuck to say to him. I couldn’t avoid him forever or else things would seem suspect.
“Shadow?” Ivy said. I looked up and realized she was reading my phone. I put it to sleep and stood up. “Is that your nickname at home?”
“Something like that.” I shook the nerves out of my hands and watched for my phone to ring. I knew Mario would be calling soon. I wasn’t afraid of him at all but I knew I couldn’t trust him or anyone else. I knew he was a weak link and he’d come back to bite me in the ass later on. I had to handle him with extreme care.
When my phone lit up with a call from an unknown number, I knew for sure I couldn’t trust that motherfucker. I answered the call anyway. “Yo,” I said.
“Shadow, where the fuck did you disappear to last night? We were supposed to ride back to your spot after shit died down and I haven’t seen you once.”
“Damn, I didn’t know you cared so much.”
“Haha. Fuck you. Did you hear one of Bear’s boys got hit up in an alley?”
“Nah. I didn’t hear about that shit. What happened?” I feigned ignorance and listened to the story from Mario’s point of view. The story was pretty much spot on. I couldn’t deny any of the details. Mario told me that one of Bear’s soldiers went on a hunt for whoever was selling bumpers on his turf and he never came back. They found him in an alley with a bullet in his brain. His body was already cold by the time the cops got there. There were no suspects.
Ivy walked into the bathroom with a huge bottle of Tylenol then shut the door. I relaxed on her bed and listened to Mario go on and on about Bear’s soldier getting shot.
“Where did you run off to though?” He finally asked.
“I went home. I sold out and you were ghost. Where were you?” I shot his own question right back at him because I didn’t like the accusatory sound in his voice. He tried to mask it with phony laughs but I saw through that shit. I always did.
“I was still selling. I didn’t come close to selling out. How much did you make, Shadow?” He asked. Curiosity curled around his question like black tendrils.
“Five thousand,” I lied. I made ten easily. I over-charged tourists because they had no idea what high-grade drugs went for in New Orleans and they wanted to have fun.
“Oh,” he muttered. “So where you at? I thought you were making an edibles drop off today at the dispensary.”
“Nah. Not today. Moms wanted me to go check on some family out of state so I headed out this morning. I’ll be back tomorrow night.” Everything out of my mouth was a lie. I wasn’t coming back any time soon. Especially not after talking to Mario.
“Damn, what’s going on? Everybody okay?”
“Yeah. I can’t wait to get the fuck out of here.” My eyes shifted to the bathroom door when Ivy opened it. She walked out in a shirt too roomy for her frame. It hung off her shoulder and showed her delicate collarbones and skimmed her upper thighs. She sat the Tylenol bottle on the nightstand and climbed in bed beside me. Things were way more cramped now that we were older.
