Page 100 of True Honey
Creeping from my corner I approached the baby and got down on my knees, careful not to scare him or hurt him. His shirt was dirty with rings of drool and his face was covered in a sticky mess that might have been jam.
“Hi baby,” I said, sticking my hand out to him and letting him take my finger. It took him a long moment but a bright smile formed on his chubby cheeks and it made me smile in return. “What’s your name huh?” I poked his belly making him laugh and looked around at the toys on the ground. He was on a blanket covered in pickup trucks that looked old and dirty but in the corner a few letters were sewn into the fabric.
JOSHUA
“Joshua?” I said to him and he smiled again, “I’m Silas.” I don’t know why I told the baby my name, it’s not like he was going to be my friend but he laughed again, his tiny body giggling.
I sat outside with himin the hallway, playing with the toys and checking the numbers on my watch tick by until he started to get fussy. It started as just little grumpy whines but soon he started to cry. When Arlo used to do that, his mom would feed him or change his diaper but we were alone in the hallway and I didn’t know what to do.
Standing up I thought about knocking on the door, more than once, only to sit back down and try to calm him down myself. I was working up the courage to knock again only for the door to swing open.
“What the hell?” Dad’s words were harsh as he appeared from the door. His hair messing and his hand working his belt. “I told you to stay in the car!” His hand wrapped around my arm and yanked me from the floor, shoving me toward the stairs. I looked back to see the sad lady scooping the baby into her arms and gave him a small wave, knowing deep down that something was very wrong.
“I was out here for almost an hour!” I said, showing him my watch. “What were you doing?” I asked as he shoved me into the car.
“Business,” he slammed the door shut.
“We’re going to miss the movie,” I said sadly as he climbed into the driver's seat.
“What movie?” He scowled, pulling away from the curb too fast as I fumbled with my seatbelt and tried to sit upright.
“You told me we were going to see the movie!” I said, upset with everything that was happening but unsure how to ask the right questions.
“Grow up, Silas. You can’t always get what you want. Consider it a punishment for not listening to me.”
“Mr. Shore?” Eileen’s voice was like a loudspeaker, snapping me from the memory.
“I remember something,” I said, “I don’t know how credible it’ll be. I was only ten at the time.”
“Everything helps,” she gave me a patient,empathic smile.
I unbuttoned my shirt with one hand as the hotel room door clicked shut behind me and I tossed my bag on the long table in the entryway. The bed was still messy from our lack of sleep last night and for a second I thought maybe she hadn’t returned from the spa but she appeared from the bathroom door.
“Hey beautiful,” I whispered as she appeared in a white robe, her hair falling around her face in soft red waves.
“What’s wrong?” She looked me over, sensing the stress radiating from me.
Ignoring her question, too tangled with trauma I wasn’t ready to process. The hurt of my father's indiscretions were crashing down around me and Drew was the shelter I needed from the debris. I tossed the sweat drenched shirt onto the bed and crossed the room, unable to control the urge to get my fingers beneath that robe and against her skin. “You’re so soft,” the words came out as nothing more than a vibration as I buried my face against the base of her throat and inhaled.
It was the only thing that could regulate my frayed nervous system.
“They gave me just about every treatment downstairs, I’ve been touched by about seven strangers and smell like coconut,” she giggled.
“Mm,” I hummed, “I like it.” My fingers travelled over her hips and into the soft skin of her ass cupping tightly and bringing her as close as I could without melting together completely.
Her hand went into my hair and I thought that would be the end of me, my whole body shuddered from the contact and my eyes fluttered closed as she tugged gently pulling my head back.
“Better?” She asked in a tender tone.
“Better,” I hummed, trying to retreat back into her.
“You have to get ready for dinner,” she whispered, coaxing me back a touch but I wasn’t ready to break away completely. “You have to feed me Silas,” she said with a laugh. “If you don’t I’ll wither away and who will you hold hostage then?”
I looked up at her, green eyes playful and observant, the lights from the windows reflecting back at me like stars. “You ate,” I teased, nodding to the room service tray from this morning.
She narrowed her eyes on me and I knew I wasn’t going to win the fight, she was right I needed to get ready for dinner. We were meeting with a few of my classmates from school that I hadn’t seen in a few years. It was another opportunity to cement the relationship that no longer felt fake but for the sake of everyone involved should have remained that way.
“Shower with me?” I asked her.
