Then she goes and adds her hands, reaching in to cup my balls and do something that I couldn’t explain if you asked
The combination might as well be TNT.
A spark begins somewhere near my stomach, lighting a sizzling path lower and lower as she continues to bob her head up and down, consuming and releasing me.
When it reaches home base, I’m barely able to utter a warning.
Honey circles the tip, flicking her tongue around to encourage it, then swallows it whole as I erupt.
I’m practically melting against the counter when she pulls away with a smile.
“You really are amazing,” I say, still breathless.
Something in her smile falters, as though she wants to say something. Then she seems to think better of it, and instead hops up on her feet.
“I hope that means I get most of the masala, it’s my favorite.”
I laugh and shake my head as I adjust myself back into a decent state.
How the hell did I ignore such a prize living right across the hall from me for the past year?
Who needs Emily when you can have Honey?
* * *
We end up on the couch, eating the takeout and drinking beer while we watch a movie.
“I still can’t believe you got me to sit through a Disney movie.”
“Technically, but Enchanted is hardly your typical Disney princess movie.”
“Thank God for that.”
“Come on, you secretly loved it. The Central Park scene alone was worth it.”
“When he gets hit by the bicyclists? Yeah, that was pretty good.”
Honey laughs. “We’re just going to have to drag you kicking and screaming into the romance world aren’t we?”
“Don’t threaten me with a good time, Honey.”
“Oh, so you’re the adventurous type then. That’s good to know,” she says with a wicked smile.
“Do you want another beer?” I ask, noting her bottle is almost empty. More importantly, not wanting her to leave.
She lifts it and swirls the remaining contents, then shrugs. “Sure, tomorrow’s Monday.”
That triggers something in my head as I pop up from the couch to get her a new bottle.
“So you’re an actress?” I ask as I open it and walk back to the couch. “I figured based on your party that might be the case.”
Her brow rises as she takes the bottle. “I work in the theater. Singing, dancing, that sort of thing.”
“You definitely have talent,” I say, remembering her performance to “You Can’t Hurry Love.”
She laughs softly as she takes a sip. “That was just the tip of the iceberg.”
“I suppose I should come to one of your shows this week, see what lies beneath the surface.”
Her beer goes down the wrong hole and I pat her back as she erupts into a coughing fit.
“You okay?”
“Yes…yes,” she perks up, her eyes watery as she recovers. “I was just going to say that the show is sold out this week.”
“That hot, huh? Well, I should probably buy a ticket now for the next open show.”
“I can get you a ticket, Giuseppe,” she says leaning in and wriggling her adorable nose.
“Pays to know someone on the inside.”
“Certainly does.”
“What theater do you work at? I figure I can at least drop by after the show with flowers or somethin’. That’s what Valentine’s do, right?”
Honey pulls back and takes a long sip from her bottle. She pauses a moment swallowing, her eyes wide.
“Not this week,” she finally says, her face creased with a grimace. She lifts her leg and wiggles her socked foot, the same one I bandaged this past Tuesday. “I’m just barely able to perform so it isn’t going to be my best. I don’t want you running into a crowd that’s less than enthralled.”
“I have a hard time believing anyone could be less than enthralled with you.”
Her grimace fades and turns into a soft smile. “You really are a doll.”
“I hope that’s Georgia Girl speak for devilishly handsome, charming, smart—”
“Sexy,” she interjects, crawling closer to me until she’s in my lap, “great in bed, horrible sense of decor though,” she finishes looking around.
“Ay!” I protest in my best Sopranos imitation. “I spent a lot of time making this place the utilitarian utopia you see.”
Honey throws her head back and laughs, still in that ear-seducing way I love so much. When it comes back to face me she puts her arms around me and plays with the hair at the nape of my neck.
“Just, promise me this. You’ll wait until I get you the ticket to see me before you so much as google my name to find out about my performance. It’s…it’s best going in totally blind.”
“Sounds intriguing.”
Something anxious and excited passes across her eyes. “You have no idea.”
“You have my promise then.”
“Good,” she says, tapping my nose. “In the meantime, this Saturday you’ll get to see me in action. I’ll put on the best performance you’ve seen. Those attorneys at your firm won’t know what hit them.”
My smile fades as I consider what she’s saying. I bring my arms around to circle the small of her back.
“You don’t have to perform, Honey. Me? I like you just the way you are. You don’t have to change just to impress them.”
A half-smile spreads her lips. She brings one hand up to comb through the hair on my forehead. “That’s sweet, Giuseppe.”
She doesn’t buy it.
Even the name Giuseppe, which she probably knows I don’t go by at work, is a giveaway.
Suddenly I realize it isn’t just Honey that I’m talking about. This act I put on to fit in at ABC is the kind of bullshit that the old Giuseppe would have kicked my own ass over.
“It’s true,” I say. “And if they can’t handle it, fuck ‘em.”
Chapter Twenty-Two Honey
“De-tails, missy. Ya girl needs the deets.”
It’s Monday morning and I’m moving some of my stuff in with Jerome. Rose and Esmerelda had to work during the day, so Annabelle is the only other one here with me today.
I’m sleeping on Jerome’s couch for about a week until the roommate of another friend of mine moves out and frees
