Fornication Volume One (Honey Dip) Read online

“Oh, shit,” he growled. “Say you going to do anything for me.”

  “I’ll do anything for you.”

  “Say it louder.”

  “I’ll do anything you want me to.”

  “Louder.”

  “I’LL DO ANYTHING FOR YOU,” April screamed, and Rahim came.

  He smacked her on her ass. “That’s all I need to hear. Now go home and pack your shit. You’re coming with me.

  April’s body exploded in an orgasm so powerful that her body jerked violently against the wheel. Rahim pulled her close to him and she held on as if her life depended on it. The tears she cried in agony moments before became tears of joy.

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  Peanut searched in every crack house and hot spot he could think of looking for Mookie, partly because he was worried about her, and partly because he couldn’t stop thinking about Honey. I shouldn’t have kissed her, he thought. If I wouldn’t have kissed her, I wouldn’t know how good she tasted, how warm her body felt. I wouldn’t be going crazy right now. I wouldn’t want her so bad. He pulled his car over in front of the crack house ran by Sam’s squad. He turned the car off and sighed. Well, maybe I’d still want her this bad.

  Peanut got out of the car and extended his hand to Sam’s little brother. “What’s up, Wayne?”

  Wayne grasped Peanut’s hand and pulled him in to give him a half hug. “Ain’t shit up around these parts. Why you slummin’, nigga? If I was surrounded by primo pussy like you, niggas would have to report me missing ’cause I’d never come up for air.”

  Peanut laughed. Everyone in the hood seemed that he got pussy 24/7 because he ran with Fornication, but nothing could be further from the truth. There weren’t enough days in a year to convince these niggas otherwise, though, so Peanut didn’t even try. He cleared his throat. “Speaking of primo pussy, has Mookie been by here?”

  “Man, I ain’t seen Mookie in months. She don’t fuck with G-town no more.”

  “Is that right?” Peanut said, gazing up at the crack house. “You mind if I take a look?”

  “Be my guest,” Wayne said, waving towards the door. His cell phone rang and he stared at it for a few seconds before taking the call.

  Peanut walked into the dilapidated old row house with a heavy heart. The last thing he wanted to do was find Mookie in a dump like this. She was his best friend. She’d never treated him like a kid, even when he was one. The smell of freebase turned his stomach and made him flash back to the days when he and Portia had to visit these places on the regular. She would trick to feed him, never taking any food for herself, never complaining about the awful things the men did to her. His mind wandered back to his eleventh birthday. Portia had promised to take him to the movies. Said she would work over some dudes and then they would have enough money for popcorn and everything. That was a day of firsts. The first time he witnessed an orgy, the first time he saw a dead body, and the first time he laid eyes on Honey-Dip. Peanut weaved in and out of rooms, turning tricks over looking for Mookie. He was relieved when he didn’t find her.

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  Honey woke up from her vodka-induced nap with a banging headache. The room spun wildly and her hands still trembled. She had to take deep breaths and count to ten twice before she felt confident enough to try to sit up. Small, firm hands pushed her back onto the bed.

  “Easy there, tiger. What do you think you’re doing?” Portia asked.

  Honey’s brain rocked when her head hit the pillow. She squinted up at Portia and frowned. “What the fuck did you do that for?” She bought a hand up to shield her eyes and get a better look at her friend. Portia was dressed in jeans and t-shirt, which was rare these days.

  “I did that because you’re in no position to get up.” She swirled a cup of ice water around and offered it to her. “I walked all the way to the store to get you some medicine. Now tilt your head up just a little so you can take it.”

  Honey didn’t argue, because it was useless to argue with Portia. She pushed up as much as she could, took the pills and drank enough water to push them down. She laid her head back on the pillow slowly and sighed. “You don’t have to baby me, Portia. Just give me a few minutes and I’ll get dressed and get more clothes for the party. It won’t be what you’re used to, but they’ll be nice.” She put three fingers up to her temple, “Prostitute’s honor.”

  “You are not going anywhere, Honey. Lay your ass down and get some rest. I’ll send somebody else to get the clothes. You won’t be attending this party.”

  “Whoa, wait a minute. What do you mean, I’m not going to the party?” She sat up and the room tilted, but she fought off the wave of nausea and looked Portia in the eye. “I’m not missing the fucking pick up party that I spent all day planning. What kind of shit is that?”

  Portia smoothed Honey’s hair back and pushed it behind her ear. “You don’t fool me.”

  Honey stared into Portia’s eyes. “What does that supposed to mean? I don’t fool you. I’m not trying to fool anybody. I know I’ve been fucking up the last few days…”

  “Honey, I wouldn’t care if you fucked up the last few months. It’s not about fucking up. It’s about you being okay and, baby, you are far from okay.” She pushed Honey back down in the bed. “Like I said, you don’t fool me. Everyone else around here may think that you’re hard as nails, but I know you. You have the same look on your face that you had the day I snuffed Slim’s lights out.” Portia pulled the covers up and tucked her in. “Crack may have made it easy for you to sell your body, and you can still do it because it’s become normal to you, but you ain’t no killer, Honey. You never were. I know the shit that went down with Roger and his wife has you shaken to the core. I know that you’ll pretend that everything is okay until you break down. I already got one girl lost and strung out and I am not about to lose you, too.”

  Honey closed her eyes and sighed. “So, what now? How do I pull my weight around here I don’t get somebody on the hook?”

  Portia stood up and stretched. “Bitch, it’s one party. You’re going to miss one party to get yourself together. I’ll make contacts and we’ll go on a few dates. You’ll pull your weight, don’t you worry your pretty little head about that.”

  Portia walked out the room and closed the door. She was about to go lie down for a little while, but she heard the front door open. She raced down the hall and ran down the steps hoping to find Mookie, but it was April who walked into the house. Peanut followed soon after.

  Portia’s heart fell into her stomach but she did not let it show on her face. “Hey, April.”

  April ignored her and walked towards the stairs. Peanut met the desperate look in his sister’s eyes and shook his head no to the question he knew was coming.

  Portia turned towards the stairs. “April, have you seen Mookie?”

  “Hell no, I wasn’t looking for her. I spent the day with Rahim.” April said as she walked back to her room.

  Portia rolled her eyes and followed April up the steps. “Did you break up with him?”

  “No, I didn’t break up with him.”

  Portia started to ask if she’d gotten any money from him, but changed her mind. I’ll deal with that bullshit later, she thought. She took a deep breath and counted to ten silently. “I need you to go get our clothes for the party.”

  “Why? I’m not going to the party.” April pulled her suitcases from the bottom of her closet, set them on her bed and unzipped them.

  “What the fuck do you mean, you’re not going to the party?”

  “I didn’t stutter,” April shouted and then looked up fearfully when she remembered who she was talking to. “I’m sorry,” she said quickly. She opened a drawer and pulled all of her clothes out. She plopped them down on the suitcase and opened another drawer. “I have a shot at a normal life with the man that I love, and I‘m not about to fuck it up by going to a pick up party.”

  “You’re leaving?” Portia asked quietly
as she watched April pack.

  “I love him, Portia.” April said while opening the pink jewelry box that Babygirl bought her for her birthday and dumping it out on top of her clothes. “I love him and I want to be with him. I am tired of this shit.”

  Portia cocked an eyebrow and walked over to the bed. She sat down on the edge and fingered the smaller suitcase. “He doesn’t love you, April.”

  April walked to her closet. “What do you know about love, Portia?” April laughed. “You might want to stick to the jungle fucking advice, because you know nothing about love.”

  Portia lips curved into a cold smile. “You’re right, April. I have never been in love with a man, but romantic love is not the only kind of love. I love my girls, I love my brother. I have family love, so I can recognize love when I see it.”

  April grabbed her clothes out of the closet and stuffed them inside a suitcase. “You don’t love anything but money and who brings it to you.” She laughed as she slipped out of her dress and into a pair of jeans. “I have a lot of respect for you, Portia, but please spare me the bullshit. I’m out of here. My man has asked me to go on the road with him and I’m going. This whole shit you got going here is a joke. Fornication use to be popping but it ain’t even got a little fizzle going on any more.” She slipped into her heels and pulled on a cranberry top. “You slippin’, Portia, and this fucked up little family is over. You’re the only one that doesn’t know it.” She sat down at her vanity and fixed her make up. She looked at Portia through the mirror. “Mookie is on her way to being a junkie. Honey-Dip is old as shit, and doesn’t know whether she wants to be a mom or a two-dollar trick. Babygirl is a fucking serial killer in the making and poor Peanut doesn’t even have a fucking clue.” She closed her compact and put lotion on her hands. “The speakeasy hasn’t been open in months. Your only income is pussy and that ain’t necessarily breaking the bank, is it?” She smiled. “Nope, it isn’t.”

  Portia stood up slowly and walked over to April. “You through?”

  April stood up and prepared for a fight. “I think I am. I’m through with this whole fucking place.”

  Portia nodded. “Good. Because I love you, I’m not going to fill you with bullet holes. Because you disrespected me in my own home, and let me know that you really don’t give a fuck about anyone here, I’m going to let you go.” Portia stepped into her face and April could see the tears misting in her eyes. She tried to take a step back but ran into the vanity. “I can think of nothing worse for you. Pack your shit and get the fuck out. When you find out that your precious Rahim doesn’t give a fuck about you, don’t call me. Don’t even think my name.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Peanut stood in the hallway as Portia came out of the room. The tears he saw streaming down his sister’s face tore at his heart. He knew that look on her face well.

  “She’s cut off, Peanut, and I mean it.” She swiped angrily at a tear on her cheek. “If she wants to walk that road, she’ll walk it alone.” She ran down the stairs screaming for Babygirl.

  Peanut sighed and walked into April’s room. She was standing by her bed having a real hard time closing the suitcases she had filled near to bursting. “What are you doing, Ladybug?”

  April looked up from her packing and sighed. “Peanut, don’t start your bullshit, okay? I told your sister the truth and that’s why she ran out of here in tears.”

  Peanut laughed. “I saw my sister cry about three or four times in my life and every single time she cried, she was about to fuck somebody up. The fact that you are standing here without any bullet holes in ya ass means Portia cares. I love you, Ladybug, and I don’t want you to go. But if you do, I want you to know I can’t help you. Don’t call me for anything.” The defeated look on her face hurt him, but at the end of the day he was on Portia’s side and he needed her to know that before she walked out of Fornication. He sighed and turned to go.

  “Peanut, wait.” April met him at the door. “Come here,” she said, opening her arms.

  Peanut turned around and hugged her tightly. “I don’t want you to go. I hooked up your surround sound so you can blast that classical bullshit all throughout the house.”

  April pulled away from him and sighed. “You may not understand this, but sometimes you have to follow your heart. I got a chance at something real and I’m going to take it, because I would die inside if somebody grabbed it after I let it slip away. I wish I could explain it better, but I can’t.” She walked back over to her bed. “All I can tell you is this: I love Rahim, Peanut. I know you don’t understand it now, but someday you will. Someday you are going to find somebody that means more to you than your own life.” She sat on the smaller suitcase to close it. “When you do, I hope you’ve got balls enough to grab it, even if it means walking away from everything that you know.” She pulled the larger suitcase off of the bed and quickly dropped it to the floor with a grunt.

  Peanut laughed. “You’re still a weakling. All that kicking and shit does nothing for the muscles, eh?” He grabbed the suitcase from her and headed to the door. “Maybe I can do one last thing for you.”

  She scrubbed the tears from her eyes with the back of her hand and followed him into the hallway. She didn’t even realize she was crying; anger, love, and regret swelled inside of her chest. “Thank you, Peanut.”

  Peanut looked at Honey’s bedroom door as he went down the steps and a surge of longing swept through his system. I should be thanking you, Ladybug, he thought. I should be thanking you.

  He walked her all the way to her car and hugged her one last time before heading straight back up to Honey’s room.

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  Portia looked at the empty bottles of liquor on the kitchen counter and shook her head. They were almost out of booze. She hadn’t been to the beer distributor or the liquor store and she didn’t know when she was going to go. Everything is just way too much, she thought. Everything is slipping out of my control. I’m tired, she thought as she picked up the trash can and held it up to the counter. She swept all the empty bottles inside. She dropped the can on the floor and checked her watch. “I have four hours before I meet the strippers Honey picked out at Club Blaze on Broad Street,” she mumbled while washing her hands.

  She dried her hands on her jeans and dug her cigarettes out of her pocket. Standing in the kitchen doorway, she watched helplessly as April walked out of her life. She wanted to go to her, and tell her that she’s making a big mistake. She opened her mouth to call her back but clamped it shut again just as the door closed. “You can’t save the ho, Portia. She’s going to have to learn this lesson on her own,” she said to herself sadly. She thought of her friend Begonia’s little sister Violet and everything they went through to get her out of her fucked up situation. I’m not going down that road again. If April wants to be one of those ditzy broads who walk around dickmatized, well, shit, that’s her business.

  She knocked the pack of cigarettes on her palm until one shook loose. She lit it on the stove and shouted up the steps. “Bring ya ass, BG, I am not trying to be out all fucking day.”

  “Here I come, mama.” Babygirl came running down the steps with a great big smile splitting her face.

  “What are you grinning about?”

  “Do I get to pick out my own outfit for the party?”

  “You’ve bumped your head, princess. I ain’t fittin’ to let you help me pick out shit. We’re not dressing for the Easter day parade, and stop calling me mama. You know I hate that shit.”

  “You so fucking funny, Portia, you need to have your own comedy show, for real. I’ll stop calling you mama when you stop acting like one.”

  Portia walked into the kitchen and grabbed the last bottle of rum off the counter. She threw her keys to Babygirl. “You’re driving and I’m drinking.” She picked up her Fendi bag off of the dining room table. “Let’s go down to Dallas’ boutique in West Philly. She may have some new shit. Then we have to go meet the girls Honey
invited.”

  “Aw, come on, Portia! That’s you and Honey’s shit. I hate talking to those broads, they make my skin crawl.”

  “Sorry, kid. Honey isn’t up to it and I’m not doing it by myself so tag, you’re it.”

  Mookie walked in the door as soon as they were about to walk out. Time seemed to come to a complete stop as both of the women stood staring at each other. Portia let her eyes roam over Mookie from head to toe. She noted that Mookie was dressed to the nines and Portia had a flash of relief over the fact that she wasn’t dead in a ditch somewhere, but that feeling lasted a half of a second and was replaced by pure rage.

  “Bitch, you got a lot of heart,” Portia said. She handed the bottle of rum to Babygirl and punched Mookie in the temple before she had a chance to respond. She fell against the vestibule wall and shook her head trying to clear the blinding pain away.

  “Where the fuck have you been?” Portia asked, shaking her hand.

  Mookie didn’t respond. She stood up to her full height and swung on Portia who ducked, stomped on her toe and then kneed her in the stomach. Mookie doubled over in pain and Portia pulled a .38 Special from the back of her waistband.

  “Swing on me again, bitch,” she said as she put the gun to her forehead. “I dare you.” She was panting as rage vibrated through her system.

  Babygirl opened the rum and took a swig. She put the keys down on the coffee table and took a seat on the sofa. This is gonna be a minute, she thought, grabbing the remote and flicking on the TV.

  Mookie pushed Portia’s gun off of her forehead and stood up rubbing her stomach. “You are one psychotic bitch,” she spat as she reached into her bra and threw a wad of cash in Portia’s face. “I was fucking plenty hard for your kitty and to raise money for this bullshit-ass party you’re making us participate in.”