DIMPLES• CB | slow updates

20. Rekindles and Secrets

Honey and her friends were sitting outside on the balcony of Shake Ya Burger, a burger joint that only served burgers and shakes. Deontay had picked this spot because he wanted to make the girls laugh at the silly name. This was the first time he had gotten Nadia, Deanna, and Honey together since they had brunch a month ago. 

The group had already ordered their food and was chatting about life updates and events. Honey was quiet, silently eating her burger and listening to her laughing friends. Nadia kept glancing at Honey and eventually interrupted the conversation to draw everyone's attention to her. 

Avoiding eye contact, Honey looked out over the balcony as she fought back tears. She finally gave in and allowed some tears to fall. Nadia slowly pulled back Honey's chair and bent down to hug her crying friend.

Deontay spoke sorrowfully, "Oh honey bear." He stood up and Deanna followed, circling Honey, whose kind words and light had encouraged her to open up about her troubles with Czar, though she was unsure if she wanted to share. 

Honey had a terrible Valentine's Day. Czar had been selfish enough not to get her a gift and spent the whole day being passive-aggressive. Given all this, she should have stayed in California, as she now felt miserable. Dating Czar was like dating a volatile mental patient who belonged in an asylum - moody for no reason. But then she remembered he was a January Capricorn, while she was a September Virgo. Soon she would stop being such a crybaby and start acting as stubborn as him, though she may have fallen in love with him even more than he had with her. 

Deontay reacted to Honey confiding her problem: "That nigga is annoying. It ain't right he's having you crying at our lunch party. He's had you here in Virginia not that long for you to be crying over him. That's a red flag - I knew your heart would get caught up with him." Honey chuckled as he scolded her for taking Czar so seriously. 

She had only done so because Czar made her believe in him through his actions - moving her from California, buying them a house, giving her a promise ring. Maybe the red flag was they were moving too quickly, causing Honey to fall in love with him.

Deon and the other girls returned to their seats so Honey could share more. As they sat, Honey revealed she was considering moving back to California but staying in touch, while leaving Czar behind.

"You sure Czar - I mean Beezy - will let you go?" Nadia asked skeptically. "We got Beyonce Renaissance concert tickets for the VIP suites." Honey's smile faded at Nadia's doubt.

Deanna added gently, "Nadia, we can always see Beyonce. Right now we should worry about Honey's well-being. And I wonder, will Czar react badly if he finds out you may leave? We know his history with stalking, violence...that behavior won't surprise us."

Honey listened and nodded, thinking through a plan if she did move back.

After talking, Honey's mood lifted. She laughed with them until it was time to go, now driving to Czar's tattoo shop as he had asked. Seeing no cars around made her suspicious. She tugged the locked door in frustration.

"This cornbread ass nigga tells me to meet him and he's not fucking here," she muttered, waiting in her car as the sunset.

After two hours of no one arriving, her decision was made - California or even living with Deon seemed better than this.

As she started her car, a feminine laugh made her look up - Czar joking with the girl from the mall. Honey chuckled bitterly, debating a scene, but drove off angrily instead.

Czar's eyes widened, realizing it was Honey waiting for their meeting he'd forgotten. Now she wouldn't talk to him because she'd seen him with his ex, Shamari, though they were just friends. Honey sped off fuming while Czar panicked, knowing he'd messed up badly.

Honey sang "Then Baby, I'm a Soldier" with Jamie Foxx on the song, but she wasn't crying as she sang. Instead, she reflected on how moving to Virginia was a failure and a mistake. She was happy to rekindle memories with her friends. Maybe it was best for her and Czar to live apart. This time he couldn't blame anyone else for taking Honey away - it was on him.

The entire drive to McLean, Honey kept her mind focused on the music, making her feel better to soon face Czar. Their relationship would be short-lived.

While driving, her mother called. Honey saw her name on the screen and answered cheerily, "Hey, mom. How are you?" She didn't want her mother to know she had made a mistake coming to Virginia. She also didn't want her father to know, since he would annoy her about it.

"I'm good, how's everything going there?" her mom asked.

"It's going fine. I'm twenty minutes from home. I have to talk tomorrow," Honey quickly hung up, not wanting her mother to sense she was lying through her teeth.

Mothers knew when their daughters were hurting.

She arrived at her neighborhood, typed in the gate code, and entered. She found her house and saw Czar standing outside behind his car in the dark, arms crossed and leaning against it. Her headlights turned off when she parked. She sighed, putting her forehead on the steering wheel and ignoring Czar knocking on the window.

How did he get here fast? It's a 2-hour drive.

Honey ignored Czar's words when she got out of the car, closed the door, and walked past him after locking it. Both made their way inside the house with Honey heading upstairs, still hearing Czar's footsteps behind her. She plopped down on the edge of the bed as Czar stood before her with a slight smirk, enjoying her jealous reaction.

"Please, Czar. If you didn't want anything to seem like anything, you wouldn't have been so friendly with her," Honey said before Czar interrupted.

"It's Shamari - she's my ex. We used to date in high school, first loves and all. We were in the same gang too. That's the only reason we're still friends, nothing more like I said. Also, she's gay now," Czar explained with a small, sarcastic laugh at having to correct her.

"I don't care who she is, who she bangs, or that she's gay. That doesn't mean she won't try you again. For crying out loud, she probably always liked women but you made her like men," Honey retorted as Czar shook his head and walked away into the closet.

Shamari was secretly bisexual when she began dating Czar. Czar suspected Shamari's attraction to women because they had threesomes where she seemed more interested in the women, and she had a masculine persona. Czar's good looks attracted both men and women, so he wasn't surprised by Shamari's sexuality.

Is Shamari going to be a problem?
Will Honey move back to California?
Is she overreacting?
Is Czar being an idiot?
Excuse the mistakes and thank you for reading.