“Yeah, I’m sure. We’re talking to her in the morning. I’m tired and that was a lot.”
“Bet, we can leave,” he concedes.I’ll just come back later and see what I can see.
They make their way through the congested floor. Sunjiya spots Honey in the back left corner of the club, seductively shaking her ass in front of a man and her top is now open. She quickly nods at Sunjiya then smiles before turning back to her customer. When they make it to the car, Akeem studies her face and tries to gauge her now obviously changed mood.
“I need a drink,” she says as soon as he starts the car.
“And probably some food,” he adds because she’s already had a drink on an empty stomach. He noticed; he notices everything about her.
“We can eat but I need liquor,” she says while scrolling her cell.
“I might have to get a bottle in there. It’s after ten,” Akeem says.
“They sell it till midnight here and a Max Liquor ten miles from here,” she says before holding up her screen so he can see.
“And food?”
“A few drive-thrus are nearby,” she says.
She presses directions on her phone and the navigation directs them to the store. Honey’s words stick in her mind, so she rides in silence, thankful he doesn’t disturb her quiet.
Less than ten minutes later, they turn into a small plaza surrounded by few fast-food spots. Akeem places the car in park and leaves the engine running.
“What do you want?” he asks as he unbuckles his seatbelt.
“I can get out,” she responds.
“I got it. Tequila, right?”
“Yes,” is all she offers, no specific brand. It’s been a trying past few days, and at this point, any tequila will do.
Akeem nods then exits the car. Two older gentlemen loiter around the entrance, and out of respect, he greets them before walking in. The small store is basic, three aisles and one drink cooler stocked with chilled chaser options and a few boxes of cigars, which Akeem finds strange. There’s also a freezer box next to it stocked with white twenty ounce cups filled with ice. Akeem grabs two ice cups from the freezer, two cans from the cooler, one cranberry and the other pineapple, then heads to the register. The more expensive, top shelf liquors are shelved behind it. He chooses Patrón and all his items are totaled and bagged.
As soon as he’s back in the car, he hands the bag to her for inspection and approval. Not only does she approve, she pours herself a drink, bypassing the juices. She pours the equivalent of two shots over the ice and half is down her throat before the ice stops crackling from the introduction of the liquid spirit.
“We definitely need food,” he comments before driving off.
There’s a taco spot, two burger joints, and a chicken tender spot. After his fuck up with the burger the other night and her reaction, he unilaterally chooses the chicken tenders restaurant. At the speaker, while she kills the rest of the tequila in her cup, he orders two tender dinners with fries and salads. As soon as the delicious smelling food is handed to him, he passes it to her and encourages her to eat as he drives.
She gives in and tries one of the well-seasoned tenders. It’s so tasty she ends up eating two of the four tenders and the fries before they reach the hotel. Their suites are on the same floor, two doors apart. They reach hers first and say goodnight with two completely different ideas and agendas for the remainder of the night.
When Akeem enters his suite, he removes his gun from his shoe, takes his Timbs off, and washes his hands. While eating his dinner, he reviews the items from Tanjaya’s apartment again, hoping something else stands out. He studies the postcard the most. Tomorrow, he will definitely ask Honey if she knows about Tanjaya’s unknown aunt. If she does, they’ll head there next. Marcelin mentioned she had no one, no family, so chances are high that she could be hiding with the aunt, unknown to him.
He also checks the camera he planted on the outside of her apartment building. Still no signs of her. She hasn’t returned, reaffirming his belief that she’s not returning to Crescent Falls.
In her suite, the liquor is doing its job and Sunjiya is fucked up. Her mind fills with so much shit she doesn’t want to think about, not tonight. She’s had enough and is overstimulated but not in a good way. Anger, sadness, and regret consume her and she wants to feel something,something different, something good—a man, him.
Motivated by lust and her selfish needs, she pours herself another double shot over ice and downs the much-neededliquor quick as hell. Then she ambles into the bathroom, sheds tonight’s clothes and drama, and steps into the shower, praying she emerges refreshed in every way.
To her disappointment, her body was clean and refreshed but not her soul or spirit, which fuels her initial thought to go to him. After moisturizing every inch of her body with her favorite strawberry butter, she improvises. With just one suitcase, her sexy options are limited. She slides on her black lace bra and panties then wraps herself in the complimentary terrycloth robe so she can enter the halls of the hotel decently.
Once she’s covered and her feet are in slides, she places the bottle back into the bag from the liquor store. When they entered the hotel, she took the bag and all the contents with her into her suite. His cup with half-melted ice and the cans of juice are still inside. It isn’t until she’s out of her suite that she feels the effects of the tequila. She has an unusual high tolerance for alcohol and doesn’t get as intoxicated as most. She normally teeters on the side of tipsy, coherent and cognizant of her choices, just a little lax with inhibitions. Even though her legs may feel a tiny bit gelatinous, she’s sober and knows exactly what she’s doing.
“Yeah,” Akeem calls out, surprised, after she lightly taps his suite door. Sunjiya’s silence in the car and standoffish behavior once they got into the hotel had him thinking she was good alone. In fact, he had showered and changed and was just about to head back to the club. So if the source of the knocking is her, he’s really perplexed.
“It’s me,” Sunjiya says.
Curious as to why she’s really at his door, he opens it. Her sweet scent infiltrates his nose before he notices her dress.She’s wearing a robe, looking and smelling good as fuck.
