Dippin' Low: The Story of Honey (EDITING)

Chapter 26: It Never Fails

"Motorcycle helmets are bottomless, strippers are topless and my love is middleless." - Anonymous

Chapter[26]

Honey

The car ride back to the restaurant held a comfortable silence. Zeke grabbed hold of my hand and gently squeezed. 

"Are you okay? I know that was a lot to take in." I looked at Zeke, his eyes still on the road. I thought about the last hour and nodded my head, catching myself slightly smiling. It took a lot for him to open up to me and for that I was completely grateful. Especially something this sensitive. Just thinking about the conversation we had with his Mother's headstone was heart warming.

 **

 "Mama, I want you to meet someone special." Zeke held out his hand for me to kneel down beside him. I bunched up my skirt a little so my knees could be the only thinking touching the grass with the wind lightly blowing it to the side.

In a sweet voice he said, " This is Honey and-," 

"nuh-uh." I interrupted shaking my head at him. He frowned bunching his eyebrows in confusion. I didn't want his mother knowing me by my stripper name. If she were still alive, I would have introduced myself with my birth-given name. Saying otherwise, to me felt disrespectful.  

"I want her to know me by my real name."  Zeke's frown disappeared into a soft smile reaching up to his grey eyes and he nodded approvingly. 

"Okay, go ahead." He encouraged. 

I looked to in ground headstone and smiled and waved. "Hi Mrs. Hampton. My name is Cassandra Jones but my close friends call me Cassy." 

"This is the woman, I've been telling you about." I smiled amusingly being a little flattered but didn't say anything. I watched him as he continued to talk about to his mother while pausing to tell me stories of fond memories he had while growing up. I could tell he loved his mother so much and its a little heartbreaking. I just wished my mother and I were like that. 

My knees began to sting from kneeling on the grass for too long so I made that my cue to get up and leave the two alone, walking back to the car.

** 

"Honey?" I blinked a few times and looked back to Zeke who looked a bit concerned. "Are you okay? You kind of spaced out. Was it because I took you to the grave?"

I shook my head and smiled. "No not at all. I actually really appreciate you taking me out there to see her. I know that was a big amount of trust for you to put in me." 

He nodded his head and continued to look towards the road.

Thinking about everything that happened tonight, things between Zeke and I could work. We could start over, make things right and keep no secrets this time.

I looked at him and he must have caught me out of his peripheral. "Why are you staring at me?" He asked now looking at me. We were stopped at a red light a couple of blocks down from the restaurant. 

"We could do this..." I trailed off. Possibly trying to see if this was what I really wanted. If he waswhat I really wanted.

He raised an eyebrow. "This?"

I nodded my head then sat in thought. "Well, us. We could start over." To say Zeke was excited was an understatement. His eyes grew twice as wide and his smile stretched across his whole face. He looked like a kid walking into a candy store for the first time. To be honest it was slightly funny.