Page 90 of Give Me Honesty

“Whatever. Listen, I need your advice on something.”

“I’m listening,” I assured him as I gathered the things I needed to take home with me.

“Alright, so there’s this woman I’m working with. Shorty is fine as fuck. I’m talking about a shea butter goddess. She looks like she came from the runway, Nes.”

I listened intently as he practically drooled over the phone.

“Okay, and what’s the problem?”

“Man, I don’t know what the problem is. It’s clear we have chemistry when we’re on set together, but the moment those cameras stop rolling, she pays me dust. I’ll try to strike up a conversation with her, and she rushes me off like I’m some kind of flunky or something. I’m not trying to sound cocky or no shit like that, but this has never happened to me before. The only woman who has ever even remotely curved me was my baby momma, and she had every right to.”

I giggled at the stress in his tone. All of the men in my family were handsome; therefore, they were accustomed to a certain level of attention. As a model and actor, Freedom had access to more women than the average man.

“Well, if she isn’t interested, then what is there to talk about? There are plenty of other women out there. When we were at the party, women were tripping over their feet to get your attention.” I shrugged as if he could see me.

Freedom sighed, which let me know he was bothered by the woman’s rejection.

“This might sound corny, but there’s something about her Honesty. Outside of being beautiful, smart, and talented, she has this aura to her that makes everyone gravitate towards her. You know I would never chase a woman for any reason, but I feel like I should at least attempt to apply pressure, but I tuck my tail between my legs.”

“Damn, cousin. If she’s got you acting like this and you haven’t even been on a date, I can only imagine how you’re gonna act if she actually gives you a chance.” I tittered.

“What the hell do you mean, if? Do you really think she’ll turn me down after I show her I’m interested?”

“I don’t know, but I think you should be prepared for whatever outcome you get. Maybe she doesn’t like to mix business with pleasure. If you two are working on set together, she might not want to get involved.”

“It sounds like a bunch of bullshit to me. Actors and actresses hook up all of the time. Hell, that’s part of what makes the jobs fun. I was thinking maybe you could help me come up with a cute way to ask her on a date. You know I’m not very good at the romance shit,” Freedom explained.

“I’ll help with whatever you need, cousin. Although I do think you should be prepared for whatever scenario.”

“I don’t like the sound of that. Do you really think she’ll turn me down?”

The fact that he sounded worried only made me laugh because it was out of character for him.

“Didn’t you tell me you fucked two other women on set, or was that for a different show?”

The line got quiet on the other end, and that’s when I knew he was on bullshit. I plugged in the security code and locked up for the night. My car was parked in front of the building because I moved it when I was on my last break. I didn’t like going to the back at night because there were raccoons in the dumpsters and they scared me.

“I don’t see why it matters if it happened before her,” he reasoned. My eyes rolled at the sound of his delusional thought process.

“Free, you sound stupid as hell. As a woman, why would anyone want to be with a man who is fucking anything and everything with legs? How do you know she isn’t cool with those other women, or maybe she overheard a conversation about you? With your track record, I would run from you too.” I scoffed in disbelief.

Free wanted a good woman, but what he didn’t seem to understand was that he wasn’t necessarily what a good woman needed. He was a cheater, a player, and an asshole. He thought his money and good looks made him the exception to every rule, and that simply wasn’t the case. A real woman who was about her business doesn’t want a man who doesn’t even have self-control on his job.

“Well, if she did overhear anything, I bet it was good. If I don’t do shit else right, I know how to fuck and make a bitch cum back to back. What’s wrong with that?”

I shook my head because it was clear he didn’t understand the issue with his behavior.

“Free, please be so foreal. If you found out a couple of your castmates had fucked her, you wouldn’t be interested in trying to get to know her. In your eyes, she would be a ho or ran through. I don’t blame her for giving you her ass to kiss. Nobody wants a man with community dick.”

I put my bags in the backseat and closed the door. I got ready to open the driver's side door when someone lunged towards me and attempted to take my Chanel handbag off my shoulders. My natural response was to grip the strap, but they tackled me to the ground.

“Give me the mothafuckin’ bag, bitch,” the mugger hissed from underneath his ski mask.

“No! Leave me alone!”

“Oh, you want to play tough, huh? You like to lie and accuse people of abuse, huh? I hope you know it’s a gang of us who will never let you live in peace, bitch. Long Live Rondell!” He roared in a deep tone. What I thought was a robbery turned out to be something even more sinister. His fist crashed into my face, and I instantly saw stars.

My body froze as I was transported back to those days when Rondell would beat me until I passed out. The man beat me as if I had stolen something from him. The back of my head bounced off the concrete, and I saw spots in my vision. It was almost like an out-of-body experience, because I could see him punching me, but it was as if I was no longer attached to my body.