Staring at a Mountain

Honesty Hour

Rhiannon sat on the bar stool unable to shake the feeling of dread.

"Hey, doll face," James began, putting his hand on the counter beside her.

"Don't. I just want the truth. How do you know Tony?" She scowled at him. Natasha stood quietly beside her friend, ready to tell James to fuck off.

He looked down for a moment before peering into her eyes. He looked as if his brain was trying to work out a complicated math problem.

"Come with me." He held his hand out to her.

She looked at it for a moment before turning to Nat, "it's okay. I'll call you, I promise." She reassured her friend before placing her hand in his.

Walking out of the pandemonium, he unlocked his car. Opening her door, he stopped closing it as she asked, "where are we going?"

"I think it's time you..." he was more stressed than she had ever seen him, "see my house." He finished.
She ducked into the Jag and crossed her ankles subconsciously.

Her eyebrows furrowed. Why would it be such a big deal?

Pulling away from the curb, the expensive sound system began to bump the claustrophobic beat of 'His & Her Fiend' by ScHoolboy Q and SZA. The sleek car began to weave through traffic as if the laws didn't apply to him.

Instead of poking at his aggressively illegal driving like she was itching to do, she reached over and turned the music up a bit.

"Who DJ's at 'Eden'?" She asked suddenly, remembering she has enjoyed every song she's heard there, already a part of her personal collection.

"No one. Hand selected set list by your truly." He peered over at her as she mouthed along to the words of the song. Of course she had good taste.

"𝐶𝑎𝑛 𝐼 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑤 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑙𝑑, 𝑏𝑎𝑏𝑦? 𝐴𝑖𝑛'𝑡 𝑛𝑜 𝑟𝑢𝑙𝑒𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑙𝑖𝑓𝑒, 𝑑𝑎𝑟𝑙𝑖𝑛'." he softly sang along with her.

The provocative lyrics made him smile despite the tense situation they were in.

She tried not to be overwhelmed. It wasn't her first time being in a nice car, hers wasn't bad and she had ridden with Tony plenty in his European sports cars. There was something about her bare thighs pressed to the black leather interior of James' car and surrounded by his scent with no easy way out that was suffocating. It was an impeccably clean car with blacked out windows making her feel like she was invisible to the outside world.

The song ended soon, as it's less than three minutes long and she smiled brightly as 'White Ferrari' by Frank Ocean began.

"You have good taste." She expressed despite the fact that he obviously already knew.

"I know." He replied, his eyes drifting over her form. Not anticipating having her in his car so soon, he was nervous, he wasn't prepared for where the night was going.

Would she be afraid? Would she try to kill him? Would he ever see her again?

A couple more songs pass as he pulls up to a large old building on the outskirts of the city.

Killing the engine, he felt bile rise in his throat.

"You live here?" She asked, gawking up at the imposing building.

Going around to her side of the car, he helped her out and nodded in reply. She was shell shocked. It was far away from the clean modern persona he carried and the car he drove. The black tile walkway was lined with tall bushes, a marble fountain that looked in desperate need of some upkeep was nestled in the front yard.