Page 20 of Certified Pressure 3
Her eyes narrowed. “So what, you think your mama gon’ say you shouldn’t marry me because of Pluto?”
I finally turned my head and looked dead at her, my eyes holdin’ hers until she shifted under the weight of it. I leaned in closer, dropped my voice low, lettin’ it come out smooth but sharp enough to cut. “Chill.”
That one word sank in. I ain’t have to repeat myself, and she ain’t have nothin’ else to say. She pulled the sheet tighter round her chest and looked away, breathin’ slower now.
I could feel the tension gettin’ worse, so I stood up and slid on some shorts. “I’mma go downstairs for a minute,” I muttered, grabbin’ my phone again, and ain’t argue. She just laid back against the pillows, watchin’ me leave.
The house was quiet as I made my way to the elevator and down to the first floor, the cool marble under my feet remindin’ me just how late it was. I wasn’t expectin’ to hear nothin’, but when I hit the hallway, a sound drifted from the kitchen. It wasn’t loud, but it was enough to make me pause. A chair slidacross the floor, or maybe it was somethin’ movin’ against the counter. Either way, it had me on edge.
I walked through the dark, my eyes adjustin’ as I got closer. My hand brushed the wall until I found the switch, and when I flipped the light on, I stopped in my tracks.
Standin’ here in the middle of my kitchen with a bright red wig on her head was Toni Roc.
I blinked once, thinkin’ my mind was playin’ tricks on me, but when she turned and gave me that look that told me she had been caught in some shit, I knew I wasn’t trippin’.
“What the fuck you doin’ here?” I asked, eyes buck as hell.
She looked straight at me, wide-eyed, just as shocked as I was to see her, and for a few long seconds neither one of us said a word.
The only sound was the fridge and the faint tick of the clock over the stove while we just stared at each other across the kitchen, both tryna figure out what the fuck was goin’ on.
“Toni, what the fuck you doin’ in my kitchen, bro?” I asked, my voice sharp.
She was frozen right where she stood, a cup in one hand and some snacks in the other. That bright red wig damn near glowed under the kitchen lights, and for a split second I wondered if this girl been hidin’ out in my crib the whole damn time. I knew that ain’t really make sense, but nothin’ about seein’ Toni Roc in my kitchen in the middle of the night made sense.
Before she could even get a word out, her phone started ringin’. She fumbled with it, tryin’ to balance the cup, and when I saw her glance at the screen her lips parted like she ain’t know what to do.
“Kay’Lo,” she said under her breath, and I swear that shit made my chest tighten.
Then she had the nerve to put the phone up to her ear. “Yeah, you need to get in the kitchen,” she said, her voice quick, her eyes dartin’ at me. “Pressure is here.”
“Nah, fuck that,” I cut in, steppin’ closer. “You wild as fuck if you think you gon’ talk to anybody about me while I’m standin’ right here.”
I snatched the phone right out her hand and looked at the screen. Kay’Lo’s name stared back at me bold as hell. For a second I thought I was readin’ it wrong, but I wasn’t.
“What the fuck?” I muttered, then put the phone to my ear. “Nigga, what the hell goin’ on?”
All I heard was Kay’Lo’s sigh before the line cut. I stared at the phone, tossed it on the counter, and looked back at Toni. She still ain’t said shit, her eyes wide like she was prayin’ for Kay’Lo to pop up fast.
And the nigga did.
Footsteps came quick down the hall, and then Kay’Lo appeared in the doorway, shirtless and lookin’ like he just rolled out of bed. My eyes moved from him to Toni and back again at him, and the puzzle started puttin’ itself together whether I wanted it to or not. Kay’Lo had been gone for weeks, then he slid back home a few days ago with no real explanation. Now I was standin’ in my own fuckin’ kitchen lookin’ at him and Toni Roc like they was caught.
I raised my eyebrows, already on defense. “So this what the fuck it is?”
Kay’Lo sighed, rubbin’ a hand over his head, then walked right over and stood next to Toni like he was plantin’ his flag. “I was gon’ tell you,” he said. “I was gon’ let you know about me and Toni, but it wasn’t time yet.”
My whole body heated up. I took a step closer, my chest heavy. “Nigga, you behind my back fuckin’ with one of my women? That’s what you on?”
Kay’Lo didn’t flinch. He looked me dead in the eye. “Yo’ woman? Nigga that’s not yo’ woman. She mine, and you ain’t even want her, cuz. You let her walk away. Don’t act like this some big betrayal when you wasn’t checkin’ for her like that.”
I shook my head slow, laughin’ without humor. “That don’t fuckin’ matter. You know how this look? It’s lookin’ real shady my nigga.”
“I ain’t one of your women no more,” Toni finally spoke, her voice small but firm. “Pressure, you know it wasn’t like that between us. You was stuck on?—“
I cut my eyes at her quick. “I ain’t talkin’ to you, girl.”
That made Kay’Lo step up, his whole vibe shiftin’ like he was ready for smoke. “Nigga, watch how you talk to her.”
