Page 32 of Certified Pressure 3
I could hear the emotion in her voice, and it hit me harder than I expected. I was so caught up in the moment that I didn’t even notice Kashmere walkin’ up on me. She came up and kissed me, slow at first, then deeper, like she wanted to make a point. I didn’t push her off, but I pulled back just enough to mumble, “Hold on, let me handle this real quick.”
She sighed and rolled her eyes like she already knew who I was talkin’ to, then leaned closer, her voice just a lil’ louder than it needed to be. “So, how did the visit go with your parents? Did you tell them we’re gettin’ married?”
She said it like it was an innocent question, but I could hear the game in her tone. She wanted Pluto to hear every word.
Pluto must’ve heard her, ‘cause her tone changed right away. “Hmph. Clearly you’re busy, so I’ll talk to you later.”
“Wait,” I said quick, but it was too late. She hung up.
Kashmere walked off like she won somethin’, tossin’ her hair over her shoulder and mumblin’ somethin’ under her breath. I stood there for a second, my jaw tight, tryin’ to calm the irritation boilin’ up inside me. It felt like I couldn’t breathe right.
I stepped outside and called Pluto right back. It rang a few times before she finally picked up. Her tone was cold. “What do you want, Pressure?”
I exhaled through my nose, tryin’ to keep my cool. Yo’, you just hung up in my fuckin’ face.”
“I will text you the information. We don’t need to talk on the phone.
“See, that’s what the fuck I’m talkin’ about,” I said, my nostrils flarin’. “You always got an attitude when it come to me. You called me for help, but act like it’s a favor I forced out you.”
She laughed under her breath. “You always think somebody got an attitude just ‘cause they don’t kiss your ass.”
“Ain’t nobody askin’ you to kiss shit’,” I shot back. “I just don’t get why you gotta make everything harder than it gotta be.”
“Harder?” she repeated. “You talking to me while your fiancé in the background talking about y’all wedding, and I’m the problem?”
That one hit different. “You really worried about what she said, huh?”
“I’m not worried,” Pluto said quick. “I don’t care what you do with her.”
“Then why you hang up?”
She went quiet for a second, and I could almost see her rollin’ her eyes through the phone. “Because I didn’t wanna hear that shit, that’s why.”
“Yeah, a’ight,” I said, smirkin’. “You can act like you don’t care all you want, but you the one callin’ me, remember?”
“I called you about Zurie, not your love life,” she snapped.
“Sound like both to me,” I said. “Every time we talk, it turn into somethin’ else. You don’t even realize you doin’ it.”
“I realize you love hearin’ yourself talk,” she said.
I laughed a lil’ bit. “And you love listenin’ to me. Shit… if we bein’ honest, it sound like you miss me.”
“I don’t,” she said fast.
“Yeah, you do.”
“No, I don’t.”
“Then why your voice get softer every time you say my name?”
Her silence said enough. I could almost feel her breath on the other end of the line, like the tension traveled through the signal itself.
“Pressure,” she said finally, her voice lower now. “You really think you can talk your way out of everything, don’t you?”
“I don’t gotta talk my way outta nothin’. You already know how this go,” I said. “You mad, I’m mad, but we still here. That’s the part that kill me. You can’t stand me, but you still callin’ me.”
She huffed, quiet for a beat, then said, “You ain’t shit.”
