Page 11 of Certified Pressure 2

Trill-Land, Jungle Estate

I was startin’ to get real restless in this damn mansion.

Don’t get me wrong, it was cool but real talk…

I knew what it really was. This place was like a palace, but I wasn’t no princess.

I been knew Pressure wasn’t finna choose me.

Hell, I checked out on that fairytale a long time ago.

If we keepin’ it a buck, I felt like I was still here because I made him laugh, I smoked with him, and I kept up in the gym when half these bougie bitches tapped out.

That was our thing. Pressure know I’m solid when it comes to shit like that, so instead of sendin’ me packin’, he kept me around.

I wasn’t mad at it either, ‘cause at least I wasn’t sittin’ up in here stressed like the rest of these hoes.

Ka’mari was walkin’ around actin’ like she was already the queen, Kashmere was always lookin’ like she wanted to cry, and Pluto sensitive ass was always runnin’ away.

I was just here eatin’ good, smokin’ good, and workin’ out.

Still, bored is bored, and I was dyin’ in this big ass room with nothin’ to do.

I slid on some shorts and a crop top, tied my hair up, and decided to wander.

Pressure had this mansion drippin’ in money—paintings on the walls, marble floors, big ass statues sittin’ in corners like we was in a museum.

I laughed to myself ‘cause if this was my shit, I woulda been pawned half this art and flipped it into cash. It was just sittin’ there lookin’ pretty.

As I walked past one of the hallways, I heard music bumpin’.

Not soft shit either—it was that hood shit I liked.

I slowed down and sniffed the air. It was weed.

.. strong too. The closer I got, the louder the laughin’ got, and I swear I could smell the smoke through the crack of the door.

My nosy ass couldn’t help it. I pushed the door open just a little and peeked in.

I damn near dropped my jaw. Pressure had this bitch laid out like a casino.

There was a pool table on one side, cards all over another table, dice cups sittin’ out, and bottles lined up like it was a corner store.

Renza, Kay’Lo, and Blaqson was sittin’ there in the middle of a card game, smoke cloudin’ up the whole room.

All three of they heads turned my way at the same time. Renza blew smoke out his nose and frowned. “What the hell you doin’ in here, girl? This members only.”

I grinned and stepped all the way in. “Teach me the game, Ghost,” I said, throwin’ my hand up like I was in an episode of Power.

Kay’Lo damn near choked on his blunt laughin’. Blaqson smirked, but Renza looked like he was about to snatch me up and throw me right back out the door.

“Nah, for real,” he said, sittin’ up straighter. “You don’t belong in here, Toni. If Pressure catch you in this room with us, he gon’ try to kill us like Mr. Biggs did in them old R. Kelly videos.”

“Boy, chill,” Kay’Lo cut in, still laughin’. “She cool. Let her rock.” He motioned toward the empty chair at the table.

That was all the invite I needed. I strutted in like I belonged here and dropped down in the chair, smilin’ big at Kay’Lo before lookin’ back at Renza. “See? At least somebody in here got some manners.”

Renza sighed and shuffled the cards, talkin’ under his breath. “Manners my ass.”

Kay’Lo leaned over the table with that grin of his. “You know how to play spades, Toni?”

“Hell yeah, I know how to play spades,” I shot back. “What you think, I was raised under a rock?”

Blaqson laughed low. “We gon’ see.”

They shuffled, cut, and dealt the cards. I picked mine up and spread ‘em in my hand, already peepin’ I had a strong set. Kay’Lo passed me the blunt, and I hit it, lettin’ the smoke roll out slow before handin’ it back.

“Alright,” Renza said, “don’t renege, Toni.”

“I don’t renege, baby. I break hearts,” I snapped back with a smirk.

The whole table cracked up, even Renza, though he tried to hide it.

We got into the game, and I was lovin’ it. I was talkin’ shit the whole time, slappin’ cards down like I was at a cookout. “Cut that! Run them books! Don’t play with me!” Every time I scored, I made sure to rub it in, and Kay’Lo was hypin’ me up right along with it.

Between hands, the conversation flowed just as easy as the smoke. They was goin’ back and forth about basketball, and I jumped right in. “Man, LeBron still runnin’ the league, and y’all can’t tell me nothin’ different,” I said, waggin’ my finger.

Renza groaned. “Girl, you trippin’. Giannis eatin’ right now.”

“Giannis? Please. That man still ain’t got the star power. You know damn well everybody still watchin’ Bron.”

They laughed, shook their heads, and moved on to talkin’ politics, then money, then music. And I held my own in every convo, talkin’ loud, crackin’ jokes, and gettin’ them to laugh with me.

Every now and then, though, I caught Kay’Lo watchin’ me. He’d deal the cards, look up, and our eyes would lock just for a second before he looked away. I couldn’t even front like I wasn’t doin’ the same. This man was fine. Just like his cousin, but different.

Pressure was big and broad with that beard, and built like he could pick up a car if he wanted to.

Kay’Lo was slimmer, no beard, but he didn’t need one.

His jawline was sharp enough to cut glass, his lips were full and soft lookin’, and his eyes…

damn. They was so deep it almost felt like I could fall in ‘em if I stared too long. He had that same chocolate skin as Pressure, and the same family genes that made them all look related, but Kay’Lo had his own vibe.

I kept my cool though, laughin’ with the others, playin’ my cards, and passin’ the blunt when it came back around.

At one point, I leaned back in the chair, took a sip from the cup Blaqson slid me, and said, “Now see, this what I’m talkin’ about. I been bored as hell in this mansion, walkin’ around lookin’ at art I can’t touch. Y’all in here livin’ like it’s Vegas.”

Kay’Lo grinned at me again. “Stick with us then.”

I raised an eyebrow at him, smilin’ slow. “Don’t tempt me.”

The table got quiet for a half second before Renza shook his head and slammed his next card down. “Man, let’s play before Toni get us all in trouble.”

I laughed so hard my stomach hurt.

By the end of the night, I was feelin’ good.

The liquor was sittin’ warm in my chest, the weed had me relaxed, and my cheeks hurt from all the laughin’.

I wasn’t thinkin’ about Pressure, or who he was gon’ pick, or the fact that I probably wasn’t gon’ be the last one standin’. For once, I was just havin’ fun.

And if I was bein’ real, I liked the way Kay’Lo kept glancin’ at me when he thought I wasn’t payin’ attention. It gave me somethin’ new to think about, and it felt good.

For the first time all day, I wasn’t bored anymore.

I didn’t know what time it was, but I knew it was late ‘cause Blaqson had left at least thirty minutes ago and Renza was so damn high, he could barely keep his eyes open. He was leaned back in his chair with the blunt halfway out his hand, mumblin’ to himself about who knows what.

I laughed, snatched the blunt from him before he burned his fingers, and looked across the table at Kay’Lo.

He was still sharp, his eyes low but alert, and his cup in his hand.

The music was turned down low now, just enough bass creepin’ through the speakers to keep the vibe right.

We’d been talkin’ for a while, nothin’ too heavy, just shit that felt good to say out loud.

Little jokes, back and forth about who really ran the game of spades, who could handle their liquor the best, stuff like that.

“You know what, Kay’Lo,” I said, leanin’ back in my chair and crossin’ my legs, “I been in this mansion damn near forever, and this right here the most fun I done had. Crazy part is it ain’t even the game or the drink. It’s just you alright to be around.”

He chuckled, shakin’ his head as he tapped the ash off the end of his blunt. “I’mma take that as a compliment. You cool too, Toni. I see why Pressure fuck with you.”

“Boy, Pressure don’t fuck with me like that,” I said, rollin’ my eyes. “He keep me around ‘cause I don’t complain and I can keep up with his ass on a homegirl level. That’s it. I ain’t blind.”

Kay’Lo laughed, the sound deep and smooth, and for some reason it made me smile even though I didn’t want to.

I stretched, yawned, and pushed my chair back. “Anyway, I’m about to call it a night. This liquor hittin’ and this weed got me feelin’ too damn good to be sittin’ here lookin’ at Renza drool on himself.”

Kay’Lo grinned and stood up with me. “You want me to walk you up?”

I paused, side-eying him. “Walk me up? Boy, you tryna get us both cussed out. You know how Pressure is.”

He shrugged like it wasn’t no big deal. “It’s just a walk. Ain’t nobody gon’ know unless you want ‘em to.”

I thought about it, and even though I knew it wasn’t the smartest move, I didn’t see the harm.

It was just me and Kay’Lo, and the night felt too good to end on some borin’ tip.

“A’ight,” I said finally, smirkin’ a little.

“But if Pressure pop out the cut actin’ crazy, I’m snitchin’ and say it was your idea. ”

He laughed again, openin’ the door and lettin’ me step out first. “Fair enough.”

We started walkin’ through the mansion, and he didn’t rush me.

It wasn’t like no quick escort to the elevator.

We strolled slow, movin’ through the long hallways with all that expensive shit gleamin’ around us.

I glanced at a giant paintin’ on the wall and shook my head.

“This man really got a whole museum in here. Like, what regular person needs a twelve-foot picture of some naked bitch holdin’ grapes? ”

Kay’Lo cracked up, clutchin’ his chest. “That’s art, Toni.”

“That’s weird,” I corrected him. “You can’t tell me you wake up and get inspired lookin’ at that shit. Nah. Gimme a picture of money spread across the floor or somethin’. That’s art to me.”

We both laughed as we turned down another hallway. The silence that followed wasn’t awkward though. It felt easy, like neither one of us had to force the conversation.

“You got a close family?” I asked after a while, curiosity hittin’ me.

Kay’Lo glanced at me, then nodded. “Yeah. Me, Renza, and Pressure—we first cousins. All our daddies are brothers, and each one of us the only child. So it’s just the three of us on that side.

Only boys too. But on our moms’ sides, they all had sisters, so we got girl cousins.

Whole lotta women, but just us three when it comes to the men. That’s why we move how we do.”

I blinked, lettin’ that sink in. “So all y’all pops are brothers, but none of ‘em had more than one kid, and all of ‘em had boys?”

“Exactly,” he said.

I shook my head. “That’s wild. Crazy, but interesting too. Y’all like some chosen three type shit.”

He smirked. “Somethin’ like that. Ain’t no runnin’ from it either. Blood that deep, you locked in for life.”

I nodded slowly, thinkin’ about how different that sounded from my own family. “I wish I could say my family was like that. Mine all over the place.”

He looked at me a little closer, like he wanted to ask more, but then he changed the subject. “So how you like it here? Be real.”

I sucked my teeth and shrugged. “I don’t feel nothin’. I’m just existin’ in this place. Half the time I feel like the ghetto misfit. Everybody else walkin’ around actin’ classy, tryin’ to play perfect, and I’m just… me.”

Kay’Lo smiled, slow and smooth, and shook his head. “That’s why I fuck with you though. You the realest one out of everybody.”

I felt my face warm up, and I looked away quick. I wasn’t about to give him the satisfaction of seein’ me blush, so I kept walkin’, pretendin’ like his words didn’t mean nothin’. But they did.

We made it to my door, and I leaned on the frame for a second, lookin’ at him. “Thanks for walkin’ me, Kay’Lo. Tonight was… cool. I needed it.”

He held my stare for a moment, and I could feel somethin’ shift between us. Not in no heavy way, but in that way where both of us knew somethin’ was there, even if neither one of us moved on it. He finally nodded, gave me a half-smile, and turned to head back down the hall.

I was still smilin’ when I reached for the handle, but that shit faded quick when I turned around and saw Ka’mari standin’ there like she had been waitin’ on me.

Her eyes narrowed. “Pressure know his cousin walked you up here?”

I looked her up and down, let the silence hang for a second, then slammed the door in her face. “Girl, get yo’ bitch ass on,” I muttered as the lock clicked.

That hoe was crazy if she thought I was gon’ play twenty-one questions with her ass.

Shakin’ my head, I stripped out my clothes, pulled a soft gown over my body, and slapped a bonnet on top of my head. I climbed into bed, stretched out under the covers, and then I carried my ass to sleep.