Page 19 of Certified Pressure 2

The Echelon Hotel

W hen I opened my eyes, Pluto was still in my arms, and that shit had a nigga feelin’ blessed.

I don’t give a fuck how much money I had, how many bitches threw theyself at me, or what the world though I was supposed to be—wakin’ up with her curled up against me was the type of peace money couldn’t buy.

Her hand was restin’ right on my chest like she was tryna hold my heart in place.

I just laid there for a minute, starin’, and thinkin’ about how wild it was that I caught a jet in the middle of the night just to be here with her.

And I’d do that shit a thousand times if it meant openin’ my eyes to her every mornin’.

She stirred and blinked up at me, a slow, lazy smile tuggin’ at her mouth. I kissed her forehead, pullin’ her in tighter.

“I still got you on that,” I muttered against her skin. “I’mma handle Zurie’s surgery. Don’t even stress on that.”

She pressed her lips together, her eyes shinin’ like she wanted to cry. She ain’t say much, but just whispered a soft thank you, then pressed her face back into my chest. I could feel the weight slidin’ off her shoulders, and that was enough for me.

We laid there quiet for a while, her tracin’ circles on my chest with her finger, me caught on the thought of her bein’ mine for real. Then it hit me, heavy as hell, and I couldn’t hold it in.

“Pluto,” I said, my voice low, “if you come home with me today, I’ll let everybody go. No cap. I’ll call Renza right now, tell him send everybody packin’. It’ll just be you.”

She froze for a second, then sighed and sat up, pushin’ her hair back. “Pressure, it’s not that simple.”

I pushed up too, restin’ my weight on my elbows, starin’ at her like she was speakin’ another language. “The fuck you mean it ain’t that simple? I just told you what it is. You say yes, and they gone. Ain’t no secret handshakes, ain’t no rules to it. It’s you, baby. Only you.”

She shook her head, her eyes calm but sad. “It doesn’t work like that.”

I sat all the way up, runnin’ my hand down my face, tryin’ to keep cool but feelin’ the heat rise.

“So what was the point then? Why you even sign up for this shit if you knew you wasn’t gon’ stay?

You knew what it was when you walked in that estate.

You knew I had nineteen other women in there.

It wasn’t no secret or no fuckin’ surprise.

You signed up to be my wife, Pluto, not to be my lil’ weekend escape.

Now you tryna act like you don’t understand the assignment. ”

She turned away, bitin’ her lip, still calm as hell, and that shit only pissed me off more. I could feel my patience breakin’. “Don’t sit in my arms, and act like you ain’t know what this was. Don’t act brand new on me. ‘Cause I swear to God, girl, it feel like you stringin’ me along.”

Her eyes flicked back to me, and for the first time, there was steel behind them. “Keep the money, Pressure,” she said quietly. “I don’t want it for Zurie.”

My head snapped back like I ain’t hear her right. “The fuck you just say?”

“You heard me,” she said, runnin’ a hand through her hair. Her tone was calm, like she was talkin’ to a kid throwin’ a tantrum. “Keep it.”

I swung off the bed, standin’ tall over her, my dick swingin’ and my chest poundin’.

“Nah, see, that’s where you got me fucked up.

You think I’m gon’ let you walk outta here and your sister still hurtin’ when I can fix it?

Nah. I told you I’m payin’ for that surgery, and that’s exactly what I’m doin’. Bro, you trippin’.”

Her eyes glistened but her voice stayed even. “You can’t force me to take it.”

I laughed, ugly and bitter. “Force you? Girl, I’ll walk that check straight into the hospital my damn self. I don’t care if you burn the cash in my face, I’mma make sure ya sister good. That’s not optional.”

At this point, Pluto was pissin’ me off with this dumb, petty shit she was on.

She stood too, pullin’ the sheet tighter around her body.

“Pressure, you don’t understand. This ain’t about your money.

It’s about me not being able to just pick up my sister and drop her into your world.

She’s not my child, but she’s my responsibility.

And if something happens between us…” Her voice broke, and she shook her head. “I can’t take that risk.”

Her calmness cut through me sharper than yellin’ ever could. My blood boiled. “So what you sayin’? You don’t believe in me? You think I’m like these other niggas that talk good but don’t stand on shit? You think I’m gon’ fold on you? After everything I done already proved?”

“Take me home, Pressure,” she whispered.

That was it. That was the last straw. My body shook with how mad I was, my vision blurring red.

I threw on my clothes fast, every movement jerky, tuggin’ my shirt over my head, stuffin’ my feet in my sneakers, grabbin’ my chain off the nightstand.

She just stood there, watchin’ me, calm as hell, and that calmness burned worse than if she was screamin’ in my face.

“You really gon’ play with me like this,” I said, pointin’ at her as I yanked my keys off the table. “I was ready to drop every last one of them, Kashmere included, no questions asked. I was ready to give you the whole world. And you gon’ stand here actin’ like I ain’t enough? Nah. Fuck that.”

I stormed out, slammin’ the door so hard the walls shook. The hall was quiet and polished, chandeliers shinnin’, but I couldn’t see nothin’ past the fury buzzin’ in my head. By the time I hit the lobby, I was so far gone I didn’t even care who stared.

Walkin’ through the hotel, all I could think about was Ka’mari.

The way she played with my heart, dragged me through hell and had me lookin’ like a fool.

I swore I would never let another woman do me like that, and here I was, feelin’ the same crack start inside my chest. Pluto had me vulnerable, had me damn near ready to flip my whole life upside down, and now she was pullin’ away like I was temporary…

like she ain’t love me the way I loved her.

By the time I got to the car, my hands was shakin’. I lit a blunt, suckin’ in the smoke until my lungs burned, and leaned back against the seat. I loved her—God, I loved her—and that was the fuckin’ problem. She had me weak, she had me slippin’, and I couldn’t afford that shit. Not again.

I told myself I had to get strong again. I had to remember who the fuck I was. If Pluto couldn’t see it, if she couldn’t believe in what I was offerin’, then she wasn’t the one after all.

When Pluto finally made her way through the hotel parkin’ lot, she was wipin’ tears from her face.

I sighed and put my head down ‘cause I just didn’t wanna deal with the shit right now.

My chest was still hot from the argument, my mind runnin’ circles, and even though part of me wanted to just peel off without her, I stayed.

That’s how much she had a hold on me, even when she was pissin’ me the fuck off.

She slid in the passenger seat quiet, not sayin’ a word.

I ain’t look at her. I just grabbed my phone, punched her address in the GPS, and pulled out.

My jaw was tight, my hand heavy on the wheel, and all I could think was how I flew all the way out here, laid my heart in her lap, and now she still actin’ like she don’t know what to do with it.

The ride was quiet, only sound comin’ from the low sound of the engine and the soft voice on the GPS tellin’ me where to turn.

I had my gun sittin’ on my lap, my fingers restin’ on it while I drove ‘cause I ain’t know shit about this city, and I wasn’t about to get caught slippin’.

Out the corner of my eye, I seen Pluto glance at me, her face calm like always, like she wasn’t just the reason I stormed out that hotel ready to lose my mind.

Then she reached for my hand.

Her fingers slid over mine slow and gentle, like she knew I wanted to snatch it back but she wasn’t lettin’ me.

I thought about pullin’ away—I swear I did, but the calmness she carried always fucked with me.

It was like she had this way of coolin’ down the fire I kept burnin’ inside.

I ain’t say nothin’, though. I kept my eyes on the road, kept my mouth shut, but she held my hand in her lap, kissin’ the back of it soft.

That shit made my chest twist up ‘cause as mad as I was, I couldn’t lie—it felt good.

We ain’t talk the whole ride. Her quiet was loud as hell, but it didn’t feel like the same kind of loud I was used to with other women.

Kashmere would’ve been screamin’, Ka’mari would’ve been talkin’ shit, but Pluto just sat there, holdin’ my hand like her silence was supposed to tell me everything she couldn’t say out loud.

When I finally turned into her neighborhood, my stomach dropped.

The closer we got, the worse the streets looked.

Houses leanin’, grass growin’ wild, kids runnin’ around with no shoes on, and grown folks sittin’ outside like they ain’t have shit else to do.

The buildings was run down like a muthafucka, paint chipped, windows broke, and I felt my anger risin’ all over again.

Her ass would rather stay here, in this bullshit, than in luxury with me where she’d be safe, loved, and spoiled like she deserved.

I wanted to go off right then, cuss her out, tell her how crazy she sounded for choosin’ this life over what I was puttin’ in her lap.

But I bit it down. My pride told me to shut the fuck up before I said some shit I couldn’t take back.

I slowed as I pulled into the lot of her apartments. Shit was raggedy, no other word for it. I sat there lookin’ at the cracked bricks, the busted railings, the dirty-ass steps, and shook my head. I ain’t say nothin’, though. My jaw flexed, but I kept my thoughts in.

Pluto turned her face toward me, her voice soft as ever. “Can I have a kiss?”