Page 34 of Certified Pressure 3

He shook his head. “Nah. You been reactin’. There’s a difference. You chase her when she pull away, then get mad when she don’t fold. You gotta show her somethin’ real. She need to see you serious about her, not just about the baby.”

I didn’t say nothin’ but just let his words sit. He wasn’t wrong.

Kay’Lo looked out at the trees that surrounded the estate. “That girl love you. You took her virginity, bro. You put yo’ seed in her. If she don’t think about that shit every day, she not human. But trust me, she love you.”

I glanced at him, lettin’ his words soak in. “You think so?”

He nodded without hesitation. “I know so. You gon’ see when that baby get here. Everything gon’ change. She gon’ fall for you all over again, and you gon’ fall even harder. Watch.”

I smiled a lil’, thinkin’ about it. The image of me holdin’ my child for the first time hit me hard as hell. The idea of seein’ Pluto in that moment and seein’ our baby… it made my heart feel full.

But then that smile faded. “I just don’t wanna lose this baby, bro.”

Kay’Lo looked at me serious. “You not. God won’t put you through that again. That pain you felt before ain’t comin’ back. This time gon’ be different. Your baby gon’ make it here safe, and they gon’ be beautiful. You know us Mensah’s got some good ass genes.

I nodded slow, my throat feelin’ tight. “Appreciate you, Cuz.”

He clapped me on the shoulder. “Always. You know I got you.”

I looked at him for a second before pullin’ him into a quick hug. We wasn’t the sentimental type, but we meant that shit. At the end of the day, this was my blood, my cousin…my brother.

When we pulled apart, he picked up his drink and smiled. “See, now you back actin’ like yourself again.”

I laughed. “Man, shut up.”

He chuckled and leaned back. “Nah, for real. I’m glad we cool, ‘cause I ain’t feelin’ that tension between us. You my nigga, Pressure. Ain’t nothin’ worth us fallin’ out.”

“You right,” I said. “I got too much other shit to worry about anyway.”

We sat there, drinkin’ and talkin’, crackin’ jokes about random shit. The longer we sat, the lighter it felt. That weight that had been sittin’ on me all day started to lift.

I glanced at him after a while. “You really love her, huh?”

He smiled. “Yeah. Toni somethin’ else, bro. She got me movin’ different.”

“I can tell,” I said. “She changed your whole vibe.”

“She did,” he said. “But that’s what love do. You just don’t see it yet ‘cause you too busy fightin’ yours.”

I didn’t even argue. He was right again.

We sat quiet, both lookin’ out at the backyard. The music played low, the crickets filled the silence, and the night felt calm for once and I felt grounded, like maybe I could breathe again.

I looked over at him and said, “Aye, Lo.”

“Yeah?”

“I love you, nigga.”

He laughed and held up his glass. “Love you too, fool. Now stop actin’ like a damn girl before I take it back.”

I laughed, shakin’ my head. “A’ight, whatever.”

The both of us sat there laughin’ and talkin’ ‘til the bottle was damn near gone.

This what family do. We fight hard, but we love harder, and sittin’ out here with my cousin, I realized no matter how much life threw at me, I wasn’t doin’ this shit alone.

Trill-Land, Jungle Estate