Page 88 of Certified Pressure

I looked between them, my eyes burnin’ the longer I stood there. Pluto had tears already streamin’ down her face, and Kashmere’s eyes was glassy even though she was tryin’ to hold her ground. My chest was tight, and my throat felt dry, but I kept my voice steady.

“Pluto… you mean a lot to me,” I said. “What we shared in my room the other night… that ain’t somethin’ I’ll ever take for granted. You calm me down and make me feel like a man when I’m around you. That’s not easy to do.”

She nodded slowly, tears fallin’ harder now, her chest rising and fallin’ quick.

Then I turned to Kashmere. “And you… you got that fire I don’t ever wanna put out. You beautiful as fuck, and even though you drive me crazy, you make me wanna buckle up and enjoy the ride.”

They was both lookin’ at me, breaths uneven, and I felt like I was standin’ on the edge of somethin’ I didn’t wanna jump off of.

“I gotta let one of y’all go,” I said, my voice lower now. “And?—”

The sound of the doorbell cut me off.

Everybody froze.

Confused, I looked over my shoulder. “Renza, go see who the fuck that is.”

He walked to the door, pulled it open… and there she was.

It was…Ka’mari.

She stepped inside, struttin’ and swayin’ her hips as her heels clicked across the floor.

Every eye was on her. She stood there like she’d never left my life, dressed in a fitted cream dress that hugged her curves, the diamonds I bought her drippin’ off her body. Her hair was slick, makeup done up, heels clickin’ against the marble as she walked toward me.

“I’ve been doing some thinking, Pressure,” she said, her voice smooth. “And I want to work this out.”

The whole room went silent.

Pluto’s tears froze on her cheeks. Kashmere’s lips pressed together like she was holdin’ back every word she wanted to spit. Toni and Zaniyah both shifted, their eyes dartin’ between me and her. Renza, Kay’Lo, and Blaqson was dead still, watchin’ like they was front row at a car crash they couldn’t stop.

I didn’t move or blink.

Because Ka’mari standin’ in this damn foyer… lookin’ good as fuck…just changed everything.

TO BE CONTINUED…