12. Pressure Mensah
Trill-Land, Jungle Estate
I t was finally time to drop another woman like dead weight, and I was in my office with Renza, Kay’Lo, and Blaqson tryna sort through the chaos in my head.
The office was low-lit with smoke hangin’ in the air, and a glass of brown liquor on the table in front of me, half gone.
Renza was laid back on the suede couch with his feet kicked up, rollin’ a blunt like he wasn’t on the clock.
Kay’Lo was posted near the bar, one hand nursin’ a drink, the other flickin’ through his phone, and Blaqson had a plate of breakfast in his lap, smackin’ like he just escaped prison.
“I had Pluto in my bed the other night,” I said.
Kay’Lo’s head turned quick. “Oh, word?”
Renza damn near dropped the blunt. “Nigga… say less.”
“Nah, not like that,” I told them. “She a damn virgin.”
Renza’s eyes widened and then he cracked up like I’d just told him the best joke he heard all month. “A virgin? In this house? You lyin’, bro.”
“She told me herself,” I said, leanin’ back. “And I believe her. She ain’t got that thirst like the rest of them. She got a good heart, but… I don’t know if I’m built for that.”
Kay’Lo cut in, “You sayin’ you don’t wanna be her first?”
“It ain’t that,” I said. “It’s just… when you take somethin’ like that, it come with a whole different weight. I’m tryna figure out if she really know what she want or if she just tryna escape somethin’.”
Renza leaned forward, still grinnin’. “You overthinkin’ it. Shit, if I found out one of them was a virgin, I would’ve married her on sight. That’s rare.”
I smirked. “You would’ve scared her off wit’ all that damn grillin’ and heavy breathin’.”
Kay’Lo chuckled, “Man, y’all stupid. What else been goin’ down?”
I sipped my drink before I dropped the next piece. “Kashmere. I fucked her in the hot tub last night. That pussy still gotta nigga stuck.”
Blaqson looked up from his plate, his lips shiny. “She look like she got that grip.”
“I ain’t even gonna lie to y’all… I damn near blacked out.” I shook my head and laughed under my breath. “She stayin’. I don’t give a fuck what happen after this, she’s stayin’. That’s a given.”
Renza let out a whistle. “Damn… baby must got that voodoo grip.”
“It ain’t just the sex,” I added. “She funny, got a lil’ boldness to her, she don’t take herself too serious but she still keep it solid. The sex just caught me off guard.”
Kay’Lo nodded. “That’s the kind of shit that sneak up on you.”
I glanced out the tinted window, watchin’ the sun climb slow over the treetops, spillin’ light across the gravel drive and the blacked-out trucks parked out front. The estate was still quiet, but I knew behind them bedroom doors, the nerves was loud
“I got my list,” I finally said. “I ain’t second-guessin’ it neither.”
Blaqson wiped his hands and stood. “Then it’s time.”
By the time we stepped into the foyer, the women were lined up clean across the marble like runway dolls on display.
They was dressed in everything tight, glittery, and desperate, but some of ‘em still held it with class. I could see nerves behind the lashes, and pride behind all the lip gloss. I stood in front of them, my arms crossed, and eyes movin’ from one face to the next.
Kashmere. Pluto. Lola. Jayla. Imani. Ariyah. Zaniyah. Chanel. Renae. Savannah. Taffy. Nyah. Soriya. Khari. Toni.
Fourteen would stay… one had to go.
I stepped forward and let the silence settle before I spoke. “First one I’m callin’… Toni Roc.”
Toni’s chin lifted just slightly, her lips partin’ like she was holdin’ her breath.
“It’s somethin’ about you, girl,” I said, my eyes locked on her. “You got this realness to you… like you ain’t never had the luxury of fakin’ it. You make a nigga feel looked after, and cared for. That’s rare.”
She stepped forward slowly, her lips curvin’ into a soft smile, then leaned up and kissed me on the lips. It wasn’t too long or too extra, but just enough to let me know she felt that.
I moved to the next. “Kashmere…”
She already knew. That smirk was sittin’ on her face like she’d been waitin’ on me to say her name. I let the corner of my mouth tug up.
“You already know why I’m keepin’ yo’ pretty ass.”
She gave a wink and strutted over without a word.
From there, I kept it movin’. I called Jayla, Renae, Chanel, Ariyah, Nyah, Savannah, Khari, Lola, Zaniyah, Soriya.
The numbers were shrinkin’, and now it was down to three.
Pluto…Imani…Taffy…
I looked at Pluto, and my eyes stayed there longer than they should’ve. She was tryna stay calm, but I could see her fingers twitchin’, and her bottom lip slightly tucked in. I could tell her heart was racin’.
“Come here,” I told her.
She walked slow and nervous, like she didn’t know what was waitin’ on the other end.
I reached for her hand and held it gently in mine, turnin’ to face her like we was standin’ in front of a preacher. Her eyes met mine, and even though she didn’t say nothin’, I could feel the weight of everything she wasn’t sayin’.
“You different,” I said. “You got somethin’ in you that feel like peace… but also like pressure. I ain’t gon’ lie, I been thinkin’ hard about this. You tellin’ me what you told me the other night… that ain’t light.”
She swallowed hard and nodded once, like her body understood more than her mouth could explain.
“You sure I’m the nigga you wanna take that next step with?”
She didn’t say a word. She just nodded again.
I leaned in and kissed her soft, so gentle that even I was caught off guard by how natural that shit felt. I heard a few gasps behind us, but I ain’t break the moment. When I pulled back, I met her gaze and whispered, “Then stay.”
She exhaled slowly and stepped to the side.
Now it was down to Big Taff and Imani Blaze.
Both of them was holdin’ their composure, but I could feel the heat in the room shift.
I looked at Imani first. “You got a smart-ass mouth. I don’t know if I can adjust to that shit. You gon’ have to learn who runnin’ shit here.”
Then I turned to Taffy. Her eyes held mine, like she was already braced for impact.
“Taffy,” I said, walkin’ up to her.
I grabbed her hand and kissed the back of it. “You cool as fuck. You real. You loud, you funny, and I actually enjoy havin’ you around. But I ain’t the nigga for you.”
She smiled through it, but I knew that shit stung.
I hated moments like this, but it had to be done.
Truth was… she too damn big for me. Like, I know everybody got they taste, and she probably the prize in somebody else’s world, but in mine?
Hell nah. I need somebody I can lift, flip and grip on instinct.
Ain’t no way I’mma be tryna blow a big woman’s back out and pull a hamstring in the process. That ain’t sexy, that’s dangerous.
Her eyes flickered with pain, but she smiled through it and leaned in to kiss my neck, soft and slow. “If you ever change your mind and decide to step with a real woman… I’m just one call away.”
I winced a little and gave her a short nod. “I’ll remember that.”
She turned and walked off with her head high.
I looked back at Imani and tilted my head. “Get your mean ass over here.”
She walked toward me, humbled now, not sayin’ too much.
“What exactly are you here for?” I asked.
“I’m here for you , one hundred percent,” she said, tryna sound all sincere.
“Then act like it,” I told her. “You don’t need to be focused on nobody else but me.”
She nodded, kissed my cheek, and joined the rest. And just like that, fourteen was still standin’.
And still, it seemed like we was just gettin’ started.
A couple hours after I dropped Big Taff, I was at the table with my fourteen flavors, tryna see who still had taste.
The dinin’ room looked like a damn press conference.
There was a long glass table, velvet chairs, sunlight spillin’ in from the tall-ass windows, and enough luxury plated in front of us to feed a king’s last supper.
The chefs had done they big one. We was eatin’ roasted duck glazed in plum sauce, grilled lobster tails with lemon herb butter, truffle mac and cheese, wild mushroom risotto, and some thick-ass crab cakes sittin’ on a bed of creamed corn that was so good it made me close my eyes for a second.
On the side, they had these lamb lollipops charred just right with a mint chimichurri sauce that hit so damn hard, Renza had stopped talkin’ for five minutes just to eat in peace.
Kay’Lo had already kicked his shoes off under the table and was leaned back with a toothpick in his mouth like he wasn’t tryna impress nobody. I was at the head of the table, posted up with a glass of champagne in one hand and my fork in the other, lettin’ the women entertain me.
And they was doin’ exactly that.
Kashmere had the whole left side of the table laughin’.
Toni Roc and Imani Blaze was sittin’ close, both with light flour dusted on their forearms from helpin’ the chefs earlier.
I ain’t ask ’em to, but they volunteered.
Said they ain’t too cute to get in the kitchen, and I respected that.
The cornbread muffins they helped whip up came out perfect—golden with a lil honey glaze on top, and soft in the middle like they been passed down through generations.
Toni slid me one when I reached for it, like she already knew which piece I wanted.
Imani ain’t say much, but she stayed watchin’ me out the corner of her eye like she had somethin’ to prove without speakin’ on it.
Renae Dior was movin’ quiet but solid. Every time my glass got low, she refilled it before I had to ask. She didn’t say a word, but just handled it like a woman who knew how to move in a room without beggin’ for attention.
Then outta nowhere, Chanel Banks got up from her spot across the table and walked her extra ass around just to rub my back while I was eatin’. Her fingers trailed down slow, like she was tryna get a rise outta somebody. Then she leaned in and kissed my neck real gentle.
I heard Toni scoff, then saw her roll her eyes so hard it almost flipped her damn lashes off. She mumbled somethin’ under her breath and stabbed her fork into her greens.
“Y’all good?” I asked, not lookin’ at either one of ‘em.
“I’m fine,” Toni said, loud enough for everybody to hear. “I just don’t like when recycled energy start gettin’ brand new.”
Chanel smirked and went back to her seat like she won that round.
By the time I finished my plate, I leaned back and wiped my mouth, feelin’ full and halfway amused. Ariyah Skye stood up from her spot and walked over to take my dishes like it was second nature.
Everything was flowin’. The food was good, the energy was cool, and the women had finally stopped actin’ like this was a damn audition and started relaxin’ into who they really were.
Then, outta nowhere, shit went left.
I heard a weird cough. It was short at first, then a second one that sounded off.
I looked down the table and saw Zaniyah Starr holdin’ her throat with one hand, her eyes blinkin’ fast like she couldn’t focus.
She knocked her water glass over tryin’ to grab it, and then her whole body jerked once before she slumped forward.
“What the fuck—” Kashmere started to say, but Renae was already jumpin’ out her seat.
“Zaniyah?” Toni called out, but Zaniyah didn’t answer.
I stood up quick as hell, my chair scratchin’ across the floor as I moved around the table. A few of the girls screamed and rushed toward her, but I got there first. Her lips was already startin’ to swell, and she was gaspin’ hard, strugglin’ to breathe.
“Move back,” I said, my voice firm. “Give her room.”
She was tremblin’, her body leanin’ sideways like she couldn’t hold herself up no more. Chanel dropped to her knees next to her and tried to hold her steady, but her whole body was goin’ limp.
“What the fuck did she eat?” I asked as my eyes scanned the table.
“She had the crab cakes, I think,” Kay’Lo said. “And the risotto too.”
“Yeah, she did,” Chanel added, pointin’ toward her plate. “She grabbed one earlier off that smaller platter.”
My jaw clenched and I looked back down at her. Her throat was closin’ up fast, her skin turnin’ blotchy, and I knew right then that if we didn’t move quick, this wasn’t gon’ be no small scare.
This girl was about to die.