15. Pressure
Trill-Land, Jungle Estate
L ater that night, I was back in my room, sittin’ in silence, just lettin’ everything settle.
As soon as I came back to the crib I walked past everybody without sayin’ shit.
I dropped my keys on the dresser the second I came in and kicked off my shoes by the door, but I hadn’t even moved since then.
I was still wearin’ the same all-black I pulled up on Donovan in, and my shirt still smelled like smoke and sweat from earlier.
The Glock I used to bust Ka’mari’s door open was sittin’ on my nightstand beside a half-burnt Palo Santo stick and the bracelet she bought me years ago that I never took out the box.
My room was dim and the only light came from the wall sconces on either side of the bed, and even they felt like too much.
My head was fucked up, and not just from what went down, but from how she felt when she grabbed my hand.
It had been years since I touched Ka’mari, but the second her fingers locked with mine, it was like time bent in the middle and threw me right back to when shit made sense. When her voice could calm me down, and her hugs used to feel like home.
I sat forward and rubbed my palms down my face.
All this time I been tryin’ to convince myself I was good, and that I had moved on… That what we had was dead and gone and I needed to focus on the future, but tonight, she reminded me that the shit between us never really died.
It just went quiet…
And now here I was, with a mansion full of bad ass women tryna earn a crown, but my thoughts still driftin’ back to a girl who already wore it—at least in a way none of them could.
I ain’t even mean to question everything, but I couldn’t help it.
Did I really think any of these females could fill Ka’mari’s shoes? Could they understand me the way she did? Could they look past the title, the money, the jungle estate, the whole Prince Pressure shit—and really see me?
I fucked with a few of them—Kashmere, Toni Roc, Pluto, even Jayla and Renae had somethin’ about them that stood out. But Kashmere was the only one I had touched like that, and I guess that’s why she stood out the most.
With these women, it was vibe, presence, the way they moved around me, and even with that, I still ain’t know if any of ‘em had it in ‘em to really hold me down if shit hit the fan for real. Not like Ka’mari used to, or like she still might, even after all this time.
I stood up slow and walked over to the custom bar built into the far wall, where the glass shelves held bottles most people had never even heard of.
I reached for the D’Ussé XO and poured up in a crystal glass.
I let my two fingers swirl in it a little before takin’ that first sip.
The liquor was smooth and warm, slidin’ down my throat.
I set the glass down, opened the drawer beneath the bar, and grabbed one of my personal pre-roll packs. I unwrapped a fresh cone and packed it tight with God Smoke, pressin’ the flower down with the flat end of a ring I had slid off my finger.
This was my process. When the world got loud, I slowed it down like liquor and weed.
I sparked the blunt, let it burn even across the tip, then took a deep pull.
That first hit mellowed my thoughts.
I walked back to the bed, sat on the edge, and leaned forward with my elbows on my knees, watchin’ the smoke curl toward the ceiling fan as it spun lazy above me.
That’s when my mind drifted to Kashmere.
Her laugh was the first thing that popped up.
That wild, confident ass laugh that didn’t sound like she was tryna be cute.
The shit was just real and reckless and free.
I thought about the way she felt in the hot tub, when she slid close to me and whispered that bold shit with her eyes locked on mine like she wasn’t scared of nothin’. Then I thought about that pussy.
She had that fire to her, like she could fuck you, fight you, and take care of your soul—all in the same hour.
The shit we did in that water wasn’t just a moment. It lingered.
The way she moaned when I had her bent over, the way she looked at me afterward with her lip gloss smudged and her head back like she had finally let go of some weight. That was the type of connection I couldn’t fake.
And the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to see her again.
I reached for my phone and unlocked it, then hit the line to one of my people.
A raspy voice answered on the second ring. “Yes sir?”
“Go to the second-floor suite, room twelve,” I said. “Tell Kashmere Charm to get dressed and come to my room. Don’t say nothin’ else. Just tell her I said come on.”
“Yes, sir.”
I hung up without waitin’ for anything else and tossed the phone back onto the bed.
Then I stood up, grabbed my glass, and took another slow sip as I walked to the balcony doors and slid one open.
The night air swept in, soft and cool against my skin. I stepped outside and leaned on the railing, lettin’ the jungle view remind me where the fuck I was.
Ka’mari had my mind twisted, but I couldn’t let that shit make me forget who I was or what I came back to Trill-Land to do.
Still, that didn’t mean I had all the answers.
I exhaled a thick stream of smoke into the night, watchin’ the ember at the end of the blunt glow like a signal in the dark.
Somewhere behind me, Kashmere was probably standin’ in somethin’ that smelled good and made her hips sit just right.
And that thought alone…
Yeah…
It made me feel a lil’ less conflicted already.
By the time I left my balcony, Kashmere was sittin’ on my bed wearin’ somethin’ damn near illegal.
She had on a black lace that hugged her body like it was sewn onto her skin, with one strap slidin’ off her shoulder like it didn’t know where to sit.
One of my crystal glasses was already in her hand, halfway full with liquor from my bar like she been in here before and knew where everything was.
She looked comfortable. Her legs were crossed at the knee, a drink swirlin’ in her hand while smirkin’ at me like she already knew I wanted her sexy ass.
I closed the door behind me and tilted my head as I walked slow across the room.
“Who told you to touch anything in here?” I asked, eyein’ the drink in her hand, then her bare thighs.
She leaned back, her eyes lazy like she was bored. “Nobody had to tell me. I figured if I’m gon’ be summoned like a genie, I might as well make myself at home.”
That made the corner of my mouth curl up. I couldn’t even fake it. That mouth of hers stayed sharp, but it always came wrapped in a bow of confidence that made it hard as hell not to admire.
I sat beside her, close enough for our thighs to brush. She smelled like vanilla and a lil’ coconut oil, mixed with whatever heat was still sittin’ on her skin from the shower she clearly just stepped out of.
I didn’t waste no time. I reached over and slid my hand up her thigh, then leaned in to kiss her, but she pulled back, blinkin’ like she hadn’t expected that.
“Oh, that’s what this is?” she asked, her brows up, but her voice was low. “You call me up here just to fuck?”
I kept my hand where it was and looked her dead in her face. “You actin’ like that’s a bad thing. Don’t start fuckin’ actin’ brand new.”
Kashmere studied me for a second, like she was tryna read past the surface. “Pressure… I know what happened in the hot tub. I was there. But I just wanna know… is that all this gon’ be?”
I ain’t answer right away.
She leaned back a little more, lettin’ her body sink into the mattress as her eyes stayed locked on mine.
“You fuckin’ on other women too?” she asked, real calm.
I turned to grab my drink off the nightstand and took a slow sip before I answered.
“That’s none of your business,” I said flat.
She laughed once, soft but sarcastic, and sat up straighter. “A’ight. Well if that’s how you feel, then my pussy ain’t none of your business either.”
That made me look at her different. Not ‘cause I was mad, but ‘cause she was bold enough to stand on it.
I let my glass clink down on the table, then leaned back into the bed with one hand behind my head.
“You wanna go that route?” I asked.
“I’m just sayin’,” she replied. “You don’t owe me nothin’ and I don’t owe you nothin’, but if you gon’ treat me like a late night, drive-thru fuck say that.
‘Cause I ain’t the type to sit around hopin’ you pick me next.
I’ll pack up my shit, and whatever self-respect I got left and get eliminated right now.
Save me the headache before I get too deep in this shit. ”
She was talkin’ like she meant every word, but didn’t really want to leave or like part of her was darin’ me to call her bluff, but the other part was hopin’ I wouldn’t.
I stared at her hard. “You done?” I asked.
She uncrossed her legs, slid to the edge of the bed, and stood up. “I can be.”
She went to grab her little silk robe off the chair, but I moved quicker.
I stood up, stepped right into her space, and pressed her back against the wall without even thinkin’ about it. My chest met hers first, then my hand came up to the side of her neck as we stood nose to nose.
“I don’t know what you think you are,” I said, “but you ain’t just some late night fuck. I don’t even like bitches enough to share space with ‘em twice. But here you are, standin’ in my room… drippin’ in lace… tellin’ me what you not gon’ tolerate like you got the fuckin’ leverage.”
Her hands slid up my stomach, slow, like she was tryna check if I was really as mad as I sounded.
“Maybe I do,” she whispered.
That shit flipped somethin’ in me.
I grabbed her face with both hands and kissed her hard, not lettin’ her talk no more. Her lips opened like she’d been waitin’ on that, and I felt her melt into me instantly.
The kiss was messy, wet and heavy with tongue. Her mouth tasted like peach liquor and a little bit of weed. Her fingers dug into my shoulders as she kissed me back with just as much hunger, and I swear to God it felt like she was tryna climb inside my skin.