Chapter 13 Kay’lo Mensah
Trill-Land, Jungle Estate
Hours passed and I was still at Pressure’s, drunk as a bitch and feelin’ good as hell.
My stomach was full, and my spirit felt light in a way it ain’t felt since before everything went left.
The sun was slidin’ down, and the backyard lights was comin’ on, the music had been rollin’ since earlier, and the smell of liquor and barbecue was sittin’ in the air.
I was leaned back in one of Pressure’s big ass patio chairs with a cup in my hand and a blunt between my fingers while Blaqson shuffled the cards slow. The nigga finally showed up earlier and showed me some love.
Pressure was sittin’ across from me with his drunk ass. Renza was on my right talkin’ loud as hell ‘cause the liquor was already hittin’ him. We had been out here long enough for the ice in our drinks to melt twice, and the more the alcohol settled in my chest, the funnier everything sounded.
Renza smacked the table with his palm. “Nigga, I still can’t believe you shot all this nigga shit up.”
Pressure pointed at him. “Shut yo’ ass up. You was scared.
“Nigga, wasn’t no fuckin’ body scared,” Renza said, but he slid his chair like the memory made him nervous. “I was alert. That’s different.”
Blaqson looked between all of us, confused. “What the hell y’all talkin’ about? Who shot what?”
“This nigga Pressure knocked me the fuck out.”
Pressure lifted his cup. “Yup.”
“And then,” I continued, pointin’ my blunt at him, “him and Renza dragged my ass outside and left me layin’ in the driveway like I was trash day.”
Renza said, “Shiddd, we ain’t know what else to do. You was a big ass body to move, too.”
Pressure groaned loud like the story annoyed him, but he was drunk enough to laugh. “Man, this fool woke up outside and emptied a whole clip into my driveway like he was shootin’ at ghosts.”
“It wasn’t ghosts,” I said. “It was yo’ bitch ass for puttin’ me outside.”
Renza took a sip from his cup, and he started laughin’ again. “I keep tellin’ people to leave this crazy nigga alone.”
Pressure pointed at me with his cup. “You fixin’ my cars back. All of ‘em. Every bullet hole.”
I shrugged. “Nigga, just ‘cause I wrapped them bitches don’t mean I gotta fix ‘em.”
I leaned back in my chair and exhaled smoke slow. “I know where I went wrong though. I shouldn’t have talked to Pluto like that.”
Pressure raised both his eyebrows. “You damn right.”
Renza nodded too. “Pluto? Nigga, that’s our girl. You was wildin’.”
“I know,” I said. “I was pissed and not thinkin’. But I shouldn’t have snapped on her like that. She ain’t deserve it.”
Pressure lifted his chin. “She wasn’t off the hook neither though. I told her ass to leave y’all marriage alone and she still jumped right in the middle of it. So, her and you both deserved what came behind that conversation.”
I blinked. “Y’all got into it?”
Pressure smirked, his eyes barely open. “I had that woman on dick punishment for weeks.”
Renza choked on his drink. “Nigga, what? You? You had Pluto on punishment? Boy, shut the hell up. You can’t even go a week without humpin’ somethin’. I know you lyin’.”
Blaqson spit out some liquor, laughin’. “Dick punishment? Ain’t no way you survived that shit. Pluto probably had you tremblin’ like a withdrawal patient. How was that lil’ situation?”
Pressure lifted one finger like he was teachin’ a class. “A productive one.”
I shook my head, laughin’ ‘cause he was dead serious even though he could barely see straight. “Nigga… what is dick punishment? ‘Cause I know yo’ horny ass ain’t talkin’ about no damn celibacy plan.”
Pressure sighed like we annoyed him. “It means she wasn’t gettin’ none. I told her she needed to chill and stop gettin’ in shit that ain’t her business, and she ain’t listen, so I put her on hold.”
Renza slapped the table. “So, you went on strike? Boy, shut up. You ain’t got the stamina to strike from Pluto.”
Blaqson pointed at him. “I don’t believe it nigga. Pressure, you got a whole addiction problem. You the last muthafucka who need to be punishin’ anybody. Pluto probably laughed at you and walked off.”
Pressure leaned forward, offended as hell. “Man, fuck y’all. I’m serious. I was strong as hell. Mind over matter.”
Renza hollered. “Mind over matter? Nigga, you was probably humpin’ the air at night tryna stay focused.”
Blaqson covered his face. “This fool talkin’ about discipline.”
Pressure pointed at both of them again. “Laugh all you want. I lasted.”
I lifted my cup. “How long you lasted for real though? Tell the truth.”
Pressure hesitated for half a second.
Renza leaned in. “Oh yeah, that nigga lyin’. Look at him. He blinkin’ too much. How long, dawg?”
Pressure rubbed his beard. “Like… two and a half weeks.”
The whole table exploded.
Blaqson damn near fell out his chair. “Nigga, TWO WEEKS? Pluto must’ve been confused as fuck. She probably thought you was cheatin’ or dyin’.”
Renza laughed so hard he slapped my shoulder. “Nigga, I cannot believe yo’ horny ass was walkin’ around this house pretendin’ you ain’t need no ass. That’s the funniest shit I heard all year.”
Pressure threw his hand out like he was offended. “Man, fuck y’all, I was doin’ good. Then I started back givin’ her dick. She good now.”
I laughed so hard my stomach tightened. “You stupid as hell. You talkin’ about punishments like you some kind of monk. Nigga, you was sweatin’ and shakin’ behind her back when you finally gave her some, wasn’t you?”
Pressure pointed at me next. “Shut yo’ ass up. At least I did it.”
Renza snorted. “Nigga, please. You did not punish Pluto, she punished you. You thought you was in control, but she probably ain’t care at all. She probably used you bein’ dramatic as a break.”
Blaqson added, “On my mama, Pressure was probably takin’ cold showers holdin’ the counter lookin’ in the mirror tryna motivate himself.”
Pressure let out a slow exhale. “Y’all got too many jokes. I swear.”
I passed him the lighter. “Nigga, you know damn well you ain’t built for no drought.”
Pressure took the lighter, shook his head, and grumbled, “I hate y’all.”
Renza cracked up again. “Two and a half weeks. Nigga, that’s prison time for you.”
Blaqson leaned back, laughin’ deep. “Pluto probably thanked God for the silence.”
Pressure threw a card at him. “Man, go to hell.”
The whole table hollered.
We kept playin’ cards and talkin’ shit while the night wrapped around us.
The drinks kept gettin’ refilled even though I tried to tap out twice.
Renza cheated damn near every hand but blamed me for it.
Blaqson kept shakin’ his head at us like he was babysittin’ the three dumbest niggas alive.
And Pressure… that nigga spent half the time laughin’ loud.
Eventually I realized Toni was the only person in the whole house who wasn’t drunk. She walked outside with her arms folded and tapped my shoulder. “Give me the keys.”
“For what?” I asked even though I knew damn well.
“Kay’Lo,” she said with that tone she used when she wasn’t fuckin’ around. “Give me the keys.”
Pressure laughed behind me. “You heard ya wife.”
I handed her the keys and leaned over to kiss her cheek.
Everybody kept clownin’ and talkin’ shit while we packed up the cards and bottles.
Blaqson hugged me before he dipped out, Renza slapped my back like ten times, and Pressure whispered some dumb shit about me not shootin’ nothin’ on the way home.
When we finally left the backyard, I wrapped my arm around Toni’s waist and kissed her while I held the door open for her. She tasted warm and sweet and I wanted to take her in my old room instead of leavin’, but she pulled away smilin’ like she knew exactly what I was thinkin’.
We walked out the mansion, and the air was cool and heavy with the smell of the night.
I followed her to the car and slid into the passenger seat while Sha’Nelle slid in the back.
I ain’t even get settled before I bent down and kissed Toni’s thigh.
Her soft skin under my mouth made somethin’ pull at me.
Toni gasped a lil’. “Baby, you drunk.”
“And you lookin’ sexy as fuck,” I said against her thigh as I kissed her again. “So let me have this.”
I licked the inside of her leg while she drove with one hand. She kept her other hand on the back of my neck, scratchin’ her nails down slow, and I bit her before kissin’ ‘em again. I could feel her holdin’ her breath a lil’, and her legs tightened just enough for me to feel it.
From the backseat Sha’Nelle sighed loud. “I think y’all must’ve forgot I’m back here.”
I smiled right into Toni’s skin and kissed it again before sittin’ up straight. I grabbed her hand and kissed the back of it, lettin’ my thumb stroke her knuckles while we drove down the long road to our house.
When we pulled through our gate Toni parked neat beside the other cars. She got out first with Sha’Nelle behind her. I watched her walk to my side of the car and open the door like she always did when I was too drunk to move fast.
I put my feet out but didn’t stand up. Instead, I grabbed her waist and pulled her close. Her body met mine and I kissed her slow, lettin’ my tongue taste hers. She kissed me back and let her fingers curl into my shirt like she wasn’t ready to stop either.
We finally got out and made it upstairs. My buzz was sittin’ sweet, so I started rollin’ up while she went through her phone. I filled the paper and licked it slow and Toni walked over holdin’ her phone with her eyebrows pulled in.
“Baby…” she said. “Look.”
She handed me her phone. There was a picture of our house taken from outside the gate. It wasn’t no caption or name. Just the picture from a fake account.
I stared at it for a long second, then shrugged and handed her phone back. “Let ‘em come.”
I said it calm ‘cause I ain’t wanna alarm her, but my chest felt tight in a way I couldn’t ignore. I wasn’t scared. I was aware. And the awareness hit me hard ‘cause I knew exactly what this meant.
Toni sat beside me and leaned into my shoulder like she trusted every piece of me. I kissed the side of her head and held her close.
“Baby,” I said soft, rubbin’ circles on her stomach. “Ain’t nobody touchin’ you or my baby. Not while I’m breathin’.”
Her body relaxed and she exhaled slow, and I put the blunt down before I even finished rollin’ it ‘cause I already knew tonight wasn’t gon’ end the way it started.
Tonight reminded me why I fight, why I protect and why I kill when I have to.
My family was home. My wife was safe. My baby was growin’, and anybody who wanted to test that was gon’ learn exactly what kind of man I really was.