27. Pressure Mensah
Trill-Land, Jungle Estate
I couldn’t believe this shit. I had a whole nigga livin’ under my roof and ain’t even know it.
My knuckles was bloody, my hands stingin’, and all I could see in my head was me wrappin’ my arms around that bitch, kissin’ her forehead, lettin’ her stand next to me.
I looked down at my fists, flexin’ them, seein’ his blood dryin’ up on my skin. My whole body felt hot.
“That bitch just told me she’s a man,” I said, loud enough for everybody in the foyer to hear. My voice had that edge to it, the one that made everybody’s face change like they knew it was about to get uglier.
Renza and Kay’Lo both looked at me like they didn’t even know what to say, and before they could open their mouths, Chanel and Imani came walkin’ over. Chanel had that slick-ass smirk like she’d been waitin’ to be messy.
“We saw her naked,” Chanel said, lookin’ dead at me like she was deliverin’ the final blow. “It’s a man.”
Imani jumped in, “It happened while you were out of town.”
I stepped toward them, my face twistin’ up. “Bitch, why the fuck you ain’t say nothin’? Y’all just lettin’ me walk around here talkin’ to a whole nigga like I don’t need to know that?”
Chanel said it again about me bein’ gone, like that made it better.
I could feel my jaw lockin’ as I took another step toward her.
“I don’t give a fuck if I was on the moon, you shoulda been blowin’ my phone up.
Y’all hoes really sat on that shit like it was tea for y’all to sip on instead of tellin’ me as soon as I walked through the fuckin’ door! ”
My blood was already pumpin’ too fast, and I spun toward the door. “Nah, fuck that. I’m finna drag that nigga back in here and beat his ass again.”
Renza moved quick, blockin’ me. “Cuzzo, chill. You already handled it. Let her… him…be gone.”
Kay’Lo was right there with him, holdin’ his hands out. “Bro, don’t even waste the energy. He’s outta here.”
I was breathin’ heavy, starin’ past them at the front door like I could still see his ass out there bleedin’. Then I turned slow toward the rest of the women in the foyer. “Y’all niggas too?” I asked, my tone cold enough to make a couple of them flinch where they stood.
They started shakin’ their heads quick. “No, Pressure,” Chanel said, tryna look offended like I had gone too far.
“Man…” I muttered, pullin’ my phone out.
I called one of my guards, and when he picked up, I didn’t even greet him.
“Follow these two bitches upstairs to Lola’s room and throw all her shit out.
I mean everything. Clothes, shoes, wigs, makeup— I want all that shit gone.
Take the whole bed apart too. Toss it. I don’t wanna see a sheet that bitch touched in this house. ”
Minutes later, my guard started movin’, leadin’ Chanel and Imani toward the stairs. I waited until the hallway was clear before turnin’ back to Renza.
“You know what? I feel like you set me up, bitch,” I told him, my eyes locked on his. “If you wasn’t my blood, I’d shoot the shit out you right now.”
His eyes got wide and he started swearin’ up and down. “Cuzzo, on my mama, I ain’t know. I swear to God, I ain’t know. Come on now, nigga.”
I just kept shakin’ my head, walkin’ a short circle in the foyer. “Nigga… I hugged that bitch. I kissed that bitch a few times. And you mean to tell me the whole time it was a nigga standin’ here smilin’ in my face? Fuck outta here.”
Renza was pressin’ his lips together like he was tryin’ to hold somethin’ in, and Kay’Lo was turnin’ away, his shoulders bouncin’ like he couldn’t help it.
“This shit ain’t funny,” I barked, pointin’ at them. “Dead-ass, it’s not fuckin’ funny.”
They looked at each other and it was over. Renza broke first, laughin’ hard, and Kay’Lo damn near doubled over, wheezin’ and spittin’ as he laughed. He wiped his mouth and kept goin’, tryin’ to talk but chokin’ on his own laughter.
“Y’all some goofy-ass niggas,” I said, my voice low with disgust. “Laughin’ while I’m out here gettin’ played like that. Man, fuck y’all.”
I shook my head and walked off toward the elevator.
I didn’t even wanna look at then niggas no more.
The doors closed slow, and the whole ride up I was replayin’ the last couple weeks in my head.
Every conversation, every smile, and every time I brushed that bitch’s arm or told that muthafucka somethin’ real.
My stomach started turnin’. I even thought back to when that muthafucka had me feelin’ what I thought was a pussy between his leggin’s.
I wanted to kick my own ass for not doin’ a further investigation like I originally planned.
In my room, I sat on the bed, my elbows diggin’ into my knees.
I felt sick. I didn’t give a fuck about no surgery or no fuckin’ sob story about how that damn he-she felt inside.
I wasn’t tryna hear none of it. What pissed me off the most was that I had let my guard down.
Chanel had brought this shit to me before, and I let it slide.
I stared at the wall, my chest heavy. I didn’t trust none of these women no more. If I could miss somethin’ this big, then what else was slippin’ past me? How many of ‘em was hidin’ some wild shit I didn’t know about?
This wasn’t just about Lola’s manly ass no more. This was about me realizin’ I ain’t know these bitches at all, and now I couldn’t even trust my own judgment. That shit was a problem.
That evenin’ I sat on my balcony, smokin’ and tryna calm what nerves I had left.
The sky was dark, and the sounds from the jungle rolled in from beyond the estate walls, but none of it was givin’ me the peace it usually did.
My mind was too crowded. Every pull of the blunt was just givin’ me more time to think about what the fuck happened earlier.
I still couldn’t wrap my head around that shit.
That nigga really looked me in my face and told me he was a man like he thought I was just gon’ nod and shake his hand, and like there wasn’t gon’ be no consequences for playin’ in my fuckin’ face like that.
My knuckles was raw, the skin split in a couple spots, bruises already settin’ in deep.
Every time I flexed my fingers, I felt that sting shoot up my hand, and honestly, I liked it.
It reminded me I handled the fuck out that situation.
Still, it didn’t stop the feelin’ that was sittin’ with me.
I had twenty women in my house when this all started, and somehow, I just found out one of ’em was a whole man.
If I could miss somethin’ that big, then what else was I not seein’? Who else in here was hidin’ shit?
I sat there for another minute, starin’ out over the balcony rail, before I grabbed my phone and hit Kay’Lo’s line. He picked up on the first ring.
“Yo?”
“Get everybody to the livin’ area. Chanel, Imani, Zaniyah, Toni, Pluto, Kashmere… all of ’em. Tell ’em now.”
He didn’t ask questions. “Bet. On it.”
I ended the call and headed straight for the shower.
I wanted the stench of Lola’s presence off me.
I turned the water up hot and stood there until the steam covered the glass.
It wasn’t just about cleanin’ my skin, it was about washin’ the whole damn vibe off me.
By the time I stepped out, my muscles was loose but my head was still tight with frustration.
I grabbed my grinder off the nightstand, broke down some Trillium, and rolled it up slow. Once it was packed just how I liked it, I sparked it, let the smoke curl through my lungs, and held it there before lettin’ it slide out. Three pulls in and I was ready to move.
I stepped in the elevator and rode down, watchin’ my reflection in the gold trim of the doors.
My expression stayed cold the whole ride, and when the doors opened, they was all there.
Chanel and Imani was side by side, Zaniyah sat toward the corner with her legs crossed, Toni lounged back like she was tryna look unbothered, and Pluto and Kashmere was sittin’ far on separate ends of the couch.
They all looked at me like they already knew I wasn’t in the mood.
I stopped in the middle of the room and let my eyes sweep over them. “I ain’t even gon’ sugarcoat this shit, “I started, my voice hard. “Y’all can go ahead and start packin’ y’all shit. I’m done. I’m not pickin’ nobody.”
They all shifted, some brows pullin’ tight, some mouths partin’ like they wanted to speak but didn’t. Kashmere’s eyes locked on me, and I caught that flash in them before I looked away. I didn’t care to explain myself twice.
“I’ll have Renza schedule the flights and get y’all home,” I said, keepin’ my tone final. “Don’t worry about nothin’. You’ll be taken care of. But this shit right here…It’s over.”
I could see the disappointment hangin’ heavy in the room, but my mind was already halfway gone from the conversation. I left the livin’ room and turned for the elevator. That’s when I heard my name, soft but clear.
“Pressure.”
When I made it to the elevator, I glanced back and saw Pluto walkin’ up. She moved quick enough to catch me before the doors closed. I ain’t wanna talk. My patience was already gone, but she wasn’t lettin’ up. She walked right with me into the elevator.
“You don’t gotta do this,” she said.
I kept ignorin’ her, hittin’ the button for my floor. “I already said what I said.”
“And I’m sayin’ don’t act on it if you know you’ll regret it later.”
I finally turned my head, just enough to look at her. She wasn’t comin’ at me with no attitude. She was calm like she actually gave a damn about what I decided.
When we got to my floor, she stayed on my heels all the way to my room.
I dropped down on the edge of the bed and reached for the blunt I left burnin’ in the tray, still not sayin’ much.
She stepped up, her hand warm when she reached for mine, pullin’ it toward her and lacin’ her fingers between mine like she had every right to.
“Lola was wrong,” she said. “She lied, and she played you, but don’t give her… or him the power to decide how this ends for you. You know what you want. You know what you’re here for. Don’t throw it away because of Lola.”
She was quiet for a minute then looked at me, “There’s nothing more that I want than to be your wife. Please… don’t throw away what could be our future… your future just because someone else is fighting their own demons. We’ve come too far, and I know you feel that.”
I didn’t say nothin’ right away. Her words sat heavy, but not in the way the rest of the night had been sittin’ on me.
I ain’t wanna admit it but, it was somethin’ that made sense.
She was right. That nigga bitch wasn’t about to be the reason I backed away from somethin’ my family had built this whole process for.
The whole point of this shit was to secure my family’s legacy and to be honest, I had fallen for these women and didn’t know if I could start over with a new batch.
I took a slow pull from the blunt and handed it to her. She accepted it without hesitatin’, took a hit, and blew the smoke toward the open balcony doors. We passed it back and forth, the room quiet except for the faint sounds outside.
At one point, she leaned in, her lips brushing mine in a way that was soft but sure. “What’s meant for you will be meant to be,” she murmured, pullin’ back just enough to look me in the eye before she took another pull.
We finished the blunt in silence, and when she finally stood up to leave, I didn’t stop her. She walked out the same way she came in—calm, and without rush.
When the door clicked shut behind her, I realized I was sittin’ lighter than I had all night. It wasn’t gone, but the weight on my chest had eased up. That was the kind of energy Pluto brought with her, and I couldn’t deny it even if I wanted to.