Page 48 of Certified Pressure 2
Her smile lingered as she looked me up and down. “But Kashmere… she’s not disciplined. She’s impulsive. She alwayshas been. Beautiful, yes. Loyal, yes. But is that enough for a man like you? Honestly, Pressure… you need a mature woman.”
I narrowed my eyes at her. In my head I was thinkin’,if anybody loose, it’s yo’ ass,but I held my tongue.
She stepped closer, her heels soft against the rug now, and laid a hand on my chest. It was just a light touch, but it was enough to make my whole body tense. I wasn’t scared of her, but I damn sure wasn’t expectin’ her to cross that line, especially while her fuckin’ husband and daughter was right outside the room.
I ain’t know what kind of freaky ass shit Silky and her husband was on, but I wasn’t feelin’ the shit at all. To say I was shocked and disturbed as fuck would be a fuckin’ understatement.
“You deserve someone who knows how to handle a man like you,” she said, her voice droppin’ lower. “Someone who won’t embarrass you. Someone who understands what it means to keep a man satisfied.”
Her perfume was strong, the kind of scent that clung to you long after the person left, and she was lookin’ at me like she wanted me to take the bait. I didn’t move though. I just stared at her, thinkin’ about how wild this shit was. Kashmere’s mama—bold as hell, talkin’ down on her daughter one second, and the next, tryna slide in her place. This old bitch wanted this dick.
She rubbed her hand across my chest again, slow this time. “Think about it, Pressure. You could have someone experienced… someone who wouldn’t make mistakes the way she does.”
I clenched my jaw and exhaled through my nose, keepin’ my voice calm. “Respectfully, Mrs. Charm, I ain’t with that. Kashmere’s my focus.”
She pouted a lil’, like she wasn’t used to being turned down, and before she could say more, there was a knock at the door.Kashmere’s voice carried through, shaky. “Pressure? You okay in there?”
I damn near thanked God. “Yeah, I’m here,” I called back.
Silky stepped back quick, fixin’ her dress, and smoothin’ her hair like nothin’ happened. I opened the door, and Kashmere stood there, her eyes dartin’ between me and her mama. I didn’t say a word. I just walked past both of them, feelin’ violated on too many levels.
As night fell, I sent the driver to take her parents back to their hotel. I sat alone after, the same cigar burnin’ down between my fingers, replayin’ everything in my head. Lunch was messy enough, but this with her mama tryna come on to me? I couldn’t believe the shit that went down in one day.
Imagine if I married Kashmere and had to deal with her mama tryna sample my dick like it’s hors d’oeuvres at our wedding reception.
But for real… if Kashmere ever found out just how bold her mama really was, I knew shit between them would never be the same.
Trill-Land, Jungle Estate
The following day…
Today was Kashmere’s parents’ last day in town so she decided to go spend time with them outside the mansion, even though I knew she ain’t really want to. She told me she felt like she had to, that it was only right since they flew all this way, and I ain’t push back. I let her go, kissed her goodbye, and told her to enjoy her time with them. She left out lookin’ good, makeup soft, sundress flowin’, and even though she was tryin’ to smile, I could read her easy. Kashmere wasn’t tryin’ to leave my side, but she did it anyway.
And while she was gone, I was already gettin’ myself together for the next round of family shit. Yesterday I sat down withKashmere’s weird ass mama, and today it was Ka’mari’s turn. Her pops, Darius La’Rue, was a pain in my ass, for real. The nigga was always sittin’ at the head of family dinners, always speakin’ with that voice that said he expected to be obeyed. And I also knew he ain’t never liked me. He never hid it either. In his eyes, I was too wild, too unhinged, too much of everything he thought a man shouldn’t be for his daughter. If it was up to him, Ka’mari would’ve been Donovan’s wife by now, livin’ that picture-perfect life he could brag on in his circle.
But this was my house, and outta respect for Ka’mari, I was gon’ stand tall and give the man the chance to say whatever he felt he needed to.
I wasn’t even sure if I wanted to see Ka’mari’s parents ‘cause me and her been off ever since that night we went to see Rallo. After my dick wouldn’t move, and the way she looked at me after that—like I wasn’t the same nigga she used to know—burned into me. I told her straight up if she wanted to walk away, she could, maybe it was for the best. But she didn’t. She stayed, even though the silence after that felt like a wall we couldn’t climb. We came back to the mansion, and she tried to act normal, still bringin’ me my mornin’ coffee, still tryna spark them light little conversations like everything was cool, but I could feel it. She started takin’ everything personal, actin’ like my body failin’ me for one night was some rejection of her as a woman. Ever since, the vibe between us had been even more tense. Add in the constant back and forth between her and Kashmere, and Ka’mari dipped for a day just to cool down while I met Kashmere’s family. I thought it gave us space.
An hour later, the quiet in the mansion shifted when Ka’mari walked back through the front door with Darius beside her…
As she made her way toward the bar area in the livin’ room, she looked uneasy, and she wasn’t wrong for that. Darius wasn’t the type to soften himself in another man’s house. He walked intall, broad shoulders stretched wide, skin the same rich shade as hers, and his pride sittin’ on him like armor. I stepped up like I was supposed to, extending my hand.
“Mr. La’Rue,” I said, lookin’ him dead in the eyes.
He looked at my hand, then looked at me, and let that shit hang in the air. He didn’t take it. His face stayed hard as stone. “The only reason I showed up here is because my wife refused to come. Don’t think I’m here for you.”
In my head, I was thinkin’,well, why you bring yo’ bitch ass over here then?but I kept my face calm. There was no need to blow up yet. Ka’mari reached for her daddy’s arm, tryin’ to ease him. “Daddy, please, can you not start?—”
“Be quiet, Ka’mari,” he snapped, sharp enough to make her flinch. “I’m talking.”
I leaned back against the edge of the bar, glancin’ at the cigar box from earlier still sittin’ there like a reminder of how different today could’ve gone. I folded my arms, letting him talk.
Darius locked his eyes on me. “At first, I wasn’t going to come. I didn’t want to sit here and even acknowledge this situation. But I thought about it, and I realized I needed to see you face to face. Because what you did—what you pulled—was out of line.”
I stayed quiet.
“You had no right,” he continued, his voice climbing. “Crashing Donovan’s bachelor party, pulling a gun on him like a criminal, and humiliating my daughter. Do you have any idea the embarrassment? Do you understand the time, the planning, the money that went into that wedding? Do you know how much I paid to put that day together, only for you to rip it away in one night? Do you understand what you took from her, from me, from this family?”
