Page 69 of Certified Pressure 3
He was standing there, leaning against one of his black cars with his chain shining in the light. His skin looked like it was carved from rich chocolate, glistening just enough to make it hard to look away. He had on a short sleeve shirt that hugged his arms, designer shades sitting low on his nose, and a look that could stop time if it wanted to. Even the breeze blew across him just right.
I didn’t say a word. I just stood there watching him, trying to hold myself together because seeing him like that made my heart skip in ways I wasn’t ready for.
Before I could move, Zurie spotted him.
“Pressure!” she screamed, her voice high and full of joy.
Pressure looked up, his face breaking into the biggest smile I’d seen in a long time. “Come here, girl!” he said, crouching slightly as she ran full speed toward him.
She jumped right into his arms, laughing hard as he caught her with ease. She still had her iPad in her hand, clutching it tight like she couldn’t let it go.
He looked at it and shook his head, chuckling. “You still on that? You probably ain’t put it down since I got it for you.”
Zurie giggled and nodded. “I love it. I watch my shows on it every day.”
Pressure grinned and kissed the top of her head. “Good. That’s what’s up.”
The bond they had already was something special. He wasn’t just being nice because she was my little sister; he genuinely cared about her, like he had known her all her life. Watching them made my chest swell with emotion.
When Pressure finally looked at me, the smile softened on his face. He set Zurie down gently, his eyes never leaving mine as he walked toward me. Every step he took felt like he was taking his time to take me in. When he reached me, the first thing he did, like always, was rest his hand on my stomach.
His palm was warm against my skin through the fabric of my shirt, and the look in his eyes made my body tense up. He stared down for a second, then looked back at me.
“You been takin’ care of my baby?” he asked, his voice low, almost a whisper.
I rolled my eyes, trying to play it off even though my stomach fluttered. “I’ve been eating and sleeping, so yeah.”
He smirked. “Good. You been feedin’ my baby, that’s what I like to hear.”
That little line made something in me melt. He said it so casually, but it carried weight. He rubbed my stomach once more, then grabbed our bags.
“Come on,” he said. “Car’s right here.”
Zurie skipped behind him while I followed quietly. I didn’t ask where we were going or what he had planned. I knew him well enough to know everything was already handled.
Pressure opened the passenger door for me before going around to buckle Zurie into the back seat. There was already a booster seat waiting for her, still in the plastic, like he had bought it this morning. Once she was secure, he got in and started the car.
As we pulled away from the airstrip, I looked out the window, watching the city pass by. The palm trees, the beaches, the luxury homes on the hills, it was all just as beautiful as I remembered. Being back here brought back memories I had buried deep. I didn’t know if it was the nostalgia or the nerves, but everything about this place felt like it was pulling me toward something bigger than me.
Pressure reached over with one hand, his other still on the wheel. He rested it on my stomach again, his thumb rubbing slow circles against it.
“You gettin’ bigger,” he said, glancing over at me with that smile that always made my heart race. “I can feel it.”
I looked down at his hand, biting my lip to stop from smiling too hard. “Yeah, I’m almost four months now. We should be finding out the sex soon. Maybe a week or two.”
He nodded. “I know. I can’t wait for that. I been tellin’ everybody it’s a boy.”
“And what if it’s a girl?”
He shook head, and said, “then she gon’ run me crazy the same way her mama do.”
That made me laugh, and even though I tried to hide it, I knew he could see it in my face. The car filled with the sound of Zurie giggling in the back, and for a moment, it felt like everything was okay.
A few minutes later, Zurie leaned forward between the seats. “Pressure, I’m hungry.”
Pressure looked at her in the rearview mirror. “What you wanna eat, lil’ mama?”
She thought about it for a second, tapping her chin dramatically. “Tacos and chicken.”
