Page 40 of Certified Pressure 4
Blaqson brushed past me, laughin’. “Nigga, you act like we fly commercial. We hopped right on the jet. Pressure said move, so we moved. Ain’t no time to be textin’.”
They dropped their bags by the couch, and I could already smell the faint mix of weed and gun oil comin’ from ‘em, and that alone made me feel better.
“Aight, so what’s up though? You said what happened at that park, but what’s the move now?” Renza asked.
“Ain’t no move right now. I handled what I needed to, but somethin’ don’t feel right.“ I muttered, grabbin’ the bottle off the counter.
Renza nodded, his tone changin’ quick. “So what you thinkin’?”
“I’on know,” I said honestly. “It just don’t feel right. Nigga pulled his shirt up showin’ a gun, and all I could think about was airin’ his shit out. Toni wanted me to chill, so I did. Now it’s too damn quiet, and I ain’t from here. I don’t like not knowin’ who’s who.”
Blaqson set his bag on the table and unzipped it, pullin’ out a few clips and boxes of rounds. “Ain’t nothin’ gon’ happen, but if it do, we got it.”
“Facts,” Renza said, pullin’ out two Dracos wrapped in black towels. “Pressure said if a nigga act like he want it, give it to ‘em. So whatever this is, we locked in, ‘Lo. You ain’t alone out here.”
I nodded, pourin’ three glasses of Rémy. “Real talk.”
Renza took his glass, holdin’ it up before he sipped. “Boy, you know it’s up with us. When you family, you don’t need no invite.”
Blaqson laughed, reachin’ for the weed from his bag. “Nigga, you talkin’ like we don’t already know that. Let’s roll somethin’ up before we end up shootin’ somebody just from paranoia.”
I smirked. “You stupid, but go ‘head.”
He broke the weed down right there on the counter while Renza set up the cards and dominoes on the table.
The night started feelin’ better after that. The smoke, the liquor, the laughter—it reminded me what home felt like.
We talked about Pressure, and his ass gettin’ shot, and about how crazy life had gotten for all of us. Blaqson kept runnin’ his mouth about how he needed to find him a Trill-Land woman, and Renza clowned him the whole time.
By the time the bottle was half gone, my shoulders had finally relaxed. I leaned back on the couch, my head tipped against the cushion while the music played low in the background. “There’s two bedrooms down the hall,” I said. “Y’all can crash wherever.”
Renza nodded. “Bet. We gon’ make sure you and shorty straight. Then tomorrow, we’ll slide around the block and see what the vibe is.”
I dapped both of them up, then headed back to the room. The second I walked in, Toni was layin’ on her stomach, sleep butt naked as the day she was born. I couldn’t help but smile. Her hair was sprawled all over the pillow, her ass pokin’ up just enough to make me forget about today’s drama.
I slipped my sweats off again and climbed back into bed, pullin’ her close until her body was flush with mine. She mumbled somethin’, and I kissed her shoulder before whisperin’, “Go back to sleep, baby.”
She sighed softly and sank into me, her body moldin’ right against mine like it was made for me. My arm wrapped around her, and my hand slid down to rest on her hip.
No matter what was goin’ on outside, as long as I had her right here in my arms, I was good.
It was ’bout three in the mornin’ and I couldn’t sleep for shit. I kept tossin’ and turnin’, layin’ there with my arm around Toni, feelin’ like somethin’ was off. She was knocked out beside me, breathin’ soft with her hair all over her face, but my mind wouldn’t stop movin’. That gut feelin’ I had earlier at the park wouldn’t let me rest, and I had been knowin’ all night that it wasn’t just nerves. I had that pull in my chest where a nigga knows when somethin’ ain’t right, and I was glad as hell I listened to it.
I was starin’ up at the ceilin’ when the porch light flicked on outta nowhere. That motion sensor wasn’t supposed to go off unless somebody walked by. My eyes snapped straight to the light reflectin’ through the thin blinds, and my body tensed up before I even sat up. I ain’t move for a good few seconds, just listenin’, but somethin’ in my gut told me it wasn’t nothin’ good.
I eased out the bed slow so I wouldn’t wake Toni, slid my legs in my sweats, and moved quiet as hell to the door. The light had gone back off, but I still didn’t feel right. My gun was sittin’ on the table in the livin’ room, so I walked that way barefoot, lettin’ my eyes adjust to the dark. When I grabbed it I cocked it back just enough to make sure it was loaded. That click alone had my nerves hummin’.
Blaqson was crashed out in the guest room closest to the kitchen so I went there first. I pushed the door open and whispered, “Aye, wake up.”
He shifted, half asleep. “Wussup?”
“I think somebody outside,” I said, my voice low. “The fuckin’ porch light came on twice.”
That woke him quick. He sat up, rubbin’ his face. “You for real?”
“Yeah. Get your shit. I’m finna get Renza.”
He reached on the nightstand and grabbed his piece while I walked down the hall and banged lightly on Renza’s door. “Yo, get up.”
