Her shoulders dropped like she had been holdin’ somethin’ heavy and finally let it go. I moved in closer until my head found her lap.
She bowed her head and kissed the top of my forehead, like she didn’t even realize she was doin’ it. My hand went to herwaist and her fingers slid across my face, holdin’ me like she finally let herself admit she missed me too.
“Toni,” I murmured into her thigh, “I love you.“
Her breath trembled but she didn’t move her hand. She kept strokin’ my face and lookin’ down at me.
“I love you too,” she whispered, her voice crackin’ even though she tried to hide it. “And I don’t wanna lose you.”
I lifted my head and sat up enough to kiss her lips slow, ‘cause neither one of us had the energy to make it anything else. It was a kiss that felt like forgiveness, surrender and like we had been fightin’ a storm for months and finally found a dry place to sit down in.
We didn’t undress or rush or try to force the night into somethin’ it wasn’t, ‘cause bein’ in the same bed without all the extra shit felt like all we needed.
We just crawled under the covers and let our bodies curve into each other like they remembered how to fit. Her leg slid over mine, her hand rested on my chest, and I wrapped my arm around her waist, pullin’ her into me ‘cause I could finally breathe again.
She pressed her face into my neck and breathed slow. “I just want us to try,” she whispered.
I nodded against her temple. “We gon’ try. We gon’ do this right this time. No more runnin’. No more bullshit.”
She made a soft hum, like she agreed but didn’t have the strength to say nothin’ else. Her fingers tightened on my shirt and her body relaxed into mine like she was lettin’ go of the past one piece at a time.
We held each other until the room dimmed out and the only thing I could hear was her breathin’ slow against my chest. I kept my hand on her hip, keepin’ her close.
This was my wife, my home and my peace.
And for the first time in months, I dozed off in my wife’s arms and slept like a fuckin’ baby.
Drahma Town
Call me petty or whatever but a bitch had me fucked up if she thought I wasn’t gon’ call her bluff. I had been letting Toni run her mouth for weeks now, and the more she posted that happy wife shit, the more it felt like she was speakin’ directly to me like she wanted me to react. Every time I opened Instagram she had some new slick caption up, some new meme of some new jab about how bitches think they won but don’t know what to do with a nigga so they always gotta give him back. Then she started posting videos of her and Kay’Lo hugged up in that big ass bed like they was never apart, and he was holding her close with his eyes wide open looking straight at the camera like he wanted me to see it too.
The one that really got me was that last video she posted earlier tonight. She was sitting right next to Kay’Lo at the club I recognized, talkin’ loud enough for anybody she thought was hatin’ to hear her, tellin’ the camera, “I’m the only bitch in this section with him. If you got a problem with it, pull up and get yo’ ass beat.”
She said it slow, too, like she meant that shit for me.
Dream was driving. Mia was in the back seat hyping whatever violence I was about to get into because Mia was messy and I loved every bit of it. They both had their lashes on, their gloss popping, and that “we down for whatever Echo wanna do” look on their faces.
Dream glanced at me while she took another turn. “You sure you wanna do this? ‘Cause once we walk in there, bitch, we walkin’ in there.”
I rolled my eyes and looked back at my phone, scrolling through Toni’s story again like I hadn’t replayed that video at least twenty times. “Nah, she the one that told me to pull up. I’m just giving her what she asked for.”
Mia laughed as she leaned forward between the seats. “And you know she posted that shit for you. She knew you’d see it. She been askin’ for this.”
I didn’t say anything because they were right. Toni had been asking for this. And after everything she said, everything she posted, everything she threw in my face, she wanted to see if I was gon’ match that energy. The bitch was lowkey mad because I fucked Kay’Lo.
We pulled into the lot of the same club I met Kay’Lo at on his birthday. It felt crazy even being back here, knowing he was inside because when we first crossed paths, the vibe was fun and easy, and he didn’t have no damn attitude. Now it was like we hated each other while still wanting to see who could hurt who the most.
We walked up to the door, paid, and stepped inside. The club wasn’t even packed like usual. It was just enough people to make the space feel warm but not crowded. The music was loud enough to shake my chest, and the lights kept flashing over bodies moving on the dance floor.
We walked slow through the sections because I wasn’t about to look pressed. I wanted her to see me calm. I wanted her to see me arrive like I was supposed to be there.
And then I saw Kay’Lo. He was leanin’ back in the section with his shades low on his face, and a drink sitting in one hand like he didn’t have a care in the world. Toni was curled up against him like she lived there, and he had his arm loosely around her waist while he talked to the girl sitting beside her.
The moment Toni’s eyes moved across the club she froze like she had seen a ghost. Her face changed instantly.
I smirked because she looked nervous as hell. She wasn’t expecting me, but she damn sure asked for me.
I stepped forward, and her whole body lifted like she was waiting on the bell to ring. Dream and Mia stood close because they knew once I started, it wasn’t gon’ stop.
