“I know this bitch ain’t all over Kay’Lo,” I mumbled under my breath while watching him from across the section.
Kay’Lo sat in the middle like the entire night was built around him, which honestly it was, because when Kay’Lo celebrated, the whole city showed up for him. The DJ kept shouting his name, women were damn near climbing over the VIP ropes just to get a look at him, and the guys in the lounge were saluting him like he was royalty. It made sense, because he had that type of presence. He was loved here, he was respected here, and every bit of it was earned.
And still, the one person who should’ve been on his arm was nowhere in sight.
Toni wasn’t here.
I felt that absence and it bothered me more than I wanted to admit, because I knew what today was supposed to be for him. I’d seen how she celebrated him before, and how she put her whole heart into making him feel cherished, and the fact that she wasn’t next to him tonight told me everything I needed to know about how hurt they both were.
Kay’Lo was trying to drown it in shine, alcohol and noise, but Toni? She had been crying on my phone three separate nights, pretending she didn’t care before breaking all the way down.
And I couldn’t look at ‘Lo tonight without thinking about that.
I leaned into Pressure’s side, my hand resting against his arm, and my eyes narrowed as I watched Kay’Lo nod at some girl perched way too close to him. She had slid in like she owned space nobody gave her, and when she leaned forward to whisper something in his ear, I rolled my damn eyes up to the ceiling.
She didn’t belong here. Point blank!
Not in this section. Not with us. Not next to him.
And she damn sure wasn’t Toni…
Pressure noticed my energy shift, because even drunk, my man felt everything I felt like it came through the airwaves. His arm was heavy across my shoulders, his chain brushing against my skin as he leaned down.
“What you whisperin’ over there for?” he asked, his voice low and thick with liquor, his lips brushing my temple like he thought he was being discreet.
“I’m not whispering,” I said calmly, even though I absolutely was. “I’m observing.”
Pressure lifted his head with that confused seriousness only he could pull off. “Observin’ what?”
“That,” I said, glaring at the girl again. “Kay’Lo letting that girl sit that close to him like it’s normal.”
Pressure frowned, looked at Kay’Lo, then shrugged. “Ain’t nobody worried ‘bout no girl. He grown.”
“Pressure, she’s sitting on his leg.”
“She got good balance then,” he muttered.
I looked at him slowly, because I couldn’t tell if he was trying to be helpful or just drunk out of his mind.
He blinked at me, and then he took another sip like that solved something.
Kay’Lo lifted his glass for another shoutout from the DJ, and the girl leaned her whole body into him like she was claiming territory. My irritation grew, because Toni didn’t deserve this. She might have been stubborn and quiet about her pain, but she loved that man with her entire soul, and seeing him allow some stranger to touch on him like that made my stomach tighten.
I kept watching her, because something about her energy rubbed me wrong from the moment she sauntered into our area. She was pretty, too pretty in a way that drew eyes without her even trying. Her skin shimmered like she bathed in glitter, her hair fell perfectly across her shoulders, and she carried herself with a confidence that didn’t seem fake. She was the type of girl men liked to spend money on just to stand next to.
And she was all smiles around Kay’Lo.
If Toni was here, she would have folded her ass like laundry.
The night went on, and when the club started clearing out, Kay’Lo stood up with that same cool walk he always had, with his shades slipping low on his nose while the girl stood up with him like she had been chosen. She adjusted her dress, touched her hair and walked beside him with a grin that screamed opportunist.
Pressure and Renza both dapped him up, talking to him like nothing was wrong, probably because to them nothing was. But when Kay’Lo told the girl to come on, Pluto Mensah was five seconds from having a moral crisis on the dance floor.
Kay’Lo didn’t even look our way again. He walked that girl right out the club.
My heart sank a little for Toni, because she would feel this. Even if she didn’t see it, she would feel it. This bitch didn’t mean anything to him, but the hurt would hit the same.
Pressure grabbed my hand. “Come on, baby,” he said, his voice warm but slurred. “I’m hungry for you.”
