I shook my head and rubbed my face. “Well Echo better sit her ass down somewhere ‘cause she clearly don’t know what type of nigga she dealin’ with. I don’t give a fuck who she think she is. She keep pushin’, she gon’ learn.”
Renza threw his cards down dramatic as hell and pointed at me. “Exactly. Keep playin’ and you gon’ run through every nigga in her family. That’s what she don’t peep. They think you soft ‘cause you quiet but you the most unhinged nigga outta all us.”
Pressure laughed, deep and amused. “Facts. Niggas see you calm and think you harmless. Meanwhile Toni the only person who got yo’ ass trained.”
“Trained my ass,” I said, but even I smirked a lil’ ‘cause I knew I wasn’t foolin’ nobody. “I’m just tired, man. I’m tired of this shit. Me and Toni finally had a moment, finally connected again, and now it feel like we right back where we started ‘cause ol’ girl won’t leave her alone. She keep postin’ stupid shit, and Toni keep reactin’, and I can’t even blame my wife for bein’ pissed ‘cause she already went through hell with me.”
Pressure picked up his cards and leaned back. “She gon’ come around, but you gotta handle yo’ part too. You fucked Echo, she feel played, Toni feel disrespected, and now you caught in the middle of emotions you created. You gotta clean that shit up.”
“I been tryin’,” I muttered. “It just felt easier when Toni let me touch her again. I thought maybe that was the start of us findin’ our way back.”
Pressure cut his eyes at me. “One nut don’t erase war, nigga.”
Renza laughed. “But it damn sure heal temporary wounds.”
“Nigga, shut up,” I said, but it made me laugh low ‘cause neither of these niggas was wrong.
We played cards for another hour and the smoke settled into my clothes. My mind kept driftin’ back to Toni, her moans, her softness, her hands on me, and then her anger right after. It was like bein’ pulled in opposite directions at once, and I could feel myself crackin’ under it.
By the time we cashed out the last round, I knew I wasn’t goin’ back to the penthouse. I ain’t even feel like drivin’. I walked out the game room, down the hall, and went to my old room on my side of the mansion.
I stripped down to my briefs, tossed my clothes in a chair, and sank into the bed.
I put my arm over my eyes and let the silence take me. All I could think was that I hoped tomorrow brought somethin’ different.
Trill-Land, Jungle Estate
It was football season and I was kid-free, so I was in the kitchen making Pressure and Renza lunch, because once those two got in front of a TV they turned into grown ass toddlers with appetites I should’ve been getting paid for. Renza was already in the living room talking shit at the screen and Pressure had went upstairs for a second. I had chicken wings in the air fryer, sliders warming, and the rotel dip thickening on the stove while I held my phone between my ear and shoulder.
Toni was irritated as hell.
“I’m just… Pluto, I’m tired,” she said, letting out a long breath. “Now this bitch talkin’ ’bout she missed her period and she goin’ to the doctor. Like why the fuck she even tellin’ me that? Why is she in my inbox like a fuckin’ weirdo? This bitchgon’ make me find her and beat all that thick ass lip gloss off her face.”
I shook my head, stirring the dip. “Because she messy, Toni. She know that shit gon’ bother you and that’s exactly why she doing it. If she really thought she was pregnant, she wouldn’t be running to you first. She’d be runnin’ to Kay’Lo.”
“That’s the crazy part,” Toni muttered. “Kay’Lo keep sayin’ he ain’t fuckin’ with her. She keep sayin’ they fuckin’. I don’t know who lyin’.”
“She is,” I said without hesitation. “She been showing you she spiteful. She been watching your stories, sending dumb shit and acting territorial about a man who ain’t claim her. This is just another stunt.”
“But Pluto…” Toni sighed. “What if she ain’t lyin’? What if she really?—”
“Girl, stop giving her that much credit.” I slid the sliders around in the pan. “Until you see a doctor’s report, an ultrasound or something with her name on it, she lying. She know Kay’Lo went back to you. She know he been trying. She’s trying to stir the pot.”
Toni was quiet for a second. “Yeah… but she said she missed her period.”
“A missed period don’t mean shit,” I said. “Stress can make that happen. Birth control. Anything. And if she so certain she pregnant, why she need to tell YOU before she even pee on a stick?”
Toni sucked her teeth. “I hate this shit. I hate bein’ in the middle of this stupid ass drama.”
“I know,” I said softly. “And Kay’Lo need to clean this shit up.”
“I been fightin’ with him over it all week,” she admitted. “He swear up and down she lyin’, and I wanna believe him, Pluto, I do… but everything so messy and fucked up right now.”
I turned off the stove and opened the air fryer. “Toni, until there’s proof, don’t let this girl play with your mind. She’s been obsessed. She’s been meddling. This just another lie, and my gut never lie.”
Toni let out a frustrated breath. “I hear you, Pluto, but this shit is gettin’ on my nerves.”
“I know,” I said, softening my voice because she was wound up tight. “Calm down though. Take a deep breath. Roll up or hit your pen if you need to. Just don’t let that bitch pull you out your body. I’m going to call you later and check on you, alright?”
