“I ain’t lettin’ nothin’ happen to us. You hear me? Nothin’. We gon’ be good, mama. Real good.”
And in that moment, she believed me.
And I believed myself too…
I was ‘bout to head to Pressure’s and I couldn’t stop lookin’ at my wife while she stood at the bathroom counter touchin’ up her lip gloss. We had just stepped out the shower together, and her skin was still warm and soft from the water. I kept steppin’ behind her and kissin’ her shoulders ‘cause she was glistenin’ and smellin’ good and givin’ me that lil’ smile that always pulled me in deeper.
Toni put on an all-white fit and the shit had me stuck for a minute. Her halter top wrapped around her neck and left her back out and I couldn’t help but grab her waist while she slid her shorts up over her hips. They was white, tight and they lifted her ass in a way that made me bite my lip without even thinkin’ about it.
“Damn, baby,” I said, lettin’ my palm run over her right cheek. “Who you lookin’ this fine for, huh?”
“My husband,” she said, smilin’ at me in the mirror while she pretended like she wasn’t showin’ out on purpose.
I touched her stomach next and kissed her shoulder. I couldn’t stop admirin’ her. Not after bein’ locked up and missin’ her. I pulled on my white button down and left it open. I put on my rings, chains, my watch, and my straight leg jeans with the Jays. When I caught my reflection, I almost laughed ‘cause I already knew I was gon’ show out a lil’ bit today. My barber slid through earlier, and got me straight, and it felt good to look like myself again.
Toni came behind me and hugged me from the back, and I lifted her hands to kiss them. The house felt warm, like we finally had some peace even if my case was still hangin’ in the background.
“You ready, baby?” she asked.
“Yeah, come on,” I said and grabbed her hand as we headed downstairs.
Sha’Nelle was already waitin’ by the door with her purse and shades on like she had been impatient the whole time.
“I already know y’all was upstairs doin’ too much,” she said, lettin’ out a dramatic sigh.
Toni laughed and leaned into me while I opened the door. “Girl, shut up.”
“That’s exactly what I’m talkin’ about,” Sha’Nelle muttered while she stepped outside.
We walked to the whip, and I opened the passenger side for Toni. I helped her climb in, makin’ sure her shorts ain’t ride up too much ‘cause I knew how these niggas looked when we pulled up to places together. I got in the driver’s seat after and adjusted my chain and the mirror.
From the moment I pulled off, I couldn’t keep my hands to myself. I kept reachin’ over to Toni and rubbin’ her thigh slow. Then I slid my hand higher just to feel her warm skin under my palm. She kept glancin’ at me like she was tryna hide her smile, but she couldn’t. I loved that shit.
“You look good sittin’ there,” I said, runnin’ the back of my hand over her stomach and lettin’ my fingers brush her skin. “Real good.”
She turned her hand over and I locked our fingers together. Every few minutes I lifted her hand and kissed it. I wasn’t rushin’ nothin’. I just needed to feel her. The whole drive felt like I was makin’ up for lost time.
“You gon’ keep blushin’ like that?” I asked her while I slowed at a stop sign.
“I’m not blushin’,” she said with her voice soft but playful.
“You lyin’,” I said, smilin’ to myself as I pulled on the main road.
Sha’Nelle groaned from the back. “Y’all do way too much.”
We finally pulled through the gates at Pressure’s mansion and soon as I saw the big ass balloon arch with WELCOME HOME ‘LO spelled out across it I shook my head and laughed.
“Man, this extra ass nigga,” I muttered, but I couldn’t hold back the smile that crept up. “I knew he was gon’ do somethin’ like this.”
Pressure always took shit too far when it came to family, so I should’ve expected it.
I parked next to his cars and immediately my eyes fell on the bullet holes I put in ‘em. I laughed under my breath ‘cause I already knew Pressure had cursed my name for days behind that shit. But that nigga should’ve never put his hands on me.
When I stepped out the car the sun hit my chest and my chains, and I ran my hands down my shirt as I walked around to Toni’s side. I opened her door, and she stepped out slow, her ass sittin’ real pretty in those white shorts. I grabbed her waist instantly and guided her back into the side of the car with my chest pressed against her.
“Kay’Lo,” she whispered, her hands restin’ on my stomach.
“What?” I murmured against her neck as I breathed her in. “You know I wanna fuck you again, right?”