“Better yet,” I added, lookin’ right at her now, “come grab it and find out.”
That had her pausin’ for a second, just enough to feel it, before she rolled her eyes like she wasn’t about to give me the satisfaction.
I let out a low laugh and finally sat down at the island, startin’ to eat, and yeah, that first bite hit exactly how I knew it would.
“Damn,” I muttered low, noddin’ to myself.
She caught it too, even though she tried not to react.
“Don’t ‘damn’ now,” she said. “You was just actin’ like my food looked nasty earlier.”
“I wasn’t actin’ nothin’,” I said, pointin’ my fork at her. “I just ain’t feel like eatin’ then.”
“Mhmm,” she hummed, clearly not buyin’ that shit.
She leaned back against the counter with one leg crossed over the other, just watchin’ me like she had time.
“You be talkin’ a lot,” she added.
“And you be watchin’ me a lot,” I shot back without missin’ a beat.
That made her pause for a second, then she rolled her eyes. “Boy, bye.”
I chuckled and took another bite. “Nah, you bye. You got that drink in you, and cuttin’ up on a nigga.”
She tilted her head. “I been enjoyin’ the quiet.”
I looked up. “Damn, it be that loud for you?”
“Hell yeah,” she said without missin’ a beat. “The way Kay’Lo and Toni be fuckin’ in here, you would think a whole porno playin’ through the walls.”
I frowned. “Man, I don’t wanna hear that shit.”
“I’m just sayin’,” she went on, liftin’ her cup. “It be loud. Like… unnecessarily loud. I be in my room tryna mind my business and still hearin’ everything.”
“That’s sick,” I said, shakin’ my head.
She laughed. “I know. That’s why I’m enjoyin’ this little break while they gone.”
I ate for a minute, then leaned back in my seat. “I ain’t gon’ lie, though… that’s part of why I been over here. I needed a break. Them kids over there be runnin’ wild as hell.”
She nodded. “They bad?”
“They ain’t bad,” I said. “They just got too much life in ‘em. Be runnin’, yellin’, breakin’ shit… I be sittin’ there like, yeah… I gotta go.”
She laughed. “You sound old.”
“Not old,” I said, smilin’ a lil’. “I just like my peace.”
I leaned back in my chair. “Me, Pressure, and ’Lo been movin’ together since we was young anyway. That’s just how it always been.”
“Y’all real close,” she said.
“Hell yeah. You already know,” I replied.
It got quiet for a second, but not in a weird way. It was just real still.
Then she looked at me again, this time different.
