She shifted in her seat a little before answerin’.
“I don’t work a regular job or nothing like that. I take care of my kids and my sister, so I mostly just handle home. Pressure works.”
I nodded, keepin’ my expression the same.
“Oh, okay.”
That was all I said out loud, but in my head, I was already processin’ it and tryin’ to make sense of how I felt about it, because truth be told, it wasn’t nothin’ wrong with what she said, not at all.
But watchin’ the way everything moved around this table, I could tell she was spoiled and not used to being told, ‘no.’
It just gave that type of energy.
I sat back in my chair a little, foldin’ my hands in my lap while I listened to the conversation pick back up around me.
Toni shifted in her seat after that, and I peeped the look on her face before she even said anything. It wasn’t loud or dramatic, but it was just enough for me to catch it.
“I’m finna go to the bathroom,” she said, pushin’ her chair back.
Kay’Lo glanced at her, his hand slidin’ off her thigh as she stood up, but his eyes followed her for a second longer before he leaned back in his chair again like it wasn’t nothin’.
Pluto looked over at her, then pushed her own chair back not even a second later. “I gotta go too.”
She stood up, smooth and easy with one hand restin’ on her stomach for a second before she started walkin’ behind Toni like it was natural for them to move together like that.
I watched both of them walk off without sayin’ nothin’, my eyes followin’ them just long enough before I looked back down at the table.
I picked my cup up again, takin’ a small sip while I kept my face straight, not lettin’ none of that shit sit too heavy on me on the outside.
Renza checked his phone beside me, his thumb slidin’ across the screen before he leaned back a little in his chair.
“Aye, it’s gettin’ late,” he said, glancin’ between Pressure and Kay’Lo. “I’m ’bout to slide to the other side.”
Pressure nodded, liftin’ his hand up to meet his. “A’ight.”
They slapped hands with that same easy, familiar motion like they done did it a thousand times before.
Kay’Lo did the same, reachin’ over and dappin’ him up without sayin’ much, but just givin’ him that same look before goin’ back to his drink.
“A’ight, Reni,” Pressure said, lookin’ over at me with a small nod. “Goodnight.”
“Goodnight,” I replied, keepin’ my tone polite, even though my mind was still movin’.
Kay’Lo glanced at me too. “Night.”
“Night,” I said back.
Renza reached for my hand without even thinkin’ about it, his fingers slidin’ through mine. He pulled me up with him, and before we even took a step, he lifted my hand and pressed a kiss to the back of it.
“Let’s roll, baby,” he said low.
I let him lead me, walkin’ with him back into the house while the sound of their voices and the music faded behind us.
The inside of the house was quieter, the lights were softer, and the further we moved down the hall, the more it felt like we was leavin’ the whole moment back there on the patio.
But I wasn’t leavin’ that shit completely back there because it came with me whether I wanted it to or not. Even though I kept my hand in Renza’s and walked with him like everything was cool, I wasn’t sayin’ much. I knew he could feel it even if he didn’t say anything about it.
I let out a light breath and finally let my eyes settle on Renza again. I couldn’t even lie; I was glad he brought me into his world and that he wanted me here. But at the same time, if it was goin’ to feel like this every time I stepped into this space with him, I didn’t know if I could keep doin’ it, because one thing about me was, if somethin’ didn’t smell right, I was gon’ notice it every single time.
