He kept tryin’ to smooth it over, keepin’ his hands on me, kissin’ on me like that was enough to fix it, and I let him because I wasn’t tryin’ to turn every moment into an argument in front of his family. But that didn’t mean how I felt about the shit was goin’ away.
If anything, it was just sittin’ here, buildin’, and both of us was playin’ along like everything was still good when it wasn’t. It started feelin’ like we was fakin’ it just to get through the trip, and that alone didn’t sit right with me because I wasn’t used to movin’ like this with somebody I was dealin’ with.
That’s why I started stickin’ close to his mama.
Nyori didn’t move funny. When she talked to me, she talked to me. When she laughed, it felt real. I didn’t have to question where I stood with her, and that alone made it easier for me to relax in a space that had started feelin’ off everywhere else.
By the time we got to the dock that day, I was already over just goin’ along with whatever, so I finally spoke up instead of sittin’ there like I had been.
I looked out at the water for a second, then back at them and said we should do somethin’ different, like jet skis or parasailin’, just to switch it up and actually do somethin’ that hadn’t already been decided.
Toni glanced at me, then looked over at Pluto like she was waitin’ on her to respond, which already told me enough before Pluto even opened her mouth.
Pluto took her time like she wasn’t in no rush to acknowledge me, then answered like the decision had already been made without me.
“I think we’re just gonna keep it light today,” she said, her tone easy like it wasn’t nothin’. “I don’t really feel like doing too much because I’m not feeling well.”
I frowned, lookin’ at her. “That’s not what was told to me.”
She gave a small shrug, not pressed at all. “That’s just what we ended up deciding.”
The way she said it was what did it because it wasn’t even about what we was or wasn’t doin’. It was how she said it like the decision had already been made. It was like her word was final, and once she spoke, that was it for me.
I sat here for a second, then shook my head. “Every day we been out here, it’s been whatever you wanted to do, as if we celebratin’ your birthday. If it gotta be like that, I’ll just go back to my room.”
That made her look at me for real.
Toni looked between us, and the way she did it let me know she was already ready to back whatever Pluto said before anything even got said.
I sat up straighter, already knowin’ what type of time it was, but I wasn’t about to fold.
When Pluto finally asked me what my problem with her was, I didn’t hesitate.
“Everything don’t revolve around you,” I told her.
Pluto’s eyes stayed on mine, and for a second, she didn’t even respond. Then she sat up a little straighter. “You’ve been having an attitude with me since the day you met me, so let’s not act like this just started today.”
I let out a breath and shook my head. “No, what I’ve been doin’ is watchin’ you move like everything gotta go your way, and everybody just fall in line behind you like that shit normal. I don’t know what you used to, but I don’t move like that.”
Toni shifted in her seat, already lookin’ at me sideways. “Ain’t nobody fallin’ in line. You just doin’ too much.”
I turned my head and looked at her. “Girl…” I said, rollin’ my eyes and wavin’ her off. “I’m not even fuckin’ talkin’ to you. You can just be quiet.”
Her face tightened. “Girl, you need to go take a pill to calm yo’ damn nerves ’cause you stay with a mug on yo’ face.”
“Girl, shut up,” I shot back, ready to be on whatever the fuck she was on.
Pluto let out a breath like she was already tired of me. “Somebody come get Renza for this damn girl, ’cause she doin’ too much.”
That made me laugh, but it wasn’t funny. “You ain’t gotta go get nan nigga for me, and that’s the problem right there. Everything with you go back to a nigga like you can’t stand on your own. That’s bad business right there.”
Her expression changed just enough for me to catch it.
“I know you used to callin’ on your husband for every little thing,” I continued, lookin’ at her dead in her face. “But that don’t got nothin’ to do with me. You don’t run me, and whoever you try to go get for me ain’t gon’ run me.”
She sat there for a second, then nodded once like she heard me.
“Yes,” she said, calm as ever. “Keyword… husband. Somethin’ you don’t have or know nothin’ about.”
