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“My schedule got cleared early so I brought my ass home,” Kohl grinned. “Now what the hell y’all niggas got going on? Who's back getting broken in?”
Hissing, Pardi shook his head. “Nobody’s, and that’s the damn problem.”
“Leave it alone, nigga,” Dallas warned, lightly shoving his shoulder. “I told you, it’s a wrap.”
“What the hell I miss?” Kohl inquired as they drifted to another part of the gym.
“It’s nothing,” Dallas said at the same time Pardi revealed, “It’s Sevyn.”
Kohl released a short laugh, “Ah shit. I should have known. What happened now?”
Pardi grinned. “I’m glad you asked.”
Ignoring Dallas’ obvious reluctance, Pardi went on to recount everything he knew about the night before. By the time he was finished, Kohl was visibly in awe.
“Damnnnnnnnn,” he sang, fist pressed up against his mouth. “That’s crazy as fuck.”
“Well now that everybody’s caught up, we can find some other shit to talk about,” Dallas grumbled, adjusting the weights on the machine.
“I ain’t get to put my two cents in so we ain’t talking about nothing else yet,” Kohl grinned. “And I think it goes without saying, I agree with Pardi. You come at Sev but on some passive-aggressive type shit. I can see why she thinks you expect her to bend to what you want.”
“Gotta be consistent, big dog,” Pardi advised, sitting on the bench.
“Apply pressure, as the young ones say,” Kohl chirped.
“Nigga,” Dallas snorted. “You are the young one.”
“Whatever, muthafucker. Look, the point is, Sev is stubborn. Everybody knows that. She feels slighted. Is she doing too much? Probably. But my sister is extra and you know that. I get why you weren’t trying to take shit there with her, but at the end of the day, the comeback has to be bigger than the insult.”
“Oh shit, young buck,” Pardi sniggered. “Let me find out that being in the world done taught you a couple of things.”
“Look, I don’t know what else y’all expect me to do. Sevyn ain’t hearing me.”
Growing serious, Pardi said, “Then stop talking and show her something. Quit being a bare minimum ass nigga. We ain’t kids no more. Either you gonna step up or move out the damn way. And if you decide to move out the way, don’t say shit to me when Sevyn starts bringing new niggas around. I ain’t going back to jail behind you wanting to be soft.”
“You can’t strike out if you don’t swing the bat, bruh,” Kohl added. “Plus, Christmas is the time for miracles, right?”
It was almost as if a light bulb went off in Dallas’ head. Kohl had inadvertently given him the piece that he’d been missing to at least get himself in the door with Sevyn.
“You know what? You’re right. It damn sure is.”
