Page 17 of Certified To Handle You 2

“You better hurry before she stop not carin’.”

Blaq stood and laughed while grabbin’ his keys. He slapped hands with ’Lo first, then came around the table and did the same with me.

“I’ll catch y’all tomorrow,” he said. “Try not to end up on nobody news tonight.”

“Nigga, gone head,” I replied while he walked away.

Me and ’Lo stayed in the den with our drinks while the music played, but the energy shifted once it was just us.

I leaned back and looked over at him. He had his phone in one hand, and his thumb moved across the screen while a grin kept pullin’ at the corner of his mouth.

I knew that look…

“What you over there smilin’ at, nigga?” I asked.

He ain’t answer right away. He kept lookin’ at his phone, then sat it face down on his thigh and reached for his glass.

“Nothin’.”

“That ain’t no nothin’ face. That’s yo’ messy face.”

’Lo laughed and took a sip. “Nigga, I ain’t got no messy face.”

“Yeah, you do. It’s the same face you make when you know some shit and tryna decide how much damage you want it to do.”

He looked over at me and held my stare for a second. The grin came back, and that was when I knew whatever he had just found out had somethin’ to do with me.

“I know where Toni at,” he finally said.

I waited ‘cause I knew my cousin ain’t bring that shit up for no reason.

“And?” I asked.

“And Toni ain’t by herself, ‘cause ‘Nelle still in town.”

I sat my drink down on the table, then leaned forward with my elbows on my knees.

“So her and Sha’Nelle together right now is what you basically sayin’, nigga?”

He laughed and set his unfinished drink on the table. “Come on nigga.”

I grabbed my keys and stood from the couch. We left our drinks sittin’ on the table and headed through the house, grabbin’ what we needed for the ride. We walked out the house and made our way toward my whip.

By the time we got inside, my mind had already moved all the way to Sha’Nelle. I started the engine and backed out while ’Lo pulled the location up on his phone.

The truth was, I was crazy about Sha’Nelle. That was why I was leavin’ a half-full drink at Kay’Lo’s house and drivin’ across the city without knowin’ what I was about to walk into. I ain’t give a fuck if buddy was beside her, across from her, or holdin’ her damn hand. That nigga bein’ present had never stopped me from doin’ what I wanted when it came to Sha’Nelle.

She kept actin’ like havin’ another man meant I was supposed to erase everything between us. She wanted me to forget the way she gave in every time I got close enough, and shewanted me to ignore the fact that her body still belonged to me even when her mouth was tellin’ me to leave her alone.

I could still remember her tears beside that damn buildin’ and the way she fought me before that fight left her.

The city lights moved across the windshield while I drove, and every mile had my mind runnin’ faster.

I only wanted to put my eyes on Sha’Nelle and remind her that no matter how much distance she tried to create, I could still reach her whenever I felt like it.

Kay’Lo checked the map and pointed toward the next turn. “Make this right. They about ten minutes away.”

I followed his direction and looked ahead as the road opened in front of us. My drink was sittin’ back at his crib, and whatever plans we had made for the night had disappeared the second he said Sha’Nelle’s name.