Page 118 of Certified To Handle You 2

“I ain’t cold,” I answered while settin’ my drink back on the table.

Blaqson smirked. “Man, quit lyin’. The hell you ain’t.”

I shook my head and leaned back against the booth.

“I just ain’t in the mood.”

Blaq looked at me for another second like he already knew what that meant. He ain’t press the issue ‘cause he knew me wellenough to know I wasn’t gon’ keep talkin’ if I ain’t feel like it. Instead, he took another pull from his blunt while the music kept thumpin’ through the club, and I found myself sittin’ here with my drink in my hand, thinkin’ about the same woman I been tryna stop thinkin’ about for damn near a month.

I had been tellin’ myself every day that I needed to let Sha’Nelle go. She made her decision when she stayed in Greystone, and I had made mine when I stopped chasin’ behind her. At least, that’s what I kept tellin’ myself. The problem was, every time I picked my phone up, I ended up on her page anyway.

She still ain’t called me like she said she was gon’ do. She ain’t even text a nigga.

She had been postin’ on her story every damn day though, and I had watched every last one of ‘em like a damn fool. I was lookin’ for her every time I opened that app, and that shit was startin’ to get on my own nerves.

I watched every single story and post without missin’ one, and every time her face popped up on my screen, I caught myself starin’ longer than I should’ve. She looked happy. She looked fine, and looked like life was movin’ right along whether I was in it or not.

Meanwhile, I was sittin’ in a club full of women that would’ve gladly left with me tonight, and I couldn’t make myself care enough to entertain none of ’em.

I wasn’t about to start fuckin’ on random bitches just ’cause my feelin’s was bruised. That wasn’t me, ’cause for one, I ain’t trust everybody.

For another, I knew how my dick was set up. I wasn’t finna be layin’ up with just anybody, then spend the rest of the night listenin’ to somebody cryin’, complainin’, or damn near panickin’ ‘cause they couldn’t handle what they was so damneager to get a few minutes earlier. That shit sounded like more stress than peace, and peace was all I had been chasin’ lately.

I leaned back in the booth, took another pull from my drink and let my eyes wander around the club. The music was hittin’, bottles kept comin’ to different sections and money was still flyin’ through the air while folks danced like they ain’t have a care in the world.

Usually, this was the type of shit I lived for. I would be somewhere in the middle of all the chaos talkin’ shit, smokin’, clownin’ Blaq and damn near closin’ the club down. Tonight, though, none of it was doin’ shit for me. I felt like I was sittin’ in the middle of all this noise, but my mind was somewhere the fuck else.

Blaqson watched me for a minute before he finally leaned over and bumped my arm with his.

“You good?” He asked while lookin’ at me sideways.

I kept my eyes on the crowd for another second before answerin’. “Yeah. I’m straight.”

He studied my face for another second like he was thinkin’ about callin’ my bluff. Then he reached for his drink instead and nodded.

“A’ight,” he said. “I ain’t gon’ keep fuckin’ with you.”

Another twenty minutes rolled by, and I tried to make myself stay, but the more I sat here, the more I wanted to leave.

The liquor had started settlin’ in, and I could feel that warm buzz workin’ through me. I wasn’t sloppy drunk, but I had enough in me to know I ain’t need another drink.

I pushed my chair back and grabbed my keys off the table. Soon as I stood up, Blaq looked over at me with his drink still in his hand.

“Damn,” he said. “You really finna dip already?”

“Yeah,” I answered while slidin’ my phone in my pocket. “I ain’t really feelin’ this shit tonight.”

Blaq looked around the club before cuttin’ his eyes back at me. He looked at me for a second like he was tryna read what I wasn’t sayin’. Then he leaned back against the booth.

He reached up, and I slapped his hand before he pointed at me.

A’ight then. Don’t disappear on a nigga.”

“I won’t,” I replied with a grin. “Be easy.”

“You too.”

I walked out the section, nodded at a couple people on the way through the club and headed outside.