Page 148 of Certified To Handle You 2

That was what I finally started understandin’ about her.

Sha’Nelle wasn’t askin’ me to love her harder. She already knew I loved her. My problem was I kept presentin’ love like it had to come with pressure, threats and me makin’ every decision before she got a chance to speak. I thought wantin’ her all to myself was enough to prove I was serious, but she needed more than possession. She needed a home that belonged to us.

She ain’t wanna leave Greystone just to move in Pressure’s shit with a house full of kids and everybody else’s life already happenin’ around her. She ain’t wanna go stay with ‘Lo and Toni either. She wanted to know if she gave up what she had, I was buildin’ somethin’ with her instead of only expectin’ her to fit inside whatever I was already doin’.

For the first time in my whole damn life, I started thinkin’ about movin’ out.

Pressure’s mansion had always been home ‘cause we had been here together so long that nobody really looked at it as me livin’ in somebody else’s shit. I had my own side, my own rooms and enough space to disappear whenever I wanted. Still, it wasn’t mine in the way I wanted somethin’ to be mine with Sha’Nelle.

I started lookin’ at land without tellin’ nobody. I looked at houses too, but every one of ‘em felt like some shit another person built for a life that had nothin’ to do with us.

I wanted a place with enough space for her family to visit, somewhere her grandma could stay without climbin’ stairs and a big kitchen ‘cause Sha’Nelle liked to move around while she cooked. I wanted a garden ‘cause she liked bein’ outside, a pool far enough from the house for us to have privacy and a room painted red ‘cause I knew exactly what we would use that bitch for. The more I pictured it, the clearer everything got.

I never cared for marriage before Sha’Nelle. Kids ain’t never been part of some dream I carried either. I loved all the children in my family, with they bad asses, but I was good bein’ the cousin who bought whatever they asked for and sent they asses back to they parents when they started gettin’ on my nerves. Then Sha’Nelle came along and made me see a whole different version of my life without even tryin’.

I could picture her wearin’ my last name. I could picture wakin’ up beside her every day and arguin’ over dumb shitbefore she climbed into my lap like she ain’t just cussed me out. I could picture children with her face and my attitude runnin’ through a house we built together. None of that scared me the way it used to.

What scared me was the thought of never havin’ it ‘cause I had gone too far one too many times.

That was how I ended up in the main sittin’ room at the mansion with Pressure on one side of me, Kay’Lo across from us and a jeweler settin’ black cases across the table.

This wasn’t no regular jewelry store shit. The man had flown in with security and brought stones that came with enough paperwork to make sure nobody could question where they came from or what they was worth.

Each case held rings with diamonds big enough to change somebody’s tax bracket, and the settings was made by people who ain’t create the same piece twice.

Pressure sat back with one ankle over his knee while he watched the jeweler open another case. Kay’Lo had been lookin’ at me every few minutes like he still couldn’t believe I was serious.

The jeweler placed three rings on a black velvet tray before turnin’ it in my direction. “These are the custom pieces I thought best matched what you described, Mr. Mensah.”

I leaned forward and studied ‘em without touchin’ nothin’ yet. “I told you I ain’t want no basic shit.”

“None of these pieces are basic,” the jeweler assured me. “The center stones are all internally flawless. The first is an eleven-carat elongated cushion cut with a hidden halo. The second is a twelve-carat oval with tapered side stones. The final ring is a pear-cut blue diamond surrounded by white diamonds and set in platinum.”

Kay’Lo leaned closer to the table and looked over the rings. “That blue one different.”

Pressure nodded while his eyes moved across the tray. “It look like her.”

I glanced at him. “How a ring look like Sha’Nelle?”

Pressure shrugged. “Nigga, it ain’t plain. It ain’t loud in a forced way, but you notice it soon as you see it.”

“That was almost deep,” Kay’Lo said while lookin’ toward Pressure. “Therapy got this nigga sayin’ thoughtful shit now.”

Pressure cut his eyes at him. “Shut the fuck up.”

I reached for the blue diamond and held it under the light. The stone was deep enough to look almost dark from one angle, but when I turned it, flashes of blue moved through the center. The white diamonds around it made the color stand out without takin’ away from it.

“This one,” I said while settin’ it back on the velvet.

The jeweler nodded like he already expected that answer. “The center stone is just over nine carats. With the surrounding stones, the total weight is nearly twelve. The band can be resized once she accepts.”

“When,” I corrected him. “Not if.”

Kay’Lo lowered his head and rubbed his hand over his mouth, but I could tell that nigga was tryna hide a laugh.

“What?” I asked while lookin’ at him.

“Nothin’,” he answered. “I ain’t say shit.”