Page 94 of Certified To Handle You 2

Tonight, I wasn’t tryna put no meanin’ on shit.

I was grown, she was grown and both of us knew why she left her best friend at the club to ride with me. Reni ain’t come out and say what she wanted, but she ain’t have to when she looked at me the way she had been lookin’ all night. The liquor loosened her up enough for her to make the first move without makin’ it obvious, and when I put my hand on her thigh, neither one of us pretended we was only catchin’ up.

Reni adjusted herself in the seat before lookin’ over at me again. “You quiet.”

“I’m drivin’,” I answered while changin’ lanes.

“You know how to drive and talk at the same time.”

“I know how to do a lotta shit at the same time,” I replied, glancin’ toward her before puttin’ my eyes back on the road.

She smiled to herself and looked away again.

Reni turned toward me after that, but I ain’t look over ‘cause I already knew what kinda expression was sittin’ on her face. She had always been good at takin’ somethin’ simple and turnin’ it into whatever she wanted it to mean, especially when the two of us was alone. Her mouth had started plenty of arguments between us, but it had also been part of what kept us tied together longer than we should’ve been.

Tonight, I wasn’t in the mood to play guessin’ games with her though.

I also wasn’t in the mood to sit around actin’ like I ain’t know what I was doin’. I had left the club with Reni ‘cause I wanted to. There wasn’t no promise behind it, and I ain’t owe nobody some deep explanation for why I was headed back to a woman I already knew. I had needs like any other nigga, and I wasn’t finna keep denyin’ myself while life kept movin’ whether I was ready for it or not.

I drove another few blocks before pullin’ into the lot of a store that stayed open late. The bright lights from the buildin’ spilled across the windshield as I parked near the front.

Reni looked toward the store, then back at me. “What you stoppin’ for?”

“I need somethin’,” I told her while reachin’ for the door handle. “You want somethin’?”

She shook her head. “No.”

“You sure?”

“I’m sure, Renza.”

I nodded and got out without sayin’ nothin’ else.

The night air hit me as I crossed the lot and headed inside. There wasn’t too many people in the store this late, and the cashier barely looked up when I walked through the doors. I went toward the coolers first and grabbed a bottle of water. Then I stood here for a second, lookin’ through the glass like there was somethin’ else I needed before turnin’ toward the other aisles.

I already knew what I came in here for.

When me and Reni was together, condoms had never been part of our relationship. We had been reckless with each other from the beginnin’, and that was how she ended up pregnant in the first place. And I wasn’t makin’ that same mistake twice.

I grabbed a box from the shelf and looked down at it before addin’ it to what I had in my hand.

A part of me wondered what Reni was gon’ say when she saw ‘em ‘cause I knew her ass wasn’t gon’ let that shit slide without a comment. She knew we had never used no damn condoms, and I could already hear her askin’ why tonight was different.

It was different ‘cause shit was different.

I wasn’t walkin’ into her condo like we had just got back together. I wasn’t about to fall into the same habits we had when she was my woman, and I damn sure wasn’t riskin’ another pregnancy after everything that happened the last time. Whatever tonight turned into, it was gon’ stay tonight.

I carried the water and condoms toward the register, paid for ‘em and declined the bag. The cashier put the receipt on the counter, and I left it there before walkin’ back outside.

Reni was still sittin’ where I left her, lookin’ down at her phone. She lifted her head when I opened the driver door, and her eyes went straight to what I had in my hand. I set the water in the cup holder, then dropped the box into the center console without makin’ no announcement about it.

Her eyes followed the movement before she looked at me.

I started the car. “What?”

Reni leaned back against the seat. “Nothin’.”

She looked toward the console again, and I knew the question was sittin’ right on the tip of her tongue. Reni had never been good at lettin’ somethin’ bother her quietly, so I waited for her to say whatever she had to say while I pulled out the lot.