Page 17 of Don Caselli

Navy messed around with a loose piece of thread on her dress, then looked up at me, confused. “What do you mean?”

I wasn’t pretending like I knew Navy, but something told me that everything wasn’t good with her. Her eyes seemed sadder than the last time I saw her, although she tried to laugh and maintain regular conversation. I didn’t miss how she held onto Greene’s dress to prevent her from getting up and leaving us alone. Like she couldn’t trust herself to be around me alone.

“I’m a stranger, right?”

“Pretty much.”

“Then treat me like one… don’t lie to me. You don’t have to pretend, either, because you don’t owe me shit.” I leaned forward.

Navy turned her attention to the pool before looking back at me. Tears tapped danced on her waterline, and her eyes slowly became red. Standing up, I walked over toward her and held my hand out.

Reluctantly, she took my hand, and I pulled her up off the couch and behind me. “I cannot go in there looking like you made me cry.”

“Would never, either. Chill, I got you, I’m gonna take you around the side of the house,” I explained as she allowed me to pull her toward the front of the house.

We bypassed Menace’s extra ass rose garden that had its own area as you rounded the side of the house. I quickly double looked and noticed that there was a bench in the middle of it, with a plaque with our parent’s name on it.

I never noticed it because I hardly came over here and I damn sure wasn’t walking around the side of this big ass house when I did come. Holding her hand tighter, I pulled her in front of me as we exited the side gate. The gardener smiled at us as we continued walking toward where my car was parked. They were in the process of rinsing down Menace’s Rezvani he had just came in, before pulling it into the garage.

She still held onto my hand as I pulled the door open with the other one. I looked down at her as the tear fell down her cheek. Navy slipped into the seat like she had a few nights before. I couldn’t front like we didn’t look good together. She fit perfectly right next to me, as if she was always meant to be there.

Rounding the car, I got into the driver's seat and looked over at her. “Got something for you.”

She smiled. “What could you possibly have for….” Her voice trailed off when I held up her kindle she left behind.

“Gotta believe what I say. If it was meant for me to see you, God was gonna make that happen. You left this in my car the other night because you were so busy flirting with me.”

Navy busted out laughing, and it was a real laugh that came from the stomach and soul at the same time. “I was not flirting with you at all…so please. That is the way that I talk.”

“Fluttering your eyelashes and talking all soft like this,” I mocked her.

“Um yes.” She messed with her hair and then looked over at me. “He broke up with me.”

“Damn, I’m sorry.”

“It was for the best, right?” she stared at me for confirmation, although she didn’t need it. She wanted it so she could feel better about the situation.

“Can’t tell you that.” As much as I wanted to tell her that she was better off without him, that wasn’t my place because I didn’t know that man personally or their situation. Only Navy knew what was best for her when it came to her relationship with her ex-boyfriend.

“I’ve been in bed for three days and Greene came and dragged me out. Shit been weird with us, but he claimed that I’ve been different since he been back. How he didn’t sign up for me to be hopping in and out random nigga’s cars.”

As much as homie wanted to punish her for getting out of my car, that wasn’t the reason. He had a plan to end things with her. All men did, and he used this situation to push through with his plan. He wanted to break up with her, but place that blame on her like she was at fault for the demise of their relationship.

The shit pissed me off because she had tears sliding down her face and was hurt behind him. Meanwhile, he probably had mad bitches in his phone ready to suck his dick because he was now single and heading to the NBA.

“I don’t like that.”

“What does it matter to you? We just met.” She sniffled and wiped her face as she waited for my answer.

“Doesn’t matter. I don’t like to see a woman crying over a man she’s better than. I don’t know that man, so I won’t speak on him. I will speak on knowing that you’re a good person.”

“Can you tell, or did you go down a rabbit hole of my videos?”

I laughed. “Both.”

“The part that sucks is that I have to tell my parents that we broke up and look at their face. All he kept telling them was that we would get married and have a bunch of babies together.” She gagged.

“The fuck is wrong with marriage and kids?”

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