Page 42 of Don Caselli

“Graduated top of every class when in school… I can refresh on the ride.”

Navy had this little sneaky grin on her face. “We’re taking the train.”

She was trying to convince me to take it heading to my place, and I turned her down because I had already called a car to come scoop us. “Alright.”

“Alright?”

“You want me to be scared of the train bad.”

“No, I don’t. I just want to show you my version of New York. How many times have you rode the subway?”

“Never.”

“Exactly.”

“And is that a problem?”

“Yes. Every New Yorker has gotten on the train and knows the stops. I live on the train, and my daddy drives one, so it was always important for me to know my way around my city.”

“You done with this speech, Dora?”

Navy shoved me and then laughed. “You better invite me over again, too. I wanna sit out here and just read.”

“Gotta come back to pick your bag up, right?” I watched as she turned slowly with a smile on her face.

A smile I realized I wanted to keep on her face.

She was in control of our journey back to her grandparents’ block. All she needed was the train that was close to my building, and I watched her brain compute the way we needed to go and what trains we had to transfer to. I allowed her to take control with tapping my card to gain access to the train station.

Navy was in her own world as she navigated the train stations like she was a fucking Ninja Turtle or some shit. I pulled her closer to me when the train pulled into the station, and she looked up at me. This may have been her zone, and I was allowing her to lead, but I was a protector, too.

The train was packed, and we held onto the pole in the middle of the floor, and I stood behind her, making sure she was covered. Her back leaned on the pole when she turned to face me.

“How do you feel?”

“Like I’m on a train.”

“Not much impresses you, huh?”

“You impress me.”

She blushed. “Yeah?”

“Uh, huh.”

She folded her arms while her back against the pole kept her stable from the train moving. “Always a good thing.”

“You take the train late at night?”

She nodded her head yes. “All the time… made my way from an event in the city back home at like two in the morning one night. The brand didn’t provide car services leaving, so I made it home myself.”

I understood she was independent and proud that she could navigate the city on her terms, but the shit made me anxious thinking about her taking the trains late at night. Navy was around 5’5, and although she had ass and thighs, she was still small. Especially to a nigga around my size.

“I don’t want you doing that no more.”

“Why? I have pepper spray.” She held onto my shirt as the train came to a stop at one of the stations. I didn’t reply, just staring down into her eyes and she understood. “Well, then, are you gonna drive me everywhere when it’s late?”

“Already got a car for you to utilize. I’ll put the number in your phone, and when you call, they’ll scoop you from wherever.”

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