Page 4

My car remained parked up front for everyone to see. The newbie didn’t even get the chance to drive it toward the back.

His hating ass coworkers.

Soon as they saw me, they scrambled to grab my key from the metal box. “Don, I got you.”

“Chill,” I laughed. “I ain’t about to die because my key’s not ready.”

Greene’s Ashton Martin pulled up, and Beans held her waist as he opened the passenger door for her. Menace paid both Greene and Jeffie well, and now, with her being Stevie’s assistant, I knew the money was ten times better because Stevie was generous.

“You want to ride with me?”

She looked at the valet pulling the car over closer to where I was standing. “Hell yeah.”

I laughed, walked her over toward the passenger side and held the door open for her. She climbed inside, and fixed her dress, pulling it so I didn’t close it in the door. “Hold on, Kindle-esha.”

She smiled. “I plan to read the entire ride there.”

I rounded my whip, tipped the attendant, and then got into the car. Soon as I closed the door, I turned on “The Kid Frankie” by Wiz Khalifa and pulled away from Tiny’s, bumping my music loud.

Navy looked around the car as she crossed her legs and looked over at me. “How does it feel to be God’s favorite?”

I turned the music down but heard everything she said to me. “What you mean?”

She waved her hand around the car. “You’re Black, rich, and fine… how does it feel to be God’s favorite?” she repeated her question and laughed.

Her kindle rested between us, and I watched to see when she would pick it up. Instead, she was focused on my answer. “You Black, rich, and fine… movie star.”

“Oh, please. Every once in a while, a supporter sees me out in the wild and wants a picture. My cousin literally drives an Ashton Martin because of her boss… goes on private jets and yachts. I am also not rich at all. Answer my question or I’m going to press all these buttons.”

“Money is not everything.”

“Says the one who has it.”

I looked over as she replied to a text message and then took a deep breath. “Boyfriend?”

“Something like that,” she muttered, clearly not amused to even mention whatever nigga that pissed her off. “You and the birthday girl are a thing?”

“Nah.”

“Are you sure?” Her attention went back to her phone, and she aggressively responded, then looked over at me. “Do you mind driving me home instead?”

“Yeah, where you stay?”

“Crown Heights...Off Eastern Parkway, I can direct you from there.” She leaned up in her seat and gave me directions to where she lived.

While she directed me, she called her cousin to tell her she was going home. Greene didn’t put up a fight or argue, which told me this was typical behavior for her. She continued to go back and forth with whoever in her phone.

“You good over there?”

Navy put her phone down as I exited the Brooklyn Bridge. She was trying to put her words together, and I was patient and continued to listen to my music until she had something to say.

“Have you ever been with someone and knew that the person wasn’t your forever, but at the same time, you put so much time into it with them that you didn’t want to let go?”

“Can’t say that I have.”

She heaved a sigh. “Lucky for you. Like, I know this man isn’t my forever and here I am arguing with him and rushing home to him.

He’s been around forever; we went to high school together.

With this new life he’s entering, I just feel like we’re not going to last and maybe it’s not supposed to.

Our parents grew up together, so naturally my family considers him family. ”

“You been with homie since high school?”

She smiled. “Yeah, he’s my first of everything. When he went away to college, things were harder for us. Now that he’s back and about to be drafted, it’s like we’re trying to merge our lives back together when we’ve gotten used to living apart.”

I laughed. “There’s your reason right there, Blue. You don’t wanna let go.”

Her eyes snapped in my direction. “Blue?”

“You got two names that are associated with the color blue… shit funny.”

“Well, make sure when you spell it, you spell it right.” She messed with her bracelet. “What if letting go means I lose him forever? I don’t want to lose him. We basically grew up together and have always been in each other’s lives.”

“Sometimes losing people isn’t that bad. It propels us to where we need to be. People can hold us back without us even realizing the shit.”

“Down that block.” We turned down Nostrand Avenue, and she directed me to pull over in front of a three-story walkup squeezed between a pizzeria and a check cashing place.

Navy looked down at her hands and then back over at me. “It was nice meeting you, Don. Thank you for giving me a ride home.”

“Don’t even mention it.” I got out and walked around as people on the block stared at my car casually parked in the middle of Nostrand Avenue. My hand touched my gun in the back of my shorts as I opened the door for her. She took my hand and stepped out.

“Well, I would say see you around, but your circle and mine won’t ever mix.”

I walked backward to the driver’s side. “It be like that, Bluey. If it’s meant for me to see you around, I will.”

“Navy, what the fuck you doing?” I heard a voice but never looked up because the nigga didn’t address me. He was hollering out the window at her like a crazy person.

If the nigga was so concerned with his woman getting out of another man’s car, he should have been downstairs addressing the shit with me. I wasn’t paying his ass any attention, and neither was she because she was still standing there with her arms folded, watching me.

The cool breeze blew her braids behind her, and the loose strands into her face. Before long, the coolness of spring would be leaving us, and summer would come in. “See you around, Blue.”

Her smile was infectious as she turned and walked toward the door. Using her key fob, she let herself into the building the same time I got back into my car. Watching her wave, I slowly pulled off the block and headed back to the city.

I’d be damned if I went over to Beans’ crib and played third wheel with him and Greene. It took me no time to breeze through the light traffic to make it back to my building. Valet was there to pull my car back into the garage as I tossed him the keys.

“Have a good night, Mr. Caselli,” he replied and got into the front seat, as I nodded. My building smelled like the Ritz-Carlton hotel the second you walked into it. The front desk was manned by the usual night staff, who nodded at me as I breezed by, never making small talk.

I pressed the button and swiped my card to get to my floor. As the elevator took me up to the top floor, I leaned back and enjoyed the familiar ride. A ride that was almost always taken alone.

Soon as the elevator doors opened, I walked right into my space. The doors chimed as they closed behind me, and I kicked my sneakers off, bending down to grab them up to sanitize them before putting them back in their rightful spot in my closet.

I wasn’t ready to get undressed, so I went into the kitchen and made a quick drink, filled my favorite childhood bowl with popcorn, and went into my office. Powering up my computers, I looked out at the city lights illuminating my office along with the computer screens.

I tossed a few pieces of popcorn into my mouth as I searched Navy’s name on the internet. A bunch of short form videos along with YouTube videos appeared. Then her social media accounts all filed in right after the different videos.

Her name was actually spelled Navy Bleu.

She had a few travel vlogs, one of which was one of her eating those damn lemon sherbets that Stevie was obsessed with on our last family vacation.

Her hair wasn’t in braids, it was out and curly, and she wore sunglasses as she ate the sherbet and spoke into the camera.

The quality of the camera was fucking perfect.

I clicked out of that video and then went to one where a sneaker brand had sent her their new sneakers and she styled a few outfits around them.

Her niche was being the girl on the Brooklyn stoop next door.

She was laid back, chill, and had many hobbies and interests, and the brands that she mostly posted about understood that.

She wasn’t trying to be like every content creator chick; she was being her, and it fit her vibe so well.

Even in that dress she wore earlier, I could tell that wasn’t really her vibe.

Being head deep into her kindle was the first giveaway that Tiny’s wasn’t her vibe. While Greene had a drink in her hand talking and greeting everyone, Navy was ducked off, praying no one approached or even noticed her.

With the good came the bad, and I landed on a few videos of some people saying they didn’t understand the hype around her, and how she was so boring because she never spoke about her personal life with her boyfriend.

After digging deeper on her other pages, her personal page came up. Her boyfriend, the one she couldn’t see forever with, was Antwan Lockett. Between Jaiden Cooper and Antwan, those were the names that were all over the media when it came to who was being drafted to the Sonics.

She had a few pictures of her with him, and then one with his college jersey on. There were a few videos of when she must have visited him on campus, and she was smiling with her face.

Her eyes told another story.

Another account of hers popped up and I smiled when I saw her wearing a pair of glasses, her hair pulled up in a big ass puffy bun, and she held a book in her hand.

She was reviewing the book, holding it to her chest and started hollering about how the male character was her man and she was willing to fight behind him.

Turning the computer up, I listened to her video.

“This character was so good. The author literally touched on how every woman wants to be loved. A man who is intentional and wants to love you. Men these days act like it’s a chore to treat their woman right.

The female character didn’t get on my nerves like some of you said.

I understood her fight in wanting to be loved but getting the wrong parts of love… come on, we gotta be leery.”

She went on to explain the book, held up her kindle, and I laughed as I put on a YouTube video of her attending one of her family member’s graduations. She and Greene were smiling in the camera while teasing him, as he towered over both of them.

Ken: Want to pick me up?

I looked at the text message from Kennedy and suddenly I didn’t want to leave the house.

Me: I’ll send a driver.

Ken: Pick me up or I’m not coming.

Her message had me fucked up. Ken had me going out like a sucker with the way she demanded shit, and how I supplied her with my time whenever she asked.

When she went ghost and decided not to respond to a text message for days, it was cool.

The minute I returned some of that same energy, it was a whole commotion, and she was throwing a tantrum behind it.

Removing my shirt so I didn’t further wrinkle it, I got comfortable at my desk, kicking my feet up and continuing to watch Navy Bleu’s vlogs while eating my popcorn and polishing off the rest of my drink.