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“I paid all that money for school and he’s slow…shit,” he muttered.

“Mens?”

“What up?”

“I’m not fucking slow.”

“Any fucking way. This new year and role require a lot from you. To step up within the family and be my mouthpiece when I cannot.”

“Understood.”

“Means, you need your own jet… got that sent to you this morning. Should be at the airport for your return… Happy birthday, pussy.”

I felt like I had a stroke and hadn’t heard him correctly. Menace didn’t say he bought me my own fucking jet. Ain’t no way he did some shit like that.

“Maverick?”

The line was quiet – again. He hated when someone used his real name. Stevie and Kora were the only people that called him by his actual name. Zoya, out of spite, always called him Menace. His ass killed my best friend, so he was always a Menace in my book, so I used the name he went by.

“Landon?” he replied.

“A fucking jet?”

“Don’t make this weird. I’m not fucking kissing you, either.” He ended the call, and I rested the phone against my forehead as I laughed.

There would be no hug, kiss, or anything to acknowledge that he did something nice for me. It had always been like that, and that was our reality when it came to our older brother. Every birthday, we always woke up to a large lump sum of money or an expensive gift waiting outside for us.

“Throw some ass for the birthday boy… throw some ass for the birthday boy!” Navy came out the villa and started shaking her ass.

I watched as her shit moved in the sun dress and bit my bottom lip. “You gonna get yo ass in trouble.”

“My middle name is trouble.” She walked over toward me, and plopped down beside me. “What’s the matter?”

“Why you assuming something wrong?”

She nudged my shoulder with hers and leaned her head on my arm. “Hey, you know you can be honest with me. You don’t need to always pretend to be alright with me.”

I looked over at her and smirked. “My brother bought me a jet for my birthday.”

Navy snapped her head up and stared at me. “I’m here for you, I promise… but you rich folks. Why is that a reason to be all in your feelings, nutcase?”

I pulled her onto my lap and laughed. “I’m not in my feelings… digesting the shit. Trying to figure out how I feel, you know?”

“I know how I would feel,” she muttered.

“How?”

“Grateful.”

“I feel that.”

“Blessed.” She kissed my lips.

My hands squeezed her ass. “Definitely feeling that.”

“Like you should welcome me to the miles high club.”

I kissed her neck. “Definitely giving you the membership on the way back home.”

She giggled. “I have some things planned for you today.”

I raised my eyebrow and stared at her. “Yeah?”

“Uh huh. You already brought me here, so I wanted to do something for you. Just the two of us. Beans and Greene will meet up with us later.”

“How you know I didn’t have anything planned for you?”

“Not my birthday yet, and I’m very simple. All I want to do for my day is to read on the beach… maybe that beach club we drove by yesterday.”

“I can make that happen.”

“Butter pecan ice cream, and a banana flavored cake,” she called off what she wanted and what she wanted to do for her birthday.

“Got it.”

“Now, go and shower so we can get our day started… Mr. I Own a Jet.” She stood up and I slapped her ass while biting down on my lip.

She walked away, purposely doing a stank walk with her ass poked out. “Chop, chop.”

I worked out and was the most fit person I knew.

Nah.

Menace was, but I was damn near up there with him.

I may have skipped a workout or two every now and again.

Lately, I had been focused on other shit and not hitting the gym like I should have.

When Navy changed out her dress and put on a pair of biker shorts and a sports bra, I should have known something.

She had us hiking a nature trail to see the best views of St. Lucia.

As someone that wasn’t into nature like that, I wasn’t expecting this shit.

She was so excited to do something for my birthday, and I wasn’t about to complain when no one had ever done this for me.

I watched as she jumped back and then started rubbing her skin because she walked through a spider web.

It was clear she wasn’t into nature like that either.

“Lan, I feel like something is crawling all over me… is it something on me?” she asked, fear in her voice.

I looked as she did a full three-sixty and backed away. “Pooh, relax… there’s som?—”

“Ahhhh! Get it off me! Get it off me, Landon!” she screamed so loud, as I laughed, holding my stomach at the way her face looked as she jumped around with her neck stiff because she didn’t want to move too much.

“I’m fucking with you, baby.”

She ran toward me and pummeled me with her small ass fist. “Why… the… fuck… would you do that?”

I scooped her ass up and continued up this long ass trail while slapping her ass, as she tickled me. “Not ticklish, Pooh.”

“Really?”

“Uh huh.”

“That’s fucking sad.”

“How?”

“Everyone should experience a laugh when someone tickles you.” She busted out into laughter as I tickled her while still carrying her up this hill.

She was holding us up with her stopping every so often because she felt something was crawling on her. “I got along in life just fine, baby.”

Navy was quiet and I felt her little ass hands trying to get a chuckle out of me. “Dammit.”

“Told you.” I put her back down when we finally reached the top.

She gasped as she took in the picturesque views of St. Lucia.

It displayed everything from up here. Neither of us rushed to take our phones out to capture the moment.

We both were focused on the view and how it stole our breath away.

Navy came and stood beside me, and I pulled her closer to me as other people that were on the same trail as us, finally made it up here.

Recommendation: “So Alone” by Men At Large

“I feel like I can’t breathe… that’s just how powerful this view is.” Navy was nearly moved to tears as she stared out at the view. “My parents… all those years ago celebrated the start of their love here.”

I stepped behind her and wrapped my arms around her. She held onto my arms, as she continued to stare at it. “Beautiful, huh?”

“So beautiful… I want that so bad.”

“Want what?”

“Love… the kind that my parents have, you know? They always choose one another… everyday, they make the conscious decision to choose one another. When life is hard, unfair, and falling apart, I never saw them at odds. Always love and compassion for one another.”

“Reason why you so filled with love.”

She spun around in my arms. “You think so?”

“I know so. Heard you last night when you thought I was asleep.” I smirked, and she covered her face, almost embarrassed that I heard her.

“Oh Jesus… you think I’m weird, huh?”

Last night while we were laying on the balcony.

The air, sound of the crickets and water below us felt so good.

Had my mind going wild, and to quiet it, I pulled Navy closer with my eyes closed.

She must have thought I was sleep and went to the bathroom.

When she came back, she climbed back into my arms, but not before she kissed my forehead and said a short prayer for me.

“ God cover him and help him overcome the things he doesn’t speak about. Let him know that my intentions are pure and the love I’m feeling is real. Amen.”

The words still ran through my head like she was in my ear saying them to me. I had never had someone pray for me. I could still feel her lips softly kissing my head. So soft and gentle with me.

“Not at all… had me thinking of changing that Perkins to Caselli.”

She snorted and shoved me while laughing. “Yeah, whatever. I meant every word I said, Landon.”

“I believe you.”

I pulled her hand, and we sat over near the benches. Everyone else was trying to capture the view as their background in their pictures, and before I tossed somebody over the cliff for shoving us, it was better to move out the way. “What’s your favorite song… an oldie and a goodie,” she questioned.

“‘Let’s Wait Awhile’ by Janet Jackson.”

“And a goodie?”

I pondered on her question and then looked at her. “Ambitious Girl.”

“Wale… classic. The album about nothing is my favorite album of all times… Greene always says I drag it, but it’s literal art.”

“Fucking masterpiece if you ask me… ain’t nobody creative like that. All that mumble shit gets more buzz because it’s quick and got a catchy beat. Nobody is taking their time to create art anymore, painting the picture through words… everybody chasing trends.”

“Yeah. I feel the same way when it comes to reading.” She sighed and looked at me.

“Any art you create is such a delicate labor of love. So many people ruin that by trying to chase or snatch someone else’s process.

Take their creative process and try to make it their own.

” She was so passionate about the shit that she was becoming so worked up.

“Shit really fucks with you, huh?”

Nodding her head, she crossed her leg on the bench.

“Yeah… I’m a creative, so I enjoy seeing everyone create.

It’s the reason I’ll never become a professional singer…

I enjoy being able to write songs, put it down, pick it up, and have that moment.

Not put my process out there for the world to see and rip apart.

Takes a lot of strength to put something you create into the world…

opening you up to those that will rip it apart, knowing they couldn’t sing a tune, write a word, or sit in front of a camera and create. ”

“I love hearing you sing, Bleu.”

“You’ve only heard me once.”

“Twice.”

“When?”

“When you were doing dishes in the kitchen after I told you I had a housekeeper.” I reminded her. “You had your headphones on with your back turned as you sang.”

“That housekeeper didn’t show up once when I was there.”

“I fucked her one last time and fired her… waiting on her replacement.”

She paused, gagged by my honesty, and then shoved me. “Gross, Landon! You fucked your housekeeper.”