Page 29 of Don Caselli

Navy snapped her fingers. “Sorry… I forgot. Were you out here long?”

She smiled and looked past her daughter and at me. “Don?”

Navy groaned and covered her face. “You be talking about me, Bleu?” I teased and tickled her.

“Please don’t flatter yourself… Greene has a big mouth.”

“Avril Perkins.”

I shook her extended hand. “Nice to meet you, Mrs. Perkins. My name is Landon Caselli.”

“Nice to meet you, I’m Landon Caselli,” Navy’s petty ass mocked me, and I laughed, playfully mushing her ass.

Navy had her arms crossed as I mushed her over, side eyeing me because I had manners. “He has manners… that is good. I made enough dinner to share; do you want to come up?”

“Mommy, how you just inviting this stranger into my home?”

Her mother laughed. “He don’t seem like no stranger. That’s a nice car… you sure you wanna leave it parked out here?”

“It’s fine.”

Navy let her mother into her building and held the door opened for me to enter the building behind her.

“Are you seriously gonna come upstairs?”

Navy’s mother went up first to heat the food back up while we stood in the lobby. I leaned over her, backing her up against the wall as she stared up at me. “I’m gonna let you and moms have your sleepover… you owe me food next time.”

“A next time? We keep running into each other by chance, Landon.”

“Then what we gonna do to prevent that? Can’t keep running into you by chance. I’m real intentional with the way I do shit, Bleu.”

She smiled. “Handle your god niece situation, Don. Maybe we’re both not ready for what we think we want.”

I wasn’t going to hold her long, so I decided to let her think that. “Give me a hug before I leave.”

She stood on her toes, pressing her body to mine, and slowly put her arms around my neck. “I can tell it’s been a while since you allowed someone to hug and love on you,” Navy whispered into my neck.

Again, she wasn’t wrong.

I watched as she started walking up the steps backward. “Don’t get all excited because you met my mama.”

“Moms in law is cool. Never really had a mom before.”

She poked her lip out. “Landon, you cannot say stuff like that to me after the moment we shared in the studio.”

“I’m honest, Bleu… strangers, right?”

Navy folded her arms. “You make me wanna give you another hug.”

“Save it for the next time I see you.” I pressed my back against the door, pushing the release button to unlock it.

“Strangers.” She smiled.

Recommendation: Listen to “Around Me” by Brent Faiyaz

After leaving Navy,I headed home to have a few drinks before taking a shower and going in my office. I worked for a few hours before my eyes became tired, and I leaned my head back in my chair, finally allowing sleep to win this war. All I dreamed about was her soft lips and how she felt in my lap. How much I wanted to run that shit back and feel her skin against mine.

It was easy to feel comfortable in Navy’s presence because she was so damn calm. It never had to be much for her to catch a vibe, and you zoned out right with her. The weed we smoked only added to the ambiance. Any time I was around her, it felt like we were in the front seat of my car again, tucked away from everything and everybody. I could see where she got her calm demeanor from. Her mother’s vibe was somewhat of the same as her daughter. It was chill, never having to do too much. She didn’t make a big deal out of her daughter being with another man.

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