Page 67 of Don Caselli

“Had me attend some boring ass shit because he couldn’t go because of Stevie and the baby. Have you gone to see the baby?”

She smiled. “I have and I am in love. Never thought I could love another baby the way I love him.”

“Maverick Caselli Jr.”

“Menace is so… ugh… he needed Stevie and this baby.” I smiled because I hadn’t made it to visit my nephew, but I knew they needed their space and time.

With the way Menace is with germs, I wasn’t about to get in their way. Since he texted me to come see him, it was my turn to meet him.

“I bet. You need someone, too… like Gerald,” I snickered.

She tossed the napkin at me. “Don’t you even start with me. Meanwhile, you got a damn hickie on your neck that you not even trying to hide.”

I shrugged with a silly grin on my face. “Fuck I’m gonna hide it for? My Pooh put it there.”

Zoya held onto the table like it was an earthquake or some shit. “What do you mean aPooh?”

“Greene’s cousin.”

“Who is Greene’s cousin?”

“Doesn’t matter. We been chilling and getting to know each other.”

She became serious. “Chilling while you have a hickie on your neck?”

I was very much fucking serious when it came to Navy. That woman had me fucking sprung with the way she carried herself.There was a million hoes all trying to be each other, then there was Navy.

She had the influence, but she never let that shit get to her head. Going on her socials, you saw thousands of people pouring their heart out in her comments and admiring how authentic she was. Bleu never let none of that shit get to her head and still maneuvered regular. Where she could have been catching Uber blacks and acting like she was too good for certain shit, you could catch her on the train or the bus heading to wherever she had to go.

I loved that she was so grounded, not moved by money or the social media fame. It made me wonder how she and homie even stayed together because he was the opposite. He ate up all the fame, and I understood. He was doing something not every Black boy from the hood could do. Antwan had been given a chance to do something for himself and his family, so I couldn’t even hate on his situation. Not everyone was raised the way I was, and had the money I now possessed.

“Don you are literally blushing right before me.” She slapped my arms and got all excited like only Zoya would. “Tell me about her.”

“She’s an influencer.”

Zoya squinted her eyes. “Oh?”

“Not like that, Zoy… swear.”

“Hmm.”

“I put that on Roxie.” She settled in her seat, and believed me, after I put it on our dead cat.

It was crazy how none of us took shit seriously until we mentioned Roxie. It was me and Zoya’s thing, and how we both knew we were serious about a situation. “Well, she must be pretty interesting because you are easily bored.”

Sliding my phone across the table, she took my phone and scrolled through her socials. I could see her smile, as shecontinued to swipe through and then look at me. “She’s so beautiful… and laidback.”

“Told you.”

“Makes sense. Greene is also very laid back. I still don’t know how she’s able to remain that laid back personality working for Stevie and Menace.”

I chuckled. “Her family is like that too. They get that shit from how they were raised. All of them are close and that shit makes my chest warm.”

Zoya gave me a weak smile as she slid my phone back over toward me. “Yeah, gets lonely for us, huh?”

“I wish I could remember them, Zoy. Menace doesn’t talk about them, and Kora… she mentions some things, but it’s not enough.”

Zoya looked down at the menu, then back at me. “It’s not easy for them, Don. They were old enough to understand and hurt when they found out.”

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