Chapter 7 Navy – Apologies & Lives
NAVY – APOLOGIES & LIVES
Iknew Coach had told me to stay out of trouble and keep my dick in my pants, but it wasn’t like I’d been on the same demon time that I was the last year after my breakup.
What I hadn’t told the beautiful Nyako, was that I had woken up hungover with more strange women after wild parties than I could count on both hands.
I had tried everything, short of drugs, to forget Natika. Nothing had helped.
The first night with Nyako was the first time having sex in the last year without being impaired, and it was the greatest. So it was no wonder that I was disappointed when she said we wouldn’t contact each other after we went our separate ways, but I respected it.
We woke up yesterday morning to find that we were still snowed in.
Like most of the travelers, we weren’t too happy about it, but Nyako was quick to remind me and the others that at least we had suites to stay in.
Plenty of other travelers weren’t so lucky.
They were stuck sleeping in chairs and on the floor in the main terminal of the airport.
We all spent the day watching TV, holed up in our suites, talking, playing games, and in Nyako’s and my case, fucking every chance we got. When we boarded our plane this morning after finally getting the clearance, I was reluctant to say it, but I admitted internally that I would miss her.
“My ride’s here,” she announced, pointing at the Mercedes S-class limo that pulled up.
“You take care, beautiful.”
“You too. Thank you for a very happy Valentine’s weekend,” she replied.
I nodded and winked. She walked to the car, and as the chauffeur put her luggage in the trunk, she ran back to me and kissed my lips before walking away.
My eyes dropped to that tight ass of hers, and I wanted one more run at it.
We had agreed to go our separate ways without exchanging contact information.
Neither of us needed or wanted more than what we shared, and we knew that if it was meant to be, somehow, we would run across each other’s paths again.
My ride pulled up minutes after hers, and I climbed inside. I sat back and fingered the screen of my phone as he pulled away from the curb. There was no place like the present than to confront the issues that I didn’t want to confront.
I dialed the number that I knew by heart. I knew that she wouldn’t recognize mine, because I had it changed after we broke up last year.
“Hello?”
“Natika.”
“Navy?”
“I just wanted to call and say congratulations. I hope that you finally got your happily ever after, and I wish you nothing but love and happiness.”
She was silent for several seconds before she finally spoke.
“I’ve thought about us a lot since that day. I know that I was wrong, Navy, and I tried calling to apologize, but you changed your number. You didn’t deserve that or the way they drug you on social media.”
“No, I didn’t.”
“I’m sorry, and I hope that one day you can forgive me.”
“I already have,” I replied with a sigh, shocked to find that it was true.
“I think I was more enamored with the idea of being engaged and married than actually marrying you.”
“Are you enamored with him?”
“I am. I love him, Navy.”
“Good for you,” I replied, trying not to let that sting go too deep. “I hope he treats you right.”
“He does. I pray that you find a woman who deserves you and appreciates the good man that you are.”
“I think I already have,” I mumbled.
“Oh. What’s her name?”
“Don’t know if she’s meant to be mine, Tika. I do know she’s the perfect one for me.”
“I wish you luck with that then, and I hope you don’t miss your opportunity.”
“Yeah, we’ll see what destiny has planned. Have a good life, Natika.”
“Thank you, Navy.”
I ended the call. It hadn’t occurred to me until this morning when I was chatting with Nyako, that I really was over Natika.
I wasn’t over the embarrassment and the hurt feelings, but I was over what we had, and I didn’t miss it anymore.
I hadn’t been able to realize it, because my mind had been too clouded with alcohol and wild women.
For the first time in a long while, I felt peace in my heart. I pulled my phone up and clicked into the Sociogram app. After contemplating for a few seconds, I went live.
“Hey, peeps. It’s ya boy Navy, and I just wanted to drop in to see if y’all saw the game against the Toronto Tarantulas. We crushed that shit!” I chuckled as I read off and replied to some of the comments. After a few minutes, I got to the questions everyone wanted to know.
“I’ve seen some of the comments asking me about my ex-fiancée, Natika, and her wedding with Shannon.
I wanted to address that but in my own way.
A very special person helped me realize that I’m over that part of my life.
It’s been a year this weekend, but I’m not settled in that space anymore.
Y’all give it more credence than either Natika, Shannon, or I do.
“Anyone who knows Natika knows that she’s a good person who loves deeply, and she’s fiercely loyal to those in her circle.
It just wasn’t meant to be for us. It was fucked up the way that it happened, but it is what it is.
Those folks have gone on with their lives, and so have I.
I wish them nothing but the best and all the happiness they can handle.
“A lot of you have had a lot to say about me, and there are some who have had a lot to say about her. Well, I’ll say this .
. . I have never, nor will I ever, put my hands on a woman.
She just fell out of love with me and in love with someone else.
Did that shit hurt my ego and heart? Hell yeah, but life is meant to be lived, and I’m living mine.
I saw some of the signs at the game last weekend before he married her.
Y’all let that man love that woman in peace.
I think they get the message. Ladies, quit bashing me.
I’m a good man. I promise you that I am.
Natika would be the first to admit it. It’s all good, though, because some special, beautiful woman is gonna realize it and snatch my ass up. Then y’all gon’ be hating again.”
I chuckled. I saw a question in the chat that I couldn’t ignore. A smile plagued my lips as I replied, “Yes, @theeNyakobella, I’m still on the market—but some beautiful woman did pierce my heart this weekend.”
She had found me.