Does He Do It Like I Do It

Chapter Sixteen

I waited by baggage claim for my suitcase to come out. Naheim stood next to me. Every now and then I would feel his hand brush against mine, making me smile. I wasn't expecting this vacation to solidify things between us but it had. I didn't want it to end but we all needed to get back to prepare for school on Monday. I didn't see Kahli and Jodeci speak much toward the end. Kahli ended up sleeping in the main house in the living room until we left. I kept encouraging Naheim to be there for him and talk to him but he kept telling me it wasn't his business to get involved in. I was tired of his ass saying that. How do you have a best friend and not want to get involved when you see that they're heartbroken? Even as we waited for our bags to come out, Kahli stood next to Naheim saying nothing. Every time I would try and get a look at him he would look at me and smile but I could tell it wasn't genuine. There was so much hurt in his eyes. Jodeci stood on the other side of me scrolling through her phone. I took a couple of steps closer to her so only she could hear me.

"You okay?" I asked. She looked at me and rolled her eyes.

"Don't start, Rocky. I'm tired from being on that plane."

"Don't snap at me, Jodeci. Shit was hectic the last couple of days in Miami and I just want to make sure you're okay."

She sniffed and then exhaled slowly. "I know, Rocky. And I appreciate you. But right now all I wanna do is get the fuck home and put this entire trip behind me."

The sound went off notifying everyone that the bags were about to start rolling out onto the conveyor belt. I watched as all the bags came around, patiently waiting. I felt myself become sad. The five days in Miami were the first time I had Naheim all to myself since his father came home from prison. And now that we were back home, I knew it was only a matter of time before things went back to how they were before. He told me he was my nigga but what does that even mean for someone in the streets? I turned to say something to him but he had already grabbed his bag and was heading toward the airport entrance with Kahli. 

"I'm glad at least one of us had a great time while we were there," Jodeci said behind me. I turned around and gave her a tight hug.

"I'm sorry shit didn't go as planned for you," I said to her. She shrugged.

"I didn't really have any expectations. And my bad for being at you like that. I just didn't want to talk about that shit in front of Kahli."

"Is it really that bad?"

She looked at me and I could see the tears start to form in her eyes.

"We argued a lot about that. Some harsh things were said-"

"Harsh things like what?" I asked, getting offended. I fucked with Kahli but if he disrespected Jodeci I had no choice but to hand his ass to him. 

"I told him that I should've kept fuckin' with Marcus. And he told me I was a hoe and he should've fucked with Kym since I believed he did when he didn't anyway."

My mouth dropped open. "What the fuck? How dare he call you out your name like that? All of this because you had your titts out?"

"According to him he's been fed up with my shit and he's tired of me disrespecting him." 

Both of our bags finally came around and we bent to pick them up. 

"I think he was right about a lot of shit," Jodeci said.

"About what?"

She shook her head. "I really didn't appreciate a lot of stuff Kahli did for me. I know I'm not gonna meet another nigga that's gonna be all about me like he was. I just ... I'm fucked up in the head, Rocky. And right now being with somebody isn't what's best for me."