I'd Rather Be Single 2 (5 page)

“Is this an event for an athlete?” I whispered to Dalia before the loud music hit us.

“Yup.” she said, smiling her way inside.

I knew her ass was up to something
. That bitch knew how I felt about athletes. I was done with dating them niggas. An event for athletes was the last place I wanted to be. I had literally wanted away from that life altogether.

I’m different, yup I’m different.
The sounds of 2Chainz smothered the crowded club. All the VIP areas were bought out by athletes. Ace of Spades, bottles of Ciroc and Rosé were being popped at all angles of the club.

“Tyra, they playing our
shit. Let’s turn-up. Stop looking so mad and turn the FUCK up!” She tapped my shoulder and then began two stepping.

“Let’s just find our way to the bar.” I told her.

As we fought our way to the bar, in passing, I locked eyes with none other than my ex, Michael Slinks. Instantly, all the old feelings came rushing back at once. Butterflies riddled the pit of stomach, and darts of pain rippled through the most vulnerable part of my heart. Memories of how in love we used to be, how happy he made me, and how easily he made me smile surfaced. Our eyes held each other as if he was thinking and feeling the same.

M
y heart was squeezing out through my chest. I wanted to run over, hug him, tell him how much I still loved him and how much pain I was in from missing him. I literally wanted to surrender myself to him so that he could make the pain of missing him go away. But I knew I couldn’t do that. I still blamed him for causing the stress that made me lose our unborn child. I questioned his love. Love wasn’t supposed to hurt, he was supposed to overlook my past and love me for me. Since he didn’t, my mind jolted back to reality. I had to love myself more and let go.

Our eye contact was constant until he
went his way, which was toward the exit, and I went mine, to the bar. Michael was more handsome than ever, tall, lean and clean cut. His eyes told me that he wanted to talk to me too, but he didn’t know how. My heart sank to my feet and I wanted to cry.

“Girl
, was that Michael Slinks?” Dalia asked as we finally secured a spot by the bar.

“Yeah
,” I said, turning my eyes away from hers.

“
Oh my goodness. I really got to see his fine ass in person. Go get him, go talk to him, Tyra!”

“Dalia
, relax. I’m not talking to that man, it’s over. Now listen, you got me here, so you need to buy me a drink ASAP.”

“I got you girl.” She signaled for the bartender and I peeked at the exit to see if Michael was still around
, but he was gone.

“Two shots of
Don Julio please!” Dalia ordered.

When our shots arrived,
I took mine back with no hesitation and demanded more. All my feelings for Michael had re-awakened and I had to put them back to sleep with the shots of Don J.

After the fourth shot, I was still
struggling to fight my feelings. I almost wanted to leave. I had to keep reminding myself that I had been doing well for the longest time and I couldn’t let seeing Michael spoil my night. I turned my back to the bar and was approached by this milk chocolate brother who seemed like he could be a personal trainer. He was literally right in front of me staring into my face.

“Are you trying to get to the bar?” I asked trying to get out of his way
.

“No, actually I came over here to talk to you.”
he said in my ear.

I took a peek
at his muscles again. They were screaming through his black fitted tee. His arms were massive, they could easily be two of my thighs, but they were sculpted to perfection. His body was way too perfect. At that point, I pegged him as an athlete.

“Sorry, I don’t talk to athletes.” I rolled my eyes and tried to look past him
, but he stayed dead in front of me.

He
flashed his perfect white teeth. “Damn, who said that I was an athlete? I’m an honest working man, sweetheart.”

I
allowed my eyes to meet his again. They were dark brown and welcoming. The fact that he wasn’t an athlete and was drop-dead gorgeous made me break down my defenses, and I smiled.

“I’m sorry.” I said
.

I took in a deep breath
. I had to get myself together. I hadn’t realized how solid my athlete defenses were until that very moment. I wanted so badly to meet a regular man with a great job, who would treat me like a queen. Of course, it was very unlikely that I’d find him in the club, but you never know.

“I’m Courtney.”
he said, extending his arm out to greet me.

“I’m Tyra.”

He formed a huge smile and bent to my ear. “Tyra huh? That name suits you. You definitely look like a super model, but you’re much more beautiful than Tyra Banks.”

“Aw
w, aren’t you sweet.” I blushed.

“Uh um.” Dalia was waiting to be introduced.

“This is my friend, Dalia.”

“Hee
yyy.” Dalia sang out as she shook his hand.

“Nice to meet you.”
he said. He had that Barry White tone, deep and sexy. “Well Ms. Tyra, I’d love to take you out. Can I take your number, or give you mine?” he asked.

I
was scoping him out and I was impressed. He was not only handsome, but he smelled good, and his swag was screaming
I’m that nigga
. He had that boss swag.

“Sure.” I said.

I was definitely feeling my drinks at this point, because I was being flirty. He slid his iPhone out of his back pocket and took my number. He bent to kiss my cheek and told me that he’d give me a call.

“I look forward to it
, handsome.” I said, realizing how much I had missed the attention and affection of a man. That was the first time in a while, that I had realized how much I yearned for some male company.

When he walked away, Dalia couldn’t wait to give me her opinion. “Girl
, he is beautiful! He’s an athlete right?”

“Nope.” I said proudly. “He said he
is not an athlete, he’s a hardworking man. And you know that’s what I’m looking for, girl. A handsome, hardworking man with swag is right up my alley.”

“Boo
oooo!” Dalia pointed her thumbs down. She was so infatuated with wanting to know what the being a baller’s girl life was about.

The way I had
Dalia dolled up, it wouldn’t be hard for her to snag a baller herself that night. The club was full of them and she looked like a million bucks. I always used to stare at her at work and wonder what the fuck she was wearing. She had no sense of style. I knew that if she dressed herself in today’s fashions, she would be
that bitch,
because she’s drop-dead gorgeous.

Just when we were about to leave, we were approached by two
athletes. I turned mine down quickly. I recognized him from TV, plus he was one of Michael’s old teammates and I wasn’t going there. Dalia, on the other hand, took Seary Lawrence’s number with pleasure. He played for the Patriots. He wasn’t that cute, but he was young and he wasn’t really the flashy type.

I handed the valet my ticket
, and all I heard on the ride home was Dalia yapping about Seary Lawrence. She didn’t know all that came with talking to these type of niggas. Shit wasn’t as sweet as she thought it was. And if something was to develop between the two of them, I hoped that she would be prepared to handle it, because they lived an absolutely fast life. I definitely had the knowledge to school her on how to deal with them. But I had my own personal life to focus on, and I looked forward to knowing more about Mr. Courtney.

Courtney and I talked on the phone and texted each other for about a week and a half before I accepted his invitation for a date. I was super nervous about our date, like a little damn kid. Just thinking about him gave me butterflies. When the elevator landed in the lobby, I closed my eyes and prepared myself to meet him. I took in a deep breath, fixed my maroon sweater dress, and proceeded through the front door. I walked slowly through the lobby and noticed Emma working late. I smiled and waved at her on my way out, since I was caught up on my rent and no longer had to hide from her.

My heart was
beating hard once I finally got outside. I hadn’t been on a date in so long, and I wanted things to go well.

He pulled up in a black
Phantom and I was confused. He said he was a hardworking businessman, but with a car like that, it seemed like he was more of a hardworking CEO or president of a company. He let himself out of the car and jogged over to open the door for me. When he approached my side of the car, the butterflies were waling inside my stomach.

His face
resembled the actor Laz Alonzo, he had a classically handsome face. He had the same short curly fade as Laz Alonzo, chinky eyes and appeared as if he could be mixed with black and Chinese. His eye lashes were long and swirled above his lids. This man could make any woman fall hard just by his looks alone.

He flashed his set of
dominating white teeth and gave me a hug. “How you doing, babe?”

The word babe made me weak. My pussy was throbbing
, and I wanted him on the spot. I hoped that I didn’t seem too thirsty with how hard I was squeezing him, but he smelled so good.

“I’m good
, how are you?” I asked, trying to hold it together and taking in another whiff of his cologne.

“I’m good
, now that I’m with you.” he said after we embraced.

He
held the door open for me, and I got inside.

“Aw, thank you.”
I appreciated a gentleman.

The inside of his car smelled just like him, like YSL cologne. The
interior of the car was all gray, from the seats to the dashboard and the rugs.

"So where do you live?" I asked him.

"Oh, I also live in Foxboro." he replied, pulling away from my complex, which was in the heart of Foxboro.

"Oh okay, so you live close by?
"

"Yeah, not
too far from here." He maneuvered the stick.

I
took a peek around. He had Nordstrom bags in his backseat, as if he had gone shopping earlier in the day. Then I looked at the shiny diamond necklace that hit his collarbone, and I was dying to see what he was about.

"So, what is it that you do exactly?" I asked.

"I'm an entrepreneur." He peeked over at me and then back on the road.

I waited for him to finish
, but that’s all he said. "Okaaay? What kind of business?" I inquired. I didn’t understand why he was being so secretive.

"Customer service, sweetheart." he
kept it brief and then changed the subject. "So what would you like to eat, beautiful?"

I shifted in my seat
to take my eyes off him. Since he didn't want to talk about his career, I figured he probably didn't want to discuss work, since he was just getting off, so I left it alone. But I hoped that he wasn't a drug dealer or doing something else illegal.

"
Well, I like Italian, seafood, American, I'm not picky."

He
licked his lips. "Well I got just the place to bring you to."

We immersed in small talk on the way to the restaurant. I loved how easy he was to talk to
. It was like we knew each other forever. There was no denying our chemistry. His light humor had me laughing the whole way there.

The spot he chose was called
Clio, a Prime steakhouse on Commonwealth Avenue. And once again, he hopped out and opened the door for me like a gentleman. He handed the parking attendant his keys to valet the car, and he opened the door to lead me inside the restaurant. There was a light crowd inside the restaurant, so we were seated in a small private area in the corner. The setting was absolutely perfect. Everything was white, from the table cloths, walls and flowers, and it had a scenic view. They played mellow music, had plush decor and A-plus service.

"So what do
you
do?" he asked, inquiring about me this time.