I'd Rather Be Single 2 (7 page)

Later that night,
I laced Dalia for her date. She looked like a bag of money. I let her wear my unworn fitted silver sequined dress that I got from Nordstrom, my silver and black six inch Jimmy Choos, and I even let her borrow my princess cut diamond earrings for the night. My girl was star studded. She noted everything that I told her to do on the first date and she was amped to be actually going on a date with someone famous.

"Just have fun, be yourself
, but keep it interesting, okay?"

"Got you." she said
, smudging in her red lipstick.

I locked the door behind her and grabbed my vibrating phone.

I keep thinking about you, I can’t get you off my mind. I feel vulnerable, I don't like this feeling. lol.

Courtney’s text put an instant smile on my face
. I leaped on my bed and rolled over on my back. I was sure that since I hadn't contacted him for the entire day that I was on his mind, and I was obviously right. However, he didn't have to know that he was also on mine.

Aw that is so sweet. Thanks for letting me know.

What! That’s all I get?
He sent back.

Been thinking about you too :)

Well that's good to know. Does that mean, you're going to give me another chance?

Yes.

I shut my phone off after I sent that last text. I needed to keep the thrill of the chase raging. Athletes loved that shit, because they were so used to girls being ready for whatever. There was no way that I was going to smother him with contact; I had to keep him guessing. This was a technique Rosslyn constantly used to make sure the men knew that she had a life outside of them.

I
had nothing to do for the rest of the night, so I cleaned up the house and tried to wait up for Dalia. I felt myself nodding off on the couch and ended up falling asleep. I didn’t even hear when she came in.

Bright and early the next morning, all you heard were yawns and sounds of us brushing our teeth as we prepped ourselves for work. We saved all the good convo for the ride to work.
Dalia didn’t hold back on filling me in once we got inside the car. She was smitten over Seary, smiling while she told me about their date. She told me that it went so well, that they made plans to go out again later that night.

Laughing our way into
the office, Dr. Raphael’s bitchy appearance immediately stifled our mood. She had her glasses on her nose looking at us both as if we had committed a crime. She lifted her white sleeve to view her watch.

“Y
ou’re both late.”

I pulled out my cell phone
, realizing that we were literally only three minutes late and I had to call her out on it. Dalia and I never made being late a habit. This bitch was just being petty.

“Dr. Raphael, we are three minutes late
. The first client isn’t scheduled to come in for another thirty minutes.”

She grinned
. “When the clients arrive doesn’t matter, what matters is that the two of you arrive on time.”

She rolled her eyes and retreated to the back.

“I can’t STAND her!” Dalia clenched her teeth and hung her black leather coat in the closet.

“You and me both.” I agreed.

We settled in and got straight to work, sending off x-rays and calling insurance companies for payment. We were all the way focused. Dr. Raphael was good at instilling fear in us, to ensure that we took our jobs seriously. Once our workload lessened, Courtney resurfaced in my thoughts. It must’ve been mutual because a text came through right when I thought of him.

Hey babe, what are you doing tonight?

No plans.
I replied back.

Well I’m hosting at the Aria club tonight, I’d love for you to come out with me.

I peeked over at Dalia, she was checking in a client and I remembered that she was going out with Seary again. The thought of stepping out dolo was kinda weird.

My par
tner-in-crime has plans tonight, I don’t have anyone to go out with.
I texted back.

L
ol, I’d prefer that you come alone, anyway. Come have some fun with me.

Dalia led her client to the back to see Dr. Raphael.
When she returned she whispered, “Girl, who were you texting in front of the client? You know if Dr. Raphael saw you she’d be preaching about how unprofessional you are, and issue you a warning.”

“I know, I know. But
it was Courtney. He’s hosting Aria tonight and asked me to come out. I don’t want to look thirsty going out by myself. I told him you had plans tonight, and he told me to still come out.”

“Are you crazy, why are you overthinking
? GO! I’d go in a heartbeat, alone or not.”

“I forgot who I was asking
. Of course you would.” I joked.

“Nah
, foreal. He asked you to come out to a club that he’s hosting, that means that he wants to show you off. That man is fine, you know how many groupies are gonna come out just to see him, and he wants
you
to come out and be with him. Girl go and have fun.”

Dalia was
crazy excited to be a part of the world of athletes. She would put herself on the front line and look desperate without even thinking twice. I wanted Courtney to respect me, so looking thirsty was not an option.

I picked up my vibrating phone.
“Aw man, Dalia, he just text me a question mark. He wants to know if I’m coming.”

“Text him back
, girl, tell him yes.” She puckered her heart shaped lips.

I took a deep breath and then started pressing the keys on my Galaxy.

I’ll come through, but I won’t stay for the whole night.

Courtney sent back a
smiley face and said that he looked forward to seeing me. I was tingling with anticipation to see him as well. I actually missed him already. Still, I felt nervous about going to the club by myself to chill with a man that I had just started dating. Dalia made a good point, he invited me to stand alone with him in his VIP section. Athletes didn’t do that unless you were someone that they were really feeling, so I was going to go and represent him well.

Dalia
had her date planned with Seary, and I would be with my boo for the night. Who would’ve thought we’d pick up on a social life so quickly? I hoped that things would work out for the both of us. I decided to ignore Rosslyn’s golden rule. She always preached that when dating athletes, don’t go in it with your heart, go in it for the perks, money and the fun. But fuck that, I wanted love. I was going to be cautious with my heart, but I was definitely out to win his love. And at this rate, so far so good.

Dalia’s ass went shopping in my closet for her date attire again. She picked out black leggings, a black corset, black Prada blazer and a diamond and leather black belt to hug her small waist. My bitch looked flawless. Her personality was addictive, and if Seary didn’t fall for the combination of her personality and her star studded looks, then I’d be convinced that the nigga was gay. My girl looked absolutely stunning.

I
, on the other hand, wore a leopard pencil skirt, black corset top, with leopard leather trimming around the bust line. I put on my spike red bottoms and clipped on my triple gold necklace and beaded gold bracelets. I knew all his teammates would be there, so I had to come through shutting it down. My pencil skirt accented my curves and my trendy black blazer cut at the low of my back, making my outfit appear classy. I wore my gold studs, and my hair long, black and straight. Red lipstick adorned my lips and my eyelashes were popping.

Boston clubs closed at 2
am, so I left the house at 10pm to get there at a reasonable time. Dalia left the crib at the same time, to meet Seary outside of our apartment for their date. We hugged each other and traded looks of approval on our fashions and went our separate ways.

I
t didn’t take me long to get to the club. I valeted my car and proceeded inside the club. I heard the DJ’s loud scratchy voice announce through the speakers, “Courtney Cox from the Patriots is in the building everyone, it’s a bottle popping marathon. It’s going down!!!!”

I followed the waitresses
who were bringing the sparkling bottles up to Courtney’s table.

When he saw me
, he lifted his Gucci glasses off his eyes to scope me out. He whispered in my ear. “Damn babe, you look unbelievably dope!”

I
accepted the compliment, kissed him on the cheek, and said, “Thank you.”

Trinidad James blasted through the speaker,
Gold all in my watch, diamonds all in my rangs.

Courtney led me beside him in VIP
. He had a bottle of Rose in his hand as he vibed to the music. “This is my girl, Tyra. Tyra this is CJ, Calvin and Brett.”

He
proudly introduced me to some of his teammates. They eyed Courtney, giving him the signal of approval. I made my statement. I came through to shut shit down, and Courtney was loving it. I was a straight show stopper. I felt his boy’s eyes on us as Courtney and I danced together all night. Every time they announced his name over the speakers, he would put his bottle in the air and vibe to the music. I had so much fun, it was crazy.

The
thirsty chicks trying to get in our VIP section looked absolutely desperate and pathetic. Some of his teammates let some of them through the ropes and boldly with me standing there, they approached Courtney, trying to seduce him. He did what athletes had to do, act cordial and thank them for coming to his event. He noticed how I fell back and didn’t react to the groupies who were going hard for him. I knew how this lifestyle was, so I had no worries.

I felt him side eyeing me as I
two stepped to the vibrant tunes of Drake blasting through the speakers,
Started from the bottom now we’re here!

H
e took me by my hand and grabbed me close to him. “I really like you, Tyra. You’re cool as shit. You don’t trip when these other chicks be trying to get too close. You just be on your chill shit.”

I
tiptoed to his ear. “I know you’re only doing your job. I ain’t tripping.”

“Damn, I like you like shit.” He s
miled.

“I like you too
, babe, but I’m about to leave.”

He stepped back and looked at his watch. “It’s only 1:30. I want you to stay with me.”

“I know, but I gotta get up for work in the morning.”

He
kissed me on the cheek. “I understand, love, thanks for coming out. I’m gonna see you soon, alright.”

“Of course.
” I grabbed him for a hug, finished my glass of Moet and then I dipped out.

My mission was
accomplished; I came through, shut it down and showed him that I was confident and secure. None of the groupies fazed me, and that was important for athletes. If a chick seemed too insecure, it was a turn off to them. I wasn’t worried about none of them hoes. That is, until I handed the valet guy my ticket and waited for him to return with my car. My arms were folded and I clutched my hands over my upper arms because the temperature had dropped.

An average looking girl and her
attitude-faced friend approached me. I could sense the hurt in the face of the lighter skinned girl. She didn’t approach me on some rah-rah shit, but her eyes told me that she yearned for answers.

“Excuse me, did you come here with Courtney Cox?” she asked. Her friend had her arms folded as if she wanted answers too.

“Yes I did, who are you?”

She looked at her friend
, shook her head, and then back at me. “Courtney and I have been off and on for a year. We are off right now but we were talking about getting back together.”

In that instant
, Courtney exited the club and saw us talking. He took me by the hand and took me away from the girl and whisked me into his friend’s Maserati before I had a chance to respond to the girl.

“What did she say to you?
” He seemed annoyed at the confrontation.

“She asked me if I was here with you
. She said that y’all were off and on for a year and had plans of getting back together.”