I'd Rather Be Single 2 (6 page)

"I w
ork at a dental office over in Fields corner." I replied.

"Fields corner, where is that?" he asked
, seeming unfamiliar.

"It's in Dorchester." I paused and looked at him oddly
, because I assumed that he was also from Boston. "Wait where are you from? I thought you were from here."

"No, I'm from Philly
, sweetheart. I moved here for work," he said.

"Oh ok, how long have you been up here?"

"About three years."

"And you haven't been in a relationship since you've been her
e?" I asked.

He was
adorable, not to mention down to earth. A woman would die to be with someone like him. Plus, he had that hood swag mixed with corporate swag, just how I liked em'.

He nodded.
"Nope, I really haven't met anyone worth getting to know. I mean, I've dated while I was here, but haven't been exclusive with anyone."

"Let me find out you was out here jumping off for three years." I joked.

He laughed. "Nah, not jumping off, just looking for someone special, that's all." he said, making intense eye contact.

"May I take your order?"
The waiter interrupted. I was relieved that the skinny flamboyant Italian waiter broke the awkward energy, because I was straight blushing. Courtney offered for me to place my order first, and then he placed his.

When the waiter dashed away from the table, Courtney sipped his water and made direct eye contact again. All I could do was smile
. I felt like a shy school girl around him, because he made me nervous. "Sooo little miss Boston, are you going to show me around? I've been in Foxboro since I've lived here, and I always hear people talk about the hood, but I still don't think Boston has bad parts."

I almost choked on my water.

"I can definitely show you around. Trust me when I tell you, Boston definitely has its bad parts. I mean, I grew up the projects, I'm sure it's just like the projects in Philly. All projects are the same."

"What? I don't believe that! A classy girl like you did not grow up in the projects
. You don't look hood."

"What does hood look like?" I quizzed him.

He thought about it, and we both laughed. "Yeah, you’re right. You don't have to dress hood to be hood. But you're beautiful, you carry yourself like a lady and you seem real refined. I'm loving it."

"
Thank you,” I giggled, “You're making me blush something serious."

"Well
, if I can make you smile, then I must be winning on this date."

We
both laughed again. "You're definitely extremely cool. I could tell off of our phone conversations that when we got together, it was gonna be live."

"Well
, life is all about having fun and being happy, right? I'm living good, I got a great career, I've been blessed. I don't harbor negative energy. I like being around people who are also positive and like to live it up."

“Cheers to that.”
We clinked our water glasses together. I was loving his energy. I watched how confident he was when he talked, and I was so digging him. He had that take charge, boss type demeanor. He seemed to have all the qualities on my check list.

The waiter arrived with our food and
he seemed to really take a liking to Courtney, which was strange. He went above and beyond to cater to him, and actually came to our table more than usual to see if we needed anything.

During dinner, we got to know each
other, and I swear my cheeks were hurting from laughing so much. His energy was so positive, his jokes were actually funny, and he wasn't corny. Since he was from the hood in Philly, we both connected with each other's worlds.

As we were leaving, the waiter chased us d
own with his manager with him. It was very odd to me and I couldn’t hide it on my face.

"Excuse me, excuse me
, Mr. Courtney Cox." The manager fixed his black tie and then extended his arm out to Courtney. "I just wanted to formally introduce myself. I'm Raymond, the manager."

Cour
tney looked at me and then extended his hand to the manager. "Nice to meet you, my man."

The manager was shaking his hand like the scene from Coming to America when that m
an saw Eddie Murphy in America and almost shook his arm off. "I just want to congratulate you on that interception in the fourth quarter that made the Patriots go to the playoffs last year. Keep up the good work, whenever you come back, your next meal is on us."

"Thank you, I appreciate that."

I was pissed! His cover was blown!

I trailed behind Courtney as he opened the door for me to go outside. I kept quiet while patiently waiting for the valet to bring the car up to the restaurant. Courtney tried to offer me his jacket
, but I denied it because I was disgusted at how his lie was revealed. As soon as we sat in the car, I let him have it.

"So you're an athlete
, Courtney?"

He peeled off
onto the road and sighed while scratching his head with his left hand.

"Is that why you didn't want to talk about what you did for work? Customer service? What else have you lied to me about?"

"Nothing!" he interrupted. "Listen, I didn't want to tell you because I wanted you to get to know me for me, and not judge me because of my career. I saw your disgust for athletes when I met you in the club. Your pretty face got all sour talking about ‘I hope you're not an athlete’.” he said, mocking me.

"Yeah and I meant it!
"

"I understand,
but is that gonna discredit me from getting to know you? Our chemistry is there, we vibe on the phone, and we've been vibing all night. Let your guard down. What is your beef against athletes?"

"My ex played for the Celtics and he broke my heart. I
know how crazy life is when dealing with an athlete, and I just don't want to be entangled into your whole fast life. I want a man who is going to be focused on me, getting to know me, and love me for me, flaws and all."

"So that's why you don't want to deal with an athlete, because you dated one that broke your heart? How you want someone to love you for your flaws when you can't even get over my so-called flaw of being an athlete?"

His words shut me up. I sat back in my seat and crossed my arms. I was heated at him for lying to me. Dead silence filled the car for about five minutes. I felt his eyes on me and eventually, he placed his hand on my thigh. "Look, I'm sorry. I really didn't want us to begin this with a lie. I could tell you were different off the break. There was no need to test you. It's my fault."

"How do you know I'm different?" I asked.

"Because I know you are. I could tell." he pulled up to the front of my apartment building. "Check this out, you say you want a man to accept you, flaws and all right? Well guess what, whatever flaws you think you have, I embrace them. We all have a past, nobody is perfect. You feel me? It's not every day you come across someone you connect with. I usually don't like to let girls know I play ball, because they don't let me see the real them. I told you I've dated, but I haven't found anyone real. I think it's different with you. I don't want you to leave my car tonight and feel like you wasted your time."

I unclicked my seat belt and faced him.

"I'm sorry.” I exhaled. “I didn't mean to overreact. I guess I spent so much time protecting my heart, that I put up a wall, especially when it comes to athletes. I guess I'm just gonna go with the flow and see what happens. You're really—"

He
planted a kiss on my mouth, shutting me up. My body tingled. The touch of a man's lips hadn’t adorned mine in forever. The feeling was intense and I wanted him bad. He smelled delicious and was seemingly genuine. There was absolutely no way that I was going to let him go.

He sat back in his chair
. My pink lipstick was smudged on the top of his top lip and under his bottom lip.

"I couldn't help myself
. I like you, Tyra. Sleep on it, and call me tomorrow, okay?" he smiled.

I was knocked off my rocker
. That kiss had my ass on another level, but I fronted and pretended that I had to sleep on it.

"That's what I'll do." I
kept my game face on.

He got out and opened the door for me
, and I floated into my building. There was nothing to think about. Courtney may had been another athlete, which I promised myself I would NEVER deal with again, but you never know, he may just be the one.

"Whaaaat!!!! He's a football player? Give me a high five, girl!" Dalia was pleased by Courtney’s revelation.

I dodged her high five and focused on my food on the stove.
I was cooking up some scrambled eggs and bacon early the next morning. Courtney was heavy on my mind, I even dreamed about that nigga. His deep and magnetic voice, mesmerizing eyes and mature conversation had me really feeling him. The fact that he was an athlete was now an afterthought. I just hoped he was one of the real ones. Although my relationship with Michael ended on bad terms, I could definitely say that I didn't have to deal with groupies. Not all athletes were dog ass niggas, but the vast majority of them were.

"
So, did you get some last night?" Dalia’s eyes were thirsty for a good sex story.

"Excuse me? No I did not honey, relax."

"What? You haven't had no dick in forever. I'm sure your shit was throbbing just by looking at him."

I
laughed and then threw the pot holder at her head. "Listen, I'm just getting over him being an athlete, I wasn't about to sleep with that man after he lied to me. Plus, it was the first date. I have to leave him thirsting for me."

"Well I'm going out with Seary to
night, and I'm definitely giving him this good shit." She winded her petite hips in her chair.

"
Uh uh girl, what you mean you’re gonna give him some? How often do y’all talk? And what kinda nigga is he? Is he asking you for pictures and shit?"

I
scooped some eggs and bacon on my plate and prepared a plate for Dalia. I placed them on the table and I sat across from her.

"It's funny you said that
, because he just texted me and asked me to send him a picture this morning. And we only talked on the phone twice, we mostly text."

"Okay listen, with athletes, you have to keep them intrigued
. You can't do too much too soon. He asked you for a picture, don't send him one. Tell him you rather see him in person. They are used to these groupie hoes sending them pictures non-stop. You gotta establish that you're different. And you only talked to him twice? Well ignore some of his texts, and save the conversation for your date. And do NOT sleep with him after your date tonight."

I stopped talking and looked away
, because I felt like I was playing the Rosslyn role with Dalia. Rosslyn put me on to so much game when it came to these athletes, that my ass could write a book on it. Dalia was eating my every word; I could tell she was taking mental notes.

"Well shit
, when can I sleep with him?"

"
Damn, is that your only question? You are a thirsty ass bitch, ain't you?"

Dalia laughed, "Well shit, it's been
over two weeks since I broke up with my man. I'm ready for some new dick."

"Y
ou seriously have to change your mindset. Are you in this for dick, or are you in this to secure a relationship with him?"

"Girl
, I want both."

I
cracked a smile and nodded. "I bet you do. But play it smart. I got you girl, I’m gonna put you on to everything you need to know, you don’t have nothing to worry about."

I
turned away from the table, suddenly realizing that I was back in the game. I promised myself that after Michael, my ass was gonna go for a straight square, a working man who had a head on his shoulders who would put me before his reputation. But since I was now dating another athlete, I recapped everything that Rosslyn taught me, the experience I learned on my own, and pure common sense and shared it with Dalia.