I'd Rather Be Single Read online

  “The cat got ya tongue?” Teddy asked as I stood there speechless.

  “No boo, it’s just that, quitting my job is a lot to ask, I do have other bills besides rent and utilities. I have a car note, insurance and two credit cards.”

  “Are you serious right now?” he asked looking at me as if I just wasted my breath. He pulled a stack of hundreds out of his sweat pants. “How much are your credit cards?” he asked.

  I began to calculate my debt. “Let’s see, I owe $750 on one, $500 on the other,” I stated.

  “Here, pay that shit off.” He handed me fifteen hundred dollars. “Don’t worry about your rent, you know I got that shit. And your car? Give that shit away. What the fuck does Teddy Pento’s girl look like driving a Honda?” He said, his tone dripping in arrogance.

  I was left speechless and I almost cried. “Why are you doing all of this for me, Teddy?” I asked him.

  “What you mean, boo? You deserve it. You didn’t have a mom or dad in your life; it’s time for you to live life with no worries. I want to take care of you.”

  The more that I had gotten to know Teddy, the more he expressed how much he applauded me for getting through life without much support from my family. He was so close to his family, he couldn’t imagine what I went through and I swear he felt sorry for me. It seemed that he felt like he owed me for what I didn’t receive and over compensated me for the lack of love through his money.

  I smiled, I trusted Teddy, fuck my job; I was going to be taken care of. Like Teddy said, I deserved it.

  “Okay, I’ll quit tomorrow,” I told him.

  Teddy grinned and then reached into his pocket.

  “Here’s another three g’s, boo, go get yourself some shit to bring to Puerto Rico. I want your sexy ass on the beach in a bikini every day down there.”

  I laughed and playfully hit him on his arm. “You’re so silly.” I took a moment to digest what was happening to me and I truly appreciated Teddy. I was really beginning to fall for him. He wasn’t attractive but everything he did for me and the way he treated me has honed him to be crowned the King in my life. So as soon as the movers left I stripped Teddy out of his North Face sweat pants and showed him just how appreciative I was to have him in my life. I went straight super head on him and he came within ten minutes. We took a nap shortly after and then woke up and broke in my new bed.

  Before leaving for Puerto Rico, I placed an ad to sell my car on craigslist. I had no problem posting my 1999 Honda Civic up for $500 because Teddy brought me a red 2010 five series Beamer right off the lot that I fell in love with. I went in the dental office to quit my job and left rolling in style. I watched in the rearview as the other receptionist ran to the window to watch me peel away in my new car. I was officially jobless and depending on Teddy, but I was living the good life.

  ***********

  Puerto Rico was the shit! All we did was lay by the pretty blue beaches, swim, fuck, fuck some more and shop. I swear I kept hearing the song by Fabolous, Just throw it in the bag replaying over and over in my head because that’s basically what Teddy kept telling me to do. At the shops, any item that I picked up, he said, “You want it, get it.” And that’s exactly what I did. I picked out diamonds, new bags, and the shoes in Puerto Rico were to die for. He spoiled me to no end, money wasn’t an object. I felt myself acting like I was accustomed to that lifestyle all my life. I had already spent the three thousand dollars Teddy gave me to go clothes shopping for the Puerto Rico trip in Neiman Marcus beforehand so he was just adding to my new authentic collection.

  Puerto Rico gave us a chance to relax and spend quality time together. I had finally gotten Teddy away from his family so that he could focus on me. He made me feel like a Princess; he fed me grapes and exotic fruits as we laid in the white hammock by the beach. And he often reminded me that this was the life I deserved to live because I was such a great person to him.

  His phone would ring often but he said that Puerto Rico was all about me and that football as well as his friends and family could wait until our trip was over so he eventually turned it off.

  When we returned from our trip, we were drained. I couldn’t think of anything else that I wanted to do but sleep. Since I quit my job, I had nothing but time on my hands so instead of going home, I went with Teddy to his house when we got back.

  I loved Teddy’s house. He loved to live grand so he had two of everything. Two square colossal pools in the backyard, two Jacuzzis in his bedroom and two Range Rovers. He spent his money like he never had any which is probably what I would do if I had it like him.

  “Why does it feel like someone has been in my crib?” Teddy proclaimed after noticing some of his papers spread on the floor when we walked in his house.

  Teddy brushed off his funny feeling. “I gotta use the bathroom real quick, boo,” he said dropping his Louis Vuitton luggage and trudging his way into the smallest of his four bathrooms right by the front door.

  I sat on the brown antique couch and kicked off my heels. Puerto Rico had me exhausted and I was coming off my vacation high. I shut my tired eyes to rest for a second as I heard Teddy humming Trey Songz The Neighbors know my name song while he pissed.

  “You can’t sing, boo,” I yelled out jokingly with my eyes still closed.

  “Whatever, Tyra, just get that pussy ready for me. I want some before we take a nap.”

  I ignored Teddy and kept my eyes sealed shut; I was on my way to sleepland.

  A funny scuffling noise was coming from behind the couch as if someone was crawling on the floor and then.…. BOOM!!

  The blunt knock to my head felt like someone had just taken a golf club to it. My eyes struggled to open and I put both hands on my head to make sure it was still attached to my neck. The blow felt like it had knocked it out of place. I took my hands off my head and watched the blood streaming down my fingers into my lap. My ears were ringing, I couldn’t hear anything and I couldn’t feel anything. All I saw was this beautiful video vixen shaped female going off in front of me with a large silver steel pot in her hand. Every so often I would hear her say, “Yeah bitch!” But that’s it, every other word she said was muffled and my vision of her was blurry.

  “What the fuck is going on!” Teddy yelled storming out of the bathroom zipping his jeans.

  He looked at me and noticed the blood leaking from my head; he immediately lifted the girl off her feet dragging her to the front door. He snatched the pot from her hand and flung it across the living room. She was kicking and punching him trying to break away from his grip. Tears paraded down her face forcing her mascara to run down her cheeks.

  “We are supposed to be getting married!” I heard her say as my hearing was starting to develop a little clearer. “How could you do this to me? I’m tired of you cheating on me with these groupies, I hate you!” she screamed crying her heart out as he finally got her out of the house and forced the door shut. She immediately began banging on the door and Teddy ignored it and approached me to see if I was okay but I was unable to answer him.

  The blood didn’t stop pouring out from the wound that I felt indented in the top right side of my head.

  “Yo, I gotta call an ambulance,” he said as he scurried for his cell phone but I felt like I was losing consciousness until finally, everything faded to black.

  I woke up in the hospital. Rosslyn was seated in a gray padded chair beside the hospital bed. When she saw my eyes open she rushed to my side.

  “How you feeling?” she asked.

  “I’m okay,” I said feeling weak and possessing a colossal headache.

  “Where is Teddy?” I asked her.

  She pursed her lips to the side. “Fuck, Teddy, he’s the one that called to tell me you were here. That shit was fun while it lasted but when shit like this happens, you’re done; it’s on to the next.”

  I looked away. Rosslyn knew what I was thinking; she was starting to know me all too well.

  “Tyra, I hope you’re not upset at the fact that you have to move on. I told you not to go catching feelings for these dudes. As long as you got what you want out of him, fuck it, these are just some of the things that come along with the territory.”

  “What? Like me getting my head bashed in by a chick that he obviously been messing with the whole time.”

  “Yes,” she answered bluntly.

  “Well that’s not what I signed up for,” I told her feeling my headache heightening.

  “Well listen, isn’t it better that it happened over someone rich then if you were still with your broke ass ex Rodney and a bitch bust you over the head over his broke dick? Didn’t you get money, trips, perks from this, Tyra? Girls just wanna have funds, not fun!” she preached. “Wake up, Tyra! Stop looking for love; love yourself because at the end of the day that’s all you have.”

  Rosslyn was appearing more and more cold hearted. She had an unrelenting addiction to using men. Money controlled her every move, her every thought. I wanted money too but more importantly I wanted love. I was starting to realize that the way I was going about things wasn’t going to land me a ring.

  When I was discharged from the hospital, I was concerned with how the outcome of me and Teddy would turn out. After all, I had quit my job and he was supposed to pay for everything, what was I supposed to do now? With only five thousand dollars left in the bank, I needed to act fast.

  I peered around at my apartment, it was quiet and I felt the stringent odor of loneliness invading the space. I squat on my expensive couch and thought back on my relationship with Teddy. I should’ve known that he was hiding something when he gave me money to get my own spot instead of inviting me to move in with him. And Rosslyn was right, what millionaire was going to be faithful to any woman, let alone me. I guess I really did need to c
ondition my mind into just focusing on money instead of love. Love was a joke and I was starting to think that I wouldn’t ever find anyone who really cared for me as much as Rodney did.

  As time went on, Teddy didn’t even call to see if I was okay and I promised myself that I wasn’t going to reach out to him. The only text I got from him ever since the incident was an, “I’m sorry,” but that was it. And now that I knew that he was trying to play me out, I was done with him but an explanation would have been great. I should’ve known Teddy’s cocky ass wasn’t going to explain. He completely left me assed out.

  His money kind of controlled his ego and he probably felt like he didn’t need to explain shit to me. Rumor had it, he was engaged to the girl that bust me over the head the whole time we were seeing each other and I concluded that I was merely the mistress that he was going to splurge on to keep me in the picture.

  All of his excuses about chilling with his family really meant that he was chilling with his fiancé. I’m quite sure that she was the one blowing up his phone when we were in Puerto Rico looking back at it. My relationship with Teddy was faker than a three dollar bill. He was using me for sex and arm candy while he had a brewing relationship with his fiancé. I wondered if the fact that he felt sorry for my family situation played a role in him sticking with me but I’m sure if it wasn’t me, some other beautiful woman would’ve been his mistress. He had broken my heart and the apartment and money wasn’t worth it. I was now back at square one.

  Thinking about paying the bills by myself had the headache coming back that the doctor told me would be frequent for a month or so until I recovered so I retired to the bed for a nap. I woke up to concerned text messages from Rodney asking how I was doing because he had heard that I was in the hospital. I smiled, if anyone cared about me it was him. I had forgotten that his aunt worked at Boston City Hospital and she was probably the one to tell him that I got admitted.

  I’m doing much better Rodney thanks for asking. I wrote back.

  I’m glad you are okay….I hope that you are not offended by me asking again but I need you. I just need a hundred dollars to keep my cell phone on and another hundred dollars to hold me down. Just swing it by whenever you can.

  Again I was frustrated by Rodney’s neediness but since he was the only person calling to check on me, I felt like I was obligated to help him out, so I did.

  Rodney was out in the front of his aunt’s house trying to make the prostitutes flee from in front of her spot. “Get the fuck outta here,” Rodney screamed at one of the transgendered male prostitutes who was walking toward him trying to solicit him.

  “I know you hate living around here,” I said as the female dressed guy strutted off in the other direction.

  “Man this shit is for the birds man. I promise this is the last time I’m going to ask you for money.” Rodney then smiled before saying, “I think I found a job. And if I get it, I start next month. I just needed this money to buy me a suit for the interview and to keep my phone on so that they could contact me,” he said with pride.

  “Well, congratulations, Rodney, I hope it all works out for you,” I said really meaning it.

  “Thank you,” he said. “Is everything okay with your head and everything?” he asked as I pat the top of my head that was bandaged under my black Prada hat.

  “Yeah everything is fine, thanks so much again for checking on me, Rodney.”

  I handed him two hundred dollar bills and then walked away.

  “Hey, Tyra!” he called out and I turned.

  “What?”

  “If I get this job you going to give me another chance?” he asked.

  I smiled, I was already over Rodney; there was no way that I would go backwards. “I don’t think so, Rodney.”

  “You know I still love you right? Always will,” he confessed.

  “I have love for you too, Rodney,” I said before bending into my car.

  “By the way, that’s a nice car,” he yelled out complimenting my Beamer as I shut my car door.

  I drove home wondering what my next plan would be. I reached into my large white Christian Dior bag that Teddy bought me trying to find the pain meds that I got from the doctor because I felt another headache igniting. Simultaneously my phone was vibrating so I threw the pills back into my purse and reached for my phone. I was sure it was probably Rodney or Rosslyn hitting me up and frankly I didn’t want to talk to neither one of them at that moment. I needed to get my mind right.

  When I finally pulled out my phone, I noticed that it was a text from an unfamiliar number and it read, “Hey, little mama, hope you haven’t forgotten about me.”

  I tried to channel the number through my memory but I had no idea who this person was.

  “Who is this?” I wrote back as I stopped at a red light.

  A picture message came through shortly after of a brown skinned ever so handsome fella in a suit. The deep dimple in his cheek was familiar. I smiled and then laughed out loud before writing back.

  “Oh I remember you now; you’re the guy from the club that called your own cell phone from my phone.”

  “Yup, that’s me, beautiful. How have you been, can I see you?” he asked.

  “Not right now,” I wrote back.

  He sent back a sad face which made me smile.

  “I’m sort of feeling under the weather,” I wrote him.

  “Well that’s even more of a reason for me to see you,” he sent back.

  “What is your name?” I asked.

  “Michael Slinks,” he wrote. “What’s yours?”

  “Tyra,” I wrote back.

  Well, Tyra, when can I see you? he asked again.

  “Soon,” I wrote.

  Over time, I managed to limit Michael to text messages and phone calls. I didn’t want to see him until my head was fully healed. The doctor told me that I couldn’t put pressure on the concussion for at least another month. The month seemed to drag on forever but after it was up, I went to the salon and got done up proper. I was back to wearing my China doll bangs and jet black 18 inches of bone straight human hair.

  My conversations with Michael were mainly about what we were looking for out of life. I told him that I wanted a family man who was driven and ready for love. And he told me that he was a relationship type of dude and just because he played in the NBA didn’t make him a womanizer. He expressed how he had been looking for a genuine female that he could build with and that the reason he took so long to call me was because he was in training camp but never forgot about me.

  Now that we reconnected, our conversations always flowed smoothly and he made sure that he called me each day after practice.

  Finally the day came for us to have our first date. Michael stated that since we waited so long, he would pick me up and bring me somewhere special. He pulled up in the front of my building in a H2 Hummer and greeted me with a snug hug followed by us staring deeply into each other’s eyes like a scene from a movie. I never remembered anyone from my hood believing in love at first sight but Michael and I had instant chemistry. It was like I had known him all my life. Especially since we talked and texted each other every night, the mental connection made us that much more closer.

  “You are a rare beauty,” he complimented while scanning me with his eyes.

  I smiled. “No need to spit game, Michael, I’m already feeling you,” I teased.

  He smiled. “This ain’t game, sweetheart; you are beautiful,” he said opening up my door and helping me into his hummer.

  We ate at Brasserie Jo; a French Bistro in Boston. Michael seemed to love lavish shit so the five-star restaurant suited his taste. Michael fancied nice things. His clothes were neat, he didn’t wear his pants too baggy or too tight, his gray Polo button up shirt matched perfectly with his gray Gucci sneakers. His haircut was on point, and he had straight white teeth. His smile accented his dimple and it was enough to melt any lady’s panties smooth off.