After hanging up the phone I dug into my closet to find something appropriate. I didn’t want to be trashy but I wanted to be sexy. I wanted to turn heads but not to the point where men became desperate and approached me. I had a girlfriend named Kenya that loved to dress in a provocative way. All she ever turned up with was horn dogs that never amounted to anything but a night of wild sex. I just wanted to catch the attention of someone I would never have any interest in but would give me the attention I craved. I opted for a pretty royal blue dress that allowed me to show a little cleavage. I always wore it with heels and it fitted smugly around my curvaceous body. It said I was classy but freaky if the right man could bring it out. That dress spoke volumes of truth about me but I never I could find the right man to bring that out of me. I thought maybe it was Caleb but I guess not. I found a pair of matching blue open-toe heels that had the cutest bow that highlighted the shoes. Now all I had to do was freshen up and find an appropriate push-up bra.
I pulled in front of Sheree’s two bedroom apartment in Los Angeles. The girl had a pretty good job but her credit had to be horrible. I always told her to buy property because it is always good to own something. She would always giggle and blow off my words so after awhile I just left it alone. Her apartment looked shabby from the outside as well as the neighborhood she lived in. I have to admit that her apartment on the inside was well designed. She had a strict policy about letting men into her home. She either went to their house or she settled for her regular guy. As far as she would tell me she had a fuck buddy named Chris. Chris wasn’t bad looking at all but he was still working an hourly job. He had a Bachelor’s degree from somewhere but still was on an hourly rate. His lack of ambition would have made me turn him away but he was sexing her right. I honked my horn twice hoping she would peak out the window and come downstairs. I knew if I went up to her apartment that would give her permission to take another forty-five minutes. In about ten minutes flat she was running out to the car with her heels in hand. Tacky. But Sheree was my girl thru thick and thin. She and I worked at a law firm together back when I was still in college and came home for the summer.
We sped off on our way to the Night Owl. It was a small bar in Los Angeles that had a nice amount of people coming out on weekdays. It also had a dance floor for those that wanted to get sweaty by grinding on each other. I never was too big on dancing but that might change tonight. It took about thirty minutes to make our way to downtown L.A.
“So what’s been up?” I turned down the stereo.
“Nothing girl, trying to stop fucking with Chris’s trifling ass. It’s gotten so bad that he doesn’t even spend the night anymore. I’m like; it has to be something better than this. He wanted to come over tonight but I’ve had enough of him…I don’t care how good the dick is.” She shook her head.
“Girl I never knew how you put up with his ass. Caleb had another bitch over his house and everything. She actually walked in on us.”
“Nuh unh?”
“Uh hun! I mean she was a cute girl but she didn’t have shit on me. Caleb went slumming just to spite me. If you gon’ cheat, let it be with a bitch that’s badder than me.”
“But he ain’t gon’ find a bitch badder than you.” Sheree replied.
“I know that’s right.”
We both started laughing as we entered a traffic jam on the I110 freeway. It gave us time to chit chat about two of our other friends. I found out from Sheree that Kenya had a one-night-stand with a guy she met at the club again. I in return told her that Brandy had just bought a new BMW also.
“That girl Brandy doesn’t play.” Sheree replied.
“Ever since I’ve known her she’s been on top of her game. That girl is so busy that I hardly get to spend any time with her. We have to promise ourselves that all four of us will get out and have some fun.”
“We got to do that soon Tomika.”
The freeway loosened up as we came closer to our exit. We made a few spins down a couple of one-way streets and found ourselves at the Night Owl. When we walked inside there was a bunch of men and a few women scattered here and there. I thought about leaving but Sheree was already headed to the bar. I reluctantly followed her as we sat down towards the end of the bar. There was a flat screen blaring behind the bar. It was playing highlights from the games that were played earlier today. It made me wander off in thought about Caleb. He was a sports agent that made a lucrative living. He owned his own condo and I was going to miss that about him. What I really would miss was how handsome he was to me. And when we made love it was like I had died and went to heaven. He knew how to hold me and touch me in the right places. He could set the mood for any type sex we decided to have. When I wanted him to screw me good and hard, he knew when and how. When we were in a romantic mood he knew how to be sensual and take his time. Honestly, I would be hard pressed to find a man that lived up to those expectations. I believe that we were destined to be together. He was only fighting the inevitable.
“Girl, what are you getting to drink?” Sheree interrupted my thoughts.
“Let me have a strawberry margarita.” I said to the bartender.
“There you go off wandering in thought, probably about Caleb. You caught that man cheating so you shouldn’t worry yourself about being with him. It’s his loss.” She shrugged.
It was also my loss as well. I wouldn’t dare tell her that because I had an image to uphold. She couldn’t know that I was going to miss him terribly. How would that look?
“I wasn’t thinking about Caleb.” I said dryly.
“Un huh!” She said sarcastically.
“I was thinking if I locked both doors at my house.”
“Tomika it is okay to cry and let out your pain when a man breaks your heart. It hurts when you find out a man is cheating so it has to really hurt when you catch him with the bitch.”
“I am not about to cry over that man.” I gave her a glance of disdain.
I sipped on my drink and it felt as though she was staring at me. I didn’t take the time to look back at her. We slowly sipped on our drinks listening to the music waiting for some action. We were twenty minutes into the Night Owl when a prospect approached. He ordered a beer at the bar then sat in the seat next to Sheree. He pointed towards the seat before he sat down to see if anyone was sitting there. I noticed Sheree shrug as though she didn’t care who sat there. I knew different. I looked over at him through the corner of my eyes and could tell she was out of his league. It was always interesting to see how a man approaches that knows that he doesn’t really have a chance. He was wearing a brown two-piece button down outfit made of fake silk. It was obvious he had bought it from a swap meet or one of those corner suit places. He stood about 5’11 with a dark brown complexion. What bothered me the most and I know was eating at Sheree was his ponytail. His hairline was receding but he was hanging on to his hair for dear life. His shoes weren’t real alligators and were probably Stacey Adams. He had a goatee and was actually handsome when you got past the image. He took a few sips of his beer from the bottle to build up his courage. Sheree pretended to be talking to me and watching the flat screen. It was clear sign that she wasn’t interested but he wouldn’t have felt like a man if he didn’t try.
“So how long have you been here tonight?” He randomly asked.
“I just got here.” Sheree curtly replied.
“So when does the party start cracking? There is no one on the dance floor.” He said enthusiastically.
“I don’t know.”
Sheree turned towards me at the end of rolling her eyes. Any man with sense would have caught the hint but he wasn’t giving up that easy.
“So you don’t come here too often do you?”
“What’s with all the questions man?” Sheree finally asked.
“I’m just trying to have a conversation with a good looking female. You don’t know how to be friendly?”
A slight thug came out of him with his last statement. Sheree must have caught it when I did because she rethought her approach. It’s always a hint that a man got street in him when he refers to you as a female instead of a woman. It’s subtle but nevertheless relevant. She smiled at him the next time she turned around.
“My friend is dealing with something right now and we thought that we would get out and have a drink. We just were hoping to stay to ourselves tonight, that’s all. Hi, my name is Tasha, what’s yours?”
“My name is Kevin but people call me K-Mack.”
Not K-Mack! I had to hold in my laughter because I was about to spit out the over iced margarita I was drinking. When I turned around to observe them Sheree had just finished shaking his hand.
“Well I’ll let you ladies stay to yourself and have a good night.”
“You do the same K-Mack.” Sheree replied.
I could sense the subtle sarcasm but I held my peace until she turned towards me. We both began laughing out loud. Fortunately for us he had already made his move on another ‘female’ in the bar. An hour into the Night Owl a crowd had developed. People were making their way onto the dance floor. Sheree started grooving in her seat but I knew better than that. I was enjoying the music but there was no way I would invite someone to ask me for a dance. It was a few onlookers but none were worth my time. I have to admit that some were cute but none were attractive. What I mean by that is they were not in my tax bracket or my level of sophistication. Now in my defense, I am not arrogant or pompous. I just know what I want in a man. Why waste a man’s time or allow him to waste mine?
But they messed around and went old school on us. They started playing ‘What’s the 411’ from Mary J. Blige featuring Grand Puba. That had Sheree and me dancing in our seats. Neither one of us had made it to our pre-teens when this song came out. But it was a song that I would hear my big cousin play when she was home from college. We both grew up in our grandmother’s house. Her name was Bianca and we were more like sisters than cousins. She moved to D.C. after graduating from Howard University. Eventually Bianca and her husband would move back to California in Orange County. She would play that tape on full blast whenever my grandmother was gone. Sheree and I started singing along to Mary J. Blige’s rap part.
“What makes ya think ya better than the next nigga, seen you last week and you couldn’t even speak.”
We snapped our fingers with both our hands raised in the air. The watered down alcohol was starting to get to us. It got us going until the song was over. Then we just turned around and tended to our drinks. That was when a handsome man approached the bar standing at least 6’3 in height. He was clean cut and well groomed. He had on an expensive black mock neck under a nice black blazer. He wore expensive jeans with a nice pair of alligator shoes that were pointed at the tip. My eyes scanned him from head to toe trying to be discreet as possible. My thought process had to admit that he didn’t look bad.
“Not bad, huh?” He said to me.
“Excuse me?” Even though I heard him.
“I put together a nice ensemble of clothing, wouldn’t you say?” He flashed a smile.
He looked me right in the eye with so much confidence. He must have caught my observation of him. I had to think on my feet.
“I wouldn’t have worn black on black if I was you.”
He actually made it work but that cocky smile needed to be wiped from his face. The smile never disappeared from his face.
“And you have a strand of hair out of place.”
He bit down on his lip with that same cocky smile. It was quite nice but I couldn’t let him know that it was nice. He couldn’t just win me over with charm and a nice outfit. He had to know that I was a challenge.
“Only in your dreams.” I turned toward my drink.
“You have no idea what is in my dreams.” His eyes wandered upward.
“And really don’t care.” I countered.
“So you just want to hurt my feelings.”
“How am I hurting your feelings? I don’t even know you.”
“I’m glad you asked. My name is Steven, Steven Brock.” His smile was gone but his confidence never wavered.
Okay he showed a little persistence and he was cute. I sighed softly then decided to surrender my real name.
“My name is Tomika.”
“It is a pleasure to meet you Tomika. What are you drinking?”
He didn’t wait for me to respond. He glanced down at my hand and seen the half filled glass of margarita then flagged down the bartender. He ordered Patron then turned around towards me.
“Are you trying to get me drunk?” I asked.
“I just met you Tomika. Let me get to know you a little better before you accuse me of such things.”
“I just had to make sure.”
“Well you won’t know for sure unless you let me do that?”
“Do what?”
“Let me get to know you?” He shrugged.
“You seem like a nice guy but…” I began my spiel.
“Don’t give me the nice guy line. All I’m asking is to get to know you. I don’t see any rings on your finger. And you know what’s the best part…you might actually like me getting to know you.” He flashed that cocky smile again.
I actually found myself giggling. The drink he ordered for me had arrived by that time. I was still sipping on the drink I had previously bought. Many men believe that if they buy you a drink then they’ve earned the right to pry into your business. You couldn’t impress me with a simple drink and a cute smile. At this point, his conversation was something I was trying to understand.
“So tell me Steven, what are you about?”
“What do you mean? You have to be a little more in detail with your question.” He replied.
“What, you didn’t understand the question?” I challenged him.
“Well yeah, I understood your question I just believe that it was somewhat vague.”
“It is a general question but I was hoping you spoke whatever came to mind.”
“Well there are a lot of things I’m into. I’m expecting you to be more specific like what are my career, educational background, hobbies or hopes and dreams.”
“Anyone of those you just said will suffice.” I smiled.
“So she does smile. Well I own my own business. As far as hobbies, I play the stock market from time to time.”
“So you aren’t an aspiring rapper or anything like that?” I said jokingly.
“I was never good with putting rhymes together. So Tomika, what are you into?”
“I’m into living life to the fullest. I’m into being ambitious and strong.” I replied.
“So are you one of the independent strong ‘I don’t need a man’ Black women type?”
“I’m independent and I don’t need a man. But I wouldn’t put it like that. I love men and especially Black men.”
“That’s good to know. Do you come here often?”
“Come on Steven, you can’t come up with a better line than that?”
Steven began laughing and it left me dumbfounded. As far as I could tell the ice was already broken but he was coming with a lame line after all of that. I thought I was talking to a witty man.
“No, I’m actually asking you do you come here often. I wasn’t trying to make small talk. I’ve been here once before and that’s about it. I was just curious Ms. Tomika.”
We both laughed. Our talk was much more casual while Sheree went out on the dance floor without me. She came back sweating which I thought was very un-lady like. You should never let a man see you sweat; unless of course, he is giving you a wonderful orgasm. I stood up when she came back to the bar. That was my way of letting her know that I was ready to go. She grabbed her purse while Steven glanced at me. He didn’t look desperate but it was clear to me he wanted to keep in touch.
“So do you want to continue this conversation later?” He asked.
“That’ll be nice.”
Sheree watched us exchange numbers in disbelief. I very seldom went out to a club and gave out my phone number. Even if I did, it didn’t mean I would accept his calls after that. We would just have to wait and see.
That night at the club was something that helped me get through the night. The following three days I dwelled on my break-up with Caleb. I knew he was thinking about me so I called him while blocking my number. The third or fourth time I called he picked up the phone. For a few second neither one of us said a word. He finally spoke through the phone. It was good to hear his voice besides that recording he left on his voice mail.
“Hello? Come on Tomika, I know this is you blocking your number. You need to stop calling my phone and playing on it. If you don’t have anything to say, then stop fucking calling.” He snapped.
I hung up the phone after that ordeal. He never talked to me like that before and he was kind of crazy since he didn’t know if it was me or not. I thought Caleb was becoming desperate or dismantled. It probably had something to do with the woman he was cheating on me with. It must be driving him crazy that he has to settle for her over me. I almost put the phone in my Coach bag when it began ringing. I thought about answering the phone figuring it was Caleb. When I looked at the caller ID it was a number that was unfamiliar to me. I thought about not answering the phone because Caleb could be trying to call from a different number. After the third ring I decided to answer.
“Hello?”
“Yeah, can I speak to Tomika?”
“Can I ask whose calling?”
“Could you tell her Steve is calling?”
Steve…Steve…where do I know that name from? I racked my thoughts trying to remember who he was. The phone was silent for at least a minute while I tried to put together where this man came from. Was he a bill collector? Was he someone I worked with or was he someone that I was trying to sell a house? No, because they wouldn’t call me on my personal phone. Oh yeah, that cocky guy from the club a few nights ago.
“Hello Steve, this is Tomika.”
“Did she have to find you?”
“Who?”
“The person that answered the phone.”
“No, honestly I was trying to figure out who you were.”
“I’m that forgettable. Or is that you have so many men chasing you that I was nothing to you the other night at the Night Owl.”
“Okay, whatever. I have been really busy so I had forgotten the club the other night.”
“Well maybe you wouldn’t forget about another night out with drinks and a good time.” Steve slyly replied.
“Well Steven, are you asking me out on a date?”
“I believe so. We can get some drinks and have a good time.”
“I thought you were trying to get to know me?” I strongly asked.
“I am trying to get to know you.” He could sense the tension.
“Well then you don’t get to know a woman by taking her to a bar. There is nothing but cheap alcohol and loud music at bars. I was hoping something a little more special for a first date.” I sighed.
“Okay, I’m cool with that. We can grab a bite to eat at a restaurant and talk.” He surrendered.
“When do you want to do this?”
“How about tonight Ms. Tomika? Did you have prior plans?”
“How about we meet somewhere at around eight tonight?”
“I can come to pick you up unless you are afraid of me knowing where you live.”
I could tell he was smiling through the phone. The phone was once again quiet as I considered if he should know where I live. I didn’t want to leave a bad impression of me not trusting him already. Truthfully he hadn’t earned my trust yet. The phone was quiet for a little longer than before.
“Hello, are you there?”
“Okay I’ll text you my address. Can you make it by 8pm?”
“I’ll see you at eight, Ms. Tomika.”
It took me a little over an hour to find exactly what I planned to wear. I had picked out a blue dress with a large white belt and blue heels. I had a small Gucci white purse to match with my belt. Of course my hair was immaculate. I wanted to see if he was going to show up on time or was he going to be late. That would let me know how eager he was to take me out. If he showed up fifteen minutes after eight then I would politely cancel. I believe women should be the only ones to be fashionably late.
He called me about five minutes to eight. I didn’t pick up my cell phone the first time he called to see if he would call back. I peaked outside and I seen him sitting in what appeared to be a Hummer. I wondered if he was one of those dumb asses that lived out of his nice car while renting an apartment. I pondered on it for a moment then the phone rang again. I picked it up on the second ring this time.
“Hello?”
“Hey Tomika, I’m out in front of your complex. These are nice townhomes by the way.”
“Thank you. I’ll be downstairs in a minute.”
I slipped on my high heels then swallowed the last remnants of the wine I had in a glass. Then I went to the bedroom to look at the long mirror. One more once-over will make sure I was ready to make a grand entrance to my date. After checking for everything I made my way down the elevator and out to his car. He was fortunate enough to find a parking space in front of my complex. When he turned to see me come out of the building his mouth was agape. He had lost his sense of thought for a moment. That’s the way you give it to him Tomika. He quickly and clumsily climbed out his car to open the door for me. He helped me inside of his tall Hummer then made his way back to the driver’s seat. We drove off shortly thereafter.
We went to one of the fancy restaurants on La Cienega called ‘The Stinking Rose’. That was when I knew he was really trying to impress me. I didn’t expect for him to take me to Sizzlers or something cheap like that. But I thought he would maybe take me somewhere that was about forty or fifty dollars a plate. This was more expensive and fancier than I expected. Of course I ordered what I wanted on the menu. He seemed to not wince when I put in my order. As we waited for our food to arrive we made small talk. More of his witty conversation helped pass the time in a usually awkward first date. I found myself laughing at some of his remarks. He kept it in good taste with a dirty joke he would whisper from time to time.
While he was paying for the bill I naturally stepped off to the ladies’ room. When I made it back to the table he was ready to go. I smiled because it was a good time to leave. We were inside the restaurant a little bit over an hour. He did the gentleman thing all the way to the car and when we climbed inside. I appreciated how courteous he was because it seemed as though chivalry was dead nowadays. We cruised around for a little while without any real destination. It was obvious because we had passed the same place for the second time. I can understand a man wanting to spend more time with me. After awhile though it became tiresome sitting in his car in those hard seats going nowhere. He finally made a suggestion that we go up to the beach and talk. I thought it was too chili to go to the beach. I know that it is supposed to be a place of romance but I’ll pass.
Finally he decided to pull up in front of my complex. We sat there nervously listening to Babyface on the radio. He was playing it low while trying to spark a new conversation.
“So how many bedrooms do you have in your townhouse?”
“It is a three bedroom. I use one of the rooms for an office.” I replied.
“So how big are the master bedrooms? I thought about moving over here before. I would love to see how you decorated your place.”
He had to be crazy if he thought he was coming up to my townhome. Especially if he thought it was that easy to get upstairs after a first date. He probably thinks that I owe it to him for that expensive meal.
“Is my phone ringing? I hope I didn’t miss any important calls.” I pulled out my cell phone.
He glanced at me and I could feel his eyes burning a hole in me. I was ready to go upstairs at this point. So I deliberately called Caleb on my speed dial. He picked up the phone on the third ring. I could actually hear him saying my name through the phone. I lifted the phone and handed it to Steve.
“Who is this?” He asked.
Caleb must have told him who he was because he repeated his name. I grabbed the phone from Steve and hung up. Moments later the phone kept ringing but I refused to answer it.
“This is my ex-boyfriend. He’s always calling but I try to ignore his calls.” I explained.
“Well I’ll let you go and maybe we can talk later.”
“That’ll be fine.” I quickly opened the door.
I didn’t give him time to open the door for me. I was out the truck and on the sidewalk in a matter of seconds. His window was rolled up so I just waved at him and quickly walked inside my complex.
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