Love Me or Leave Me Alone

by Nikisha Mock

  “Damien? What the hell? Why are you here?” I asked with much attitude.

  “Why am I here? Nah, the question is, why are you here and why are you here with this clown?” Damien responded boldly.

  Tyler chuckled under his breath and shook his head a little.

  “Something funny muthafucka? You got something you want to get off yo chest fool?”

  I squeezed Tyler’s thigh underneath the table. “Damien, go on back downstairs with all that drama. You’re embarrassing yourself.”

  “Bitch, shut the fuck up!” he yelled at me.

  “Bitch? Whoa playboy. You better pump your breaks. Eva ain’t checking for your weak ass no more. you didn’t get the memo? She asked you nicely. Now I’m telling you; step the fuck off before you get yourself fucked up.”

  Tyler was looking Damien straight in the eyes and he did not blink or move a muscle. I could feel him tensing up though. I squeezed his thigh again gently as a sign to tell him to relax.

  Damien was not moved. I’m pretty sure he was drunk because I never recalled seeing him act so bold before.

  “Homeboy, I don’t think you realize that you’re sitting there with my woman. Yeah, she a little mad at me at the moment, but please believe, this here will always be mine. So I’m going to let you play for now, but don’t get comfortable muthafucka. Eva will forever be a part of me.” Damien had the audacity to say and then walked off. I just shook my head.

  Tyler was not happy at all. He was looking straight ahead as if he had tunnel vision. Then I noticed his bouncer friend staring in our direction. Tyler nodded once and the bouncer stopped Damien at the door. It looked like they were having some sort of verbal altercation. The next thing I knew two more bouncers had surrounded Damien and they were shoving him down the steps.

  “Tyler, what is going on now?” I asked.

  “What?” he asked with raised eyebrows.

  “That nod you gave that bouncer and the way they pushed Damien’s ass up out of here. What was that?”

  “Your ex is a clown. But I need to know something. Was there any truth in that fool’s words? Tell me now, Eva while the shit is still fresh. I remember how Jay used to talk about how on and off you and Damien were so I’m asking you right now. Is Damien right? Am I just a plaything until you go running back to him?”

  I couldn’t believe he was asking me these things. I wanted to be straight up with him because that’s the only way that I know how to be.

  “Tyler, not even if Damien’s life depended on it. I may have taken a little longer than others to finally wake up and realize it was time for me to leave, but trust me, it couldn’t be more over between me and him. If I wasn’t positive, I wouldn’t be here with you,” I said, meaning every single word.

  “Alright then. Fuck him. Let’s drink to that and enjoy the rest of our night.”

  “That sounds like a perfect idea,” I said and I was all smiles again.

  We sipped on my favorite wine, Moscato, and we talked about a little of everything. Talking to Tyler was so easy and uncomplicated. He had his usual of Jack and Coke of course because he said he was in the mood for something stronger and then he winked at me.

  I felt a flush of heat go through me when he said that and I smiled. We danced and just had pure fun with each other. It had been a long time since I just let loose and allowed myself to get caught in the moment. By the time we were headed to Tyler’s place, I was lightheaded and feeling carefree. I’m pretty sure I had one glass of Moscato too many, but I was having so much fun that I didn’t pay much attention to it until we were walking out to his car.

  “Damn girl, you’re feeling pretty good right now, aren’t you?” Tyler laughed.

  “Of course I am because I’m here with yewwww” I said.

  Tyler laughed at me again. “I should take a picture of this shit.”

  “I wish you would. I might be a little tipsy, but I’m not that tipsy,” I warned with a smile.

  “I’m just playing, Eva. Wow, you’re such a feisty woman tonight. But did you at least enjoy yourself?” he asked.

  “Of course I did. Why don’t you hurry up and get us to your house so I can show you just how much I enjoyed it,” I said seductively.

  ****

  The next morning I woke up and nearly had a panic attack. I was surrounded by unfamiliar furniture in a room I’d never seen before. I turned my head to the left of me and screamed.

  Tyler jumped up, startled from all the screaming.

  “What? What’s the matter Eva? What happened?” he said, struggling to wake up completely and comprehend what was going on.

  I grabbed the sides of my head and moaned. “Oh my goodness, pleeeassse stop yelling.”

  “Me stop yelling? Did you not just hear yourself? You sounded like someone was trying to kill you!” Tyler said with a bewildered look on his face.

  “I’m sorry. I woke up and couldn’t remember where the hell I was for a minute. That damn dream I just had didn’t help matters either. I was dreaming that you and I were in bed asleep and that I woke up and saw a woman standing over us smiling and holding a knife above her head. Just before she brought the thing crashing down into one of us, I woke up. I’m sorry if I scared you, but I have a massive headache so please, whatever you do, do not yell or slam anything, okay?”

  Tyler smiled at me. “Eva, why are you so damn adorable, huh?”

  “Adorable? Who me? I can just about imagine what I look like right about now. And I also want to apologize for passing out on you last night. I guess I had a little too much wine,” I said.

  “Aww girl, it ain’t nothing. After that workout we were both down for the count, so no need to apologize.” Tyler leaned over and kissed me lightly on the forehead.

  I frowned. “What workout? What are you talking about?”

  “Hold up, you mean to tell me you don’t remember?” Tyler asked, fully awake now.

  “Well, I remember walking into the house and we came upstairs. I remember kissing you and then it’s lights out from there.”

  “Wow, Eva. Oh well, it’s a good thing you agreed to let me make that sex tape then. I’m sure you’ll want to see what kinda magic we made last night. Girl, we can make a fortune if we ever decide to sell it!” Tyler exclaimed.

  “You did what? No way Tyler, I know you didn’t record us having sex!” I screamed, regretting it immediately.

  Tyler was laughing hysterically now. He could hardly control himself.

  “I don’t see what’s so funny, Tyler.”

  “Eva, you know I would never do anything like that. I was just teasing you. I still can’t believe you don’t remember anything though. You were on fiya last night and that you can believe because it’s true. You are one amazing woman.”

  I sighed with relief now that I knew this sex tape didn’t exist. I told Tyler that I remembered nothing but that if it had to happen to me with anybody, I was glad that it was with him. With Tyler, I was beginning to feel safe.

  With the exception of that brief foolishness from Damien, what I remembered about the night had been spectacular. It’s a shame I couldn’t remember the rest. We showered together, had breakfast in bed, and then I asked Tyler to take me home so that I could rest a little before picking up Miles and Kayla.

  Chapter 14

  “Mommy, are you going to swim with us?” Kayla asked.

  “No honey, I’ll just sit by the pool and read while you two have a great time.”

  “Aww, come on Ma. It’ll be fun,” Miles said.

  “Yeah, please Mommy. Please,” Kayla was pulling out the big guns.

  “No I don’t think so. I’ll swim next time, okay?” I said attempting to bargain.

  “Oh alright,” Kayla said, poking out her lip.

  “Hey, what’s that about young lady? Do you want to go swimming or not?” I asked with a raised eyebrow.

  “Yes ma’am. I’m sorry,” Kayla said, immediately erasing any pout in her voice.

  “That’s okay sweeth
eart. Just know that sometimes mommy just wants to relax a bit and let you guys have all the fun.”

  “I know. Thanks Mommy.” She was smiling from ear to ear now.

  The pool in our community was crowded so it was hard to find a lounge chair close enough for me to watch the kids at the shallow end. I had every intention of getting some reading done, but my eyes began to close as soon as I leaned back in that chair. As I was drifting off to sleep, my cell phone rang.

  “Hey you,” I answered with a smile.

  “Who the fuck is this?” a not so masculine voice demanded to know.

  I sat straight up in my chair and looked at the phone again. It was definitely Tyler’s number but not him on the line.

  “Excuse me? You dialed my number so I’m assuming if anyone needs to be asking the questions it should be me,” I said calmly.

  “Well you know what they say when you assume,” the woman on the other line said.

  “Sweetie, I have no time for childish games and zero tolerance for bullshit. So you can either say what’s on your mind or get the hell off my phone,” I said, still calm but getting irritated quickly.

  This mystery woman smacked her lips like she was chewing gum. “I was looking through my man’s phone and saw text messages from this number so I’m going to ask you again. Who…the Fuck…Is…This?”

  I looked down at the phone again. Was she serious? Her man? I was not amused.

  “Look. Before you write a check your ass can’t cash, I think you better bring that shit down a notch. I am obviously someone Tyler knows, otherwise you wouldn’t have my number to call me. But the person you need to be asking these questions is Tyler, not me. As far as I’m concerned, Tyler doesn’t have a girlfriend or a wife, so I really don’t owe you any explanations. I’ll humor you for a second and, homegirl, trust me when I say, only for a second. Now you can either say what you have to say or this phone call is over.”

  I guess she heard me that time because there was a pause. Then I heard her sniff. Aww shit, I do not have time for this drama.

  “Look, all I want to know is what is going on. I can see that you two clearly have something going on. He left his phone at home while he went to the gym with my sister’s man and so I went through it. I saw just a little more than I would have liked so I called you. So I am asking you, who are you, and how do you know Tyler?”

  I didn’t know what to say. I did but this is unreal. No it isn’t. Ain’t nothing unreal about this. This is karma in the worst way. How many times have I been this chick? How many times have I called some random number and asked the same questions? Definitely not the way this chick started out the conversation, but nonetheless it has been me just the same.

  “Tyler told me he didn’t have a girlfriend and that he didn’t have anyone special in his life. We’ve been spending time together. Until now, I thought he was being straight up with me. I’m sorry you had to find out this way, but the best person to talk to about all this is Tyler.”

  “You’re right and we will talk to him about it right now because he just walked in the door. Tyler! Who the fuck is this on your damn phone?” she yelled to him in the background.

  Just when I thought civility had entered the building it made a quick exit, stage right. I heard Tyler yelling, asking the mystery woman what the hell she was talking about. My heart was sinking but I held the phone tight to my ear. I heard a rustling on the other end.

  “Hello? Who is this?” Tyler demanded, sounding out of breath.

  “Take your phone away from your ear and look at it,” I said.

  Let the games begin.

  He paused. And then he let out a long deep breath. Mystery woman was yelling real loud in the background and another man’s voice was coming into range that sounded all too familiar as well. After what seemed like forever Tyler said, “Eva?”

  “Ding ding ding ding ding! You guessed it! Want to know what prize you’ve won?”

  “Eva, baby. Damn. I don’t even know what to say.”

  “Don’t say shit, Tyler! What the hell was everything you’ve been saying to me for the past few months? Didn’t I tell you to be honest with me? You owed me absolutely nothing when we met. Why would you feel the need to lie to me? This is fucked up Tyler, really fucked up.”

  “I know and I need to talk to you and explain the situation. Karen is making this seem like something it never was and as phony as that probably sounds to you, I can prove it to you right now,” Tyler said.

  I was about to object but suddenly I could hear everything in the background which meant he’d put the phone on speaker.

  “Karen, who the hell do you think you are going through my phone?” Tyler demanded.

  “Oh, so you want to know who I am now? You’ve known me very well for two years and now all of a sudden you’re asking questions?”

  So mystery woman has a name, huh? Karen. The girl Tyler said he’d dated briefly but had stopped communicating with just before seeing me that day at Ciara’s house.

  “Look man, this shit is crazy. What the fuck, Karen? You know good and damn well the only reason you’re here is because your car broke down around the way and me and Tyler saw you, gave you a ride here. You were supposed to be calling Asia to come get you, not snooping through my man’s phone,” the other guy in the room said.

  “Jay?” I asked. “What are you doing over there?”

  “Yeah, wassup, Eva. Me and Tyler just got back from the gym,” Jay said.

  “Is that right?” I said sarcastically. The shit was really hitting the fan now and I did not like the smell. Not one bit.

  “Eva? Who is that, Tyler? You care to explain that to me?” That was Karen.

  “Hell no, I would not! Karen, me and you were over before it started. You know we haven’t seen each other in months. I don’t know why you felt the need or that you even had the right to go through my phone, but this is some foul shit.”

  “Are y’all done? Because I don’t have time to sit here and listen to this lover’s quarrel. I got better things to do,” I yelled to get the attention back to me so I could hang this damn phone up.

  “Eva, don’t hang up please! I am not involved with Karen nor have I been in almost six months. What Jay just told you is the truth. I couldn’t just leave her stranded in the middle of the street. What kind of man would I be if I did that? All I did was allow her to come in here where she was supposed to be calling her sister to come and get her. That was my only mistake. But I have never lied to you baby, and I told you, I never will.”

  That sounded very sincere. I exhaled and I was actually starting to believe him, but the situation was jacked from the start and I wasn’t about to just blow it off.

  “Look, you obviously have your fair share of drama going on over there. I suggest you handle that. Then you need to come find me. Because we are going to settle some things too,” I said and then I hung up the phone.

  I was mad, hurt, and annoyed. The whole scenario was just unbelievable. Mystery woman, I mean Karen, didn’t say a single solitary word after Tyler said what he had to say and that just gave him more credibility. While it was admirable of him to help this girl out, I still didn’t appreciate her calling me. And why did he feel so comfortable leaving her in his house when they were no longer involved? What’s wrong with AAA? There’s little room for error when you’re in the midst of something new. I’d already decided I was going to give him the benefit of the doubt this once, but he was going to hear my mouth about it.

  “Mommy, Mommy, did you see me? I jumped in this time!” Kayla was yelling with excitement.

  “Yes I did baby, but please don’t jump in again, okay? I don’t want you to hurt yourself.”

  “Okay Mommy!” she said, still smiling of course.

  I hated lying to her like that because I hadn’t seen her at all. I’d been looking in their direction the whole time but I’d been so in tune with that phone call that I wasn’t really looking at anything at all. All I could think of was that I ha
d to call Ciara. But how was I going to tell her that Jay had another girlfriend named Asia?

  Chapter 15

  Back at home, I sent the kids upstairs to take showers and settle down from their day of fun. I’d tried calling Ciara several times but all I got was her voicemail. I had to talk to her so I sent a text asking her to please call me. Tyler had called nonstop, but I didn’t answer. I’d call him back when I felt like it. He was not my priority at the moment, my girl was.

  I had the feeling that Jay knew absolutely nothing about what Karen had said about him being her sister’s man. If he’d known, I doubt he would have said a word over the phone. He wouldn’t have wanted me to know that he was cheating on Ciara.

  That muthafucka! How could he do this to my girl?

  She didn’t deserve this shit, not after all the years of being loyal to him. I was beyond pissed at Tyler and Jay both. When my cell began to ring, in my blind fury I snatched it up and said hello not bothering to check the caller ID.

  “Hey baby, what’s going on with you?”

  “Aww shit. Get off my phone, Damien!” I yelled.

  “Damn girl, is that any way to respond to your man?”

  “Damien, now is not the time. What do you want?”

  “I want to talk to you. Can I come over?”

  “Hell no! What bus did you just fall off of? I bet it was yellow and short.”

  “Funny. I have to talk to you. Meet me somewhere, your choice.”

  “Why? What could you possibly have to say to me that you can’t say right now? Why are you still calling me? You haven’t called in awhile so I thought you finally got the hint after almost getting your ass kicked in the club. You are not my man. I am not interested in anything you have to say. Pull yourself together. Go call Miss Cocoa Brown Legs.”

  “Who?” Damien asked sounding confused.

  I’d forgotten that he didn’t know my nickname for his hoe and I really didn’t care.

  “You know what Damien? You win. When and where? But you have to promise me one thing.”