Читать книгу A Hire Love - Candice Dow - Страница 10

In less than twenty-four hours, Gertrude called to say that one of the guys was interested. When I called Mya to tell her about my probable date, she teased, “Tima’s going to talk to a guy! That’s so funny.”

I chuckled. “It has been a long time.”

“It’s been an eternity. Do you even know what to say?”

“Girl. Hopefully, he can lead the conversation, ’cause I don’t know what to say to a guy.”

“Tima, that is messed up. Personally, I don’t like to talk a lot before I go out with a guy. If you talk too much and you meet him and don’t like him, you feel obligated to explain. If you just briefly discuss the details of the date, you don’t owe him anything if you don’t like him. Trust me. You remember all the times I had to tell a guy after the first date that me and my old boyfriend got back together.”

“Why did you lie?”

“’Cause I had sat up on the phone with the person, telling him that I was ready for a relationship. When I met him and didn’t like him, I had to say something.” She giggled. “For the record, do not tell anyone that you haven’t dated since your husband died. You should always have a recent old boyfriend or have a friend that you see off and on.”

As I was schooled on the rules of the modern world, I laughed. “That is ridiculous.”

“Play or be played.”

“That’s a shame.”

“Love is a game, baby girl.”

My cell phone rang as I jotted down mental notes. When I didn’t recognize the number, I said, “Mya, I think that’s him.”

She shouted, “Don’t answer!”

“Why?”

“Because you want to hear his voice first. Then, you call him back. I can tell from a guy’s voice if he’s someone I want to talk to. What if he sounds like Steve Urkel?”

“Mya, you are making this way too complicated.”

“Whatever—I’m just looking out for my girl.”

“So, when do I call him back?”

“After we listen to the message.”

“We?”

“Yeah. We’re in this together. You aren’t skilled enough in the screening process yet.”

I called my voicemail and linked it with Mya. As I waited for the new message to play, I twiddled with my wedding ring. There was a short pause before he spoke:

“Hey, Fatima. This is Damien. Looking forward to talking to you. You can hit me back on…”

Mya said, “Well, at least he sounds sexy.”

“Yeah, that’s a plus. So, when am I allowed to call him back?”

“In ten minutes, but remember, get the details of when and where you’ll meet and get the hell off the phone.”

“This is so silly.”

“Trust me. You’ll thank me in the end.”

“One last question.”

“I’m listening.”

“Do I really have to take my ring off?”

“Is Derrick still wearing his?”

I laughed. “You know what? I need to find better friends.”

“Sike, I’m just playing, but it’s time to take it off. Your husband is gone. He can live in your heart forever, but no man will ever take you serious with another man’s ring on your finger.”

“I’ll think about it.”

“Baby, it’s your world. You can do what you want, but would you want to hang out with a man still wearing his wedding band?”

“You’re right. Let me get ready to call this guy back.”

Before I called him back, I went into my bedroom and searched for my ring box. When I sat the solitaire and the wedding band in the box, I felt naked. To appease myself, I slipped the diamond band on my right hand and tucked the solitaire away in my special drawer that contained a bunch of sentimental gifts from Derrick.

When I returned Damien’s call, butterflies floated in my stomach. A piece of me prayed for his voicemail, but as I prepared my message, he answered.

“Hello.”

I stuttered, “H-hi. Ah. Damien?”

“Yes. Fatima?”

“Hey, how’s it going?”

“Everything’s good. How are you?”

“I’m fine.”

“That’s good.”

“So…”

I searched for something, anything to say, but he relieved me. “So, when would you like to hook up?”

Boy, did he get to the point fast. This divide-and-conquer method to dating is no fun. When Derrick first called me, we chatted for nearly four hours. Do people do that anymore?

I said, “Uh, whenever.”

“Maybe we could catch a movie on Saturday.”

“That’s cool.”

“Where do you live?”

I thought it over and said, “In the city.”

“I’m in Brooklyn.”

I certainly wasn’t anxious about inviting a stranger into my hood, so I offered to meet him in his. He promised he’d give me a call before the end of the week with the movie times. Just like that, my inaugural speech was over.

On Saturday, I stuffed some reading into my large Louis Vuitton satchel. While I sat on the train headed to Brooklyn on a first date, I got antsy. Didn’t want to read. It was like I was fourteen again. What should I say when he walks up to me? Hi. Nice to meet you. Good to see you.

At two-fifteen, I was still standing in front of the movie theater in Prospect Park for my two o’clock date. My blood pressure escalated. How the hell can you be late for a first date? My weight shifted back and forth on my four-inch heels. I tossed my hair behind my ear and called Mya. “Do you know this clown isn’t here?”

“Tima, don’t get all up in a bundle. Maybe something came up.”

“He has my cell phone number.”

“He’ll be there. Just be cool.”

I looked at my watch. “Whatever. I’m about to leave. I don’t have time for this.”

“Dating is not easy.”

“Well, you’ve given me that whole spiel before. Isn’t that why you sent me to that jackleg dating service? Wasn’t that supposed to guarantee a quality guy?”

I curled my lips and waited for her to respond. She laughed. “No one told you to have unreasonable expectations.”

I laughed too. “Whatever.”

“This is the dating game. It’s hit or miss.”

Standing on a corner in Brooklyn on a Saturday afternoon wasn’t exactly my idea of dating. Shit! I could have sat home for another weekend. Mya said, “He’s almost twenty minutes late. Do you want me to come down there and go with you?”

“No, I’m leaving now. I’ll call you when I get uptown.”

Damn it. This is not worth one hundred dollars a pop. I want a refund. I could go to any bar for this kind of treatment. Damn if I’ll pay for irresponsible men.

Just as I stormed up Prospect Avenue, my phone rang.

He sighed before speaking. “I’m so sorry, I couldn’t find my keys, but I’m on my way.”

I checked my watch and contemplated if I should even wait. Hell, I spent forty-five minutes traveling here. I’ve stood for thirty-five minutes waiting for this loser. At least, I should get a free movie out of this.

When he showed up, it was ten minutes to three and I was livid. He leaned in for a hug and I retracted from this caveman. Okay, I did request a guy with an edge, but his edges were ragged and he was rugged.

Either the untamed weeds sprouting from his face camouflaged the fine guy with a five-o’clock shadow that was on his profile, or I had been bamboozled. As he began to explain the lost key fiasco, my mind was already on the train back to Harlem.

“I had to go to my mom’s job to get her key,” he said.

Lawd, please don’t tell me this man lives with his mama. He continued. “She went in her purse to get her keys and she had my keys.”

I cringed. That damn Black Love. There is no way in the world he is paying a thousand dollars a month. The organization must be a cover-up for some sort of drug-trafficking. Although the date was over before it began, I decided to engage him slightly.

“So, you and your mother live together?”

He nodded. “Yeah.”

“So, what kind of business do you own?”

“Is that what my profile says?”

I nodded. As he snickered, I looked around. Is there a comedian performing? He doesn’t have a job?

“So, do you pay for the dating service?”

“Nah. If you aren’t doing the selecting, you don’t have to pay.”

My mouth hung open. “So, I take it, you’re not selecting.”

“Oh, hell nah. I ain’t paying for no dates.”

Was that a double negative or a triple negative? Whatever the case, he was a quadruple negative. Late. Lives with mama. No job. And more important, no tact.

Mya is in for it and so is that damn Gertrude from Black Love. She tried to act like her matchmaking was something special and that she had it down to a science. What a joke. Not that I expected my first date to be love at first sight. Duh! That only happens once in a lifetime and I’ve had my turn, but are there any respectable men out there that are cool enough to just hang out with?

Neither of us said much from that point on. My body language told him this was our first and last date. His carelessness let me know that he was just a random flunky that Black Love hires to go on dates with desperate women.