The sun is so shining brightly this afternoon as I am heading back to Scott's after patiently waiting for my father, who hasn't been home since yesterday.
The moment I walk onto the porch, I run into Maria and Ren, who have just returned from church. Olivia encouraged me to attend with her, but I'm not religious and I can't even remember the last time I stepped foot in a church.
My mother constantly criticizes me for my lack of religion, obviously hoping that one day God will touch my heart. You know how a normal African woman can be when it comes to religious matters! Having those thoughtful conversations with her always wears me out.
As I emerge off the porch to greet them, I yell out, "Hey guys," in an effort to halt them.
Ren is wearing a blue fit-and-flare dress with heeled shoes, while Maria is dressed in a dark blue flowery V-neck jumpsuit with short sleeves and wide-leg slacks.
"You ladies are gorgeous..." I'm saying this while noticing that only Maria has waited for me to catch up.
"Is everything all right?" I mumble to Maria while keeping an eye on Ren as she walks into the quarters.
"No, you need to talk with her," Maria responds, and I look at her in surprise as she nods yes in agreement.
I start running to catch up with Ren.
"Hey, babe, can we talk?" I ask as I grab hold of her arm and pull her to a stop.
"No," I was unable to let go of her hand after her quick response.
"Please," I implored. "Can you tell me what happened?"
"Really? Do you mean to ask me that?" She asks, frowning at me, and I begin to imagine what I would have done to her.
Probably her father informed her that I had come to visit him, or was it yesterday? But I believed she loved it, so why would she be furious with me, or was it because I asked for a serious relationship for us?
Maria is going in at this moment and passes us by.
"Does it have anything to do with yesterday?" I ask that first, to which she scoffs. She then pulls out her phone and plays a voice tape for me, which I carefully listen to.
So what are you gonna do? Fire her?
Scott's voice is heard first, and then mine follows.
I want to play her. I will make her fall in love with me and dump her after.
The voice recording then ceased, leaving me speechless and mortified.
"You are doing all of that for me to win my love so you can play with my emotions and mess with my heart? Thus it makes sense why you are asking for such a serious thing." She responds as I remain silent. "Why? Oh, because I refused to be your prey at your birthday celebration?"
"I swear it..." I say, and she interrupts me.
"I blamed myself for not paying attention to Tobi. She warned me countless times, but I prefer to keep defending you, letting her know that you are far superior to both her and Nicholas." She expresses regrettably from the heart.
She continues, "It's true that it better the devil you know than the devil you don't," and then she turns around and leaves.
"Gosh! I messed up" I sigh furiously to myself as I can't bring myself to stop her.
Where and how did she even get that? Tracy must be responsible for this. I wonder why she recorded us that day at the gym with the intention of using it against me. It isn't even blackmailing because she would have shown it to me first in order to get money from me.
I immediately call her phone as I return to the garage.
"Fuck!" She doesn't pick up, so I yell aggressively. As soon as I hop in my whip, I sprint over to Scott's.
*
After I told my friend what happened to me, he was likewise shocked.
"She could be envious," He says, handing me a tumbler of brandy.
I instantly take a sip and continue pacing his room back and forth as he leans back in his reading chair.
I sigh. "She cheated on me with my father..." I pause as my phone starts to ring. I check to see whether she is responding to my phone calls.
I answer the phone right away.
"Hey, Michael," She says and I roll my eyes as I slump back against the wall.
"What the heck have you done?"
"What are you talking about?"
"You know what I'm talking about? Why would you send that to Ren?"
"Who is Ren?" She reacts and I sneer loudly as I begin to lose my sanity
"Oh! Do you mean Karen? " She continues. "Remember, we made a bet."
"Tracy, I know it's not about the bet, it's not about the fucking money. You admitted to yourself that I can always afford to pay you 200 bucks. Why would you bother recording us on that particular day?" I exclaimed, increasing my voice.
"All I want to do is help you,"
"Tell me how that helped.'
"Mike, you don't fall in love, but you are already falling for her,"
"Babe, people change at any time, and if it's about me falling in love, you should accept that and see me for who I am. Because of my words, you can't just sabotage what I'm trying to create. Things change," I explain.
"Okay, I get it and I'm sorry," She apologizes. "What can I do to help?"
"Nothing, okay" I answer. " I just want you to stay out of this."
"Fine, if you say so,"
"Great!" I respond and end the call. I tilt my head back, contemplating how I'm going to approach Ren. This time, she felt deceived by me.
"Fuck!" I exclaim, frustrated.
"Guy, calm down," Scott says. To face me, he twists his chair.
"Most of the ladies you had affairs with are dying and longing for you to date them, but she doesn't want to even after the sex,"
After he finishes speaking, I roll my eyes at him and move over to his bed to take a seat.
"So what exactly are you implying?" I inquire.
"You ought to let go, in my opinion, for someone like you."
"It sounds like you and Tracy plotted this to ruin me from the way you are speaking,"
"Of course not," he responds. "I believe Tracy is right. This isn't the Mike I'm used to seeing. The Mike I know won't stick with one girl from the start of the semester, remember, we're writing examinations now, and you just get laid. Worse, she hasn't wanted you from the first time you two met."
"After Tracy and my dad betrayed me, all I wanted to do the night I met Ren was have sex with a random girl. I was wrong to want to get revenge on Ren because she rejected me. It was her decision, and she had every right to refuse me that fucking night " I clarify, and his jaw widens in astonishment.
"Mike, is this you? Things have changed about you, dude." He exclaims in awe, "Have you forgotten you always get what you want among females on campus?"
That was before Ren turned me down that night, and Tracy picked my father over me for financial reasons.
I respond, "That was then," and he starts laughing.
"It's not funny," I caution him.
That night, I honestly felt what it's like to be rejected and discarded after having rejected and dumped numerous ladies because of who I am.
"You are making me insane, buddy," He said.
"Guy, I should be thinking about how I'm going to make up with Ren," I tried to redirect the subject to what was essential.
"Are you still thinking about Ren?" He inquires, and I give him a death gaze.
Can I ever expect this guy to take me seriously when I'm serious?
"I'm sorry, I thought you wanted to let go of her," he continues, and I shake my head in disbelief.
"I should give her some space, I betrayed her," I let out.
"Maybe you simply have to communicate with her." He suggests and I drink the rest of the Brandy in one gulp.
I stood up to pour more Brandy when Scott grabbed my arms and stopped me.
"That won't fix your problem, Mike," He backs up as he looks into my eyes. "Plus we have a paper tomorrow and we need to study,"
"Don't worry, everything will be alright." He assured me, and I nodded okay.
He lets go of my hand, and I drop the glass on the table.