Tyrese was accustomed to getting what he wanted…the way he wanted…anytime he wanted it from her, so the fact that his car was in its usual parking space in Lela's driveway when Tonya dropped her off didn't come as a surprise.
"He must have dumped ole girl off on the highway or something. Do you need me to come in with you?" Tonya unsnapped her seatbelt and popped her knuckles like a soldier ready for combat.
"No, I got this girl. You go on, and I'll call you later."
"Lela, don't you dare think about letting this slide. He was out on a date. Your eyes didn't deceive you. Ty is full of it, and you know it."
"Don't you worry about me. I will make sure Tyrese gets his."
"See, that's what I'm worried about."
On the walk up the driveway, Lela thought back a few months to when she flew out to California to visit Grandma Jana.
She and Grandma Jana had a blast. They went shopping, hung out, and Grandma Jana schooled Lela on how to get and keep a man.
By Saturday, Lela missed Tyrese so much she rushed home a day early.
"Ty!" she called out as she burst through the front door of her house. She knew he was there; his car was in the driveway. "Ty, baby, I'm home!"
She almost tripped over beer bottles strewn throughout the house. The stinking smell of Coors almost made her gag, but she still was anxious to see her man. Rushing to the bedroom, she found Ty in bed snoring, his naked body tangled in her red satin sheets. The room stank with a whiff of something she didn't want to recognize.
Lela kissed him on the cheek, ignoring his bad breath and unshaved face. She shook her head. Look how pitiful he looks. He must have missed me.
Since he would not wake up, Lela decided to clean up around the house a little bit. When she picked up Ty's clothes, which she later discovered he wore out to the club the night before, she thought her heart had been ripped out of her chest after an empty condom packet fell to the floor.
Later that night, Ty finally woke up from his drunken slumber and gave Lela a convincing story. "It was Sydney's. I found the condom wrapper on the floor when I got home from the club last night. So, you know, I called Sydney right then because he was the only one over here yesterday…and he was like 'yeah, I boned Teresa on the couch while you were in the shower.'"