From His Partner to His Prey Page 2
They sat and talked for so long that they were the last ones left in the student center. Once they realized everyone was gone, Tyler asked to walk Keisha to her apartment, and she said yes. They walked slowly and talked more about their goals and dreams and so many other things. It was something that Keisha had never experienced before. She was enjoying every moment! They sat outside of Keisha’s apartment and talked some more. It was amazing…they had so much in common. They had a lot of the same hobbies and similar goals. Before they knew it, it was 2am! Keisha gave Tyler her number and ended their night together with a hug and kiss on Tyler’s cheek. Before Keisha went inside, Tyler asked her what her plans were for the next day. She told him about the scheduled community service event at a local nursing home with her sorors. Tyler revealed that his uncle lived at that nursing home.
“So maybe I’ll see you in a few hours.” Keisha said and smiled.
“Maybe,” Tyler responded with a grin.
He grabbed her hand and held it for a moment before he left. Keisha gazed at what seemed to be a perfect man (if there ever was one). Before Keisha could go into her apartment, Tyler turned around and called her name. She stopped in her tracks.
“Yes”, she said softly as Tyler walked towards her.
The moon was caressing his skin and his eyes were fixed on hers. He smelled like the perfect blend of mahogany and teakwood. His hands reached out and grabbed hers to pull her closer. At that moment, Tyler’s lips spoke softly and asked for another hug before leaving. Keisha’s mind was racing, and her body was tingling. She wanted to hug him all night long. Keisha leaned in and slowly moved her hands up his arms and interlocked her fingers around his neck. His hands slid down her sides and around her back. He rubbed the top of her booty as he rested his hands and embraced her.
“Thank you”, he whispered.
“For what?” Keisha said.
“For allowing me the opportunity to be in your presence.” Tyler said.
“You’re welcome and thank you for a wonderful experience, Tyler. I enjoyed your company.” Keisha responded.
“The pleasure was all mine Beautiful. I’ll holla at you later Keisha. Have a great day tomorrow.” Tyler said as he walked away.
“You too Tyler.” Keisha said before she closed the door.
This was the beginning.
Keisha and Tyler were inseparable from the day they met. Keisha felt like she had finally met a man worthy of her. She felt like she had someone who would cherish her and treat her the way she deserved to be treated. She was so happy to have Tyler in her life and Tyler felt the same way about Keisha. He was not surprised that things were going so well. He just knew that they would. Tyler and Keisha dated for a few months before Keisha told Tyler she wanted him to meet her family. Although Tyler was very happy being with Keisha, he was not excited about meeting her family. Tyler did not have a good relationship with his own family so for that and other reasons, Tyler put off meeting Keisha’s family for as long as he could. Keisha didn’t understand what the big deal was about Tyler meeting her family. After a few times of asking, Keisha started to feel some kind a way because Tyler kept avoiding her family. Keisha attempted to talk to Tyler about it and he refused. He was very adamant about it just being the two of them.
“We all we got Keisha!” Tyler would tell her.
Once Keisha stopped asking Tyler to meet her family, she started asking him about the future of their relationship. Tyler did not like this kind of questioning at all. He was aggravated more by Keisha wanting more from the relationship overall. Tyler knew he liked Keisha and wanted to be with her, but what he didn’t like was all the pressure he felt around the relationship. Keisha could tell that Tyler was starting to pull back and it bothered her. Although she was a little hurt by the way Tyler was acting and reacting, she didn’t change. Keisha was always internalizing things that happened to her instead of reacting to them. It was easier for her to handle life that way. She hoped that things would change so she felt like she didn’t have to make any adjustments.
Keisha started to trust Tyler less and less as the months passed and they were still in the same place. She felt like it was time to start pulling back because Tyler didn’t want to meet her family, talk about their relationship, or their future. He wanted to do things “Tyler’s way”. If he didn’t want to do something, he didn’t do it. He felt as if it was his way or no way at all. That was how it had worked with all the other women he had dated. Keisha saw a difference in Tyler from when she was introduced to him in the student center. What she didn’t know was that this is just how Tyler treated women. He knew how to get them to fall head over hills in love with him. He used his looks and his charm to his advantage. He knew just what to do to get the results he wanted. Keisha had no idea what she had gotten herself into.
One day, Tyler told Keisha to meet him at a local restaurant after her shift at the student center. When Keisha arrived, there was a group of people sitting at a table with Tyler.
“Over here babe!” Tyler shouted as he stood up and waved Keisha over to their table.
Keisha walked over slowly feeling confused about what was going on. She reached the table and greeted everyone as she made her way to Tyler. When she reached him, he introduced her to the group.
“Everyone…This is my future wife, Keisha.” The look on Keisha’s face was priceless. She was completely blind sighted by his introduction.
“Future wife, huh?” She whispered to Tyler after she greeted the crowd.
Tyler smiled and kept the conversation going with the group. They ate, they laughed, they talked, and then everyone met in the parking lot to say their goodbyes. Keisha’s mind was blown! This was the first time Tyler introduced her to people the way that he did. She felt like he was finally coming around and she didn’t have to question the direction of their relationship anymore. That introduction was the validation Keisha didn’t know that she was looking for. She felt like Tyler was finally understanding why she wanted him to meet her family and was clear about their future. Tyler knew that he wanted to be with Keisha, but he didn’t want her to pressure him into making decisions or meeting anyone before he was ready. He also knew that introducing Keisha as his future wife would buy him some time with her and relieve the stress they were both feeling…but at the same time, Tyler knew Keisha would not be around for much longer if he didn’t do something. A few weeks later, Josh and Tyler went to campus for an event. Josh heard about the way Tyler introduced Keisha to the rest of their friends.
“Yo man, let me ask you something.” Josh said to Tyler.
“Wassup?” Tyler responded.
“Why did you introduce Keisha as your ‘future wife’ when she met the crew?” Josh asked.
Tyler knew this question was coming but he was not interested in explaining himself to Josh.
“Cause she my girl man. How should I have introduced her?” Tyler asked with a slight attitude.
“Man, you should have just said she was your girl! Why put all that extra sauce on it?” Josh answered with conviction and concern.
“Do you really want to get married to Keisha?”
“I think so man.” I’m still tryna’ figure that out.” Tyler answered with hesitation.
Josh pulled into the campus apartments and parked. He slowly turned to Tyler and said, “Aye man, what you do with that herb? I need to smoke for this conversation.”
Tyler rolled up and gave it to Josh to spark.
“Man, what are you doing? Are you really about to marry this girl?” Josh asked.
“Yo! I like her man. She is a cool chick. I mean…”
“Man, you ain’t said “yes” not one time!” Josh interrupted.
“Man! I know what I’m doing!” Tyler said as he reached for the blunt.
He smoked for about 3 minutes in silence.
He knew what he was doing but he didn’t want to keep answering Josh’s questions.
“Well, pass the blunt then and quit thinking so hard about.” Jos
h was silenced because just at that moment Keisha and 2 of her sorors walked past. He couldn’t finish his sentence when he saw Keisha. He hit the blunt and passed it back to Tyler.
“I know what I gotta do dawg!” Tyler told him as he blew out some smoke.
Tyler looked at Keisha as she walked to the mailbox and smiled.
“I gotta keep her man. She is a cool ass chick and I really like her. I could see us being together. She got me hooked Dawg”, Tyler revealed.
“Damn man.” Josh replied.
“I gotta keep her around man. I can’t lose her Dawg.” Tyler told Josh.
Tyler and Josh talked for about an hour in the parking lot. Tyler explained to Josh how he felt about Keisha, and he wanted to have her forever. Josh listened and gave his opinion about the situation overall. Regardless of what Josh said, Tyler was only concerned with keeping Keisha around. Josh couldn’t understand why Tyler wanted Keisha so bad and why he was willing to go to such great lengths to keep her around. Since it was Tyler’s choice, Josh shut up and listened as Tyler told him why getting Keisha pregnant was the best way to keep her. It was a wild idea, but Tyler felt like it was smart. It meant that no matter what, he would be tied to Keisha for life. He wanted to be in her life forever. He wanted to make sure that there was a bond that they couldn’t separate from.
Tyler told Josh about his plan to get Keisha pregnant in the next few months while things were still good with them. Keisha’s constant talk about meeting her family inspired Tyler to want a family of his own and he was excited about the idea. Keisha made Tyler feel loved and accepted when others looked at him like the “black sheep”. He loved what she did for him and how she made him feel. She was very giving and loving. She would always go above and beyond to make sure the people she loved felt love unconditionally. Tyler never felt love the way he experienced love from Keisha. He could sense her commitment to him. She was very loyal and understanding. She balanced him and he liked having that balance.
Josh and Tyler drove around and smoked for a few more hours before calling it a night. Josh couldn’t believe all that Tyler was saying to him, but he had Tyler’s back, no matter what. Eventually, he wished him well with his plans and said he hoped that everything would work out well. Tyler knew what that meant, but he accepted it anyway. A few days later, Tyler took Keisha out on a date. They went to dinner and had a great time together. He was thinking about his conversation with Josh and attempting to enjoy the evening with Keisha. He knew that if he told her what was distracting him, it would scare her off.
He feared that she would be extra cautious about them using protection or not giving it up to him at all. After dinner, Keisha invited Tyler into her apartment for a night cap. Her roommates were all away for the weekend. She lit some candles and went to take a shower. She came back into the room, wrapped in her towel, with her skin saturated with shea butter. The glow from the candle gave Keisha’s skin a beautiful bronze shimmer. Tyler laid her down and made love to her. He stroked her slow and whispered “I want you to have my baby.” Keisha heard what Tyler said but she didn’t think anything of it because people always said wild stuff during sex…especially good sex! Keisha just kept moaning and enjoying every stroke.
It didn’t take long for things to go from feeling good to being really bad. A few months after their passionate night, Keisha was forced to leave school. Although she was working off her debt, her balance grew higher than what she could pay on her own and she was unable to register for classes. She was devastated but thankful that her cousin lived by the school. Keisha asked if she could live with her cousin while she paid down her bill so that she could stay close to Tyler. Tyler was sleeping on Josh’s couch at the time and was not able to do much to help Keisha. They did their best to keep in touch with one another and made sure they were able to see each other when time permitted. One day while Keisha was at her cousin’s house, her other cousin Sasha came to her afraid that she was pregnant. Again!
Sasha was still dealing with her emotional wounds of having recently aborted a child, not to mention that she was at an age where she could not fully care for herself. She told Keisha she wanted to find out for sure, so they went to the store and got 2 pregnancy tests. They were so focused on getting the tests to the house, they left them on the kitchen counter. When Sasha’s parents came home, they instantly went to Keisha to find out who needed the pregnancy tests. Keisha quickly claimed them to protect Sasha. Keisha was given 48 hours to reveal the results of the tests. Keisha stayed calm because she didn’t have anything to worry about as far as the tests were concerned but at the same time, she was worried about Sasha. The next day, as soon as she got up, Keisha took both tests and waited in the bathroom for the results to populate. When she looked at the tests, they were both positive! Keisha was shocked! She told Sasha first, then told Sasha’s parents. Within a few weeks, Keisha was unemployed, confirmed pregnant by a doctor, and living back at home with her mother. Tyler was excited about the news! He was very happy…so happy that he proposed to Keisha over the phone after she told him the news.
Two
Then Came Marriage
Everything that Keisha ever wanted was finally happening. Albeit a bit out of order, but she was happy about her baby and her pending nuptials. Once again, Keisha found herself talking to Tyler about meeting the family…and once again, he had a major issue with doing it. He wanted to avoid meeting her family for as long as he could, but Keisha’s sister, Sharla, kept insisting they come over. As fate would have it, Tyler could no longer avoid meeting Keisha’s family because of Sharla’s plan…he had no idea where he was going on until he got to the house. He was so upset with Keisha for not telling him, but he understood why she didn’t say anything. By the end of the visit, Sharla and Tyler did not see eye to eye on a lot of things and concluded that they did not like each other…AT ALL!
Sharla felt like Tyler was up to something and she didn’t trust him. She thought Keisha should leave him immediately. But little did she know that they were on the verge of becoming one in holy matrimony. Keisha did not tell her family right away about the marriage because everyone was still getting news of her pregnancy. Tyler really didn’t tell his family or friends either. With a baby on the way, they had so much more to think and worry about. When Keisha was about four months pregnant, Tyler left for the military. They both agreed it was the best thing to do to have security for their family. While Tyler was away, Keisha started preparing for their future life by getting things together. They discussed everything over the phone and Keisha made it happen. They planned to marry before Keisha had the baby and once Tyler reached his duty station and got settled, he would come back so they could tie the knot. They called two of their friends to be witnesses so those were the only ones they thought would be in attendance. To their surprise, Sharla and Keisha’s mom showed up with gifts for Keisha and Tyler.
After several minutes of waiting, it was finally time to get the ceremony started. The pastor came in and started it off, “Dearly Beloved…” As Keisha and Tyler stood side by side, waiting to say their vows, they both started shaking. Keisha was hormonal and her emotions were everywhere. She was 8 1/2 months pregnant. Tyler was a wreck because he was terrified about being married. The entire time the pastor was conducting the ceremony, Tyler was shaking in his boots. He was so terrified! Keisha noticed how much he was shaking and tried to hold his hands and calm him down. Nevertheless, they stood there, ready to commit to one another for eternity. Keisha was dressed in black capris with a black and white stripped tunic. Her feet were swollen so she wore flip flops to complete her bridal attire. Tyler was dressed in an all-black ensemble. He wore a black t-shirt, black jeans, black boots and a black construction style coat. The ceremony was short and straight to the point. They got to the moment where they had to exchange their first kiss as husband and wife. Keisha was smiling from ear to ear, looking at Tyler. He was looking at Keisha, afraid to kiss her, but knowing that he was in too deep to back out now.
She ate most of her dinner alone in the hotel room while Tyler took her car and went to visit his family. When Keisha woke up, it was 8 in the morning and Tyler was just getting back to the room. Keisha asked if his family was happy to see him and he told her they were. She was happy that he was back and was ready to get the day started. Tyler told her they didn’t have much time because his bus was leaving out around one that afternoon. Keisha wanted to spend more time with her husband while he was there, but he had other plans. Tyler was embarrassed by how much weight Keisha had gained since he last saw her. He didn’t want to be seen with her in the public more than he had to. He would rather wait at the bus station for hours than to be out with her.
The more Keisha tried to spend time with him, the more he mentioned the time and how he needed to be at the bus station. Because her hormones were all over the place, she didn’t think too much about Tyler being in such a rush to get back. She just figured that he didn’t want to miss his bus. Keisha had no idea that her weight gain was an issue for Tyler. She knew that she had put on more weight than she wanted to, but she felt like it was just because she was pregnant. Keisha was only one month away from her induction date when they were married. Once Keisha dropped Tyler off, she went back to her mother’s house. She was excited and nervous about having the baby and moving to be with Tyler real soon, but she was happy.