(The Root) — After last week's steamy episode of Single Ladies, last night's show, "Addicted to Love," slowed the tempo down a bit. But in case you missed it, eye candy in the form of a shirtless, muscle-y R&B singer Tank is definitely worth tuning in for. More on that later.
The show opens with Raquel (Denise Vasi) on a sexting spree with her hot boy toy, Antonio (William Levy). The whole office even goes a round of offering a few sexy words over the phone line to keep their sex-versation hot and steamy. After their day of sexting, Raquel and Antonio make it back to her boudoir, seemingly ready for a romp in the sheets, but he refuses to come in. Why the hesitation?
April (Charity Shea) is already enduring the pains of a dry spell in her dating life. Men are canceling dates left and right. Even when she's alone, she can't get herself together. In a short scene, she's battling her noisy neighbors as they get it poppin' on the other side of her bedroom wall. She tries to whisk herself off into dream land with a session with her B.O.B. (battery-operated boyfriend). And even he fails. (A word of advice, April: Always keep extra Duracells on deck for those lonely nights.)
Omar's (Travis Winfrey) having a hard time dealing with his boyfriend's parents and their desire for the couple to stop living in sin. And no, they're not homophobic, but they're ready for their son Derek to stop shacking up and put a ring on it. Omar tells the girls, however, that he's not ready for marriage, and since it's not legal in Georgia anyway, he doesn't see the point.
Keisha (LisaRaye McCoy) is finally getting the sense to leave Malcolm for good. Or at least we thought so. As she's packing her bags at Malcolm's mansion, she can't resist his kiss. To paraphrase the great rappa-ternt-singer-philosopher T-Pain: She's sprrrrunnnng! And to the sounds of the Stylistics' "Break Up to Make Up," the on-again-off-again couple "properly" end their relationship like they're in a bad music video.
After what Malcolm (D.B. Woodside) thinks is make-up sex, Keisha — finally — walks out on him. He berates her and says she's making a big mistake. "You're really trippin' right now. You need to calm down if you don't want to blow this." Um, excuse me? Apparently, he felt like an apology was enough for her to come crawling back, but Keisha stands her ground. Dealing with him and his ex-wife (to whom he is still sending money in the Ivory Coast)? Keisha Green is not having it. Or so it seems for now, anyway.
The show's not all about sex, though. These single ladies are business women, too.
At a coffee shop, Keisha gives her boss some "no-nonsense, sister-girl advice" on whether she should continue to pursue a man who hasn't responded to her texts and calls. (Yes, this was an actual line from the show.) She then gets a new house to close on and is pleasantly surprised yet disturbed to find a sexy, caramel man in sweats and boxing gloves in what's supposed to be a vacant, recently foreclosed-on house.
Joe "Trainwreck" Mason, played by R&B crooner Tank, is a boxer who "hits hard" — but oh, is he nice on the eyes? Absolutely. Keisha agrees to let him stay for a few days if he cleans up and paints the house. In what real world does this happen? I'm not so sure.
Later, April has a dilemma at work, too. She's found out that at one of her clubs, the managers are substituting top-shelf vodka for the cheap stuff. Should she go with the flow and save the money? Or stop this shady business process in its tracks? She later decides to stick to a few better-business rules and make sure that the partygoers are getting what they paid for. This issue might make you think twice about ordering that expensive martini at your favorite lounge in the city.
But back in the bedroom, Raquel and Antonio have an unexpected dilemma. In the middle of a cuddle session, Antonio pulls out his 12-step pamphlet to remind himself that he's fallen off the wagon ever since he's started seeing Raquel. But his troubles aren't too much for her, and she tells him that she's willing to help him through his addiction. More power to her, but could you imagine resisting William Levy's sexiness?
At a dinner, Derek surprises Omar with a marriage proposal. And for all his talk about not wanting to get married, Omar slaps on the ring and happily agrees. Later at the boutique, Derek reveals that he still thinks the marriage bit is a sham, but he couldn't resist the ring.
After Keisha returns to the freshly painted house, Joe still refuses to vacate the premises. So Keisha calls in a few reinforcements in the form of her fine ex-fiancé Sean (Terrell Tilford). It looks like Sean is the man with the S on his chest this week. He calls in a favor, and Joe is promptly escorted off the premises. (Hopefully it's not the last time we see you, Tank!) He also makes it clear to Keisha that whenever she is ready he will welcome her back with open arms. (Run to them, Keisha!)
April's getting bored and feels like she's losing touch with Keisha, so they plan a girl date to catch up. Then, Malcolm shows up, unannounced mind you, to try to woo Keisha back into his life. Again. This man must have Kryptonite on his lips because she could not resist.
At the end of the episode, Omar finally tells Derek that he's not ready to get married. To Omar's surprise, Derek is relieved and reveals that he was only proposing to please his parents. (And yes, Derek gets the ring back.)
In what we hope is the end to the saga that is Malcolm and Keisha, she shows up to his mansion and returns his keys. "I don't want to squat in this relationship. I want it to be all or nothing." She tells him that she can't compromise on her relationship and walks away, for what is hopefully the last time.
Although Raquel said she wanted to work through Antonio's sex addiction with him, he tells her that they can't continue on after advice from his sponsor. He also, gasp, had sex with another woman the night before he told her. Addiction is real, and the heartbreak was written all over Raquel's face.
To heal her wounds, Raquel goes to Keisha and April's girls' night out to throw back a few cocktails and enjoy a bit of girl talk. Perhaps April's bad luck is running out. A man at the bar buys her and the other two ladies drinks, as he admires from afar. Here's hoping he's as sexy as the other men on the show. Because if nothing else, the eye candy is definitely worth getting a taste of every week.
Erin E. Evans is a writer in New York. Follow her on Twitter.