The journey from the beach was lonely. On foot. With his feet shrouded in a two-week-old Nike Airforce sneaker, Rock plodded through the streets of Lagos to his home. Up above, darkness strung clouds together beyond the setting sun. Heavy winds paced across, whistling and giving flight to mashes of dust, paper bags, and leaves. Burdened, the dark skies seemed like they were going to fall.
They did fall. Torrents of rain quickly turned streets into lakes, vehicles into canoes, and houses into mimicries of Atlantis. Through it all, Rock meandered absent-mindedly towards home – if he still had one above land. Hours passed like a lifetime, and the pain his heart bore worsened. Without much thought, his legs continued to forge through the flood as his eyes also added droplets to the burgeoning body of street water. Lagos has problems. But at the moment, the state's problems were dwarfed by the events that toppled his whole world.
Friday night was always date night. Rock and Dami always made sure to lock the world out and have time to themselves. Playing games. Seeing movies. Going to dinner. Visiting picture-worthy spots. Hopping on and off Molue buses with hands held. Friday nights were designated to be the time to create memories deliberately. A decision they made upon arriving in Lagos, post-campus, two years ago. But the reality changed seven months ago. She had excuses now. She had other engagements now. Maybe it's because she has a new job now.
When the new job landed, Rock thought they had more money to spend - and save. Not in a million years would he have known to be bothered that she now earned four times more than him.
Pushing up the ladder of garnering experience soon felt like a struggle, as she wanted more things now. Costlier things. Movie dates were no longer enough. How about taking a quick weekend trip to Ghana? Then a week-long vacation to the Maldives. Enough of regular concert tickets, Rock; VIP tables are now the way, the truth, and the life. His 400k salary now actually felt little.
But since love conquers all, all her rocketing demands were transformed into motivation for him. So, he continued to endure the struggle.
This last Friday night, she called. Not unusual, but she wanted to hang out, which gladdened Rock's heart as much as it surprised him. Landmark beach. Saturday. 10 am. She'd pick him up. His new Airforce sneaker would enjoy second wear.
Just a moment after the call with Dami, Rock dialed Grace’s line to relay the good news. Dami finally initiated a hangout for the first time in forever.
"Really?" Grace squealed on the phone. Happy for her friend - the best of the lot.
"Yes, I think my prayers are working. Now, I just pray this mall is still open, I need to buy a new shirt." He was jumping into his pink shorts as he held the phone between his shoulder and cheek.
Grace knew better than to ask why he was hoping to get a new shirt at way past ten at night. He needed to impress his babe.
"Just be careful out there. Watch your back, and please don't go to an ATM. If you can't pay with card at the mall, just go home." This is Grace being Rock's Grace.
"A little bird told me you wish I don't even have to go out tonight. I still can't figure out who worries most between you and my mum."
"Thank your star that I'm not your mum. I'd have a remotely-controlled automatic lock on your door." Rock could hear her grin.
"Will you marry me? You'd automatically become my mummy. Sugar mummy."
Grace's laugh was boisterous on the other side of the phone. "Are you sure your chromosomal number is complete, this boy?"
"Nope. I'm still a 9, 'cos you're the 1 for me." Rock was now out of his door.
Their chatter continued for approximately two hours - the duration of the shopping escapade, including the to and fro treks. Had he known he would be getting breakfast served with sand and salt water, he'd have saved himself the effort and cost of a new dress.
Dami picked Rock up at 8 am. She was prompt, as always. The drive to the beach was cheerful, with loads of smiles and catching up on memories. They talked about when they deflated the tire of Professor Aje in those days when he made things hard for Dami on campus. They remembered their first date when Rock was embarrassingly pressed to use the toilet. He confessed to slightly messing up his boxer before settling into a toilet seat.
Their laughs rose above Burna boy's 'Ye' blasting on the radio. The laughs continued as they played on the beach. Water. More water. Soaking splashes. Choking hugs. Puckering kisses. A wet experience with no regret. No regrets till the time was noon. An end came to the swoons, and she spoke.
"Rock. I think it's best we break up."
"Why?" Rock asked. More of a reflex than a thought-through question.
She had it rehearsed. She had a script.
"We no longer have a good time. Talking these days feels like a chore. I'm sure you have more fun talking and chatting with Grace than me. In fact, I think you like Grace, but you don't just know it."
"No. I… I don't." The words kept tripping against his front teeth.
That's all he remembered from the conversation. Every other word escaping her mouth didn't stick to his memory. He had questions. But no answers. He suspected this would happen, but he thought that by sucking it up, the eerie tide would pass. It didn’t; something was broken. Something he should have talked about a while back. Something he shouldn’t have left to time to heal. Just like that, a relationship of three years in the dust.
On his walk home, while he took a break under a shed, shivering from being drenched, a call from Grace came in.
"How is your hangout going? I'm sure you guys are enjoying this weather for two." You could read the excitement in her voice.
I think you like Grace, but you don't just know it. Dami's words haunted him again.
Then the tears began. People under the shed ducked to look him in the eye. He looked pathetic. So miserably-looking that a little kid offered him Cheese Balls.
Two hours later, he was home. Trekking the whole distance, drenched in the rain and dampened by the evening breeze.
And there she was. Standing in front of his door and pressing frantically at her phone. Beautiful as ever. Dressed in a mint green sundress hemmed several inches above her knees, with braided hair glimmering under the fluorescent light bulb above, she stood gracefully. She was Grace.
"Hey, you!" Grace turned with a big smile, pursing her phone in the tote bag he had gifted her two years ago.
He muttered greetings she didn't hear.
"Rock, my friend. Come here!" Her arms flung open, inviting him for a hug. Not unusual.
He sank into her arms, letting more tears roll. Grace's hand combed into his afro hair, reaching for his damp scalp. She felt his heaving heart. She perceived traces of his perfume. It was the one Dami bought for him. She hugged him tighter, then reluctantly pulled away to see his face.
"Your aging speed is currently like 5G. You know, right." She said with her sinister laugh.
"And your face looks like the surface of the moon. The craters, dead volcanoes and all." He said, briefly smiling and taking a few steps back to avoid taking a hit.
"Come here. You're dead today!"
"Let me open the door first. You can kill me inside." He chuckled.
His voice was finally alive. A bit. That gladdened her.
"I should give you an extra key to this room actually. How long have you been staying in the cold?"
"Long enough to finish the first half of a football match." She sank into his bed.
And he followed, with his head, into her lap. Like a baby. It was his first time doing that. Surprise made her heart skip, but glee brought her fingers into his hair.
"I know your heart is broken, but you've seen it coming for a while. She probably just tried to end things on a happy note. I'd give her that. You'll get over it soon." She was unsure of the right things to say. "You know I'd always be here for you as your friend."
He looked up. She continued looking down at him. The shade her bent head made over him helped him see her eyes again tonight. The black pupil and stretches of thin red veins peeked from under her lower eyelid. Normal but enchanting. Ordinary, yet surreal. Conventional yet enthralling. The dreamy eyes sucked him in, pulled him into a self beyond his familiar reality, into a universe that warmed his aching heart.
His head climbed in for a kiss, but she saw him coming and pushed his forehead with a finger.
"Calm down, heart broken boy. Don't use my lips for revival. It's not like you love me." She said as calmly as she could. She saw the edge of his eyes twitch. A second rejection of the day. She wished she didn't have to do that, but she wasn’t planning to be desperate for a man she had been waiting for. It's been five years now. She should have asked him out. She didn't. And he went to another woman, completely oblivious of her feelings.
Now, he was too tired to answer. So, she hugged him. Pressing down on him. Tender. His head was buried in her neck.
"The world is cold without you." He said, the words coming out from somewhere he knew nothing about. "Do I love you? Do I want you?"
She sighed. Her eyes closed briefly in frustration.
"Let's check." She said, released the hug, and placed her lips on his.
Rock’s stayed, received her. There was something there. Something alluding to Dami's words. I think you like Grace, but you don't just know it. So, he parted her lips with his, like a hot knife through butter. Both willing. Careful but willing. The tension grew in his chest and lower body. The pain of the whole day was shoved into the background. Was he right to enjoy such a feeling at this point? He didn't know, but he didn't care. Memories flooded his brain. The various past scenarios of closeness and friendly, almost-over-the-edge intimacies with Grace. Were those moments of love or near-mistakes like he had categorized them as before? Was the present puckering lips meant to be?
"We'll talk about this tomorrow, right?" He managed to say amidst kisses while his hands probed parts of Grace's body he'd never dared to hours ago.
"Yes." She bit sweetly on his lip. "First thing in the morning?"
"Absolutely!" He sat up. Passion reeking from every movement his hand made on her.
Her thighs breathed warmth into his palm as it glided over them. Her short-nailed finger dug into his back, pulling him deeper into herself. Out of breath but unwilling to uncouple their tangled lips. She felt his hand trying to probe further up her dress. She was glad he decided against it. Had he continued, she'd melt deeper into desire.
"Where is your girlfriend now?" She asked. A joke needed to calm her unnerved nerves.
"She's gone with the wind!" He replied, a bit of a smile lurking around his lips. "The beach had lots of it before the rain. She did her script and drove off."
They looked each other in the eye. He saw a glint of sparkle he had never seen before. His heart paced beautifully. Was this love? Was this wrong?
"You're sleeping here tonight right?" He asked.
"I don't think my thighs want your hands off them yet."
Sleeping here has never happened before. But there's always a start.
.
.
Nope. I'm still a 9, 'cos you're the 1 for me."
Big purr!!!!