Tomi (A short story)

Chapter 23

Song for the chapter: Playboy by Fireboy

Tomi
We were in the car listening to fireboy's new hit single, playboy and as usual Pa Ned, the family's driver was bobbing his head along to the tune of the song but the air in the car was tightened with tension.

Deji was quiet but that was expected because we were leaving our safe haven and venturing out again to the outside world and Tunmise who opted to sit in the passenger seat next to Pa Ned was awfully quiet.

Ever since dinner yesterday. No, ever since Seun came over yesterday he had been acting off.

"Tunmise please pass me the charger cord next to you." Deji rubbed his eyes and placed his glasses back on. He had to get glasses during the week because according to him his shortsightedness made him blind to all the rubbish his excuse of an ex planned against him.

Tunmise who was busy on his phone typing like he was playing an intense word game ignored Deji.

"Tunmise!" Deji tapped his shoulder, jolting him out whatever world he was in.

"Yeah?" Tunmise asked with his hands still typing away on his phone. "You need something?"

"The cord?." Deji sighed. "Look, you've been acting so weird."

I bit my lips. Thank God I wasn't the only one who noticed it. At least now I could butt into the conversation and ask him if he knew anything.

"I'm just feeling a bit shady about that guy, Seun."

I chuckled on my saliva and coughed loudly.

"Are you okay?" Deji turned to me and I nodded my head.

"What's shady about him?" My voice came out in a whisper.

The last time Tunmise felt shady about someone all his assumptions proved to be right. I still couldn't wrap my head around what my supposed best friend put me through and I wasn't ready to delve into that world of uncertainty again especially when I'm already this serious with my relationship with Seun.

"You said something about Cape Town yesterday." I sipped slowly on my smoothie.

"And I'm sure it was not at a fashion show or even the wedding I planned.." Tunmise drawled the last pet and let out a screeching scream making poor Pa Ned to stop the car.

"Please sir go on..he's always this dramatic." Deji rubbed Pa Ned's shoulder as he started the car.

"Tunmise you need to tone it down for real. Stop being a weirdo." I hissed.

The awkward silence filled up the car once again as a series of thoughts filled up my mind. What if Seun was not really into me and he just wanted to toy with my emotion? What was I going to tell my family members now because I was so sure I heard my grandma spilling the beans to my mother over the phone.

The car came to a stop at Deji's gate and we brought down all our stuff.

"I can wait for you until you're ready to go to your house." Pa Ned smiled at me. "You don't look like you're in the mood to drive so let me just drive you there."

"It's you I'm worry about Pa Ned. You have to take a taxi all the home."I opened my phone and made a call to one of my cab drivers. "Please come to my brothers house there's somebody that you need to drive."

"Ah Tomike! I can just take the bus home." He laughed.

"No you're going to enter a taxi. Now come inside let me fix you lunch."

He followed closely behind me and I went to to the kitchen to warm up the jollof rice that I saw in Deji's freezer. When I was done I served him a generous amount and went into the room to meet the boys eating my bowl of ice-cream

They stared at me wide-eyed and I rolled my eyes at them.

"Tomike the driver is here!" I heard Pa Ned's voice from the living room and I raced downstairs to bade him goodbye.

Deji went to the kitchen to get himself a plate of rice while I feasted on the drumstick of chicken in my hand.

"Seun Adetunbi!" Tunmise yelled. "Now i remember where I've seen that guy before."

"You've seen him before?" I asked.

"Remember that wedding I told you about. The one that me and rest of the staff were paid to keep shut about."

"Yes and you said the groom ditched the wedding so his family paid you all to not leak the news to the press." Deji laughed as he wiped tears from his eyes.

My heart hammered in my chest as I thought of the next thing that he was going to say.

"Seun was the runaway groom."

"What?!" Deji and I shouted.

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