Little Did I Know

Part 4

"Uban manje lo phandle Zina?" (Who's outside now, Zina?) my step-dad asks as I put my afro in two buns.

When I open the front door, Bonga is waiting for me outside our gate leaning on his car, I presume. I have African parents - does he not want me to continue living?

"Just a friend from school baba." I say breathlessly

"Be safe mama and don't let your mother see you." He whispers the last part before patting my back in assurance.

Bonga hugs me warmly and picks me up - while I awkwardly remain still in his hug. What's he doing?
***
We arrive at Milky Lane at the beach and we sit down inside the small space.

As I scan my menu, I feel his eyes glued on me. When I look up, his gaze drops quickly to his menu. I make thee Bonga Ndlovu nervous?

"So why'd you ask me out, honestly?" I interrogate.

Looking around first, he replies with, "I like you nje." I look at him blankly.

Oh?

As if he read my mind, "Seriously maNgcobo. I always have but I didn't say shit because you're so..." He tries to search for the word.

"Different?" I say with attitude.

"Square." He replies. "You're a square."

I exhale in disgust and take my order from the waiter.

Throughout our lunch, he asks questions about me, my hobbies, what I wanna do after high school, about my family, and about my (nonexistent) love life.

"I've never dated anyone." I shyly say.

He laughs. Uhlekani ke? (Why is he laughing?)

"You're really innocent huh? Seems like I'd have to teach you a list of tricks." Huh?

Relax boet.
***
We walk on the beach and he's holding both our shoes. He buys me chocolate ice cream from a vendor and is cautious on me spilling it on my clothes.

"You're a sloppy eater." He laughs.

"And so?" I shoot back, giggling.

I'm actually enjoying this until I see a group of girls from school approach us.

Their leader kisses Bonga's cheek hoping to stir up an emotion out of me. She brushes her left hand on his back, under his graphic tee. All he does is look down at her and tense up.

"Remember, you used to get weak at my touch. But now that you're hanging out with... her, I don't know what's going on with you." Ayanda retorts looking at him up and down.

Bonga clenches his jaws and grunts, "Voetsek."

See, Ayanda is a very pretty girl. She's short yes but she's fit. Her leg muscles are toned under her tennis skirt. She has white gel toenails that go well with her light-skin feet. Her short dreadlocks hang around her sharp jaw and shit messily on her forehead. Inesphongo kodwa le ngane (she's got a big forehead though). Her pink lips are marinated in lip gloss and they go well with her pink braces.

"Excuse me, move." She demands in attitude while shushing me to the side with her small chubby hands.

As I exhale, Bonga comes crashing down to me and kisses me passionately. I stand there awkwardly for a few seconds trying to wrap my head around this.

"Kiss me back." He angrily says without departing from my lips. No shit Sherlock - I'm figuring it out.

My hands grab the sides of his face and my body moves closer to him. I start kissing him back and he picks me up to level with him - dropping our shoes onto the sand.

We're in public njalo.

His hands moves from my waist and cup my ass cheeks. He hoists me higher than him so that I kiss into him.

He breathes heavily into me and that causes me to moan in his mouth.

Ew?

He stops kissing me but my eyes remain closed as I take everything, that just happened, in. When I open my eyes, he's smiling at me as if he's satisfied with the kiss - of which I certainly am.

"Sooo??" He asks jerking his eyebrows up and down.

Inhaling and smiling, I respond, "Let go of me, people are staring." Did he really think I'd give in?
***
Driving me home, he kept stealing looks at me while I play a Helix Jump on my phone.

I hear a continuous horn blaring on the road and everything crashes and my eyesight goes black-