Same Difference [A Queer Nigerian Experience]

15 | HE'S JUST KENNEDY

And as stupid as I thought it was, since Kennedy wasn't his main worry, I wanted to test Rasheed's trustworthiness. I reasoned that if I shared my concerns with him and he responded negatively, I could pass it off as a joke, given that he had no inkling about my sexuality and no reason to suspect. Conversely, if his response was supportive, I could gradually share more. "Rasheed, imagine if you had a crush on a guy...?" I broached the topic indirectly, catching his attention as he put down his phone to focus on me.

Rasheed responded with a calm "Yes?" showing no signs of homophobia.

"You and this guy were in a talking stage for like a month on a dating app, before he ghosted you, then later you found out he was a catfish..." I began recounting my experience with Kennedy, altering the details slightly to maintain anonymity. "...but you lost his number, so do you meet him in person to confirm if he was actually a catfish?"

"Is this catfish Kennedy?" Rasheed's question caught me off guard.

"The fuck?"

"What? you said you lost his number, and I know you just recently lost your phone, so I thought maybe..."

"I wasn't even talking about me, I was talking about Sewa."

"Sewa was interested in a guy? Wow" Rasheed reacted with surprise.

"Guy I'm not gay na, why would you think that?" I had to outright deny it.

"Sorry. sorry." He apologized, so I believed he fell for it.

Rasheed pieced together my previous words quietly, before advising Sewa to find a way to retrieve the catfish's number and confirm if it matched the dating app persona. His plan seemed clever, but I couldn't think of a way to obtain Kennedy's number without directly asking him, which would be too obvious. Feeling the urge to leave and figure things out, I stood up, but the sun hadn't subsided. The atmosphere had turned somewhat awkward because despite Rasheed being accepting about me being gay, I had backtracked on the topic, possibly raising suspicions that he hadn't harbored before.

"I'll see you later," I told him, while he remained waiting for the sun to set as I left through the front. I sincerely hoped he would overlook our discussion just as he had with me and Maxwell. As I hurriedly walked, considering how to obtain Kennedy's number, I knew I had to revisit my previous conversation with "Kennedy from Grindr" for comparison. The idea of reinstalling the app, something I had been avoiding, crept into my mind.

I hurried my steps under the blazing sun, but my desperation to get away from it made me perspire even more. In a state of panic, I reinstalled Grindr. A car pulled up beside me and I instantly recognized it was Investor as the window rolled down.

"How far Ehis?" He withdrew his hand from the steering wheel and waved. I looked at him and offered a slightly awkward smile since it was just him inside. Then, he paused and gestured for me to join him with facial expressions, saying "get in, na!"

It was a generous offer, but I had my doubts about trusting him and declining would have given away my mistrust. I quickly checked around to see if Rasheed was unknowingly behind me and observing me, but he wasn't. Relieved to get out of the sweltering heat, I reluctantly took the passenger seat of the vehicle. The air conditioner's cold blow, when I got in, was rejuvenating.

"Where were you coming from?" He asked once I fastened my seatbelt, just in case he tried to get us killed.

"Class." I kept my response brief.

"Oh you didn't hear? They've gone on strike." He said, surprisingly speaking fluently.

"Prudence did not say anything on the group." It was only fair I blamed his girlfriend, since she wasn't present.