Romola has a secret.
She has a different version for whoever wants to know.
Her best friend, Yetunde, and her mother are to be kept in the dark and away from each other.
But when Olumide, her best friend's crush, is added to the mix with a secret...
"A woman can be beautiful as well as intellectual." --Audrey Hepburn
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Romola descended the staircase first because Yetunde had decided that Olumide would see her less than fabulous tailor-sewn dress first before seeing Yetunde’s store bought dress. Romola had no problem with that. It was best if Olumide thought the same about her dress too.
Romola saw Olumide waiting at the foot of the back staircase leading to the car park. His eyes widened and his lips spread in a smile as their eyes met. She felt her lips spreading in a smile while he winked at her.
‘Stop smiling Romola!’ she willed herself to listen but her lips failed to react.
“Wow,” he said. “You look really beautiful.”
Her cheeks rose at his comment and she was sure that if her skin shade was any lighter she would redden like atarodo (Red Pepper). Despite the fact that she had often heard people say black women don’t blush, she felt her cheeks grow hot under his gaze.
“Thank you and I really want to say thank you for the clothes. They are very beautiful. I...” Romola’s reply was interrupted by Yetunde’s loud and painfully obvious throat clearing which prompted Olumide to speak.
“And you too Yetunde, you look amazing.”
“Thank you, Olumide.” Yetunde’s bright red coated lips spread in a smile. She spun on her red heels, showing off her halter dress which hugged her bust then flayed out to her mid-thigh. The dress rose while she spun, nearly revealing her panties. “I ordered this online. It’s an original Lulu dress.”
“Now I have two beautiful girls to take out,” He crooned both his elbows, offering one to each girl. Romola watched Yetunde hook her elbow with olumide’s and she only did the same when he nudged her stomach gently.
She felt funny holding him like that . He smiled at her again leading her to the spot where he had parked his car. He chuckled as they neared his car. “If only the other boys could see me now. You guys fit kill them all.”
“Olumide,” Yetunde laughed. “It’s like you’ve forgotten how to speak pidgin.”
“Not really but I’m a little rusty.” Romola enjoyed listening to the vibration of his musically rich voice. She liked the feeling of being so close to him such that their skin were only separated by clothes. His perfume was driving her crazy and she inhaled deeply to fill her nose.
“You’ll need to learn it again. You need it to survive in this country. You can ask Romola to teach you. She said her housemaid taught her but if you were to hear her speak, you would think she invented the language,” Yetunde said.
“Really?"
“I can speak a little,” Romola added. She could speak a lot. It very compulsory for her job. She couldn’t help but feel like she was the center piece of attraction while Olumide stared at her with those honey brown eyes. How were his eyes so light? With the way her heart was racing, she was expecting a heart attack at any moment.
“Well, you could teach me what you know," Olumide said.
“Whenever you’re ready,” she answered, hoping that Yetunde would take over the conversation. For once she didn't mind listening to Yetunde tell a story with unnecessary emebelishment.
It almosy happened. Ytuntunde began speaking, “I can also teach you-”
Olumide cut her off. “I want you to teach me now Romola.”
“Now?”
“Sure. Why not?”
“Okay.” Romola took a deep breath to remind herself that the only reason Olumide was interested in her was because Yetunde had told him about her pidgin proficiency.
It was kind of funny how Olumide was more interested in raw Nigerian pidgin than Yetunde's polished Ikeja accent. “Let’s start with something simple.”
“Whatever you say lecturer Romola.” He wriggled his brows and Romola found herself laughing at his comical expression.
“Okay, let's say you meet someone you seen in a long time and you want to greet them, you can say how you dey or how far? Do you know what that means?”
For some reason she couldn’t tear her gaze away from Olumide's even though Yetunde was pouting at them.
“Yeah...Yeah I do. Teach me something else,” Olumide requested. They had reached his car. Romola forced her jaw to remain shut when she saw the Range Rover.
The car he had brought the last time he came was a dark blue Chevrolet. She did not know much about cars but the Range looked relatively new.
“Olumide, is this one of your cars?” Yetunde asked, staring at the grey Range Rover.
“Yep,” He said.
“It’s nice but I thought that a big boy like you would be driving the latest model,” Yetunde said.
“I no really dey like dat one like that.” Olumide struggled to hide his accent and Romola couldn’t help but chuckle at how silly he sounded.
“You have a long way to go,” Romola teased.
“You mean I still dey far?” He asked.
“It’s okay. Just stop making my ears bleed.” Yetunde barked. “Now are we going or not?”
“Sorry, your highness." Olumide bowed towards her as he opened the back door of the car. He gave Yetunde his hand and she took it before going in.
“Your majesty?” Olumide gestured towards her carry all bag. She was going to protest but he held into it. She let it go when she realized that he wouldn’t let go first.
He took her hand and just as she sat down- just before he let go- he gave her hand a tight squeeze, making her heart race a thousand beats a second.
Author's Note: From now, I shall update only on Fridays so that I can keep up with a regular schedule of writing and editing so I do not leave you precious lovlies waiting indefinitely. I also have several school responsibilities. Just check in every Friday.
