Shout-Out to my Ex [✓]

Fifteen

Cover art by Gbolahan Adekoya❤️

Tilewa checked her reflection in her half-length mirror and applied a little more powder to her neck. She was dressed in a wine dinner dress that stopped a little above her knees and nude stiletto heels. She sighed in satisfaction pleased with what she saw. The butterflies in her stomach did not stop fluttering as she thought of what a romantic dinner with Ekene would be like after she had ruined the first one a little over 3 months ago. She had been very sceptical to go on another and begged him to just come over to her place so she could cook for him. However, he had insisted that he wanted a night out. It took a lot of effort on his part and also his having to involve Eno and Maria before she had given in finally.

They were not a couple. She had consciously reminded everyone in her life about that fact for the past month. She was still playing safe and preferred to remain just friends. He had also never brought up anything about a relationship so it was just platonic. Sinclair had taken to making smug faces whenever Ekene came by the office and never said a word about him after she had dropped the whole playboy talk.

Her circle of friends, however, were patiently waiting for them to move on to the next phase and make the relationship official. She soon found herself staring off into space as she reminisced on the day Ekene took her to meet up with her girls three weeks ago.

Ekene drove her to Morrison View park and Eno sighted him in the car as she alighted. She had then insisted that he join them for lunch and that was how a girls' day out had turned into a date with Ekene and her girls. They had lunch at some park somewhere at Ikeja and it was so refreshing to watch everyone get along with Ekene. Apart from Uzo, of course.

Tilewa had made sure to call her out about it because the thought of her friend liking Ekene was extremely bizarre. Therefore, in a bid to clear the air, she had called Uzo the following week to talk about it.

"What? Do you think I like him? Tilewa come on! he's just not your type of person, that's why I acted so cold around him," Uzo had replied in a bewildered tone when Tilewa presented her allegation.

"Not my type?" Tilewa inquired in confusion.

"Come on Tilewa, you've never been involved with someone like that. He's so outgoing and all, I just felt that while everyone is smitten by his charm, I'll play bad cop. That way, there will be someone to attack him if he tries anything funny."

"What?" Tilewa had laughed into the phone.

"Uh... I'm coming," Uzo had called out to someone at her end of the call.

"Who's that?" Tilewa questioned.

"Uh... Gabriel... he's saying hi."

"Gabriel? Who's that?"

"One of the guys we met at the mall the last time."

"Wait, why is he with you at home?"

"We're not at my place, we're at his," Uzo said in a mischievous tone.

It took a while before she understood the meaning of the statement.

"Oh my God, you're sleeping with him!" Tilewa had exclaimed in her empty room.

Uzo laughed hysterically. "Calm down jo, it's nothing major, we just hook up occasionally."

"Oh my God! Uzo! Remember that time we had to travel miles out of school because you got infected with an STD and-"

"Ehhhhn, it's okay o, madam."

"Just be careful babes, abstinence is better than any STD."