Sameera's boo 👆
I'm here 💃💃
Thanks for all the birthday wishes yesterday. Some of y'all messages made me tear up 😭😩 I love you guys so much ❤✨
And I can't even count the number of death threats on Imran's head 😂😂 Liyah and co, please take it easy on my baby. He's here and he's here to stay.
Wattpad is acting up so please check my profile to see if you're still following me 🙏❤
DAVID
There was soft music playing from the stereo in the living room, a song I recognized to be one of Jay's but I couldn't place the title.
The song sounded like it was about self-love, about hope, about positivity, about looking on the positive side, about staying high even without feeling high.
And Jay's voice, a calm, deep, and low-pitched voice felt like a warm blanket on a cold night, it felt like a mother's hug, like a long-lost friend's smile, like the first ray of light after a dark tunnel.
His voice sounded euphoric, heavenly, and unbelievably beautiful and it made it really difficult to believe that the face behind the voice was standing just a few meters away from me.
"Do you guys need something else?" He asked, arms resting on the backrest of the sofa, "If you need any other thing, just let me know, I'll..."
"Don't stress yourself," came a feminine voice from the direction I've avoided looking at since I got here, "You're already the perfect host, shey you know?"
That elicited deep rumbling laughter from our host.
"If you want more, you can always tell me..."
"Haba now," The girl replied, "If I eat more than this, I'm definitely going to burst."
That made me turn my head slightly to look in her direction, she was sitting legs crossed on one of the sofas with thousands of nylons and wraps of all sorts of snacks.
Cookies, biscuits, chocolates, candies, marshmallows, and all.
I knew she only eats like this once in a month so it was definitely that time of the month.
"Should you be asking her if she wants more?" Sameera's voice came from the other side of the big room where she was sitting on a high cushion chair, "I think we should be worried instead if she should finish eating all those stuff."
"I'm going to finish eating them," the girl in question declared without missing a beat.
"Wow," Sameera sounded appalled, but still not as appalled as I had sounded the first time I discovered she eats like this whenever she was on her period, "Do you eat like this on a normal day, or is it a special occasion?"
"It's a special occasion," she replied, stuffing her face with another round of cookies, "And besides, it looks like we're going to wait forever for my Hausa boy and Tamara so I might as well get myself occupied with something."
"Yeah, sure," The other girl replied, "What a thing to keep yourself occupied with. I'm completely envious."
"Why?" She replied in between a mouthful of marshmallows, "You can always join me."
"No, I can't, I have to watch my weight, you know?"
"Eyah, sorry," Her reply was instantaneous, "I love models oo but I can't model sha. I can't joke with junk. No one in my family can joke with junk. That's like our lifeline."
The Muslim model chuckled, the rich sound rolling off her lips before she took another sip from the bottled water she has been drinking.
"Of course, I love junk and I eat them too but my manager only allows me to eat chocolate after a day's hard work."
"Can't be me," Dunni shook her head as she popped in another round of cookies, "I'd have run mad a long time ago."
The model burst into laughter again, "You make it sound like it's a life imprisonment."
"Trust me," She crunched something hard in her mouth, "It's worst than life imprisonment for people like me."
Again, the model burst into laughter.
"So, you like her or something?" Jay's voice interrupted my focus and I looked away from where I had been looking to see Jay settling into the space beside me.
A frown instantly marred my face, "Uhhh?"
"Her," He tilted his head in the direction of the her, "You've been staring at her since you guys got here."
"No, I've not," I replied dismissively and I looked back at my phone, hoping that would tell him I wasn't interested in this conversation at all.
While it was surreal that someone like Jay was talking to me and even trying to strike a conversation with me, the last thing I wanted to talk about with anyone was her.
If I could turn my brain off, I'd done that.
"Oops, sorry," He muttered, making himself even comfortable beside me like he owned the place.
Well, he really did own the place.
"I was just going to gossip and tell you she has been looking at you too, even when she was talking with Sameera, her eyes kept straying to you."
Yeah, I noticed and even though, that was supposed to make me feel fly and bask in sheer happiness, the only thing it was making me was something akin to shame.
Because this was the one thing I've always wanted to avoid staring me right In the face and making a mockery of me.
Today was supposed to be our first shoot but from the looks of things, I was doubting if it was going to be possible. The major photographer wasn't here and the actress who was going to pose as a model wasn't here either.
"Is Tamara close by now?" Her voice interrupted my thoughts and I had to force my head to remain still so it wouldn't look up at her.
"Not even a tiny bit closer," Jay replied her as he looked at his phone, "She's still stuck a static traffic on the 3rd mainland bridge."
"Omoh, looks like we'll be here the whole day and it's," She looked at her left wrist, "It's almost 5 pm now."
She looked away from her phone sharply and her eyes met mine for the briefest second, stilling my heartbeat before I tore my eyes away from her.
Too much for trying to keep my eyes off her.
"But did you guys come together?" Sameera asked, "You guys got here at the same time."
No one answered her.
"It's always the smallest things like getting ignored like this that always make me cry oo," She whined in a high-pitched voice that sounded like she was on the verge of tears and when I looked up, Dunni was staring right at me.
I looked away.
"No, we just met each other at the front gate."
"Ohhh," She muttered, "And here I was thinking of what's not it."
The only indication that Dunni was still physically present and could hear her was a short chuckle from her.
A sound that made my head jerk up to look at her and when I saw that she was still looking at me, I looked away immediately.
I was getting down from the Uber that brought me here at the same time her car stopped in front of the Uber and she got down from the back seat.
She was the one who looked at me and smiled tightly at me while I was the one that looked away, almost stone-faced with embarrassment.
But still, I didn't walk away because my feet had developed a mind of their own and they decided to remain rooted to that particular spot as I kept watching her struggle with bringing out some things from the backseat.
"Are you going to keep watching me or will you lend me a hand?" Again, she was the one that spoke and I was the one who didn't think to help her without her asking.
I didn't say a word to her as I closed the distance between us to take what seemed to be a tripod and lighting equipments.
And boy, they were so heavy that I wanted to ask her why she didn't just have the driver drive into the compound so we wouldn't have to them all the way from the gate to the main house but I kept mute instead because she must have a reason why she stopped him outside.
"Are they too heavy?" She asked when we were already walking towards the gate with only a camera bag slung over her shoulders while I was saddled with dragging bags that were heavy as if I was carrying three grown men at once.
"We can drop one of the bags and come back for it."
"No," I muttered, the monosyllabic word burning my throat because I longed to say more but still couldn't bring myself to say more than that.
She didn't say anything to that and we only walked in silence till we were welcomed at the door by Sameera.
"Excuse me, Jay," Her voice jolted me back to the present, "I've been staring at that picture since we got here," She pointed at the picture which wasn't even a picture but a wallpaper that covered an entire wall.
And it was a picture of a dog.
"Do you like dogs?" She asked him, "Because I noticed that there are lots of framed pictures of dogs in your sitting room and even on the other walls while we were coming here.-
But the pictures look like that of a single dog. Is it the same dog? Do you have a dog? But I've not seen any dog around?" She looked around almost frantically and I didn't miss how she stylishly removed her legs from the floor and she tucked her legs underneath her.
That gesture made me chuckle because I knew just how much she was afraid of dogs.
"You asked me like 25 questions in a single breath," Jay answered, his voice sounding like a smile, "But no problem, I'll answer all of them.-
I love dogs and the pictures are actually that of a single dog. It was mine."
"It was yours?"
"Hmmm," He replied d her, "He died a couple of years ago."
"Opps," She muttered solemnly, "I'm so sorry to hear about that. It must have been painful, judging from how much you loved him."
He chuckled again but this time around, there was nothing happy about his chuckle. If anything, it sounded like sadness.
"You have no idea."
"How did he die?" Dunni asked again, her eyes darting to the wallpaper, "I don't know that much about dogs but he doesn't look that old."
"He was just ten years old when he died and he died in a fire outbreak."
"Oh my!" She put a hand on her chest with her eyes almost spilling over with pity, "That must have been very agonizing."
"Even more agonizing when you had to watch him burn to death," He shivered, he visibly shivered as he said those words and he even had to fist his palm to stop his fingers from trembling so bad.
My face started contorting into a frown, not because of his reactions to remembering how his dogs died but because the story sounded oddly familiar as if it was something I'd heard before.
Like a very long time ago.
I've probably watched an interview where he talked about it before.
"Oops, I'm so sorry to hear about that. I know just how much pet lovers bond with their pets and how hard it always is for them to part ways with them. I can't imagine watching yours burn to death while you could do nothing but watch."
"Yeah, there was a fire outbreak in my parent's house when I was in secondary school," He continued, his voice sounding calm and detached which was a contrast to how he sounded earlier and I looked at him to see that he looked just as he sounded.
Calm and detached.
"I was the only one at home with Ace and the people that rushed in were only able to save me."
"Wow, that's... That's really traumatic. How old were you then?"
"16 and I've had Ace since I was 8 years old."
"Opps, so it was like you lost a best friend of 8 years right, it was like you watched a buddy of 8 years burn to death."
This time around, a small wistful smile tugged at the corner of his eyes, "Best friend doesn't cut it, Ace was the best thing I've ever had and would probably ever have."
Dunni's mouth dropped open in an exaggerated she and looked away from Jay to Sameera.
"Even more than your girlfriend?"
"What?" He muttered in a strangled voice before he sat up with his right hand moving up to rub a side of his head, "No, of course not, I wasn't..."
"Don't even bother lying," His girlfriend interrupted him, "We both know you love your dead dog more than me."
"Rara now, babe, you know that's not true."
"Yeah, it's a lie but your whole house is filled with his pictures, you even have his picture on your bedside so he'll be the last person you'll see before you sleep and the first when you wake up."
"I'll change them."
"Even if you do, you'll still keep him in your heart so what's the point? I've already accepted that I'll always come second so it's okay."
I just kept looking at them, back and forth, likewise Dunni but with a smile on her face.
"So your competition in your relationship is your boyfriend's dead dog?" She asked Sameera and the latter only chuckled in reply to her words.
"It's only a competition when you stand a chance. I don't think I stand a chance when it comes to Ace."
"Omoh, that makes two of us," She replied to her in a jovial manner but I got the message loud and clear.
Especially when I knew she was referring to me.
"So, can you tell us more about Ace?" She asked him, "If you don't mind, we could use that to while away time."
"Hmm, there's actually not that much to tell about him," He started, "I've always wanted a dog since I was a child but my dad was against and after years of longing for one, my mom was finally to get me one on my 9th birthday and he was quick to become favorite person. We got really close and he was arguably my only friend because I was a kind of a loner in school."
"Hmmm," Dunni interrupted him, "You must have been a loner by choice then because it's hard to believe someone like you being a loner."
Jay's only reply was a short chuckle and he completely evaded answering her as he continued, "Ace was just my best companion, he was my family, my friend, my everything, he kept me going and I know..." He put his two hands up as if to tell us to halt our thoughts.
"I know what you guys must be thinking, I know the stereotype about people being obsessed with their pets and how society sees us as somehow stupid or just abnormal but trust me, for the real pet lovers, we can't even compare the kind of bond we share with our pets with the bond we share with humans," He darted an apologetic glance at Sameera who wasn't even looking at him but instead, at the wallpaper, "It's just different because at least, you're sure your pet will never turn against you, they'll always be there until they die."
"I know, right?" Dunni heaved a sigh, "I've never had a pet except for inanimate objects but I know the kind of bond you're talking about, I've seen people with their pet animals and it's always beautiful to watch."
"Yes, my cat is lounging around somewhere in the house and he's the absolute best thing that has ever happened to me." She maintained eye contact with Jay as she spoke and the latter only shook his head with a smile on his lips.
"Your cat is here?"
"Not exactly. She's always in and out of the animal shelter but I can't take her home because my manager is allergic to fur so I bring her here whenever she's out of the shelter."
"Oh, must be nice but I'm sorry sha, I really can't see cats outside the popular yoruba superstitions, especially after growing up with a mother who likes watching typical yoruba epic films."
"Ohhh," Sameera smiled again, "Cats are really harmless though and they're the cutest things if you get to know them."
"I'll pass please, I don't want to risk having a cat only for it to get possessed by some of my village people," She replied before turning to Jay again.
"I'm sorry but my interest is piqued about Ace," She wriggled her brows together in that cute way that would make anyone do her bidding, "Can you tell us more? How did you cope with his death? Are you completely over his death because it's been how many years now? 4?"
"3 years actually and no, I don't think I've gotten over his death, it still feels very fresh like it happened last week."
"Aaah, it must really be painful then."
"Very painful, the grief from losing him actually made me write my first song."
Dunni sat up with an intensity so fast that one would think a greater energy had propelled her and she banged her hands together with her eyes glinting with excitement I couldn't understand.
Jay moved back on the sofa, a wary smile on his face as he looked at her.
"So, you're telling me that your first song was inspired by your dead dog?"
"Yeah."
"Wow, but it has always been popular knowledge that the song was about your first love, the one that broke your heart?"
Jay burst into laughter, "That was just what people made up because of how they interpreted the lyrics and I didn't bother changing the narrative because I've never talked about Ace or his death or anything."
Why then did the story sound so familiar?
And why does the dog look so familiar? I focused my attention on the picture of the beautiful white dog that looked like he ate a more balanced diet than most Nigerians, still trying to crack my brain and remember where I've been before.
"But your dog looks so familiar," I blurted out without thinking twice, "I wonder where I've seen him before when you've never shared his pictures online."
He turned to look at me, a smile on his face and I think he hesitated for a second or two before he replied, "You've probably seen his picture on my social media accounts. He's on all my dps."
"Ohhh," That explained why he looked familiar but not why the story sounded like something I've heard before.
"Wow, that's bizarre," Dunni's voice got his attention once again, "So there's no first love anywhere?"
"None that I know of."
"So you've been fooling the whole world all these years?"
"Not exactly, I just decided to play mute."
"Same difference but we'll forgive you sha, at least you gave us that epic song Until Then, I always played it on repeat when it first came out, the lyrics are one thing and your voice is another thing entirely."
"Now, that's one hell of a compliment, thank you," He did a mock bow and Dunni shook her head, a look of mock sneer on her face.
"And to think you got your first Grammy nomination with the song, wow, did you write the song with the intention of giving a sound to it and letting it out to the public, or was it initially meant for you alone?"
"God!," He started lightly, "I don't even think I've answered this many questions in any interview before."
He said it in a very jovial and harmless way but Dunni's eyes widened to the size of saucers and she covered her opened mouth with her palm.
"So you mean I ask too many questions and I should keep quiet?"
"Nooo, of course not, I don't mean it that way, I mean I'm enjoying it, I like it, I like you."
Shey a gbadun?
Dunni did not say that, she just crossed her hands over her chest and she kept staring at him pointedly.
"Okay," He raised his hands a little in mock surrender, "Initially, it was just bits and pieces of words that I had to write down just to rid myself of the pain I was feeling but my friend saw it one day and he..." He trailed off, and hook his head with a strange look crossing his eyes for what wasn't even up to a nanosecond.
"He saw it and he was like I should turn it into a song, I should record it and get a producer. He was really keen on turning it into a song because he knew firsthand how much I loved making music and how much I've had to live without making music. After all, my dad was against it so he convinced me and here we are."
"Wow," Dunni was the first one to reply, "So in a way, we owe your friend for pushing you and giving us the Jayden Kuti we all know now."
"Definitely because I'm sure as hell I wouldn't be here without his push."
"Awwww," Dunni cooed, "Best friendship goals, I'm envious, you should invite him to one of our shoots and introduce him to us."
"We don't talk anymore."
He said with so much finality that the air in the room dipped a little and something akin to awkwardness and apprehension started to grow. It was obvious that it wanted that to be the end of the conversation and Dunni got the message because she only nodded in understanding and she muttered, "oh, I see," under her breath before she picked up her phone and focused her attention on it.
The room fell into silence after that and it wasn't the kind of comfortable silence that makes someone at ease, it was that uncomfortable one that made me acutely aware of the other three in the room, the one that aggravated every single sound they were making, the one that made me conscious of how I was breathing because it was sounding too loud.
"I'm sorry I changed the energy like that," He spoke up after a while, "He's just a sore topic for me.-
He was a friend I thought would always be by my side but life happened and we drifted apart."
"I understand and it's no problem, I shouldn't have asked that many questions."
"No, it's not your fault Dunni, wait, is your full name Oladunni or Omodunni?"
A smile-like blush spread across Dunni's face, "It's Omodunni."
"Oh, Good! It's a beautiful name," He complimented and the blush on Dunni's face deepened, "And I'll make sure to always call you in full from now on."
I did a mental eye roll.
"You'll be the only one that calls me in full then because every other person calls me Dunni."
"That makes me special then."
What's all these?
There was an exaggerated body movement from the other side of the room and we all turned to see Sameera standing. She was the only one getting up from the chair but with the amount of noise she was making, she made it seem like they were up to 20.
"I'll be upstairs so I won't have to witness my supposed boyfriend openly flirting with another girl right in front of my eyes."
And before anyone could say anything, she was already walking up the stairs.
"We'll be back," Jay muttered to us before he jumped over the sofa to run after his girlfriend.
Leaving us alone.
Leaving me alone with my nemesis.
I stood up too, darted to the nearest exit and I found myself on a balcony.
I was momentarily taken aback by the view before me. It was too beautiful and hands down the most aesthetic view I've ever seen in the country.
I've always known Ikoyi to be an area reserved for the highest class of the high class and what I was seeing from this view just solidified that popular notion again.
I could see a lot of never-ending skyscrapers, beautiful elite buildings, the ocean from a distance, could hear the distant chirping of birds, and coupled with the gentle breeze of the early harmattan season, I could feel myself getting calmed, could feel the noises in my head getting subdued to nothingness, could feel myself getting almost lulled to sleep.
Standing here was making me feel the most calm I've felt in weeks.
And I was about to start getting lost in it when I heard approaching footsteps.
Approaching footsteps that I knew as hell belonged to one person even without turning back and all the calmness I was starting to feel dissipated as quickly as it came.
My head turned on its own accord to see her walking towards me, right hand clenching her lower abdomen and face contorted into pain.
She didn't know I was on the balcony judging from how her eyes were closed and even though, my chest was pinching at the obvious pain she was in, my eyes couldn't help but roam over her entire features.
She was dressed casually, in a high-waist deep blue jean trouser with a sleeveless crop top that made me instantly worried because the air was so chilly and she was dressed like that.
"Are you okay?"
Her eyes flew open at my question and her expression seemed to still for a moment before she walked closer to stand beside me. Her bare shoulder brushed against my clothed one in the process but it might as well be against my bare skin at how heated my body felt.
I didn't move away.
"I'm okay," She replied but I didn't miss how her face briefly contorted with pain again and how her palm tightened on her lower abdomen.
"Why did you eat that much junk when you knew it was going to worsen the pain?"
"Because I couldn't help..." She trailed off to look at me before looking away again, "You remember?"
My eyes lingered on the side of her face, my subconscious taking in her sooty lashes as they fawned her lower eyelid.
"Yeah, couldn't forget all the headaches you put me even if I tried."
That brought a smile to her eyes and she muttered a quiet lol that I wouldn't have heard if I wasn't looking at her.
We fell into silence not so comfortable afterward because I was acutely aware of her, of every little movement she was making, of her fingers gently tapping against the iron railings before hugging herself and rubbing her shoulders as if to keep the cold away.
And it made me wonder why she was dressed like that when it was this cold.
"Are you not feeling..."
"I left my jacket behind in the car," She volunteered at the same time I started to ask her, "I got carried away with carrying those pieces of equipment so I forgot to take my jacket."
"Ohhh," I muttered before shrugging off my jacket and handing it over to her.
She glanced at me briefly before looking at the jacket and she just looked away, ignoring me and the jacket.
So I had to do the needful, I moved even closer to her to drape the jacket over her shoulders, and in the process, my fingers brushed against the bare skin of her shoulders causing her to tense up and a not so involuntarily gasp to escape from her lips.
I stilled.
She stilled too, her head turning slightly sideways to look at me so I could see her even if I didn't want to look at her. The sun was casting a glow on her face, lighting up her facial features haphazardly and making her always aesthetic face even more alluring. Her deep brown eyes met mine, causing a lump to form in my throat and my heart to pick up speed. We were close, too close that I could hear her breathing, could see the barely visible mole on a spot above her upper lip, could count her full lashes if I wanted.
And God helps me if my thoughts weren't so jumbled together.
"Are you not cold?" She asked, turning away to look at the view again and I exhaled before resuming my position beside her.
"Uhh?"
"Are you not cold?" She repeated, tilting her head towards the turtleneck I had on and pointing at my jacket that was now draped around her.
"Not exactly."
"You are," She told me, her voice sounding like she was amused by something.
"But what's up with guys giving the girls they like their jackets even when they're cold?"
I pondered on it for a second, "Because they'd rather be cold than watch their girls shiver from the cold?"
A soft but rather short chuckle escaped from her lips, "Isn't that macho behavior?"
"Not exactly, no guy in his senses would remain fully clothed when a girl is shivering next to him?"
She turned to me, left brow quirked questioningly, "A girl?" She asked and my right hand subconsciously moved up to touch my turtle neck, "Are you saying you'll take off your jacket for any girl as long as she's cold and she needs it?"
What? "No," I debunked, still looking at her, "It's just you."
"I thought as much," She replied, looking away from me, "I wanted to confirm so I left me..." She trailed off all of sudden, her lips pressing tightly together in an obvious damage control manner as if she could take what she just said back.
But she couldn't and the wheels were already turning in my head and honestly, I couldn't put this beyond Dunni. She has proven beyond reasonable doubt that when it comes to things like this, she was mischief personified herself.
"So, you're saying that you intentionally left your jacket behind in the car?"
"No."
I angled my body so I could see her expression better. Her lips were still pressed together and get face was scrunched together as if she was just a few pushes from laughing, "But you just said you did."
"No, I did not." She countered, still trying to maintain the false bravado on her face.
"You totally did," I told her, my voice coming more teasingly than I intended and that was all it took for the false bravado to dissipate completely and she burst into laughter, girlish laughter that made her cover her face with her palms as if she was embarrassed.
I watched her laugh, my lips stretching into a smile of my own, feeling so much like the old times when she'd burst into a fit of giggles and girlish laughter from my endless teasing, feeling as if we didn't have a thousand pieces of baggage between us.
As if we didn't have a lot of problems that were between us and would probably always marry us.
I didn't know how we got here, how we were subconsciously and momentarily putting everything behind us and having this kind of conversation.
This kind of moment.
Or if this was the kind of civilness she was talking about.
I kept watching her laugh uninhibited, the sound rich and deep, and when it started to trail off, I had an inkling of what was going to happen next, and instead of bolting or trying to start another conversation to evade what she was going to say next like I normally, I didn't do anything.
I didn't bolt.
And I didn't try to start another conversation either.
Her laughter trailed off fully and she glanced at me briefly before looking at the view again.
"So, is that how it always is?"
"What?" I asked, feigning ignorance even though I knew what she was talking about.
"You know what I'm talking about, David."
Yes, I do.
And what she was talking about happened three days ago.
It was just a normal day, normal until I bumped into Mrs. Doyle walking in the senate building.
The Senate building was like the administrative building of the whole school and I was there to submit a letter from the coach when I saw the least expected person I expected to see walking out of an office in the building.
I momentarily considered walking away to avoid bumping into her but she had seen me and walking away like that without acknowledging her presence was going to be a dick move from me.
Only that I should have known that it'd have been better for me to just walk away.
Because she was Mrs. Doyle and if she has never acknowledged my presence in private, then in public wasn't going to be any different.
I had walked up to her, ready to bend in the typical modern way of prostrating when the ice-like smile on her face altered my movement.
And that was why all she did before she walked away, leaving me alone and miserable, leaving me with that bitter taste in my mouth.
It shouldn't hurt because I was used to it but then, it didn't hurt any less.
But again, at least there was no one around to see that happen.
"Hey Dunni, sorry I kept you waiting..."
I heard that at the same time I started to walk away and my head jerked towards the direction which was a floor above where I was to see Dunni shushing that loser guy and walking away with him.
"I understand if you don't want to talk about it," Her voice jolted me back to the present to see her looking at me, "But you know, it's never the best option to keep these things bottled up."
This is when I bolt.
But I didn't. Instead, I remained rooted to that spot as if I was being compelled by a force I couldn't control.
"And besides," She continued, her eyes still locked on mine, hypnotizing me, "If you don't tell me all these things, you don't have any other person to tell them to."
What's going on?
The last time we had a conversation, she had been too angry I kept this away from her and now, she was being all too relaxed and even encouraging me to talk to her.
Maybe I was hallucinating.
No, I was definitely hallucinating.
I started to pinch myself because I knew that was going to jolt me back to reality when her voice halted my movement.
"I know you're wondering why the switch and why I'm suddenly eager to have this conversation with you but I've been doing a lot of thinking since that night and since I saw your mom... Your stepmom and how she treated you and-
It made me realize that I've not been exactly fair to you."
Hmmm? I cocked my head sideways so I'd be able to see her expression, so I'd be able to see the teasing smile that I was sure would follow her words but there was nothing.
No smile, just seriousness.
She was really serious about what she was saying.
I couldn't even say anything to that. I just kept staring at her, partly in shock and partly in self-denial.
"Now, I'm starting to feel like a radio that talks nonstop without getting any reply."
"No noo noo," I stammered and she kept staring at me, "I mean yes."
"Yes, I talk nonstop like a radio?" She queried, brows quirked in a challenging manner.
"Noo," I almost waved frantically to debunk her words, "I just... I just don't know what to say."
"You don't have to say anything now," She replied, voice equally as soothing as her eyes, "You can tell me anytime you feel comfortable enough with me to do so."
My brain slowly processed her words.
Comfortable enough with me to do so.
"You thought I kept it away from you because I wasn't comfortable enough with you?" I blurted out and she tucked one of the big braids fawning her face behind her ear.
"Was that not why?" She asked, sounding like a child and looking like one.
"No oo, I didn't tell you because... I couldn't bring myself to tell you because... Because I didn't want you to see me that way, it had nothing to do with you or what you were doing but everywhere to do with me. I know I wasn't enough for you but I just... I just wanted to at least, pretend to deserve you."
"Why?"
"Why what?"
"Why didn't you want to tell me? You don't keep huge parts of yourself away from people you claim to love."
"Because it's a dent, Dunni, it's a very huge dent and it's something I've always wanted to rid myself of, something I didn't want to be a part of me, something I've always longed to forget but was always there, staring right at me whenever I see my reflection, a product of adultery, a child that wasn't conceived from love so I'm sorry if I didn't want the only person keeping me sane to know of that huge dent."
It was only after I was done that I realized what I just said and I exhaled deeply before running my hand through my hair and face.
"I'm sorry, it's just..."
"No, I... I understand," She interrupted, eyes still locked on mine, "I understand your feelings, I've been trying to imagine what it must have felt like growing up and..."
"You can't imagine, Dunni," I interrupted her, feeling a truckload of repressed feelings and emotions hit me, making a lump form in my throat, constricting my airflow, and making breathing a herculean task, "You can't imagine what it feels like to have someone you call your mother to hurl all sorts of derogatory words at you because she never wanted you but was forced to have you,-
You can't imagine her hitting you at the slightest provocation and starving you because you're a permanent dent in her life, you can't imagine wondering growing up without a father and when you finally meet him, his first words to you were something along the line of you being a mistake he'd have taken back if he had the chance.-
You can't imagine having no one to truly call your family, having no parents to show up for your PTA meetings, you can't imagine standing alone in school while the rest of your classmates are surrounded by their parents, it's a hell hole, Dunni, a fucking excruciating one and..."
She hugged me.
She threw her tiny arms around my midriff, pulling my body closer to her and I stilled for a moment in her arms because it felt so alien, yet so familiar. I relaxed into her arm, my neck burying into the hollow of her chest, inhaling her scent, getting lost in her embrace.
Her hands were moving in a gentle caress on my back, calming me, soothing me and it made me pull her closer, made me bury my neck deeper in the hollow of her neck.
Her hug, her arms around me, her soft breaths tickling against my chest all felt like home, like a cocoon of warmth, like a threshold of sanctuary.
It made me feel at peace.
It felt like a magic wand was miraculously waving every other thing away till the only thing I could feel was her and her arms around me.
And it was so fucking beautifully ridiculous that I was reduced to this state because of a hug.
That I've always been reduced to this state because of a hug from her.
"I'm sorry you had to go through all that," She whispered, her voice sounding like a soft caress, undoing the lump in my throat and making me feel a burning sensation at the back of my eyes.
"No one deserved to go through that," She continued and a sniffle escaped from my nose.
"But despite everything, you still turned out to be this amazing and perfect gentleman," She said the perfect gentleman with a teasing undertone and even I couldn't help the soft chuckle that escaped from my lips.
We weren't both so sure about the perfect gentleman part.
"So do you guys want to come in for coffee? It's cold weather and I was thinking..."
We broke apart casually at the words to see Jay standing by the door, confused eyes darting from one person to the other and focusing more intently on the little or no distance between us.
Then his face broke into a huge teasing grin.
"You guys should at least remember my house as a huge monument in your relationship."
And before I could even think to say anything, he had turned on his heels and was already walking away, leaving the both of us alone.
A minute or two of absolute silence passed with Dunni standing almost rigidly beside me and I darting curious almost skeptical glances at her.
"So," I started, deciding to try my luck, "Does this mean you've forgiven me?"
"No," Her answer was instantaneous and the lump was suddenly back again.
"No?" I tugged at the collar of my turtleneck, "So, what was that about?"
"Me trying to be civil with you?" She shrugged casually, her eyes meeting mine for the briefest second but I didn't miss the vulnerability in them.
"I actually forgave you that night in your room."
Thank God.
I instinctively started to reach for her...
"But..."
Jesus Christ.
I stopped.
"But I'm not sure. We can't be too... What if we..."
"I won't mess it up, I promise,"
"How?" She challenged.
"Anything you want, I'll do anything."
"Anything?" She asked, eyes intent on mine.
"Yeah,"
"You'll cut back on training to focus more on your physical health?"
A beat or two of silence passed.
"Yes," I lied.
She shook her head slightly, "You're never going to acknowledge Peju again."
"Done."
"Okay then," She leaned back against the railings.
"Okay then?" I repeated, still assessing her.
"Yeah, that's all, we're good."
"We're good?" I enunciated, still trying to process and assimilate the meaning of her words, "Does that mean we're..."
"Yes," She replied, her voice sounding and her face looking like a tease that I was half expecting her to burst into laughter and tell she was just pulling my legs.
"But on one condition," She continued and it was only when she put her index finger on my chest and she pushed me back with it that I realized how much I had gravitated towards her and how small the distance between us was.
She could have even 20 conditions and they wouldn't be a problem as long as we were going to be together.
"You need to keep your hands to yourself." She announced and I instantly saw my jaws on the floor and my eyes instinctively roamed over the girl I was supposed to keep my hands away from.
God forbid.
"What?"
"It's going to be for just a month and if you pass..."
I've failed already.
"And," She brightened up all of a sudden with literal stars in her eyes, "Do you know what date is it on Saturday?"
Saturday? I frowned as I tried to recall what date Saturday would fall on.
"24th of November?"
"Hmm hmmm?" She beamed, her expression eager as if waiting for me to elucidate on what was giving me major confusion attacks.
I couldn't elucidate and the beam fell off her face.
"You should come to our house on Saturday then," She told me and instantly, I saw myself walking into a funeral.
My funeral.
"You don't like coming to our house again?" She asked me, picking at the expression on my face.
And no, that was far from being the case. I loved her house, I loved going there because there always seemed to be so much happiness and laughter going around that I always seem to forget everything going on with me. Before getting to know The Gentrys, I never knew a family could be that close-knitted and happy so if anything, I loved going to her house.
The problem wasn't going to her place.
The problem was her dad.
While that man had always been all smiles and laughter with his daughters, he was the exact opposite of me. He had begrudgingly allowed us to date back then in 100l on only one condition, that I'd never hurt his daughter.
I broke that condition in every way possible.
So if he was to see me again, I couldn't...
"You're not saying anything," Her voice jolted me back to the present.
"No, I mean, I don't mind coming to your house but your dad... Will he be around?"
A smile instantly tugged at her lips, "No, he won't be around on Saturday..."
Thank God.
"But he said he'd love to see you when he's back."
Jesus Christ.
"You told him about me again?" I asked her even though I already knew the answer, her dad was her go-to person and if she was standing in front of me and telling me she had forgiven me, then she must have discussed it with him.
"Yeah, I had to get his permission for our date on Saturday."
Jesus Chris... Wait, what? Our date?
"Our date?"
"Yes, that's why you're coming to pick me in our house on Saturday?"
Okay, I had to go along with the flow and not pretend confusion wasn't trying to cut off my airflow.
"So where..."
"Two lovebirds," Sameera's voice interrupted what I was going to say and we looked back to see her leaning against the door frame with a smile lingering on her face.
"I'm sorry to interrupt your romantic evening but the shoot is canceled, Tamara can't make it, the traffic is still not moving and Nouman just came online so we want to do a video call and decide on what we'll do next."
"Okay," Dunni replied and I watched as she casually shrugged her hands into my jacket, "Let's go."
And as I watched her walk in front of me, my chest was filled with a blooming feeling, it was filled with a sense of sanctuary that I haven't experienced since that night one year ago.
A sanctuary that only Dunni was capable of invoking in me.
And I could only desperately hope that I wouldn't mess it up again.
Òrò ìfé láyé bí àdánwò ni.
Dunni tho but I love that girl sha. She's my favorite female character in the book.
Do I think Dunni forgave David too easily? Yes but omoh, how many people can make reasonable choices in the face of love? And we need her to forgive him this easily so everything will bambam very well.
Did Ace talk and Jay's love for him bore you? I hope it didn't though because... Spoiler, the core of this story has everything to do with Ace and most of the things that are happening right now are effects of what happened when they were in Coven Prep because things really did happen when they were in secondary school.
That being said, who do you think is the friend Jay talked about because we've met the person 👀
See you when I see you, I have a date to plan.