"Okay Arie, I will be the first to admit that my brother can be a little bit weird at times. But I promise you, he is such a great tutor. He is the one who's been helping me with my assignments and test preps," Sibahle said, trying to convince me.
"I don't know Sibs, I don't want to be bothersome. Can't you just explain the concepts to me yourself?" I pleaded.
You will notice that we were now on nickname basis at this point, that is because we have been hanging out a whole lot. Sibs comes to my room regularly in between her classes. Her and Sammy got along like a house on fire.
It's been two weeks since Sibahle's pool party and midterm tests were around the corner.
"Well I could try but I am not half as good as he is, remember his major is mathematics of finance and eco. So he has done all this before and he has an extensive understanding of the concepts. And with your calculus mark right now, you need a miracle to pass the module", she said as she eyed me sideways.
"Wow, way to go Sibs, kick a girl while she is already down won't we," I complained weakly.
We were currently seated in our 'usual spot' in the cafeteria, after our calculus lecture. Sibahle was having a cookie with milkshake while I was having my usual fix of strong black coffee
"I can't believe you would have the same thing every time when you have so many options to choose from", she commented as she looked at me taking a sip of my coffee while she took a sip of her bubble gum flavored milkshake. She always tried something new on the menu.
"Well, I enjoy having a routine or something that I do ritually, it kind of makes me feel grounded and centered. Even if it is something as small as having a cup of coffee exactly the way I like it. I don't know, it's weird", I said as I placed my coffee down.
"Ooh deep! How did you just make drinking coffee sound so profound?" she said with a smirk on her face as I rolled my eyes at her.
"Now back to the important stuff, my house tomorrow at 6pm sharp. We could grab something to eat before we start our study session. You could either sleep over or I could bring you back to campus afterwards, your choice. Just don't make me come for you and drag you from here, because I will," she declared decisively as she stared me down as if daring me to say something contrary to what she just laid down.
"Ooh, bossy much?" I said weakly, realizing that she had won me over, but I wasn't intending to go down without a little fight.
"Why is the world so intent on labeling every woman who is not confused about what she wants as bossy, difficult, angry or headstrong! And yet when a man shows the same traits he is praised and considered to be driven, a great leader and a visionary?", she pondered suddenly with a serious look on her face.
"That my friend is a question of the century and the reason why words such as double standards and patriarchy exist." I said as I smiled at her. This was what I loved about her, her depth and range. You could find her arguing about milkshakes one minute and about patriarchy the next without losing her breath.
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"So what would you like to have?" Sibahle asked as she opened a drawer in the kitchen counter where they store the menus of different food outlets.
It was a Saturday evening and I had just arrived at their house for our tutoring session with her brother. I was dressed comfortably in leggings and oversized tee, with my braided hair up in a messy bun.
She had on white shorts and a pastel pink t-shirt.
The last time I was here was during the party. I remember how I had avoided Malakai after our meeting in the kitchen. I had called a cab and left a few moments later because I was too mortified by our encounter. Also because there was something about him that just put me on edge. I didn't know what it was, but I guess for the next few weeks, I will get the chance to figure out if that is a bad or a good thing.
A soft sigh escaped my lips as I placed my backpack on the kitchen counter and reached for one of the menus that Sibahle placed on the counter.
"I am thinking maybe pizza but I know Khai doesn't like it that much", she said as she discarded the menu she was holding for a different one.
"I think we could just go with the grilled chicken? I will have the salad instead of the fries," I said holding up a Nando's franchise menu.
"But if I am being honest, I would really kill for a home cooked meal right," I added with a dramatic sigh.
"Well, Khai is usually the one who does the cooking around here and he is good. I am hopeless in that department. Maybe I could convince him to throw something together for us the next time you come over. He wouldn't mind." She replied as she reached for her phone to place our order.
"Khai, will you have a side of salad or fries?" Sibahle shouted in the general direction of the stairs. There was no response.
"Alright, I guess I will just decide for you then." She said as she proceeded to place the order.
"I need to use the bathroom", I said suddenly pressed.
"Ooh, use the one upstairs, the second door on your left at the end of the corridor. The one downstairs tends to flood," she said without looking up from her phone.
Did she say left or right, God knows I am terrible with directions. Plus, it didn't help that their house was this big. I hesitated to open the door before me as I looked at the other end of the corridor.
"Well, there is only one way to find out", I thought as I threw open the door and strode in.
I got no further into the room as I collided with something solid and wet.
I blinked rapidly as I took a couple of startled steps back.
There stood Weirdo with a surprised look on his face.
He was dressed in comfortable low hanging gray sweat pants and nothing else. There was sweat covering his torso as if he just finished an intense workout. My eyes seemed to have a mind of their own as they stayed glued to his defined abs and traveled up to his broad shoulders and thick neck before landing on the brown amused eyes. I averted my eyes quickly as if caught with my hands in a cookie jar.
"Hey Ariella," Malakai said so calmly as if this was the most normal encounter. I brought my eyes back to his face, my throat suddenly felt dry as if I would die if I didn't have water in the next few seconds. This was so unlike me to have nothing to say.
He folded his arms and cocked his head to the side as he continued to regard me with an amused smile. The action caused his biceps to flex and look more defined. Did it just get hot in here or what? I thought as my face continued to heat up even more.
"Ummh... I am looking for the bathroom," I managed to finally say as I took a look into the open door behind him. I could see gym equipment laid about the room, the kind that you see in those high end gyms from the looks of it.
"It's the next door," he said as he started walking in the opposite direction, still smiling.
I quickly went into the bathroom and stood staring at my flushed reflection in the mirror. Why is it always so chaotic every time we meet?
There must be something wrong with me today, why was I rattled by seeing him shirtless? It's not like it was my first time seeing a guy shirtless. I am in the school swimming team for crying out loud! Shirtless, well defined men were a common sight at the pool so much that it was almost normal for me.
I concluded that I only reacted this way because he startled me.
Whatever makes you sleep at night hun, that's what we will believe.
"And this is how you find the derivative of an inverse trig function," Malakai droned on as he made calculations on the whiteboard. He was so good at this and he was in his element right now. A little frown appeared between his eyes as he concentrated while he scribbled away.
He managed to clearly explain in just 4 hours concepts that I have been struggling to grasp for months.
I was glad Siba convinced me to do this.
"I think we have covered all the material for your mid semester exam guys. You can just go through past exam papers to familiarize yourselves with the question. But from me, this is a good night." He said as he made a small salute motion as he got up and headed upstairs.
This has gone way smoother than I had expected.
I just learned that during the week when Malakai is not busy, he offered to tutor first year students for free at the school math clinic. I have to admit that this new information and this side that I got to see tonight kind of improved the weirdo impression I had painted of him.
"So... a sleepover or do you want me to drop you off?"Sibahle asked as she stretched and yawned. We had been studying for a couple of hours since Malakai excused himself, and had just decided to call it a night.
"I don't know, you look done for the day to be driving this late," I said with a sympathetic smile.
It was a little before midnight and I wasn't too excited about driving this late on a Friday night, drunken drivers and stuff.
"But I didn't bring any change of clothes or my toiletries with me."
"Well I have a remedy for all of that my friend, a sleepover it is!" she announced excitedly.
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"Hie."
I quickly wheeled around startled, dropping in the process, the open water bottle I had in my hands.
Malakai quickly closed the distance between us and caught the bottle before it hit the floor.
"We really need to stop meeting like this Ariella, it is becoming really dangerous", he said with a smile as he straightened and held the bottle out towards me.
He stood towering over me and I suddenly noticed that he was too close. I could clearly see his soft brown pupils as he steadily held my gaze with the bottle held out.
I felt like a deer caught in headlights. I tried taking a step back but my movement was halted by the fridge behind me.
"Ummh... hey. Sorry about that. I don't know, I guess I wasn't expecting anybody to be up so early." Like this wasn't their house and I knew nothing about his sleeping patterns.
Let's all take a silent moment as we collectively facepalm at that 'smart' comment.
He was dressed in black sweatpants and long sleeved workout shirt that clung to his defined torso and bulged in just the right places. He had on a pair of running shoes and there was a pair of headsets around his neck, he looked like he just came in from a morning run.
"Siba and I finished studying quite late last night so I stayed the night, you know... trying to avoid drunk drivers and stuff on a Friday night." I was rumbling, which I did whenever I was nervous.
I was suddenly too aware of how skimpy the pajamas I borrowed from Sibahle last night were. The lilac top with flimsy strings fitted too snuggly around my boobs and the nipples were pressing against the thin silk material, the matching bottoms were bum shorts that clung to my slim thick hips and were showing my lower butt cheeks.
As if reading my thoughts, his eyes lowered to scan my body.
I squirmed under his scrutiny and suddenly it felt like the air between us was charged with electricity.
He dragged his eyes back to mine and we stood staring at each other.
His pupils were now dilated and the brown part of his eyes seemed to have turned a shade lighter.
I reached for the water bottle but he didn't release his hold on it. He licked his lower lip as his eyes darted to my lips.
Is it getting hot in here or is this just hot flushes from very early menopause at just the age of 20?!
"There you are!" Sibahle said as she walked into the kitchen with a smile.
Malakai released the bottle and turned around casually as if nothing out of the ordinary happened. I on the other hand was a bag of nerves as I tried to recover from what just happened between us.
I gulped on the water before I responded because my throat suddenly felt dry.
"Good morning, I suddenly felt thirsty and came down for this," I explained as I lifted the water bottle.
"I thought maybe you left without saying goodbye," she said as she went past her brother and she gave him a loose side hug.
Even though there was a guest room, I spent the night in Sibahle's room.
"Eww! You stink, can you please go take a shower." He just ruffled her hair affectionately in response. She made a beeline for the fridge, "What's for breakfast anyway?" She asked as she threw open the fridge, totally oblivious to what she almost walked in on.
I took the moment to compose myself before I said, "I am fine with anything, plus we can always grab something on the way when you drop me off ."
"I need to change," I announced as I started making my way towards the stairs.
That brought Malakai's eyes back on me.
I felt eyes on my back as I went upstairs and I was pretty sure it was not Siba's.