(061a - Her... Part 1)

I want to properly use this medium to really appreciate everyone that congratulated me when AU hit 100k Views (ọmọ, it's still doing me like film trick 😭). Thank you so much for the love and support! I really appreciate it🔥❤️.

To everyone that sent me a message on my message board and I didn't reply, I apologize. I was at the Redemption camp for Congress and network there is terrible (Redeemites, where una dey?) So I couldn't reply. Thank you all!

New cover by DonaldUzoka 🔥. Do you like it?

Ọmọ, my days are getting tighter and tighter, even in this Christmas period, I'm busier. But I'm still going to keep the update coming, once every two weeks. I'll try to update the first week of new year (I will try ni o)

This chapter was kinda written absent mindedly, so I hope it isn't tacky 😭. Are you ready to see Jidela 🌚?

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𝐉𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐍𝐍𝐀
(Jidenna Leo Okojie)

My fingers moved and tapped furiously on the buttons of the controller, my heart beating rapidly against my ribcage, threatening to burst out from my chest.

With every single move I made, my body swayed till I was almost tipping over the edge of the bean bag I was sitting on, collecting myself just in time to move back in place before I fall flat on the ground.

All this while, my eye remained fixated on the screen in front of me. There was no way I could even dare break eye contact.

I was paying rapt attention to what was playing out in front of me. The only thing I could hear was the loud pounding of my heart in the distance and the faintly animated cheering that came from the big screen with every move the players made.

Come on...

Come On...

"Why are you torturing yourself like this?" TK's rhetorical question ended in a mocking snicker.

I paid him no heed, focusing on the screen as I continued tapping the buttons on the controller in aggression, desperate to get my players as close to the opponent's goalpost as possible.

But the defense was way too tight for me to push through and successfully shoot the ball into the net. And it was becoming so grossly frustrating, that I wanted to give up.

Especially since TK won't stop his taunting.

"You know you can just give up, right?" I saw him pass me a glance from my peripheral vision before he tapped on the buttons of his controller and successfully had his players take the ball from mine, and started moving toward my own post.

"I'm going to win this game whether you like it or not," His players got closer to my eighteenth box, breaking through my defenses easily. I tried to get my goalkeeper to stop the ball from going into the net but that attempt was just as futile.

11:4

TK won, again.

"Okay, I give up," I finally surrendered, throwing the controller carelessly without caring if they'd crash on the floor or against the wall. Of course, TK didn't like that.

"Hey!" He chided, running over to pick up it from the floor where it had fallen to. "I understand that you are a sore loser but can you not break my pad?" His tone showed that he was displeased but still had a mocking undertone.

"These," He held up the two controllers for me to see. "are rare and very expensive," He reminded me for the hundredth time today, and I fought the urge to roll my eyes. "I understand that you are Jidenna fücking Okojie and you are loaded, but don't spoil my shit abeg,"

"Nigga, I handle those pads with more care than you ever will," I told him matter-of-factly.

It's the truth. TK wasn't exactly one to care how expensive and rare his belongings no matter how small they were, especially since he can always afford to get another one. I always handle his things with more care than he ever has, so we both know that he is just capping.

"Whatever," He went back to his bean bag to sit, dismissing what I said with a wave of his hand before tossing one of the controllers back to me carelessly. I struggled to catch it, flashing him a glare.

He just further buttressed my point that I handle his shit a lot better than he ever does.

"Come on, let's play again," He nodded toward the big screen in front of us. "An extra fifteen matches. Best twenty-five out of thirty," He grinned at me while I passed him an incredulous look.

Is this guy joking?

"So that you can cream me again?" I asked, scoffing out a humorless laugh. "I'm good, bro. Thank you very much," I dumped the pad on the bed, bowing out and TK laughed at me, calling me a sore loser again under his breath.

We have been at this since I got here by noon, spending the last two and a half hours playing PS5 since we apparently had nothing better to do. And for all fifteen games that we have played, Tk bested me and kicked me to the curb.

Unlike me, TK was that good at playing.

But deep down, I knew I wasn't just backing out because I was losing the game to him.

It's not like I didn't want to give up sooner. It was even getting really boring especially since he's always winning, but TK kept persuading me to play one more match. I wasn't sure if he was just excited about beating me more or maybe he was trying to find a way to get me to still stay over with him.

Either way, I was still here and no matter how bored I was beginning to get, I wasn't exactly in a hurry to go back home.

Not when Kingsley Okojie was back and constantly in the house.

It's a shocker that he hasn't seen the video of my public apology on Monday. Either that or he chose to ignore it which was very much unlikely.

Whatever it was, the last thing I wanted was to be anywhere around that man. The closest I wanted to be to him now is within a ten mile radius distance.

But then again, as much as I wasn't in a hurry to go back home, TK's place wasn't where I really wanted to spend my afternoon. Maybe a few months ago, I'd have been so eager to spend the day with TK... but recently, it hasn't been the number place I have in mind to go whenever I want to chill.

In fact, I had something entirely different in mind for my afternoon, something a lot more fun than playing PS5 in the game room of my best friend's house.

With that thought playing in my head, I turned to look at my phone sitting silently on the stool beside me, staring down at it as if my eyes will automatically dial the number I'd been stopping myself from calling all day.

Her number.

"Are you expecting a phone call?" TK's voice caused me to look away from the phone to him. His left brow was tugged up as he glanced repeatedly between me and my phone inquisitively. I gathered myself, shrugging with nonchalance.

"Not exactly,"

I made the response as simple as possible to stop him from asking more questions. But knowing TK, his mind was probably already running on wheels and making several assumptions with my reply. Still, I gave no room for that as I picked you the controller and started tapping the buttons again, choosing the next game.

It would get his mind off whatever is already thinking about.

And it did because when I glanced at him again, there was a small smile playing on his lips and an excited glint in his eyes.

"What?" I asked, a small confused laughter in my voice.

"Nothing," He only shrugged, his smile widening a bit. "It has just been a while since we did anything together as friends," He stated.

The implication of his words slowly dawned on me. It has really been a while since we did anything together as best friends.

How did I not feel it?

"I've kinda missed this though," He kept speaking, referring to both of us hanging out. "I know that you are trying to forget all that shit that happened on Monday, and I'm so glad that I can finally help,–"

He was talking about what went down in the hallway that was still causing a whole lot of ruckus on the group chats and social media platforms of the set. He has been trying, all week to make me forget it every happened, just like I knew he would.

Or maybe that was what he wanted me to believe.

Either way, what he didn't know was that I wasn't here to forget all about that. I didn't want to forget any of it. If anything, I wanted to remember that day for the rest of my life because in as much as it seemed like something I shouldn't be proud of, it was a big deal to me.

It was my day of redemption.

My big break.

But of course, TK won't see it that way so I didn't bother trying to talk him into stopping his attempt to make me forget. I let him continue.

"Apart from that," He was still talking, and I wasn't even sure what he had said before then. "We should do this more often, àbí what do you think?" He asked me, gesturing between the two of us with his eyes sparkling with hope.

He was simply trying to tell me that we should hang out more.

What do I really think?

Such a simple question that I wasn't sure I had an answer to.

So, all I could do was muster a smile back in response, and that seemed to be more than enough positive feedback for TK because the excited glint returned to his eyes, while my mind drifted off in thoughts.

It wasn't like I didn't want to spend time with TK, or make up for the times we lost when we weren't on speaking terms. Far from it in fact, because who wouldn't want to spend time with their best friend? Especially when I was clearly aware of the reasons he needed me around.

His Parents' continuous, and honestly strange absence.

As far as I knew, TK's parents were barely around, chasing one business deal or the other around the country. I can count all the times he has said they were home on my fingers, that's how scarce they were. I know have met them before, but heaven knows if I see them today, I won't be able to place their faces as his parents.

And as much as TK acted like it wasn't affecting him, I could easily tell it got lonely for him a lot, all alone in this big house especially since he was an only child. No siblings around to keep him company, just the helpers that obviously had boundaries.

From what I've seen, they try to make up for their absence by sending him loads of money every other week. But the fact remains that nothing will ever make up for a parent's absence in the life of their child, not even money.

TK must also know this, that's why he tries to have me around, or come over to my place as often as possible to help him forget that feeling of loneliness.

It was easier to be available when everything I did... everything I was revolved around him and him alone. It was so much easier to be available when I was equally as lonely as he was, best friends knowingly, or unknowingly helping each other to fill a void.

Not anymore.

Not since Adela.

And now, I wasn't sure if I was going to be as available as I used to be.

Not when she's already involved.

And not with the doubts about TK that have been subtly sipping into my mind since Monday.

"Shey you wan chaw?" TK's question brought me out of my thoughts. I looked at him, hoping he didn't notice that I had zoned off. Thankfully, he seemed very invested in whatever he was typing on his phone.

"What?" I asked, trying to remember the question he asked me. He glanced away from his phone to me for a moment before looking back at his phone.

"Do you want to eat?" He asked again. He didn't wait for me to respond before he started speaking again. "I have ordered KFC for the two of us sha. They will here any moment from now–"

The distant sound of the doorbell cut off the rest of his words and stopped mine from leaving my lips. I was going to tell him that I wasn't that hungry but well, food is already here and it won't be okay to waste it.

"That was fast," I commented instead because it wasn't even up to one minute that he said he made the order.

Were they patrolling this estate with food and waiting for someone around the order? Because that's exactly what it seems like.

"I'll go get the food," TK stood up from his bean bag, "Pick another game for us to play, " He said to me. "At least a game you can easily dominate me in," He teased.

This time, I couldn't fight the urge to roll my eyes. I rolled it so hard.

"Right," I mumbled. "As if any game like that even exists," I added, and he chuckled maliciously.

"I Know Right!" He chortles, and before I could think of a smartass come back for him, he was already out of the room, closing the door behind him.

I exhaled, dropping the controller and leaning back against the bean bag I was sitting on.

I wasn't sure if I had it in me to play another game, maybe because I sincerely wanted to do something else... be somewhere else. Somewhere that wasn't TK's extravagant game room. Somewhere that wasn't even TK's house or mine.

But I knew I had to be here for TK even if all I wanted to do was jump out of the window and flee. I couldn't bring myself to leave after what he said minutes ago about being glad that we were finally doing something as friends for the first time in a while. I couldn't bring myself to leave because I knew he needed me around even if he never says it.

So, maybe just for today. I can stay with him today.

Besides, It's not like I have a reason to leave. Everything was just in my head.

But as if the universe heard the unsaid silent prayer in my mind, it created a reason for me to leave.

And not just any reason.

The only reason that could get me to leave TK despite all I said about being here for him just for today.

🎶What you know about rolling down in the deep...🎶

My ringtone filled the room, jerking me out of my thoughts abruptly. I collected myself for a moment before I turned to look at who my caller was. And as soon as my eyes landed on the screen, on the name of the caller, every hair on the skin of my body perked up in high alert.

Her🖤.

My mouth suddenly became dry as my heart automatically started to beat faster than it was supposed to, pumping blood to parts of my body that seemed to heighten my emotions. My palms suddenly became sweaty and goosebumps began sprouting on every corner of my skin like I was chilly.

But hell, I wasn't chilly.

I felt rather warm. Nicely warm.

I've always had these reactions when it comes to Adela, but not all at once, not as potent or as consuming as this. Ever since the moment we had in that empty room on Monday, everything about me became heightened when it came to her, even as little as just mere thoughts of her flashing through my mind.

I wasn't sure what it was supposed to mean, but I liked the feeling very much. I welcomed it wholeheartedly.

Pick the call, dum dum. My subconscious flayed in my head, reminding me that my phone was still ringing.

I quickly picked up.

"Adela," I said into the receiver as soon as the seconds started counting, my voice coming off as eager and expectant.

There was a little noise in the background, an indication that she was somewhere noisy but even with that, I didn't hear her voice. I inwardly hoped that she didn't call me by mistake.

Now, that would just be devastating.

"Adela?" I called again, hopefully, this time.

"Someone sounds like he has been expecting my call,"

Her smooth voice laced with a teasing undertone rang through the speaker and into my ear, and I swear, I didn't know when a sigh of relief escaped from me. My lips stretched in an automatic smile so wide that my cheeks started to hurt. I had to bite down against my bottom lip to stop myself from smiling so hard.

"I have," I admitted unashamedly because I had nothing to hide. The girl has literally seen my at my very worse. "Been looking at my phone all day, honestly," I added, my heart swelling.

"Then why didn't you call me?" Her question sounded like a subtle query like she has been waiting for me to call her just like I was waiting for her to call me.

"I don't know," I answered in all honesty, standing up from the bean bag to walk around the room. "I wasn't sure of what I'd say if you picked up. I just really wanted to hear your voice," I told her.

There was silence from her side, and one would have thought the line went dead. But I could still hear her steady breathing, and though I couldn't see her face, I could feel the smile playing on her lips. I wasn't sure how, but I could feel it.

And that thought only made my smile widen.

"Are you smiling right now?" I found myself asking before I could stop the question from leaving my lips. There was a small chuckle from her end, serene... beautiful.

"What makes you think I'm smiling?" She asked, her tone still teasing but daring at the same time. Now it was my turn to chuckle as I took my position by the window, suddenly finding TK's massive backyard interesting.

"Just a feeling," was my simple answer, my voice in a whisper.

"Maybe that feeling isn't completely wrong,"

Her response was just as simple as mine, her tone mimicking mine, subtly confirming that I was right about her smiling. My own smile increased, stretching all the way to my ears as my heart continued to beat at an unnatural and possibly unhealthy speed.

At this rate, I'd probably have a cardiac arrest.

After everything happened on Monday, I haven't stepped foot in school. It was so much easy to skip since SS3 students were not doing anything in school. I stayed off all social media platforms for the sake of my mental health, knowing that all my classmates were coming for me, archiving all my chats on Whatsapp.

All, except hers.

Still, we didn't get to chat. The few times that I put on my data, only to see if she had sent me any message, there was none from her. Though I knew that she was trying to give me space, I low-key wanted her to send me at least one message.

Till now.

And boy, was I glad it was a phone call.

I get to hear her voice. That voice that had spoken so gently to me on Monday. That voice that had caressed me and said things to me that I have never heard in a long time. That voice that held pride, that finally made me feel worthy for the first time in the longest time.

That voice that defended me and made me feel proud of myself for once.

I was hearing it again.

Poised. Quiescent. Tranquil. Beautiful.

Just like its owner.

I've missed her.

"I missed you," My voice came out in a husky whisper, almost breathless.

I knew exactly what I said. It wasn't like the words left my mouth before I could think them through. No, I thought it through, and said it with in-depth consciousness and intentionality, wanting Adela to know exactly what was in my mind at this moment.

And yes, I was nervous because I wasn't sure what her response might be, or if she'd think I was overstepping. But I said it anyway.

Because it was exactly what I was feeling.

And as expected, my words were met with silence. All I could hear was her breathing which wasn't so steady anymore, an indication that she wasn't expecting what I said. She inhaled deeply before she spoke again.

"We spoke on Monday, Jidenna," I didn't know if my ears were playing tricks on me, but she sounded just as breathless as I did, her voice hushed.

"Still," I paused to hold the burglary proof with my eyes focused outside, but my mind was on the girl at the other end of the call. "We haven't spoken since then. We didn't speak the rest of the week till now.–

–That's reason enough to miss you," I told her.

That was met by another round of silence, her breathing still unsteady. I don't know why it made me feel so giddy that I was getting this kind of reaction from her. Normally, Adela was always the one to elicit any sort of reaction from me, not the other way around.

But now, I have successfully managed to render her speechless... twice.

"Did I just render the great Adela Yongo speechless?" I asked, my voice coming out in a cursive, teasing tone that elicited a contagious laugh from her.

"You wish," She replied between laughter, trying to debunk what I said, but I could tell she was trying to dodge. In no time, I found myself chuckling, joining her in laughter.

This was the first time I was laughing so freely with her, with no care in the world and with no consciousness of what was going on around me. Right now, the only thing that mattered was that I was on the phone with that one girl that could break me down just by one look, and I was making her laugh hysterically.

It felt nice. So Nice.

"Jidenna," She called to me when our laughter subsided, her voice still lowered to a whisper but loud enough for me to hear despite the noise in the background.

"Yeah?" I answered, urging her on.

There was silence... but only for a nanosecond.

"Ditto," She whispered.

That was all she said, but it didn't take me up to a second to figure out what she meant. And with that realization dawning on me, I could no longer help the smile from stretching far up my lips, what she said lightening up my entire being.

One seemingly simple word that meant so much to me.

She was telling me she missed me too.

We didn't say anything to each other for a moment but still kept the call going, listening to each other breathe. Heaven knows if someone had said I'd be doing something so cliché like this with a girl, I'd have laughed in their face and told them they were capping.

But yet, here I am, enjoying every bit of it.

I wanted more.

"I'm sure you didn't call me to tell me you missed me," I finally broke the comfortable silence between us, smiles still tugging at the corners of my lips.

"I didn't," She admitted, sounding a little breathless and I could still feel her smiling. "I'm actually somewhere that I think you'd really like," she revealed. "I got here and I thought of you immediately," She added.

That made my smile widen.

"Yeah?" Was all I could manage to say.

Did it have anything to do with photography? I wasn't even with the camera she got me.

"And no, it's not a photography gig," She quickly said like she could hear my thoughts. "It's just somewhere really beautiful that I think will help get your mind off... things–"

I knew immediately that she was talking about all the happenings on Monday.

"–I am positive you will enjoy it here," She said, her tone persuasive. "That's if you are game though," She added like an afterthought.

I have learned to trust Adela's judgment on anything, not because she's majorly always right but because she never lies. Besides, she has managed to perk my interest, and my need to leave this place has intensified a millionfold.

I just knew I didn't have to waste my time contemplating on if I should go or not because I already knew I wanted to go. Right now, I wanted to be where Adela was. Her energy resonated with mine in ways that excited and scared me at the same time.

She made me feel at ease... completely at ease.

"Where?" I asked.

"Wonder Coast, Lekki Crown," She answered me.

I knew Wonder Coast because I have lived in Lekki Crown all my life, but for the life of me, I've never had the opportunity to visit the place even with how famous it was. I guess this would be the time I finally get to see the amazing Wonder Coast, thanks to Adela.

Good thing I was right here in Lekki Crown.

"I'll be there in ten," I told her. I heard her exhale like she had been holding her breath and waiting for me to give her a positive response.

"Okay," She whispered back, her tone like she was trying too hard to fight her smile. I could tell.

"Be expecting me," I said to her, and this time fit of giggles escaped her lips so easily like she had been trying to hold it in.

"Already expecting," was her smooth response before the line finally went dead.

I pulled the phone away from my ear and stared at it for a moment, unable to hide my smile anymore. The excitement of seeing her again was beginning to overwhelm me. I just can't wrap my mind around how giddy, and happy she made me feel.

I shoved my phone into the pocket of my joggers and turned around to pick up my pullover. But as soon as I did that, reality slapped me right in the face and I suddenly remembered where I was, what I was doing here, and why I was here.

TK was standing just a few feet away from me, staring directly at me with an expression I couldn't decipher while holding KFC paper bags in his hand.

Oh, Shit.

"Who was that?" He asked, his eyebrows quirked up in question as he moved further into the room and placed the paper bags on the table.

I opened my mouth to tell him that it was no one but closed it just in time before I lied. I wasn't sure if he has been standing long enough to listen to the entire conversation and figure out it was Adela, so he might just catch me in my lie.

Besides, I shouldn't have any reason to lie about Adela.

"It's Adela," I revealed, moving to the sofa where my jacket was to pick it up. As expected, it got a reaction from TK. Subtle, but still obvious.

He paused arranging what he had gotten on the table as soon as I mentioned her name, turning to look at me with his face contorted in an incredulous expression. I didn't know if the reason for his reaction was because it was her or because I still had the boldness to mention her name out loud when he obviously didn't want to hear it.

But again, there was no reason to hide that she was the one.

"Adela," He repeated, a hint of disdain in his tone, an emotion I already knew he'd exhibit. Nonetheless, I nodded, and then he nodded, a small Oh escaping his lips in what I could pass as mock realization.

Typical.

"You are going to leave me to meet up with her," He stated matter-of-factly, indicating that he heard that part of our conversation, his face now morphed into a daring expression.

I exhaled.

"Okay," I breathed. "I know I said I was going to spend the day with you, but she needs me for something,"

That was a little lie. There was no way I could tell TK that I was bored staying here and spending my day with Adela seemed a lot more exciting. It was so much better if I played safe, knowing how much he didn't like Adela, and how I was blowing him off for her.

"I swear, I'm going to make it up to you," I added when he didn't say anything, only staring at me with his expression now suddenly impassive.

It was honestly how he switched emotions so swiftly for me. Now I couldn't tell exactly what was going on in his head.

Then, he rolled his eyes.

"Whatever," He waved his hand dismissively before picking up his share of food and going back to his bean bag.

"Do whatever you want. More food for me anyway," He took a chicken wing from the cardboard bucket and bit into it, acting and looking like everything I just said didn't bother him like I expected him to.

I stared back at him in awe

He isn't pissed?

Compared to how he acted on Monday, his calmness right now was pretty scary. So uncharacteristic of him.

"You are okay with me leaving?" I asked incredulously, sincerely shocked to my wits at his strangely calm reaction to this whole thing.

He stopped eating and turned to look at me, his lips tugged in an unamused smirk as his forehead creased in a slight frown.

"Do you need my permission?" His question was teasing but his tone wasn't. "As I said, do whatever you want. Besides, it's not like you want to spend the entire day sitting here and playing PS5, right?" He went right back to his chicken wings.

Now, that's the reaction I was expecting.

"Message received, you are not okay with me leaving," I deduced and he looked at me like I was yanning dust. "You are being pretty passive-aggressive with your answers. It's clear," I told him, shoving my hand into the pocket of my jeans.

He scoffed out a humorless laugh.

"Passive-aggressive?" It was his turn to sound incredulous like I was accusing him wrongly even though we both knew I was right. "Abeg, I no get the time to waste such an emotion on something so trivial,–"

Right.

"You want to go and meet her, fine," He rose his hands in mock surrender, acting completely unaffected by this whole thing even though I knew better. "Have fun while you are at it, bruh," He somewhat dismissed me, picking up the controller. I exhaled, finally grabbing my jacket and shrugging it on.

That's that about that.

"I'm sorry," I apologize once more, but he didn't take his eyes off the screen. "I promise I will make it up to you. We can reschedule and I'll be available this time," I told him, just to appease him even if he keeps acting like he wasn't pissed.

"Guy, it's all good. Na smallz," He shrugged, still not taking his eyes off the screen. I exhaled again, knowing that I have tried my best. He was pissed, that much I could tell, but he wasn't pissed enough to get me to stay.

I needed this.

I deserved it.

So, I made to leave... only for him to speak again.

"We both don't have to pretend that we don't know why you are spending so much time with her sha. I get it,"

He mumbled just as I reached the door. I wasn't sure if he made that statement for me to hear or not but I heard it and it was enough to get me halting in my steps.

I turned to look at him. His entire focus was still fixated on the big screen in front of him, but I was very much aware that he knew I was still in the room with him. His statement kept ringing in my head and a confused frown made its way to my face.

"What do you mean?" I asked, my brows furrowed. He paused the game and looked at me over my shoulder, his face plain but I didn't miss the glint in his eyes, an emotion somewhere between mocking and malicious.

Or maybe it was both.

He shrugged again.

"Konji," He stated so simply, his tone laced with an annoying nonchalance that made the frown on my face deepen.

"Excuse me?"

What the fuck is he trying to say?

"Stop acting like you are just hearing the word for the first time, man," He said, his tone like he was playing around but my face remained stoic.

"I get it, you are lonely and possibly sexually frustrated," He continued, chuckling like the shit he just said was funny. "You haven't had any action in a while so it's quite understandable that you can't wait to tap that," He nodded his head forward in indication to Adela even though she wasn't here.

His words painfully pierced through my skin like a hot coal, sipping into my bloodstream, and had my blood boiling in a second. I stared at TK with utter disdain, my expression giving off that I was clearly disgusted with the direction this conversation was taking.

But either he didn't notice, or he chose to ignore that I was uncomfortable with it, he continued speaking.

"She's pretty, I'll give her that," He shrugged, his lips quirked in that malicious smirk of his. "And for such a small girl, she's pretty thick. I mean, have you checked out her as–"

"Choose your next words carefully, TK,"

The words left my lips before I could stop them, my voice reduced to a dangerously husky that I didn't even know I could muster, my eyes pinned right on him and my face deadpan.

He looked a little taken aback, eyebrows tugged in astonishment but with a smirk still playing on his lips. It irritated me more than I wanted to admit.

"Don't disrespect her," I told- warned him."Especially like that,"

He held my gaze for a moment, his eyes scanning my features like he was reading me as if he wanted to tell if I was playing or not. And when he realized I wasn't, he chuckle, raising his hands in mock surrender.

"Chill, my guy. Why so serious?" He laughed, but I didn't join him, letting him know that I don't find any of this or what he said funny. "I was just playing around. Small thing you are already vexing," He scoffed.

"I'm not vexed," I debunked easily.

Just irritated.

"Whatever," He dismissed, turning back to focus on his game like none of this happened. "Better go and meet her before she vexes for you sha," He said.

He didn't need to tell me twice.

I walked out of the room without saying another word, being in the same space with TK was suddenly a chore for me. It wasn't until after I left the room that I was able to breathe properly and my blood cooled. I tried to push everything TK said about Adela out of my mind, knowing that the mere thought of his disrespectful words would just rile me up again.

Maybe I was vexed like he said... but I had every right to be.

He disrespected Adela.

TK was my best friend and I have excused his excesses a lot of times, but I don't think I will be able to excuse him for disrespecting that girl, especially since it was obviously out of spite. If that happened, deep down I knew I'd have a serious problem with it, and by extension, have a serious problem with TK.

The mere thought of fighting my best friend because of a girl scared the hell out of me.

But at the same time, it told me that I cared... deeply.

Because Adela wasn't just any girl.

⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆

It was exactly ten minutes when I got to the gate of Wonder Coast. The exact time I told Adela I'll be here.

Of course, I didn't walk all the way from TK's house to this place. Lekki Crown was like an entire city on its own inside Lagos, so I had to call an Uber to get me, and here I was, standing in front of Wonder Coast, super excited but at the same time, nervous out of my mind.

"Relax, Jidenna," I whispered to myself. "It's just Adela," I exhaled. But deep down, I knew that it wasn't just Adela.

It was everything about her and so much more.

It was her eyes, the way she looked at me, intricate gaze drilling deep into me like she was trying to search my soul, shattering me and putting me back together at the same time. She stared at me with eyes that made me shy.

Me... Jidenna Leo Okojie... Shy.

It was her voice. Soft, yet filled with so much authority and audaciousness. She never stuttered, never mixed up her words. It was always like she has thought of everything she was going to say on a particular day beforehand. Her diction was poised, making it very easy for anyone... for me to listen to her.

I loved listening to her... even when she'd call me names. There was something about her voice that screamed POWER.

It was her hands, her thin fingers, daintily brushing and trailing my skin with delicacy... with intentionality. She has only touched me a few times, including the hug from Monday but I was still very aware of the effects her touch had on me, no matter how little.

It was her scent. Subtle yet so powerful, so intoxicating.

My body was so aware of her, that every little thought of her left my skin with tingles and every one of my sensory organs alert.

It's all this that makes me feel so nervous.

Everything I felt about Adela was new... different, in an exceptional way. I haven't even seen her yet and she was already clouding my senses. It made me feel... warm.

What's that even supposed to mean? I scoffed out a laugh, shaking my head.

"Okay. Calm down," I exhaled, trying to calm my suddenly racing heartbeat. I can't leave now. I don't even want to leave.

I want to see her.

So I fished out my phone to text her as I made my way through the gates.

Me.
I'm here. This place is massive, how do I see you?

It wasn't up to a second after I sent the message that there was a blue tick and an indication that she was typing back.

Her🖤.
Where exactly are you?

I started typing back.

Me.
Around the gate. Where are you?

Her🖤.
I'm in front of a corn dog stand around that side.
Come find me😌.

And with that, she went offline.

A chuckle escaped my lips as I shook my head at the text, not surprised at all.

Typical Adela. I thought with a smile lingering against my lips, shoving my phone back into my pocket.

I started looking, walking further into the vast space that looked like a big carnival fair. Everywhere was busy and buzzing with so much energy, the kind of energy associated with the night, which made a little surprising because it was still afternoon.

It made me wonder how the night will be.

It made me look forward to it.

I looked around when I got to where all the food stands were, my eyes scanning around till I found my eyes landed right on her.

Her.

She wasn't looking this way, her bag to me but I could tell that it was her, her dauntless posture giving her away. She was standing by a corn dog stand just like she said she would, very invested in tasting the corn dog samples on display.

Me, I was very invested in watching her.

Smiles automatically tugged at the corners of my lips as I took her in. She looked beautiful, as always, but there was something about her today that struck me and made her look more distinct, that made her stand out even with everyone around her.

I didn't know if it was her hair, not the same one I saw on Monday. It was something new. I wasn't very familiar with girls' hair-do, but I knew the one she had on was dreads, locker in medium-sized bundles, packed up in a big neat bun.

Or maybe it was her outfit. I have never seen Adela in an outfit that didn't show off her slim, toned legs but today was an exception, obviously because of the harmattan season. But covering up didn't make her any less beautiful than she has always been.

A dark brown leather and furry jacket over black jeans and sneakers that had a little color to the dark theme of her outfit. With the way she stood, I couldn't tell what she had as an inner but I could bet anything that it was a crop top.

(Her Royal Highness 😌👑🔥)

It made my smile stretch further how much I knew her style.

I knew she was beautiful, but when she turned and I got a glimpse of just the side of her face, my breath caught in my throat and I immediately wished I had brought along my camera to take a picture and immortalize what I was seeing right now.

She was breathtaking.

It was as if the little sun that was shining was shining just for her because her skin radiated it in such a magnificent way, glowing and shining.

I've never seen anyone exude the kind of glow that Adela Karen Yongo did. Hers was exquisite, flawless... ethereal.

It enraptured my entire being.

She was yet to notice me, focusing on corn dogs so I wanted to soak it all in for as long as I could before walking up to her. But it all came to an abrupt end when someone walked to her and threw his hands around her shoulder, drawing her into a hug that she gladly went in for.

I froze.

It honestly felt like someone had doused me from head to toe with cold water and multiple ice blocks.

My blood ran cold. It felt like I was being slapped across the face.

What the fuck!

They pulled apart, talking and. laughing about God knows what, while I stood there in the middle of the road, a couple of feet away, glaring at the guy that was touching Adela, wishing that lasers would shoot out of my eyes and incinerate him completely.

But even with how hard I glared at him, he didn't go up in flames. He was standing right there, smiling with Adela, touching her.

Why him?

Why the hell is it always him?

Why does it have to be him all the time, always around her?

Why Ola Davis?

And why the fuck is he here?

𝐀/𝐍

At this rate, Jidenna will kill Ola Davis 🤣😭. That guy shows up at the wrongest times tho.

I'm so sorry for the tackiness of this Chapter. This week has been so distracting. Right now, I'm at a children's church camp and as I'm writing this, I'm trying to put my kids in a room before dinner(I'm a children's teacher 😭). I just hope I delivered a little bit at least.

So, TK is still mad as we can all see💀. I'm pretty sure he was talking about Adela that way because he wanted to see Jidenna's reaction. And thank Jesus, my guy is already growing some balls🔥.

Do you see Jidenna and TK getting into a big fight because of Adela? Because I definitely see it happening, sooner or later, and I can't wait 😌.

This chapter is divided into two. We will get to see what Jidenna will do to Olá in the next and the progress of our Jidela ship 🌚. Till then, you know the drill.

Kisses 💋😘.