"What about Simi?"

Sudais slowly sucked his lower lip into his mouth, brought it out, and smacked his lips. His steps did not halter, nor did the person talking to him. "What about Simi?"

"Sudais, this is not funny anymore. Your dad tasked me with the job of making sure you realize you're 32 and not getting any younger. You can't keep gambling with your life like that. Not to mention, her life."

Sudais halted to give the man a chuckle before pushing the door. "Why do you care, Tahir?" Since they were on the first name thing, two could play the game.

"Because I respect your dad. I adore him."

Sudais jammed his lips to stop himself from laughing.

Tahir placed a firm hand on Sudais' shoulder. They both halted at that. Sudais twisted to his friend, amusement still evident on his face.

"It's not funny, Tafida."

Sudais couldn't hold it back, he burst into a fit of laughter with his index pointing at Tahir's confused expression. "Ohh-ohh but it is...why are you so hell-bent on this?"

Tahir walked away to plant himself on the chaise sofa. He hoisted his eyes to meet Sudais' figure that stood at the frontage of the fridge.

Sudais returned with blue band-butter out of the icy appliance and bent to take out another large bowl of brownish snack.

Tahir shook his head. The hungry bastard. "B-because...well Baba thinks highly of me, and i no wan loose that respect. Gaskia..."

Sudais dropped the contents he retrieved on the table just in time to burst into another chortle. "Na because say the man din know say na you ashewo pass."

Tahir's USB was flung at Sudais who dodged it. He laughed again. "Wallahi kana son bata min suna. I am a child of God, abeg."

Sudais ripped open the base of the bread's leather and tore the first half off while dragging the coffee table that had his butter and bowl toward him and Tahir on the couch. He twisted the bread until it was nothing more than the size of a corn dog before taking a bite.

He retrieved his phone and proceeded to go about his business. Occasionally, he'd take half a handful of the content in the bowl; Shredded chicken-Danbun kaza.

"Shege. Yanzu daga Yola har Lagos ka taho da danbun nama? Wallahi kana bani kunya." Despite Tahir's disapproval, he still joined in devouring the snack.

"Se kar kaci. Uban waye ce ka saka min hannu?" Sudais hit Tahir's hand that was filled with the shredded chicken. Half the content fell back into the bowl, the rest went to the table and floor.

Tahir hissed. "Kai wawa ne. Me haka?"

Sudais hoisted his eyes from the bowl to his friend, their bickers almost amusing him. However, he looked back at the bowl to see Tahir had just wasted some of his snacks. "Ka renamin wayo, Tahir. Yanzu don iskan—" his no doubtless insult was cut off by the vibration coming from his phone.

When he read the caller Id, he was stupid enough to let his slight confusion show before a small smile grazed his lips. He turned the phone away and excused himself.

He came back a few moments later, determined to not talk about his phone call and wishing a miracle would grace them and get Tahir the hell out of his house.

That miracle couldn't make it and Tahir being Tahir just had to ask. "That was Simi, right?"

Sudais bit off the next piece he had torn from the full bread and shook his head.

"Let me ask you something. I'm serious and be honest."

His attention still on his phone, he lifted a brow in contemplation. He decided it was no harm to answer Tahir. He wasn't his father. Nor could he beat him up for his decisions. "I dey hear you."

"Are you actually done with Simi? As in done, finished?"

Sudais nodded, "Yeah. We're done. Like finished. Finished-finished."

"That's great."

"How's any of this great?"

Tahir's mouth hung open, "Because you were wasting her time."

"I wasn't wasting her time..." Sudais lifted a brow, "Was i?"

"You had no intention of marrying her."

"Ohh..."

Sudais shut up. Tahir was kinda right. But he did care for the girl; even if it was in all shades of wrong.

"Ehen." Tahir dragged, in a way that said exactly my point. "Tell me why you can't marry her."

Sudais rose his eyes up, then took a large bite from his twisted bread. He looked between the bread and his friend, then stretched the bread to his friend's face. "She soaks her bread in her tea man...there's no future for us."

Tahir stared at Sudais in confusion. and Then his expression turned into disbelief. And finally, he roared in amusement.

Shaking his head, he said the words that still sounded impossible on his lips. "You...can't marry her...because she soaks her bread in her tea?"

Sudais nodded, slowly chewing. "Yes. No future for us."

"Why then are you not going to try with someone else?"

Sudais' hand with the shredded chicken ceased mid-air. He turned, lips curved at his friend's seriousness. "Tahir, who do you have secured that you're talking to me as if you have sense?"

The short bearded man's lips curved up into a smile.

Voice void of any stunt, confidence dripping, he slapped his friend across the face with his response. "My elders are going to ask for Aisha's hand in two weeks."

One second. Two seconds. Three seconds. Four seconds.

On the fifth second, the half large loaf of bread was swung at Tahir's face. It knocked out his nose.

"Jesus!" The victim's palm flew to his nose.

Sudais raised the loaf leather and ventured on another strike. Responsively, Tahir swung at the leather which tore from the other man's grasp to fly across the room.

Tahir's eyes met that of Sudais; Happiness, Disappointment, Disbelief, all crystal clear.

Sudais stabbed a finger into his chest. "Ni zaka ciwa amana?"

Tahir eyed him up and down, his eyes now filling up with tears; Courtesy of Sudais' loaf. "Kai Ubanka. Nace maka zan aureka ne daman?"

"Ka tashi anan." Then, the room fell into silence; not an uncomfortable one.

After a while, Sudais made his deductions. "Ok, i get it. You were scared to tell me you've found someone and you also want us to do this together that's why you're nagging me to get someone, Isn't it?"

Tahir shook his head in disbelief. "I find it funny to believe that you think i am scared of you. Kana hauka. Bana tsoron ka. But, like we did everything together since i met you or at least started to get along with you, I'd be honored to do this with you too."

Tenderly, Sudais eyed his friend-best friend. His confidant.

When Tahir thought his friend was about to say something as heartwarming as him, the bastard didn't. Instead, a cup of Soda was making its way down his throat.

Humor dripping, he declared. "We'll get married together if you'll give me your sister—" he grimaced at his words, "Kai I sound like a girl. What the hell, man?"

Tahir snatched the cup before Sudais could down its content and did the honors for him. He let out a breath through his lips and shook his head, a disgusting aspect taking over his face. "In your dreams."

Sudais's empty hand rose as he shrugged. "See? Total waste..." he went still for a moment, then hissed. "And you're talking as if you do not know i must marry a royal as a first wife. Which will most likely be a political marriage arranged by those old people... I don't even mind their threats no more. Haba, se kace muna 16th century. Let's even just do it and get it over it."

Tahir fetched his ringing phone from his pocket and his face lit up with a smile. "Shugaba, I'll see you tomorrow." Calling Sudais, Shugaba like that only meant one thing; he was bailing on him.

Despite the tremendous urge to say something along the line of: 'You've been whipped,' Or 'Now i gotta find a new best friend because this one has been snatched.' He didn't. Instead, he gave his buddy a firm handshake with a grin. "I'm going to pretend like I'm happy for you, man. Although i...i will save my compliments till the day you are finally taken off the market, you backstabbing bastard."

The man on his feet laughed.

"Let's hope you won't be standing as the best man, but a groom himself too."

Sudais snickered at his friend. "Get out."

And get out did Tahir do.

The man lagged around for a moment, putting things back to their designed sites.

20 minutes after Tahir's departure, a quick shower and switch of clothes to sweatpants and sweater top, a splash of perf, his khaki cap adorned the top of his car dashboard in the now less busy streets of Lagos-ikeja state, considering it was a few minutes past eleven at twilight.

Roughly half an hour later, he was parking opposite a white apartment.

He reached for the doorbell at the same time an average height woman freed the door open. His eyes scanned from her bonnet- half-covered head with braided hair positioned at adjacent sides of her face, down to her large alluring eyes, her lips that held a smile, in turn showing her slight top-shelf midriff gap teeth. The swart skin of her neck glowed under the light. Sinking to her peach silk nighty that stopped before her knees with a similar top that concluded at her knees, he cast his eyes slowly back up to her face.

His facial immediately lightened up. Moving closer, he snaked his arm around her waist. Responsively, both of hers wrapped around him as she stepped back and he stepped in, shutting the door close with the heel of his shoes.

She tiptoed and he leaned to meet her halfway. Gently, or as gently as he could muster considering he was losing his mind from how she looked, his lips pressed against hers. It was quick and he pulled back slightly to watch her lips pull into a smile.

That pushed him further, he dropped the gift bag from his left hand and placed both of his palms behind her thighs to hoist her up. Without delay, her hands draped around his neck and her legs wrapped around his waist while he walked them over to her kitchen counter. He dropped her, her butt slapped against the grueling board and she arched her back at the contact.

All trace of gentleness disappeared from both the adults as the hulk of a man-made the first move. Their lips crashed against each other in a way that suggested they were trying to suck the oxygen out of each other. Maybe both their lungs too.

This imprudent thing called hypoxia had them pulling back for a while before they resumed, again.

Sudais pulled back to unpeel his palms from her cheeks and position them at the edge of the board, his back leaned, and face aligned with hers. His voice hoarse from what just transpired, he accosted. "Hi."

Her lips stretched further. God damn. He was a little scared she'd hurt her jaw from smiling that much. "Hi."

She pressed her lips to his, again. Only this time, it was for mere seconds before she was pushing him off and getting off the counter.

"How've you been?" She inquired, walking away and leaving him to cross his arms.

"The usual. What about you? How's work treating you?"

"Same." She was hidden behind the fridge door, fidgeting with items that kept producing sounds over her voice. "Just the usual...even though..." she re-emerged, hoisting a champagne bottle. "I got promoted. You're looking at the head of communications and direction of Boss tech." She gave a bow and a gesture with her hand.

"No wonder you're so happy, i know that didn't come from just missing me. Come over here, girl." He waved her over and she did. He brought her head into his chest and ruffled her silk-clothed back. "Congratulations, I'm proud of you, Simi. This calls for a celebration."

Simi pulled away from him, nodding as she placed the bottle on the counter and wandered back to her kitchen.

"That reminds me..." he turned in search of what he came with. He sighted it a few steps from the door and walked over to retrieve it.

He raised the bag and she watched him with squinted eyes.

When he was anterior to her, he took her hand devoid of a cup and placed the bag into it.

She dropped the cup and the leather on the stool and then proceeded to unbox whatever he had wrapped in the box.

Simi went from confusion to realization.

No, she almost couldn't believe it, so, she looked between him and the piece of knotted fabric in her hand. She screamed in joy and threw herself at him. He caught her, his smile courtesy of her joy.

Even after she had gotten off him and they had made themselves comfortable on the couch with a movie playing faintly on the tv, while Sudais had his entire intensification on the laptop perched at the edge of his lap and Simi's head occupied the base of his thighs, she still didn't stop hugging the rainbow knitted sweater to her chest.

She broke the silence. "If i may ask, when did you get it? Luxy had only one piece left when i was scrolling her page."

"I ordered it the same time you were obsessing about it. I just didn't get the chance to give it to you after..." He responded, eyes and fingers still on the laptop, his facial hardened in determination.

"Ohh...That is so nice of you. Thank you, again."

"Shut up and let me finish this up."

When he had concluded the code he was cracking down for her, they went on about their business.