THE BED was softer and more comfortable, Mercy could feel it. This wasn't her bunk bed. Her sight was first blurry as her eyes slowly opened, before the sleep finally cleared off. Nothing prepared her for who she saw sleeping right beside her. Tony! What was she doing on bed with Tony? In fact, where was she? This was apparently not her dormitory. She sat up immediately on the bed and as a result, her head throbbed. She winced from the sharp pain, rubbing her temples. The memories of the previous night suddenly began to flash through her mind. She didn't recollect the details of everything that happened from when she got intoxicated last night. The last thing she could remember was that she fell into a pool of water, while in an attempt to make her way to the spot where she and her roommates had reserved for themselves earlier on in the party. What happened thereafter, she couldn't recall. But with the look of things, had Tony come to the party to rescue her from drowning? All of these questions remained unanswered in her head. 

Mercy's eyes popped open as the realization hit her that she wasn't putting on the cloth she had worn the previous night. She was on something different— an oversized top. She couldn't help it; she screamed. This woke Tony up with a jolt. He had the duvet was covering his lower body while he had no shirt on his upper body. Mercy wondered if he had a boxer short on or he was stark naked. The thought of the latter made her scared. Different negative thoughts began to surge into her head. Had Tony slept with her? Was her virginity still intact?

"What's wrong?" Tong asked, alarmed. 

"I woke up to find myself on a bed with a guy in a room I don't recognize and you ask me what's wrong?" Mercy responded, sharply.

"Oh," was all Tony commented as he shifted back and relaxed on the headboard of the bed. "Was that why you screamed?"

Mercy shot him a look. "Please tell me we didn't do anything?" She was nervous to hear his reply. 

Tony smirked mischievously, raising and putting one arm behind his head. His underarm looked like it hadn't been shaved in a while, however Mercy couldn't help but notice how sexy he looked and that made her hormones go wide. She wasn't used to seeing, face to face, a guy shirtless, especially a sexy one for that matter— her dad's stomach was more protruding than his chest— so she didn't know how she was going to control her hormones from not responding to Tony's body, or except one way— stop staring.

"You didn't sleep with me, did you?" There was more foreboding in Mercy's voice. She had stopped looking at him. 

"Uh, where else do you think I slept?" Tony gave Mercy a duh look. "On the floor?"

His charade upset Mercy. "Don't kid around, you know what I'm talking about."

Tony chuckled. "No of course I didn't have sex with you. You'd know that if you were a virgin."

Then it dawned on Mercy. Her panty wasn't stained with blood. If he had gotten laid with her, she would have bled for she was still a virgin. 

"Oh, yeah." Mercy felt embarrassed.

"So you're a virgin then?" The way it came out from Tony, it seemed like a question. 

Although Mercy knew her virginity was her pride, at least that was what her parents made her believe, she still didn't have the confidence to tell people she was. She had the feeling they were going to belittle her or call her naive and she didn't like to be perceived as such. 

Mercy deflected, "How did I get in here and where are my clothes and what am I even doing with you? I'm not supposed to be talking to you." 

"Why?" Tony asked, arching a brow. 

"Why what?"

"Why aren't you supposed to be talking to me?"

"You knew about my matriculation day, yet you didn't show up or call." Mercy couldn't help but notice how like those whiny obnoxious girlfriends she sounded and so she added, "Not like I care anyway. I mean you're not my boyfriend and we just got to know each other." She immediately regretted adding that part. 

Tony smirked, "You don't care, yet it bothers you that I didn't attend your matric or call you."

"It doesn't bother me." Mercy put on an indifferent face.

"If it doesn't, then why did you say you aren't supposed to be talking to me?" Tony was enjoying what he was doing. 

Mercy had no defense so she said, "You know what, never mind. Just forget that I said that and answer the other questions."

Tony began to explain everything to her from the moment he saw her last night. He had been invited to the party by one of his friends. At the pool side was where he was when he spotted a girl floundering like she was drunk. It seemed like every other person at the pool was having so much fun that they didn't notice her. By the way the girl moved, Tony had predicted she was going to fall into the pool and when she eventually did, she screamed for help as she struggled to swim. This caught quite a number of people's attention. Tony quickly dived into the water to rescue her. She was already drowning when he got hold of her and helped her out of the pool. It was then he recognized the girl was Mercy. Very little bit of water had gotten into her nostrils. She coughed out the little and then fell asleep almost immediately. 

Tony carried dripping wet Mercy at his back and lodged into a hotel where both of them could spend the night. Getting into room 106, he dropped Mercy gently on the bed, then pulled off his top and wore it on Mercy before taking off her damp dress and her shoes. Thereafter, he tucked her in the bed and slept off as well. 

"...And I'm really sorry I didn't attend your matric. I was so busy that day that it skipped my mind." Tony put his hand over Mercy's hand which made Mercy turn to look at him. "I can make it up to you."

Mercy smiled. "You have already. I probably would have drowned if you hadn't rescued me, thank you. I think I owe you one."

"Nah, don't mention."  Tony, still on the bed, moved closer to Mercy. "I really care about you. You know that, right?"

Mercy smiled sheepishly, fumbling with her fingers. Tony was the only guy that triggers this shy part of her.

"I really do, and I want us to change our relationship status." Tony added. 

It didn't click to Mercy what he meant instantly but when it did, she couldn't hide her surprise. "Wait, are you asking me out?"

"Yes, I want you to be my girlfriend."

"Wow," was all Mercy said as she looked into his eyes. Her heart was racing.

"You could think about it if you want." Tony shrugged, raising his eyebrows.

"Actually there's nothing to think about. My answer is yes." Mercy smiled broadly.

Tony returned the smile and gave Mercy a hug which took her aback. It wasn't the first time Tony was hugging her, but this time around, he was half naked. She could feel him so much on her. The feeling was sensational. It woke the butterflies in her tummy. She giggled as she hugged him back. They both laughed, and then Tony pecked her cheek. "You're not going to regret this, I promise you." 

Mercy was still. Tony had just pecked her. She was going to melt. She had to control herself from swooning. ”I…I know, I know I wouldn't." She stuttered.

 Tony jumped out of the bed. "Let me call the room service to order our breakfast before we leave this place."

Mercy now knew what was under the duvet. Tony was wearing a white tight boxer short. She ogled at how big he was. This time, her hormones were ravenous. She wanted him — craved him. How could just one guy be that attractive? Tony put on his jeans and took the telephone by the bed stand. He dialed the room service to order sandwiches and beverage for breakfast. They got their delivery some minutes later. It was a delicious meal. After which, they took turns in having their bath and then got dressed in the clothes they had worn the previous night. Afterwards, they checked out of the hotel. 

"So when are we hanging out again?" Tony asked, holding Mercy's hands as they strode on a pavement.

"I don't know. It depends on my schedule."

"Scrap your schedule, because I'm taking you out on the best date this weekend."

"Tony!" Mercy smiled coyly. "You want to distract me from my studies eh?"

"Let me be your worst distraction, baby girl." Tony sounded flirty, wrapping his arm around Mercy's waist. 

Although they had recently just started dating each other and as such, Mercy felt it was weird that he was already flirting with her and holding her in places she wouldn't allow any guy to on a normal day, Mercy liked that he did it. He was the kind of guy she wanted — the audacious and bad boy kind. That was the impression she was getting from him. She didn't want a guy that was afraid to ask his girl for a kiss not to talk of grabbing her bum without permission. She chuckled at his statement, rolling her eyes sultrily. "Your pick up lines though."

Tony smiled. "I got the last part from John Legend's All of Me."

"Oh." Mercy widened her eyes as she realized. "My worst distraction, my rhythm and blues." She sang and then remarked disparagingly. "All these lines from love songs, very cheesy."

"But it's girls like you that fall for those cheesy lines the most."

"You wish!" Mercy gave him a playful sneer. "What kind of girl do you think I am, the inexperienced kind?"

"By inexperienced, you mean?" Tony asked.

"Uh, you know, the type of girl that has never had a boyfriend before and would fall for any guy with cheesy lines like that out of desperation." Mercy said. Although she wasn't that type of girl, she had been desperate for a guy in her life before she met Tony. Her religious parents had threatened to deal with her if they ever found out she had a boyfriend in secondary school, and even though she had thought of dating one in secret, she couldn't as her parents had told her class teacher and some other teachers in the school to keep a close eye on her. That was the only reason she hadn't had a boyfriend until Tony. As for looks, she was beautiful.

"So how many boyfriends have you had before me?" Tony asked.

"Two." It pricked Mercy's conscious that she lied.

"Hmm, so what led to the last break up?"

"Uh, can we not talk about past relationships. Let's enjoys ours." Mercy sidestepped the question.

"Alright, so this weekend, yeah?" Tony asked. 

"I'd let you know. Where do you stay by the way?"

"I thought I told you already—"

"I mean, like the exact address."

"You want to come visit?"

"Hope there's no problem with that?"

"No, not all. I'd text you the address later today."

"Alright then."

That said, they strolled a bit further engaging in some flirty chitchat before they heard the sound of an approaching fast moving bike. Tony flagged the bike and paid as Mercy got on it to transport herself to her hostel.

"Bye!" Mercy waved as the bike moved, while Tony blew a kiss at her and then went his way.

Mercy got into her dormitory smiling. She was in an official relationship with Tony. It was surreal, more so because he was her first. The moment she set her eyes on him that night, she had never thought he was going to be hers and hers, his. Her fantasy had now become her reality. 

"Oh thank goodness you're back!" Faith said the instant Mercy walked in. She had just had her bath. She was in front of the mirror combing her hair, while Ada and Brianna were on their respective bunk beds sleeping. "Where have you been? Where did you spend the night?" Faith asked. 

"Mehn, it's a long story." Mercy said, smiling. She took off her heels and kept it at a corner. 

"This one you're smiling, what's up? Did you go to heaven and come back?" Faith asked, pulling up her hair in a bun. 

Mercy looked at her, extremely surprised by what she had just said. "Really? How's that even the first thing that crossed your mind? You're so weird." She smiled, shaking her head. 

"When only God knows where you spent the night in and you return with a smile on your face, it only means there must be something really good and I couldn't think of no other good thing than heaven."

"Is heaven not basically all you think about though?" Mercy replied, "Anyway, where do I start from?"

"The reason why you're just coming into the room."

Mercy climbed up to her bunk bed and lay down with a deep exhale. She began to fill Faith in on everything. Faith never interrupted or said anything while Mercy spoke, but as soon as Mercy made it clear that she was done talking, Faith said, "Hmm Mercy, be very careful o. You're treading on dangerous grounds. So even after I'd told you to drink responsibly, you still went to the party to get drunk and even got so careless that you fell into a pool. What if no one was there to rescue you? That's how you'd have drowned and lost your life."

"God forbid!" Faith and Mercy said it together. 

"I think you're being influenced negatively, Mercy." Faith continued. 

Mercy rolled her eyes. "Faith, I didn't tell you all of these to get judged."

"Judge you? Far from it! I'm just telling you the truth as it is. Because everyone does it doesn't make it right. Everyone can be wrong, you know?"

"So now drinking and having fun is bad?"

"Drinking to stupor, yes! Having fun, no. Don't get me wrong, you can have fun the way you wish to have fun, but avoid doing things that would be detrimental to you."

"What if that's my way of having fun? I mean, partying and drinking excessively, I'm just saying." Mercy shrugged. 

"Then you're wrong." Faith sat on her bunk bed. "Drinking excessively is obviously wrong. Even scripture says do not get drunk with wine unless that would ruin your life, but be filled with the spirit."

Mercy rolled her eyes, blowing slight air from her mouth. 

"I'd really advise you watch what you feed on and surround yourself with as that's what influences you at the end of the day. By the way, was your friend, Lee at the party?"

"At least something else to talk about." Mercy threw her hands up. "I didn't see him. I doubt he attended though. I don't think he's the party kind of person."

"I think I like the guy." Faith said, making Mercy lift up her head. She gave Faith a smile. "Not in that way before you start thinking far." Faith waved dismissively. "I just like his person. He seems like a really cool headed boy and talking to him for the first time yesterday at the ceremony, I get the impression that he's an intelligent boy."

Mercy nodded her head in agreement. "Yeah, he's quite smart."

Just then, Ada moaned as she turned over on her bunk bed such that she was facing towards the direction Mercy was. Ada opened her eyes and rubbed the sleep off her face. "What time is it?" Her voice was softer. 

"Just know you slept the whole morning." came Faith's response. 

"Wait, it's afternoon?" Ada asked, slowly rising up from her bed. She felt a slight headache. 

"No, it's evening." Faith said sarcastically.

Ada sensed the sarcasm and kissed her teeth. "Last night was crazy." She rubbed her temples. "Where did you go, Mercy? Brianna and I were looking for you when it was time to leave and you weren't even picking up your calls."

Mercy suddenly remembered seeing Ada kissing some other girl last night. The mere thought of it disgusted her. She really wanted to confront Ada about it, but she thought perhaps Ada wouldn't want to come out about her sexuality to Faith and Brianna just yet, so she rid the thought off her mind. 

"I got drunk yesterday and fell into a pool." Mercy answered. 

"You what!" That was Brianna. 

Mercy was surprised that she heard Brianna’s voice from under her bunk bed. She thought Brianna was deep in her sleep. Brianna began to laugh and Ada joined her. 

"I don't see what's funny in that." Faith said, "This girl would have drowned if nobody had rescued her."

"Who rescued you, Mercy?" Ada said in between laughter while Brianna simultaneously said, "When you knew you couldn't handle alcohol, why did you leave the spot we told you to wait?"

"You both left me there all alone for so long and you expect me to have waited? You must be kidding! I needed to have some fun too. Anyway, to answer the question on who rescued me, well it's Tony."

The two girls gasped, "Tony!" Ada exclaimed. 

"Tony was at the party?" Brianna asked. 

"I didn't know until this morning when I found myself in a hotel bed with him and he told me everything." Mercy said. 

"What were you doing in bed with him?" Ada eyes widened. 

"He fucked you?" Brianna asked, sitting up on her bunk bed. Her use of the F-word made Faith cast a sneer at her, but Brianna couldn't care less. She had said what she said. 

"Slow down girls, he didn't have sex with me." Mercy said, "And I know that not only because he told me, but I also didn't see any stain in my underwear or on the white sheet."

“Oh yeah, virgin Mercy—” Brianna was cut short by the ringtone of Mercy's phone. Mercy took her phone beside her and saw that it was Lee calling. She picked up, "Hello, what's up, Lee?"

"Hey Mercy, how are you doing?" Lee replied from the other end. 

"I'm okay, you?"

"Bored. I'm off to the library now. Would you like to tag along?"

"Nah, I've had a long night. I'm kind of just waking up." Mercy exaggerated. 

"Why? This is afternoon; you didn't sleep throughout the night?"

"Something like that. I attended the matriculation night party."

"Oh, really!" Lee was surprised and it reflected in his voice. "How was it?"

"One word, awesome."

"Some of my roommates attended and they've not stopped yakking about it since. Was it that great?"

"It was awesome, Lee. Why didn't you come?"

"I don't attend night parties."

"And why's that?"

"My sight. I'm short sighted, remember?"

"Oh yeah."

"So tell me, what did I miss?" Lee was grinning and though Mercy couldn't see him, she imagined he was. 

"A lot."

"Details, Mercy." Lee rolled his eyes. "You know I don't like these short phrased answers."

"I can't start telling you everything I experienced over the phone. It would exhaust your credit."

"And when did I complain about that?"

"Oshey, too much money!" Mercy teased. "Lee, bless your girl. Send me recharge card. Anything, I go manage." Mercy didn't really mean it. She was just kidding around with him. 

Lee chuckled, "Alright after this call, I will."

"I'm just teasing you o, I don't really need the recharge card." 

Lee smiled, not saying anything to her. 

"Hello?" Mercy wanted to know if he was still on the line. 

"I'm here." Lee said. 

"About the party, I'd tell you everything when we meet again."

"And when's that?" Lee asked.

Mercy arched a brow. "I don't know. Anytime we see again. We're not far from each other."

"Alright. I... Err... I... I'd see you soon." 

Then the line went dead. Shortly afterwards, Mercy received a notification on her phone that she had been sent five hundred naira airtime. She smiled and shook her head. 

***

Thanks for reading. I have a new book I'm currently working on. It's titled The Miracle. You can check it out, while waiting for an update on this one. I'm gonna update this story later.  Thank you so much.