Sundays were perfect times to unwind for Muhammad, he had a lot of things on his head and basketball seemed like the perfect distraction he needed

After parking his black Audi close to the court, he noticed he wasn't the only one who came extra early. It was a girl throwing the ball accurately inside the net and it wasn't just any girl, it was Ebere, he hadn't spoken to her in while, partly because he didn't know what to say and he still felt a little jealous seeing her with another guy.

He was partly happy she was in the court, he missed her, the smile she had one, her funny face and her witty talks

Blow my mind by Davido and Chris Brown was playing from some Jam box, just a perfect tempo.

"Hey" He called out to her.

Ebere turned around to face him and her face didn't give any expression, just a blank face staring right back. She was in some shorts that flapped and a loose shirt.

Muhammad wished she could at least say something to him rather than morphing at him like he said some kind is stranger.

"Let's play"He finally broke the deafening silence. He could see the hesitation on her part and then she finally shrugged.

"So you aren't going to speak to me?" He asked as she bounced the ball repeatedly warming up.

"I don't want to, so please, focus" she replied

"Stop being being a baby"He teased. Ebere dribbled him as fast as she could and he was dazed.

"Wow, you are good" it fell out from his lips

" I know"She replied with a tinge of pride which made Muhammad chuckle. She got away from his defense and was about making a basket but he obstructed it and earned a glare from her.

They were soon standing in front of each other, each fighting for the possession of the ball,he wanted getting a three pointer but she was good.

"Look, we have to talk" He finally gave up, he couldn't do it anymore, play basketball as though it was cool between them.

"I don't want to"She replied firmly about to shoot but she stopped it and threw the ball far away.

He was frustrated as it was and soon he was grabbing her hands and pulling her closer despite her struggling. She finally stood still when she noticed how intense he was looking at her.

Muhammad watched her stare back at him with her eyes, she was more beautiful up close like that, just an inch or two from his face, his gaze landed on her lips, what would it feel like kissing her?

"Ebere" He said almost in a whisper.

Standing so close to her made him have so much emotions he was trying to tame.

"Look I'm sorry okay, like I don't know how you feel about this whole news but I really do not want to lose you, not now. Not ever"

He paused, to watch her, to see if her face would soften a bit. Nothing, she still had no expression. Blank.

"My father is a tough nut to crack but I know who I want and it's you"

There was silence, a piercing one.

" Say something, please"

" What do you want me to say? In fact why are you apologizing? We aren't dating"

" Then let's date"He found himself saying, throwing every sense of reasoning

"Be my girlfriend"

She laughed, she was actually laughing and he knew it wasn't because he said anything funny.

"You are joking right?" She asked, no trace of laughter left. " You have too, you are getting engaged soon, we aren't even dating and things are beginning to fall apart, that's a sign to end whatever this is, I don't know what"

" But"He paused, thinking of the next words critically "I love you"

And he watched her, the expression on her face were so much, was it disbelief or shock p surprise?

He couldn't place it.

She turned her back against him.

"You don't mean that do you? You don't know what you are saying, do you? "

" Ebere, I mean it, I'm okay, I'm in my right senses"

She still had her back against him.

" I'll leave you to your thoughts then" He said, she could heard his footsteps as it faded away.

Muhammad opened the car feeling dejected, why did life have to be so hard?

He turned on the ignition by the car refused to move, what was wrong exactly?

He came down from his car, by now Eberes attention was focused on him. Muhammad was clueless on what to do, he never fixed his car problems since they had a guy for that at home.

"What's the problem?" Eberes voice brought him out of his thoughts.

"I really don't know"

Was she bipolar? One minute acting off and the the next minute acting as though she cared.

Ebere opened the bonnet of the car and checked the radiator, it was over heating. She poured water from her flask, she noticed a flat tire too.

"Got a spare tyre?"she asked

"Yeah, in my booth" And he brought it to her.

As she moved around getting things fixed, Muhammad just watched her, she looked like a professional, what else was she capable of.

"I know you don't know anything apart from driving your car"Ebere mocked him.

" I'm not that bad. I'm a pretty excellent driver"He winked at her.

" Excellent my foot"She scoffed " but seriously, little things like this matter so you don't get hooked somewhere, you are lucky I'm not in the mood to leave you here"She rolled her eyes at him.

" Your eyes will surely fall off one day, you roll them too much"

And now, they were back to discussing as though they were cool.

She sneered at him.

"You better learn all these things, I doubt if you can even change a bulb, one day you'll become a dad and you have to be capable"Ebere cautioned like a mother.

"That's why I need you to be the mummy" He muttered. She was now up on her feet, down with changing the tyre.

He was standing so close to her now, staring into her dark orbs, she was nervous and it was written all over her face but Muhammad was biting his lips to stop the smirk curling up.

"Besides" His eyes dropped on her lips "I know how to do some things with my lips you know"

Ebere could feel his breath coming closer, she knew what he meant by that. It sounded tinging to her.

Their moment was however ruined when they heard loud voices approaching the court and they realized that people were actually coming to play basketball.

Ebere coughed to ease the tension but he looked amused.

Some kids passed that moment. Talking loudly about something that didn't concern her.

"What was your childhood like?" He asked her. He watched her shrug.

"Fun I guess, we weren't rich then, I played with lots of people, I was an energetic child and I had an older brothers who was fun to play with, my fight partner, once we fought, my mum didn't even interrupt us and then she made us not eat lunch, I nearly died"Ebere laughed at the memory.

" Growing up was fun, I had little or nothing to think about or worry myself about. Adulthood is a scam, an overated something"Ebere added as she folded her hands across her chest. Muhammad was leaning on the car

"It truly is" He supported. He smiled.

"What about you, how was your childhood like? "Ebere nudged him.

" My childhood was scarred by my mum's death.."

"Huh... Your mum is dead?" Ebere asked asked, her eyes had gone wide.

Muhammad nodded, thinking of his mum always had a way of making him sullen.

"You've never told me and we've always been talking" She was angry a little, she saw how sad he looked and she regretted ever asking him.

"There was no situation that prompted it"

"I'm sorry, you don't have to talk about it"

" It's fine, I guess I need to talk about it. I loved my mum. She was a mistress you know and we stayed away from my dad's family, away in Egypt. She died in an airplane crash, I still don't know how I survived though. "

Ebere held his hand.

" I wish I didn't try to persuade her to see my dad, I wish, I wish I didn't, maybe we would have both been alive and I can't stop blaming myself sometimes... "

He didn't expect it, she was hugging him tightly. She wrapped her hands around him and he found himself leaning against him.

"You are going to be fine, just know you didn't do anything, you need to learn to forgive yourself"

Muhammad wished he could tell her more.

He didn't,he simply stood against the car, hugging the dark skinned girl back, inhaling her soft scent and trying to find peace in her warmth.

***