Happy Birthday leeleeian 💝💝

Days go by, my restlessness increases and my nights are haunted with dreams of me and King making out. I always wake up right before we have sex with my pillowcase soaked, beads of sweat on my forehead and an ache between my legs.

The way my body reacts at the mention of his name scares me. I hate the wetness that seeps into my panties whenever my gaze lingers to the couch, the hardness of my nipples, the tingles that crawl up my spine.

I don't like King but my body does, it reacts in ways that are foreign to me. I am used to Edwin's touch which pales in comparison to King's. His touches light my body on fire, send messages to places I didn't think existed and all I want to do when that happens is to beg him to douse the flames with his tongue, mouth and expert hands.

To avoid a repeat of the incident at my office, I stop going to Madiba, sending Chi who doesn't mind to give the reports to Mr Adams. She is always happy to go because it means she gets the rest of the day off.

On one of such days, which is today, I decide to have lunch at The Palace in hopes to see Paul and put to rest this latest attraction, lust for King. Paul is the one I want to kiss.

My seat is far from the spot I usually share with Edwin. It's by the window I sat to celebrate my promotion which provides quite the view of outside like the last time I was here alone. Only now, the place is quiet.

Guilt gnaws at my throat, threatening to engulf me at the reminder of how we ended things but I quell the feeling. He's not worth it. Edwin has not called, texted or chatted me up since we broke up, neither have I.

There's nothing to talk about but if he does have anything to say to me, he has to start it off with an apology and a promise. Whatever the case might be, we are not getting back together. We are done.

"Can I join you?" a voice pierces through the fog in my brain. I smile, tilting my head to the side to meet the gaze of the speaker.

The voice belongs to a tall, handsome man on low cut who has a hand out in front of me. I ignore his hand and focus on his face. The trimmed hairs of his sideburns connect to his equally trimmed beards, leaving me in awe at the shiny, oiled texture. I nod to myself, he pays attention to his looks.

"Can I join you?" he repeats.

My head jerks to his face again and my fingers curl around the tip of my straw.

"Yes, please."

"Thank you," he murmurs and I nod.

He has a Hausa accent that has probably been weakened by time spent in this city with people of different tribes. My eyes linger on his outfit, the black suit looks like it was tailored on his body, his shiny, wine coloured brogues and wristwatch speak volume of his affluence, even his stance.

Taking a sip of my mocktail, my eyes lift to his and my eyebrows raise when I see he is still standing. "You can have a seat."

A strong minty smell tickles my nostrils when he takes the seat across mine then flashes me a smile that has me taking a long sip of my drink. If he is a mocktail, he will be a tall, glass of chocolate milk and I will gladly order him. I giggle at the thought, reminding myself of my mission here.

Tall and handsome calls out to the nearest waiter and my heart miss a beat, I don't want it to be Paul. I don't want him to see me with another man days after having an altercation with Edwin because of me.

Thankfully, the man who approaches our table isn't him. It is Idem, the man who helped me with Paul's name. A smile flits to his lips and his eyes widen in recognition.

"How have you been?" I ask him.

His smile increases and he nods. "Fine."

I look at my companion, imploring with my eyes for him to make his order and he does, I do the same too. Idem nods to both of our requests, his eyes linger on me then he leaves with a promise to return shortly.

My drink finishes and handsome takes it as his cue to strike a conversation. "Pardon my manners, pretty, what's your name?"

"Pauline," I say with a smile.

"Wow. What a beautiful name, even more beautiful is the bearer..."

My smile widens and I push my glass cup to the side, making a mental note to ask for his name as I uncross my legs. "Thank you."

"Oh. Don't thank me, thank your mother for giving birth to..."

Stifling the urge to roll my eyes and yawn, I block out the rest of his boring speech. He doesn't seem to notice; the same way he hasn't noted my lack of enthusiasm. I don't even know his name because he won't give me a chance to ask so I stick to frowning.

Idem returns to the table with our order and my shoulders sag in relief. "What about Paul?" I ask the moment he drops the tray.

My ears will bleed if I spend another second with this man. He is handsome until he opens his mouth to speak. "Where's Paul?"

I have not seen him since I came in and I made sure to come an hour before his shift ends. Idem lips break into a small smile, his gaze switching between me and the talkative I'm sharing the table with.

"He's not here," he says in a solemn tone and walks off without giving me a chance to ask any question and my appetite vanishes.

The man opposite me resumes talking but I am done playing nice. Since he's so in love with the sound of his voice, he can finish his meal alone. Bringing my phone out, I send Chi an SOS message and pretend to listen to him go on and on about his trip to Mali.

My phone barely rings before I snatch my purse and retrieve the ringing device.

"Hello ..." I trail off and gasp. "What? Why? Now? Alright, I am on my way," I say all at once into my phone to a confused Chi who keeps asking what the issue is.

The issue is simple, I need to leave this place now and she has made it possible.

"I have to go," I start with a half-smile, my facial expression is one of contrition. "I'm so sorry but something just came up."

His lips part open and he nods in understanding. I am a bit surprised he heard me the first time since he was so engrossed in what he was saying. Taking a look around, there is no waiter in sight so I fish out naira notes from my purse.

Boring and handsome stops me from dropping the money on the table. "Oh please don't do that, I will gladly pay for our meal." He spares the restaurant a look then points to my untouched plate. "If you will hold on a bit, I'll ask them to package this."

I refuse his request by shaking my head, I can't stand to be in his presence any longer. "I really have to go, it's an emergency."

"I understand," he murmurs and I smile, a bit remorseful for the stunt I pulled. "It was nice to meet you." I nod my response and he holds a hand to stop me from leaving. "Your number, please, I'll like to see you again."

Without thinking twice about it, I give him Edwin's number and speed walk out of the hotel before he has a chance to dial it.

Giggles spill from my lips as I near my car, I wish I can be there when he finds out he is speaking to a man, not the pretty lady he almost bored to death with talks about his international trips. Too bad, I'll miss it.

A red Venza catches my eyes, Edwin's car and the owner is leaning on it with his legs crossed at the ankles and hands shoved into his pocket. He is waiting for somebody, he has tugged on his dreads twice, the same way he does when he is forced to sit through the application of my makeup.

His gaze wanders to me before I have a chance to dodge him and the feeling of guilt returns in triple folds. We stare at each other for a few minutes, none of us making attempts to break our stare-off until my feet push me in his direction.

A dark-skinned girl approaches him when I am a few feet away from him and I halt, unsure whether to continue my short journey. I shrug and close the distance, making sure to stay at least two feet away from them. I will only say hi then leave.

Edwin's eyes are trained on me as he grabs the girl's butt, causing her short gown to ride up to her midthigh. He bites her neck and she moans loudly, not a care for where we are. I cringe on her behalf; he's only doing it to rile me because he knows how much biting my neck turns me on.

She seems to find Edwin's actions amusing because she giggles, twirling his dreads in her hands. I used to enjoy doing that too, I even used to braid it. He drags her to himself, breaks eye contact with me to kiss her. He whispers something into her ears and she nods which earns her a smile.

I feel disgusted, like a creep or a jealous ex with the way I am watching them but my body has shut down. I can't move.

"Pauline, is that you?" Edwin asks after breaking away from the kiss. The dark Bambi hanging from his arm narrows her eyes at me and I fake a yawn, she has nothing to worry from me, she can keep him. "I forgot you were there for a second."

"Of course you did," I mutter and cock my head to the side, "I just wanted to say hi."

Thankfully, my brain sends signals to my feet and I sashay out of their presence with an extra sway of my hips. Good riddance.

On getting to my car, a surprised gasp escapes my lips at the words written on the windscreen. I should have known us being here at the same time wasn't a mere coincidence; he followed me here. And for what? To shame me. That's all he's good at.

Stupid idiot.

I march angrily to where he parked his car but it is nowhere to be found, in its place is a cardboard with more colourful words.

Bitch. Whore. Slut. I hope you rot in hell.

The words send a sharp pain through my heart and I close my eyes briefly. Wiping the tears that threatened to drop, I inhale feverishly. I will not let him get to me. The urge to call and blast him is strong but I resist and swipe angrily at the tears that leaks to my cheeks, he is not worth the effort. With that in mind, I stomp to my car.

My fingers trail on the words on my windscreen, wanting to know what he used in writing them and a laugh of relief burst out of my lips when some of the ink comes off. Diving into my handbag, I bring out my handkerchief and clean it off. The next time I see him, I will cut off his dreads.

**********                        

Picture: OC Ukeje

On second thoughts, I would like OC Ukeje as the boring stranger who paid for her meal.

The ending of this chapter might have been inspired by Husbands of Lagos.

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Question: How did y'all Valentine's day go? Mine was boring, it was just like a usual day.