King

My feet refused to register the cold floor as I paced the length and breadth of the kitchen with my phone in hand. I ran my fingers through my hair, my annoyance rising with each passing second. Where the fuck was Junior and the kids? They should be done by now. Feeling the inside of my pocket, a small smile took over my lips at the contact of my palm against the surface of the box.

Three customised rings sat inside the box. Three. For Uti, Emma and Esther. Every one of them was getting a ring. I dialled Junior's number one more time only to receive the same reply. My frustrations heightened, I shoved the phone into my pocket, gripped the edge of the kitchen island to the point of breaking a nail. My eyes closed briefly, I let out a deep breath, shaking my head to suppress any ill thoughts. If I found out he was safe and sound, I would have his head.

How hard could it be for him to pick up his phone and let me in on their location? Did he get so carried away by Faith? I groaned, trying to keep my growing anger in check. Uti could not see me in this state.

"King."

"Yes baby," I replied and pushed myself from the island, a smile playing on my lips.

Uti met me when I was halfway across the kitchen. "I'm not a baby, I'm an adult."

She pouted and I stretched out my hand to her but she refused to take it. I chuckled, closing the distance between us to wrap one of my arms around her waist. Her fingers splayed on my chest teased my nipples and my heart quickened at the feel of her warm palm on my skin. I caressed her scalp, she sucked on her bottom lip. Her gaze came to rest on my face and her eyes lighted up.

The fire that had been in those eyes when she stormed into the kitchen had abated, replaced by the look of admiration that was always present whenever we were together. She loved me, they all did. Even a blind man could see it. I shook my head and reciprocated her smile. I had no idea how I got this lucky to have her and the kids; a new family but I was thankful for the divine powers that saw to it, to my happiness.

"Okay, adult," I murmured and brought her fingertips to my lips. "You look amazing."

Her eyes lowered to my chest, then came back to my face, she giggled and I chuckled. Asides from spoiling her and the kids with gifts, I intended to compliment her every chance I got. It was the easiest thing to do, every action she took was worth the praise.

I have no idea what kind of men she was with in the past but it was easy to see they starved her of attention, compliments and gifts. My intention was to make up for it and my years of being a White Hat Playboy was starting to pay off. Perhaps, those years spent with other women were training me for my future with her. Yes, that was it.

In truth, Uti still had troubles asking me to do stuff for her but my experiences with women and observation made it easy to pick up on the signs of distress when it came to that. I loved hearing her protests, our debates before she would sigh in defeat and accept my gifts always made my day.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

My hands hovered above her butt, they were as soft as a batch of bread that just left the oven, I could touch them every day. I squeezed them and a moan escaped her.

"Out," I murmured into her ear.

Uti took a step away from me and I pouted, I was already missing the feel of her body in my arms. She frowned, crossed her arms under her breasts and my eyes followed the movement. The first few buttons of her shirt were undone, revealing a generous amount of her cleavage. I loved the view they offered but she would have to button up on our way out, I was the only one allowed the luxury of viewing them without restrictions.

"You have started again. Out has no name?"

"Started what?" I asked with an arched brow. My eyes moved from her chest to her face, then back to her chest. I licked my lips, she was probably not wearing a bra, she was not a big fan of them and I loved that.

Taking one step forward, my hand wound around her waist and the other covered her breast, pinching her nipple which poked through her shirt. Her teeth sunk into her lip, she moaned and pried my hands off her. I groaned and took another look at her face. Her eyes were hooded, her head was tilted to one side, cheeks were flushed; she liked it.

Starboy twitched in my trouser, he liked the effect we had on her but it didn't explain her reluctance. I made to unbutton her shirt, the tightness in my trouser telling me we had time for a quickie. The kitchen was the only place we were yet to christen with our lovemaking, we could do that today.

Uti slapped my hands away and a corner of my lips twitched. She narrowed her eyes, huffed and sashayed out of my presence without a word to my horny self. I chuckled and scratched the back of my head in mild confusion. I was used to her fits, found them cute but I couldn't fathom her reason for throwing a tantrum now. I did no wrong.

Sauntering to the parlour where she was seated, flipping through channels, I knelt in front of her and snatched the remote. My hands circled her waist, her head fell back, giving me access to her neck. I smiled, she liked my neck kisses so I peppered kisses there until she moaned and pushed me off.

"Uti," I murmured, "what did I do?"

Her eyes softened and her fingers weaved through my beards. "Where are we going?"

A low chuckle escaped me, that was what I did? I smiled, unsure if I would ever fully understand the way her mind worked. "We are going out; the venue is a surprise."

"Why are you not dressed?" she asked with her hands around my neck. "It's getting late; you know I have to pick them up later."

Silence lingered in the air, I was not ready to have that argument about them moving in with me right now, it never ended well. If they were living with me, time wouldn't be an issue. My eyes wandered to the clock and I nodded, we would be late if we didn't leave now. Our table was reserved for eight-thirty, it was almost eight and I was only in my trouser. My shirt was ready but Junior was yet to call me. I needed his go-ahead.

To Uti, we were going out on one of our usual evening dates but to me, it was more, I was going to propose to her and the kids. The kids Junior was supposed to take there within minutes of our arrival yet he was not picking. My hands balled into a fist as I walked around the couch to stand behind Uti, almost tempted to ask her to call Faith.

"There is still time," I murmured with a hint of scepticism and began to massage her shoulders. A soft sigh slipped from her and I smiled. "What about Faith, are they having fun with her? When is she leaving?"

Junior had been calm since he heard Faith was relocating, he didn't like the idea but there was little or nothing he could do. He toyed with the idea of moving with her which was crazy, we were all here. We have all been in the same city for so long it would be odd, unnatural for any of us to leave. My gaze landed on Uti and my smile faded.

I didn't want to think about what I would do or say, the way I would act if Uti suddenly decided she wanted to relocate. She made a joke out of it the first time she told me about Faith. The joke didn't sit too well with me, I could not handle it and it took several reassurances from her to calm me down.

Long-distance relationships were not for me, I needed her to always be here with me. To throw her tantrums, cook the world best delicacies and sometimes give me the silent treatment. I would take anything over her moving. She has to stay here, whatever that would make her leave this city has to be on a short term basis, maybe a week or two.

Uti's neck twisted slightly in my direction at the same time she picked up the remote.

"Yes, they are," she replied, flipping through the stations until she settled for HipTV. "Her flight is in the morning, she's leaving me."

There was a sad note in her voice and it made my heart ache, I had never thought of how the move would affect her, only Junior. They were best friends so it was supposed to affect her too. At a loss on what to say, I squeezed her shoulders to comfort her and she placed a palm over my hand.

"That her company is mad," Uti said and I bit back the urge to chuckle, she didn't blow up so often. "How can they ask her to just move like that? She should have said no."

Our attention was redirected at the female voice that came from the TV. The owner of the voice was holding a microphone to a man's lips, asking questions I forgot the moment they were out of her lips. Uti was about to change the station when the lady moved to another person, a man I had the misfortune of being introduced to once.

He was not alone, just like the second time I saw him. The short lady he had his arm wrapped around her waist was different from the one I saw him kiss. I grimaced at his poor taste, she was not fit to walk the same path Uti walked. How could the dunce let a rare gem like Uti go for this shortie?

Uti would have slayed in that gown shortie was wearing, she would have slayed in any dress without much effort. He was dumb.

The frown on my lips deepened into a scowl as his interview progressed, I froze, half-expecting Uti to change the station but she didn't. The anchor asked him about his music, his latest hit single. I had not heard the song and I was sure I never wanted to.

He gave a response that made her laugh and I sighed, disappointed at the anchor. What Umoh said was not in any way funny, I could tell a better joke than him and I was no comedian. She went on to inquire about the lady hanging from his arms and he introduced her as his new girlfriend.

"He will still cheat on her," I heard Uti say in a tone so low I almost missed it. "Cheater."

Nodding in agreement, I said, "Once a cheat, always a cheat." Her head turned sharply to me, I shrugged and continued, "He cheated on you. If any man can cheat on you, you, Uti, then he's bound to continue cheating."

The voices from the television faded to the background, there was a pin drop silence as Uti continued staring at me. Her eyes pulled me in, the calmness soothed my soul, made me forget my train of thoughts until she blinked. And all I saw was anger, thinly veiled anger that had my defences rising.

"I never told you he cheated on me," she said in a scary tone. Her voice was low but the silence lent volume to her words. "How do you know he cheated on me?"

"Uti..." I trailed off with a sigh, my heart hammered in my chest and I went blank.

"King Daniels," she started with a calm tone that had words flying around in my head. "How do you know Umoh cheated on me?"

My hands fell to my side, I chewed my loose lips and suppressed a shiver as panic surged through me. It was one thing to see the woman you loved angry, it was another thing to have her anger directed at you. Both cases came with a sense of helplessness, desperation that had you wanting to do anything to please her, to have her look at you with an emotion other than disdain. The need to have Uti turn her frown upside down clawed at my throat and my fingernails dug into my palms.

"I guessed?" She raised her eyebrows and I spat out the only reason I could think of. "If. If he didn't cheat on you, you wouldn't have said he will still cheat on her." I nodded and licked my lips. "Uti, it was a lucky guess."

"Okay," she muttered with a small smile. A sigh of relief escaped me, my shoulders sagged and I nodded twice. "It's fine."

The alarm bells in my head went off when Uti stood to pick her bag. I jumped over the couch, grabbed her hands before she could reach it. She could not leave, not yet, today was the proposal, just a few more minutes.

"Don't touch me!"

Her words pierced through my chest and I dropped her hands like she had hit me. My heart raced and my gaze lowered to the bag in her hand, unable to handle the hurt in her eyes. When she made to sidestep me, I stretched out my arms to block her from leaving, she couldn't go. Her eyes lifted to mine, she scoffed and walked right past me.

Fear like never before sunk its claws into my heart, I stood rooted to that spot until the sound of her unlocking the doors pulled me out of my trance. I caught up to her right as she was about to step out and my hand circled her wrist. Retracting my arm at the hateful glare she sent me for touching her, I held my hands up in surrender and did the next thing that came to mind. I confessed.

"I saw him with another lady while you two were still dating," I started and licked my lips. Her hand dropped from the knob and it encouraged me to continue, "I didn't tell you at that time because I didn't think it was any of my business, we were not close then."

Uti shut the door and nodded, I winced at her crestfallen expression which had my heart breaking all over again. I failed her. I should have told her but it wasn't in my place to do so, we were barely on talking terms. I didn't even have her number then. I closed my eyes, those were silly excuses but still. When my eyelids parted open, Uti was staring at me with a strange smile.

"What about when we became close?"

"I forgot."

Uti switched her bag from the right hand to the left. "I was going to marry him and you didn't think to tell me he was cheating on me." Her eyes closed briefly, she nodded with a tight-lipped smile as if realising an important fact. "Ah, yes, you forgot. Okay."

"Please don't go," I whispered when she reached for the door again. We had our fights in the past but it was nothing like this.

The disappointment spread across her face stopped me from looking at her for long but I didn't want her to leave, not in this mood.

"I'm sorry for not telling you," I said. My hands lowered and I tentatively reached for her waist. She didn't pull or push me away and I reiterated my apology, "I'm sorry."

She let out a small, humourless laugh that caused my insides to knot, this was not a good sign. I preferred it when she shouted or threw tantrums, at least I knew she was upset but this calm, I could not deal with it.

"Uti..."

Her hands circled my wrists, she unhooked my arms around her waist and held me at arm's length. I nodded, I could deal with that. I could deal with anything so long she was still touching me. She cocked her head to one side, all traces of laughter gone.

"What if you find out Junior is cheating on Faith; will you also forget to tell me?" She sniffed. "Or is it none of your business too?"

The silence that reigned after her question was stifling, the weight of her words had me wishing the ground would open up to swallow me. She dropped my hands and I was glad she did. My fingers ran over my face as I ruminated over my answer. I could not out Junior to her, that would be against all the rules that made us friends, brothers.

"Will you tell me if he's cheating on her?"

"Junior will not cheat on her," I started to say but the stern look she passed me made the words evaporate. "No." I shook my head and with all sincerity said, "I don't know."

Uti nodded, I knew she was disappointed by my response but it was the truth. She took a step away from me to open the door again and I didn't try to stop her. A wave of fear crashed over me when she took another step outside without a glance at me and I followed behind. I couldn't lose her.

Holding her by the wrist, I murmured, "I love you, please, don't go. Don't leave me."

*****

Sometimes I'm convinced that some readers come on here with the sole intention of making writers life miserable. I stumbled on a profile here, all the owner of the account does is add people's story to reading lists that makes you want to slap her into oblivion. Talk about "it's an awful no", "yuck, why do they even write?" Come on now, think before you act. I'm glad that my readers don't do this, at least, not with any of my books but if you have a reading list with a name that puts down the author's work, then you are an awful person, no less different from the bullies you complain about, maybe even worse. Shame on you.

These type of people don't write. Vote or comment? Mbanu but they are quick to create a reading list to hate on people's sweat and hardwork. If you are like that and you are reading my story, stop it. If you know anyone who does it and you keep quiet about it, then you are just as guilty. Writing is an escape for people, don't be the reason a writer deletes their story due to your thoughtlessness.

Q: The darkest hours are almost upon us, are you guys ready?