"I'm home." her text blandly said.
Cool. We didn't eventually get your assignment done, did you manage to do it within the time that you blocked me?
Backspace.
"Glad you got home safely. Goodnight." It was barely 7pm, but I knew better than to push anything.
Consciously or unconsciously, she'd been on my mind all night, even as I prepared to go to class, she'd been on my mind.
I blinked countless times as if in an attempt to blink her out of my imagination; her dark caramel skin glowing in the sun rays that escaped my curtains, her soft pink lips, smiling weirdly at me, her soft siren gaze, choking me...
"Are your notes on 423 complete?" Mercy interrupted my train of thought and probably stopped me from drooling too.
"Huh?"
"Are your notes on 423 complete? You're distracted..."
"Erm... No, it's not. Sorry, I had a weird day yesterday." Mercy's slim build held up the purple sundress she wore beautifully, the off-shoulder puffy sleeves elevated her look and her hair was done in neat cornrows. Five, there were five cornrows on her head.
"No wahala. I heard she might not come for the class anyway."
"I'll wait till Joe drops a message on the class info group, then I'll go home. I'm tired."
"No problem, see you later." she picked up her purse and left the classroom, looking like she might be swept off her feet in the event of a light breeze blowing by.
I sought for anything that would release me from the prison of reminiscing about her. I thought about her attitude, but it didn't help. I decided to step out of the classroom and breathe for a minute. Joe's message popped up on the info group, the class had been cancelled.
My eyes scanned everywhere for a person I could possibly converse with, to no avail. I needed a distraction, but found none.
Then there she was, just a few paces from me. My face flushed and I turned around, that was my sign to leave.
"Hey, wait! Kemi, wait." I stopped, praying that she'd just go away.
"I'm sorry about yesterday, I don't know what happened." her voice was calm, in contrast to the heat it carried the previous night.
"It's okay. It's nothing, really." I tried to regulate my breathing and not look her in the eyes.
"Can I stop by after my classes?" it was almost a plea.
"Sure." I blurted out without thinking. I did want her over, but I also didn't. "What time is that?"
"Probably 5pm."
"That's already pretty late, don't you think?"
"Not really, I'll be fine."
My eyes darted from kiosk to classroom to bystander, anywhere but on her...
"You don't want to look at me... I'm sorry." her voice was soft and my heart was melting. I smiled.
"It's... I..." I turned to look at her, chuckling softly. "It's fine. I'm not mad at you. I'll see you later." I patted her shoulder and walked away as normally as I could, smiling stupidly to myself.
The moment I got home, I sprawled out on the floor and resorted to staring at the ceiling. What was going on? All I actually wanted from her was sex. Wasn't it? I closed my eyes but her face came up.
It was almost like I liked her... But I couldn't possibly... Right?
Drifting off to sleep, I had her on my mind and her name on my lips.
A rapt knock on the door startled me awake and I hastily picked myself up from the floor and glanced at my wall clock. 5:18pm. I had slept for over 4 hours and how Ella was here.
I wiped my face and reached for the door, but instinctively looked in the mirror first to make sure I looked okay before opening up.
"Hi. Good evening." she looked excited. I smiled and nodded, stunned at how she always managed to look good.
"Uhm... May I come in?" she giggled.
"Oh. Sorry... Yeah" I stepped aside. How do you invite someone over and forget to... invite them in...? Stupid.
She sat down on the chair by my desk and dropped a plastic bag on it. "Peace offering." her suckle lips moved, offering me sounds sweeter than music.
"For what? I'm not upset with you."
"Even though. I was rude. I'm sorry. It was my first time, I just didn't know how to react." my smile faded.
"First time with...?"
"Anyone. Ever."
What?
"You didn't tell me!" my voice was a quiet scream, my eyes ablaze with anger.
"It's fine, I don't regret. It was actually really good." her eyes lit up and she bowed her head slightly.
I bit my lower lip and turned around. "Okay. Uhm, have a seat, please." I gestured to the chair by the table and strode over to the bed.
"I want to sit on the bed with you." she pouted.
"Ella... Please, don't."
"You're still mad at me."
"Well, you make it hard not to." I snapped, exhaling sharply and fixing my eyes to the floor. My vision slowly became blurry as tears welled up in my eyes...