Affairs- The Untitled 'Boys! Boys! The Boy?' (2)

AFFAIRS: THE UNTITLED

I woke up to the scent of musk with a hint of lavender and tea in the air. The bed I lay on was far softer than the one the office had booked for us. My eyesight was still a bit sensitive to the rays of sunlight that were piercing through the soft curtain of the room.

Did I forget to mention that I was in the arms of a man? That explains the musk scent. I tried to wriggle myself free from his embrace but with every movement I made, he held on tighter. A part of me wanted to lie on the bed to enjoy it, another part was hungry; another needed to get rid of the morning breath before he woke up and the other realized that if I did scram out of here soon I would be late for the last day of the conference. The last part won and I lifted his arm off me quickly.

Wait! We were under sheets. I lifted the sheets to see if I was fully dressed. Yes! I released a silent but deep sigh of relief. I’m still a good, celibate girl. I murmured 'Thank you' to Heaven, looking up at the ceiling, smiling.

‘Looks like someone woke up happy. I guess there are other ways to make a woman wake up happy without taking her clothes off’

I turned to face him. The first word that came to mind was 'douche' but I couldn’t say it out because his lips were already on mine, and also because he looks and sounds even more sexy in the morning.

Morning breath? Who cares? Tei is one heck of a sexy man. He pulled me closer to him and kissed my neck softly making me giggle. He stopped, looked at me and reached out to the side table for something.

A mint flavoured candy. Wise, young man. He broke the sweet into two pieces and popped one into my mouth.

‘It doesn’t get rid of the bad breath completely but it makes talking and kissing more fun in the morning’

He grabbed me and rolled me the other side of the bed. Now, he was on top of me and I was looking at him.

‘I have to go’, I said.

‘The conference?’

‘Yeah.’

‘Can’t you cancel? Call in sick? We’d lie in bed all day together. No one would suspect a thing’.

I laughed at the idea.

‘I’m sorry. I want to but I can’t. They will find out; one way or another. My co workers are serious’

‘Okay. At least stay a little longer and let’s have breakfast. I already ordered’, he said nibbling my earlobes.

I laughed and struggled to get him to stop .

‘Ok. I’ll stay if you stop!’ I exclaimed in between fits of laughter.

He stopped.

I got up from the bed and went into the toilet to pee. I called Nina and told her to report me late due to menstrual illness. I had to be specific or questions would be raised. She offered to come keep me company but I dissuaded her. A girl needs to have some secret affairs.

I washed my face in the sink and as I dried up, I stared deeply at my reflection in the mirror in front of me. 

Memories of the previous night had begun to rush into my mind. From Ayo standing at my doorway to ending up here on Tei’s bed.

I had been shocked when I saw him standing in front of me, also a little bit excited because it wasn’t the other way around. I was elated not just because he had come to plead with me but I was also going to hear the reason why he had just left without a word, and created a room of hatred for himself in my heart.

‘Ayo?’

‘Hi Gee.’ I stood away from the door that I had been holding and crossed my arms in front of my chest.

‘What are you doing here? Did you miss your floor?’

He smiled. Of course, he knew that I knew that we both knew that that was a stupid question and what he was here for, but he indulged me.

‘No. I came to see you. To talk’

My stomach flipped over three times. What good have I done to deserve such answered prayers?

‘About?’ I rested my shoulder on the wall.

He sighed.

‘Would you at least let me in?’

‘How rude of me’, I replied with a sarcastic tone.

He walked in slowly, looking around as if he was to buy the room before he sat down on the bed. I closed 

the door behind me and rested on the wall opposite where he was seated.

‘So what do you want to talk about?’ I asked sternly.

He smiled at me again.

‘You look beautiful this evening’, he complimented.

I blushed inside but replied with a disinterested Thank You.

‘So, what is this thing that you want to talk about?’

He rested his elbows on his thighs and ran his hands on his head then looked up at me.

‘Gee, I’m sorry.’

I looked at him.

‘For what?’

‘Everything’

‘And what do you mean by everything?’

‘Gee, you know what I’m talking about’

‘Yes. Yes, I do. But I want you to say what you are sorry about so you can hear how silly you sound to 

yourself, Ayo. So that you would know that just walking up to me and just saying I’m sorry after so long would not fix anything’

My voice was beginning to sound angry and loud. If I had my way I would punch him so hard in his face continuously until I felt better and confident that revenge had been served.

I took a deep breath and calmly asked the number one pending question in my head.

‘Why, Ayo? What did I do wrong?’

‘Nothing, Gee. You were perfect. I was stupid’

‘So what went wrong? How does my being perfect become a problem? As for you being stupid, well…’

He chuckled at the last statement.

‘I miss you, Gee’

‘You haven’t answered my question, Ayo’

‘You made me happy’

‘You treated me like dust’

‘I’m so sorry’

‘I heard that before’

‘I was scared’

‘Of what?!’ I yelled. He bolted up from where he was seated and yelled back at me.

‘Of you! Of getting hurt again, Gee! You were so good to me it felt too good to be true.’

I stood up straight in front of him with my arms folded and my face as stern as ever but I was surprised at his answer.

‘What does that even mean?’

‘I have loved you before. Not you but someone like you. She was…perfect. She made me happy. She loved me for me and nothing else.I gave her all of me, everything I got to give but I found out she had another. She left me for another. It broke me, Gee. So when I found out I was getting in too deep with you I-’

‘Ran? Disappeared? Left me alone in tears? Confused? Wondering what I did? If I wasn’t good enough?’ I had begun to raise my voice and throw my hands around. I had to calm down. He was getting to me.

He moved a step closer and held me tight on both arms, looking straight into my eyes.

‘You were greater than enough. I was dumb-’

‘Heartless!’ I darted back with my response.

‘Stop, Gee. I love you. I still do’

I looked away so he couldn’t see me starting to tear up. Still not making eye contact, I said, ‘You are 

hurting me’

He let go off me and I rested on the wall.

‘I left because I thought it was what was best.’

I swallowed my tears and faced him.

‘What do you know about what is best for me, Ayo? Huh?’

He sighed and rested one of his arms on the wall. His face was so close to mine that I could almost hear him breathe. I could smell him. The power of nostalgia. My eyesight darted all across his facial features. My heart had begun to beat fast from a mixture of anger and nervousness, and my palms were getting cold and sweaty.

‘I know you still love me’

‘No. I don’t. They are merely left over feelings that I would soon be rid…off…with…time’

I couldn’t talk or think straight. His face was coming closer to mine; much too close. His lips, I have missed them so and his touch when I felt his hand on my waist. My arms were folded across my chest even though we were barely an inch from each other.

‘I’m so sorry, Gee. I’m miss you too much to stay away from you for so long’

I wanted to respond. I wanted to say something but I had to give in to this moment of weakness because I have longed for it so why deny myself the pleasure.

Our lower lips touched slightly and goose pimples crowded every inch of my skin. His lip was cold but soft as always, then our upper lips and before I could get myself, he had kissed me…and I responded. Kissing and trying to breathe; too much desire. He pulled me closer to him by my waist and I wrapped my arms around his neck, ran my hand up his face, pulling his lips deeper into mine, wishing I could take in all of him at once.

We stopped and pulled apart. I looked down but he lifted my chin to his face till we were eyeball to eyeball.

‘We-’ He was cut short by my ringing phone. We both stared at the phone which was on the table close to where we stood, and then there was a knock on the door.

‘Tei’, I murmured.