by Vina Fenty
She kissed me sweetly as the driver started to honk. She finally got down and walked to my side of the car, through the window she said, "I hated it so much, till you came and turned my whole world upside down with your pretty smile and never-ending questions."
I laughed as I recalled pestering her with questions, and the tears that slid down my face were totally out of place, I didn't know how come, and I couldn't tell if they were tears of joy or sadness.
I watched as Tejiri hugged the old looking gate man stationed at the gate. He didn't look familiar, and I wondered how Tejiri had known him. He wasn't the same as the gatemen we had while we were still in school, and it left me confused.
I dabbed at my tears with a Kleenex as I watched Tejiri walk beside our car into the large school compound. I read the signpost aloud, "Welcome to federal government college Asaba, Pro Unitate."
I got down once the driver parked the car besides that of Zainab and Dr. Irene. The two lovebirds were leaning on their car and chatting away excitedly.
"Papa, I'm so happy to see you, you're getting younger every day," I heard Tejiri say to the gateman who was laughing happily. They hugged again as he handed her a bunch of keys.
"My daughter, it's God. I'm so happy to see you. When I got your call, I was so happy," he said as he looked from me to Zainab to Dr. Irene.
Tejiri introduced us as former students, and he nodded his understanding as he told us 'welcome.' With a promise to be back soon, our little group walked off towards the buildings.
Tejiri reached for my hand once more, and we walked close to each other.
"How many times have you been here since we left school?" I finally asked Tejiri.
"A couple of times since I got back to Nigeria," she said as she pointed towards the dining hall, ultimately ending the topic.
Dr. Irene had a lot of questions along the way. She couldn't get the idea behind Nigerian boarding schools because she'd mostly schooled in Europe.
"So how did you people eat in this hall?" she asked in amazement as she looked the place over.
I snickered even as I realized that the school hadn't changed in the last few years. Tejiri decided to explain by telling her that usually, we would stay in a queue. At the same time, the kitchen staff dished food in our plates and another in our cups if needed until one day, we had corn caramel and beans. One girl swore that the woman serving the corn caramel, which we locally called 'Pap,' had bent her head into the big bowl of pap, and her thick catarrh had fallen inside the food. According to rumors, she had turned around, concluded that no one had seen her, and then turned the mixture together. She had been wrong, people had seen her, and no one had taken pap that day. Later on, the new method of serving had been devised. Ten students each sat on a table and had their dish.
"Wow, I can imagine," Dr. Irene said.
We soon left the dinning and walked towards the administrative block, and it was there that my mind raced back to the first time I had seen Tejiri.
"We first met right here. She with her oversized house wear and chubby cheeks. I was returning from the tuck shop and hoping to survive another day in this hell," Tejiri said, walking backward away from me till she stood at the very spot that she had stood the first time I had stopped her to ask for help.
I took a few steps and stood in the spot I guessed was where I had stood. Our eyes met, and we burst into laughter.
"I'd never wanted to be anyone's friend as much as I wanted to be hers. I stood no chance, my heart neither. We both fell hard for her on that first day," I said, smiling sweetly now.
We kept walking, and Dr. Irene was getting bombarded with memories from both Zainab and Tejiri. She absorbed all the information keenly.
My heart was swelling with emotions, and none of them wrong, I should have been more open-minded about this.
We continued walking and reminiscing, it was when we got to the clinic that my heart skipped. Could wolf's lair still be there just as we had left it after all these years? I doubted, but I wished that it could be, it held a lot of memories for me. It was the place we had our first kiss and made out, and I wanted to be there once more.
"It's no longer there, babe, it's been converted to a library, see for yourself," Tejiri said, reading my mind once again.
I followed her meekly as she walked us to the front of the library. It had been recently built because it was the most modern building in the whole environment. It was even tiled with marble, and on a plaque just beside the door was the date of the commissioning and the words "Donated by Tejiri Akpore for Amara Okorie."
I was shell shocked as I wondered when she'd had the time to do this. The more I saw of the building as we went in, the more I was amazed at the efforts she'd put into the project.
Minutes later, Tejiri was reading my favorite poem, 'To his Coy Mistress' written by Andrew Marvell. As she read, I couldn't hold my laughter, and I giggled till she finally finished.
"What's so funny, guys?" Zainab asked from her table at the end of the library.
She was peering at us from the book she was reading.
"It's this poem, I can't help it. Sorry," I replied as Tejiri finally dropped the book of poetry and held my hands across the table.
It was that very evening that we finally agreed to let the past go, and as we stood on the fence, looked out towards the quaint house that Tejiri had rented and the bush parts where Luke had tried again and again to hurt Tejiri. I couldn't help the tears, and I cried as she held me. I promised her that it would be the last time I visited this part of our past, it was gone, and she was here now, and she was fine.
Just before we left to catch our flight back to Lagos, Tejiri suddenly stopped me in my tracks, turned me to her and kissed me deeply. As I was about to respond, she ended the kiss and went on one knee.
My heartbeat accelerated as I mulled the implications in my head. Zainab and Dr. Irene clapped and made excited noises as they watched the show.
"It's not a marriage proposal, so breathe," Tejiri said as she fumbled in her pockets to bring out a box. I actually did breathe easy after that, and she continued once she opened the box, "this is a promise to you that I'll always be here and that I would never stop loving you and once things get better, as long as you wear this ring, I'm going to change it from a promise to a proposal. I want you for myself, always and forever."
I nodded excitedly as she slipped the beautiful ring on my finger and placed a warm kiss on it.
I was positive that whatever came our way from here onwards, we would be together fighting side by side.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
I watched Tejiri as she paced thoughtfully about. I was in bed in flimsy nightwear that left nothing to the imagination. The fact that my glasses were pressed neatly against my face, and my laptop was sitting on a pillow across my laps meant that I was working. Tejiri was distracting me with her continuous pacing.
"What is the matter, out with it," I said finally in resignation as my eyes rose to find hers. Her face melted into a sweet smile as she took me in.
"Sometimes I have to pinch myself, you're here, and this nerdy look of yours never fails to turn me on. Ugh! Don't make it worse, stop looking at me that way," she replied as she flopped on the bed beside me and grabbed my hands in hers. She smelt my skin in a deep whiff before kissing my palms as I continued watching her in the same way she had just admonished me not to.
She promptly removed my Macbook from my laps and placed it gently beside the bed before tumbling me into the bed and taking my mouth in a kiss that I could never get tired of. I felt my nipples harden, and blood rush down to my clit.
Just as I was about taking the kiss up a notch, she stopped and sat astride me, taking off my glasses. I watched her graceful movement as the hand of her white camisole rode down her arms to expose perky caramel breasts with a chocolate tip that was hard and begging for attention. Once she realized my intentions, she pulled the strap of her camisole back up. She chuckled before saying, "so a friend of mine in
vited me for a party tomorrow, and since it's the weekend, I figured that we should attend."
I looked up at her in worry. I didn't trust myself with her in public. I always imagined that everyone who had eyes could guess that she and I were lovers seeing us together. Love wasn't something anyone could hide.
"Who is this friend, and since when do you like to party?" I asked, instead, as I masked my fear.
She laughed as she shook her head, incredulously. And then said, "his name is Joey Akede, and he is into oil and gas. We met at the African Youth Entrepreneurial summit at Zanzibar early last year. What makes you think you know me so well, I have since started to party."
She was joking, but the implications of what she had said hit me hard. Why was I so sure that Tejiri was still the same after all this time?
"Does he know that you are gay?" I asked.
She thought for a while in silence before climbing off me. I missed her weight on me immediately, and I groaned in frustration. I sat up to look at her.
"And what makes you think that I am gay and not pansexual, asexual, demisexual, transexual, and every other sexual that is in the book?" she quizzed. I ended up in a full-blown panic attack.
I didn't know Tejiri as much as I thought I did. I had missed out on years of her life. A lot of things could have happened and changed her in those years, or maybe she could have grown into herself or discovered herself, and I wasn't even there to join her in that discovery.
"Well, you did mention sleeping around with other women when you thought I had gotten married. I never heard you mention a man, and can you even be asexual?"
She laughed hard at the last part and said, "silly girl, and I didn't just think, you are married and no, never been with a man. I was looking for you, Amara, and you are a woman, so it's logical to look for you in the arms of other women. Every girl I had anything to do with reminded me in a little way of you. Maybe the way they smiled or talked or some other weird simple stuff, but I always ended up disappointed, no one can be you. I don't know anything about my sexuality, neither do I really care. I just really love you."
My panic stopped abruptly as my heart melted.
I reached for her, and we kissed deeply and slowly before I ended the kiss to say, "We are in the same boat I guess, you're the only one I've ever been sexually, emotionally and physically attracted to, I don't know what that makes me."
We stayed in each other's arms as I finally agreed to the party, thinking that I needed to know Tejiri even better. My sane subconscious whispered to me that I already knew her more than any human should know another. Still, when it came to Tejiri, it always had to be complete and perfect.
****
The party was at Joey's mansion somewhere on the island. I wore a shape fitting print dress that clung to all my curves. I had started to be more daring in my dressing since Tejiri got back in my life. She had unconsciously opened my eyes to acknowledging my unique fashion sense. Seeing as she worshipped my body and loved every single inch of me, I had gotten comfortable in my skin, even loving my body and wanting to show it off.
Tejiri had repeatedly said that I had a good figure, and once I willed myself to notice it, I could see what she meant.
I paired my tight dress with a pair of strappy heels, and I wore my hair up in a ponytail with just a little bit of makeup. Tejiri, on the other hand, was in her usual pair of pants and a long-sleeved shirt that looked like it was made for her. I loved how relaxed and sexily casual she looked.
Once we were let into the beautiful house that belonged to our host, we were immediately lost in a small crowd. Then I saw a man looking intermittently at the door and his expensive watch until just then, his eyes fell on us. His smile at Tejiri could have lit up a small country. It must be Joey, and I realized only then that I hated this man. At first, it was odd that I would react so negatively to a man that I hadn't even spoken with, and I couldn't understand it till it became more evident. Joey liked Tejiri, and it was apparent to anyone that looked hard enough, everyone except Tejiri. She hugged him deeply once the man came to us before introducing us.
"Amara, meet Joey, the young billionaire and Joey this is Amara, the brain behind destiny tech."
Joey smiled shyly as he shook my hand and then thumped Tejiri playfully.
"You're the multi-billionaire, and it's your trail the rest of us try to follow," Joey said as I watched on in mild irritation.
He then pleaded with me before pulling Tejiri off to go meet some people. I found a chair and plumbed unceremoniously on it.
I started to give myself a pep talk. I had nothing to be afraid of when it came to Tejiri. I had never done anything to deserve or to earn her love. She'd picked me over all those people in the past, and I hadn't done anything. Tejiri was mine, every other person could try, but I doubted anyone could ever win her love. I had nothing to be afraid of, and my eyes sought out Tejiri and found her eyes on me like a sign of confirmation. She was in a conversation with a middle-aged man who looked important, but her eyes were on me, and I didn't know how long she'd been there looking at me
Our eyes met, and she winked at me. It threw me off balance because it was so unusual, but I found that I liked it. I smiled genuinely at her before grabbing a drink from a waiter passing by.
A few minutes later, she was back with me.
"I'm so sorry, babe, lots of people I know in this damned party, we should have stayed home," she said in mild irritation as well, and it made me laugh.
I think I was a little tipsy, seeing as I had taken about three glasses of champagne. A Nigerian Afrobeat came up on the speakers, and Tejiri jumped on her feet and said, "I love this song, come, baby, and dance with me."
I looked at her like she was crazy. How could I dance with her with these people in the room? Didn't she know that I could hardly keep my hands off her? Now I was tipsy, and she was looking even more beautiful with her hair tousled and falling over her face? She ignored my look anyways and pulled me up to my feet, and soon her butt was pressed into my crotch as she tried to twerk for me. It was very uncharacteristic of her and also very shocking that she could even move correctly to music. She had gotten better at this.
I couldn't help the laugh that bubbled out of my chest. God! Tejiri was such a vibe, and I'd never imagined that I would ever see her carefree, so laid back and having fun. I found that I liked it. No one was paying any attention to us, so I held her waist and let her grind on me.
"I can see the shock, I would have you know that I have since started taking dancing classes," she said.
Soon our positions were reversed, and we were dancing close. My breathing had become labored, and I didn't think I could survive another minute without kissing Tejiri. We were just about to do that when Joey interrupted. He looked from me to Tejiri over and over again before it dawned on him.
"I feel so stupid right now, I mean, I should have guessed. So you're the Amara," he said sadly as he hit his forehead repeatedly.
Tejiri looked perplexed as she watched him. She could be so clueless sometimes, and I rolled my eyes at her expression.
"I introduced her to you a few minutes ago, what are you talking about?" Tejiri asked, still looking perplexed, and it was all I could do to shake her till her teeth rattled.
"Never mind Tej, hope you're having fun, I just wanted to make sure," he said as he moved on to the next guests.
Tejiri looked at me in askance, and I had no choice but to make things clear to her, "babe, Joey likes you, and it's Blaise all over again. I mean it's so obvious, but I trust you not to see it. He didn't know you, and I were together until just now when he saw us about to kiss, and it all clicked in his head."
"What nonsense are you speaking? You always have these crazy ideas. Joey and I had been friends for years. He doesn't want me in the context you're thinking," she said, grabbing a glass of champagne from a passing waiter.
She seemed lost in thought for a short while before finally muttering, "Shit! I hate that you're always righ
t. I just thought back a few encounters with Joey and shit!"
I laughed, and she eyed me sarcastically.
"You're such an amazing woman, and many people see it and fall in love with you. You should become more aware of it," I said, pulling her hand into mine.
She looked up at me with sad eyes, but they were filled with love for me.
"No other person exists to me except you. I can't help it, I can't fathom it, I can't see anyone else, just you, it's like an addiction, loving you flows in my veins. I can't believe that people do not see my unavailability."
I wanted to kiss her, and if I didn't, I might just suffer a stroke or something because it felt like blood had stopped running to my brain, and I was suffocating. I quickly pulled her with me, and she dropped her glass on a nearby table and followed me. We entered the ladies, and once inside, I turned the key and pulled Tejiri into a kiss that left her panting when it finally ended. I dropped a dozen other small kisses all over her face as I tried to turn the key and pull her back out, but she stalled me by placing her hand on mine.
"You can't kiss me like that and then just leave me," she said in a sultry voice that dripped with lust.
I knew the implications of what she had said, and I welcomed it. Seeing as we didn't have time and the luxury of our own house and bed, Tejiri had to be fast.
She raised my left leg over her head as she knelt before me, next thing I knew, my thong was shifted to the side as her tongue found my clit. A few seconds later, her fingers joined in the assault on my senses, and when I did orgasm, it was hard and huge. I covered my mouth with a palm as I restrained from screaming in ecstasy.
When Tejiri got back to her feet, I kissed her sloppily as I tried to get all of my juices off her face. Minutes later, after looking at the mirror and adjusting ourselves, we left the restroom hand in hand, me with a satisfied grin and Tejiri with a new spring to her steps.
******