It Takes Two

by Haden, Ross;

  Andisiwe thought to herself that this just might have been the most embarrassing moment of her life. She decided that all she really wanted to do was to go home. Why hadn’t she and Thabo just gone to a Spur instead? She would have enjoyed ribs and calamari, with an ice-cream sundae for dessert. It would have been a lot cheaper.

  Andisiwe felt very depressed as she thought about the fact that her account was now nearly empty. She had meant that money to last her a long, long time, until she got on her feet in Cape Town. She couldn’t ask her aunt for more. Aunt Mimi had already been so generous.

  “I hope you have petrol this time around,” said Andisiwe after a while. She felt grumpy, and simply could not resist the temptation to make an angry comment.

  “Oh, Siwe, I’m really sorry,” said Thabo, moving his hand from the steering wheel to tenderly squeeze her hand. “Please forgive me. I really like you. I hope you’re going to let me make this up to you.”

  When Thabo pulled up outside Mimi’s house Andisiwe got out of the car, and hardly muttered a goodbye. She put the key in the front-door lock and turned it. The door opened and she went inside, without looking back.

  ~•~

  A couple of days passed before Thabo called Andisiwe.

  In that time Andisiwe longed to hear from him, but another part of her felt that it might be better if she never heard from him again. When he finally did call Andisiwe could not help the way her heart skipped a beat at the sound of his voice.

  “Hey, Siwe, I want to make up for the disastrous date the other day. I have planned a surprise for you. I hope you will consider what I have to say, but it will involve you coming away with me for a couple of days.”

  Trying to decide whether she should go with Thabo, or not, was a difficult decision. Andisiwe scratched her head and cracked and clicked her fingers. Thoughts raced through her head as she considered first one option, and then another. She might consider going with him if she could have some kind of guarantee that what happened on the last date with him would never happen again. She might consider going with him if she knew that she would never have to pay for something that he was supposed to pay for, ever again.

  But how would she ever know that? Thabo had spoken a lot about trust. The question she kept asking herself was, did she trust Thabo enough?

  Andisiwe called her friend Siya back in PE. She felt sure that Siya would know what to do in this situation. Andisiwe told her everything.

  “Skat,” said Siya, not really able to believe what Andisiwe was telling her, “I think it has all been an accident. Surely he hasn’t been doing all these things on purpose? I suppose you could let it slide, and give him another chance.” Siya laughed loudly, “Ha ha, you paid on a date, yhu! You have a heart.” Still chuckling Siya added, “After all, it seems like he really does want to make it up to you for all the terrible dates he’s taken you on. Let’s give him a chance. Besides, I can’t wait to hear the next instalment – it’s better than Days. And how can I, if you never see him again?”

  “I suppose we can,” replied Andisiwe, feeling comforted, the way she always did when she talked to her friend. “I miss you a lot. I’m still not sure about going, but I’ll think about it.”

  “Just go,” said Siya, encouragingly. “I dare you to. I’m sure it’ll be fun. What’s the worst that could happen? Besides, life is so boring here. I need your stories to cheer me up.”

  Andisiwe herself cheered up. “Yah neh, sharp ke, my skat, mwah!”

  Thabo called back. His voice was calm and gentle. He made her feel that there would be no pressure regarding her relationship with him. He told her that all he wanted to do was get to know her, and have fun. He also seriously wanted to make up for all the bad dates he had had with her. He sweetly let her know that the ‘getaway’ would have ample space for them to have separate rooms. He just wanted to treat her.

  After a moment’s thought Andisiwe agreed to accompany Thabo. She knew that she had to make a choice, and whether it was a good or a bad choice – she would deal with that later.

  She packed a bag and left a brief note for her aunt, in which she mentioned that she was going away with an old friend. She hoped Mimi would not ask too many questions, but Mimi wasn’t in the habit of asking any questions at all.

  Thabo parked his car outside the gate of the house, and buzzed Andisiwe to let her know that he was outside.

  “Hayi,” said Andisiwe excitedly, once she was happily seated in the car. “Where are we going, hle?”

  “Just take a nap,” said Thabo. “You’ll know when we get there. It’s a surprise, remember?”

  Andisiwe and Thabo chatted as they took the main highway leading out of Cape Town. From Sir Lowry’s Pass, Andisiwe looked back over the city and False Bay twinkling in the sun.

  There was an amazing sound system in the car, and Thabo was playing all her favourite music. Andisiwe felt herself beginning to relax, and she leaned her head back against the extremely comfortable seats of the car.

  Laughing, she even sang along softly to one or two songs, until she began to feel sleepy. The last thing she remembered, before she finally could not keep her eyes open for a second longer, was Thabo’s slender brown hands gripping the steering wheel.

  Andisiwe had always loved a man’s hands, and Thabo’s were a pair of the best she had ever seen. Her dreams were full of his hands, tenderly caressing every part of her.

  She awoke with a start as she felt Thabo gently shaking her shoulder. She blinked and wiped her hand over her eyes. She had been sleeping very deeply, and she hoped she hadn’t been snoring.

  “Wakey, wakey, Sleeping Beauty,” said Thabo. “We’ve arrived.”

  Thabo had driven her to a beautiful, white penthouse apartment situated above the central beach in Plettenberg Bay. When they went inside, she saw that the views from the long balcony took in the curve of the long, white beach and the endless blue ocean.

  Just as Thabo promised, the penthouse had more than enough rooms for her to sleep in a separate bedroom, but Andisiwe did notice that the big double bed was strewn with red roses, and that there was champagne in a silver ice bucket.

  Feeling overwhelmed with gratitude Andisiwe turned to Thabo, as they stood in the hall, facing the open bedroom doors, and surprised him with a kiss.

  That was all they needed, a spark to a flame, and they started kissing passionately. Thabo lifted Andisiwe in his arms, and carried her to the bedroom with the red rose petals. He flipped the music player as he passed, and ‘Sex Therapy’ by Robin Thicke began to play.

  Thabo held Andisiwe’s waist, and ran his fingers along her spine as he took her dress off.

  Iyho, I’m glad I wore matching lingerie, thought Andisiwe as she breathed heavily into Thabo’s ear. I never thought this could happen in real life, she thought to herself.

  Andisiwe began to melt as Thabo ran his hands over her thighs, just like she had dreamed he would do a little while before. Her body shivered. She wrapped her arms around Thabo’s neck as they kissed, closing her eyes. She could feel him aroused against her.

  Thabo really turned her on, and although a little voice was trying to tell her something, speaking quietly inside her head, Andisiwe chose to ignore it. Every move Thabo made thrilled her with intense pleasure, and she felt herself responding to him with every fibre of her being.

  ~•~

  Andisiwe yawned and stretched her arms wide open, as she rolled over on the double bed. She felt the pillow next to her. The bed felt empty. When she opened her eyes she saw, with surprise, that Thabo was not there.

  Andisiwe removed some of the rose petals that had stuck to her cheek. The champagne bottle was empty on the bedside table. Her pretty summer dress lay crumpled on the floor. She was naked in the bed, only covered by the sheets.

  “Nco, is he preparing breakfast?” she wondered.

  Andisiwe dozed a little, but a
fter half an hour she wondered what was taking Thabo so long, and she got up to look for him. “Babe? Thabo!” she called, as she began to wander round the apartment.

  She knocked on the bathroom door. He was not there. She went to the kitchen. Thabo was not there either. She went to the living room and to the patio. Thabo was not there.

  Where is he? Just the faintest feeling of fear came over Andisiwe. What if he never came back? But that was ridiculous. He had probably just gone out for juice or coffee, or more champagne.

  Suddenly Andisiwe heard a key in the front door. She sprinted back to the bedroom. She wrapped the white linen sheet around her body, and lay in the middle of the bed, on her left hip, facing the door, ready for Thabo to walk in.

  The door opened slowly.

  Andisiwe composed herself, allowing a soft, seductive smile to play upon her lips, as she waited for Thabo.

  A man in a black suit, followed by a very tall, tough man wearing a plain gold ring, and a beautiful, rather large woman, wearing a huge diamond ring, opened the door. They stood in a row, staring at Andisiwe.

  Andisiwe opened her mouth and screamed, very loudly and very long. Oh my God! Oh my God! Who are these people? What’s going on? she thought frantically. Andisiwe’s heart started beating like a drum in her chest.

  “Whoow, lady! Who are you? What are you doing here?” the man in the black suit shouted.

  Andisiwe screamed again.

  The man in the black suit quickly led the couple out onto the patio.

  Andisiwe clutched the sheets around her body, and jumped out of the bed. She tried to gather her clothes from where they were lying, scattered over the floor of the bedroom. She scooped them all up and retreated to the bathroom. With trembling, fumbling hands she pulled her clothes from the previous day back on. A few vital pieces were missing, like her underwear.

  She could not for the life of her remember where her suitcase was. It might still be in the boot of Thabo’s car. Everything, from the moment Thabo had begun kissing her, was a blur.

  And where was the car now? Andisiwe asked herself. And where was Thabo?

  Andisiwe stayed in the bathroom, trying to figure out who these people were. Nothing was adding up. “Thabo, dammit! Where are you?” Andisiwe said out loud.

  She didn’t even know where her cellphone was. Somewhere in her handbag no doubt. She seemed to remember having dropped that onto the floor somewhere near the front door.

  Just then Andisiwe heard a soft knock on the bathroom door. For a moment she wished that this was just a nightmare, and that the knock would wake her from a bad dream.

  “Who are you?” asked Andisiwe angrily. “What are you doing here?”

  “I should be asking you those questions, Miss.” Andisiwe recognised the voice of the man in the suit. He continued, “Keep calm, and please don’t raise your voice at me. I’m authorised to call the police about you!”

  “Oh my God!” screeched Andisiwe, horrified. “Please don’t. I don’t know what’s going on here. I’m here with my boyfriend. He disappeared. Oh no!”

  Andisiwe held her forehead, then released her hand and felt her heart beat. It was still beating fast. She began to pace up and down. She leaned on the wash basin and sighed. She bit her nails. Tears started falling down her cheeks as Andisiwe suddenly realised that she didn’t know how she would get home. She couldn’t even find her underwear. She sobbed out loud as she remembered that she had no money.

  Andisiwe began to feel nauseous. She began pacing faster and more urgently.

  “Miss, who is your boyfriend? Where is he? How did you even get in here?” The man was back, talking sternly to her from the other side of the bathroom door.

  “Um, uh, oh my God,” was all Andisiwe could manage to say. She could feel her heartbeat rising again. She placed her hand over her mouth. Panicking, Andisiwe realised that she didn’t know what to say, and her hands shook nervously as if she’d done something wrong.

  Later, Andisiwe thought that she may have cried out loudly before she collapsed. All she really remembered was that before she hit the ground, the strange man stepped into the bathroom, and he must have caught her.

  When she came around, a moment later, she was aware that she was lying on the bathroom floor, and a sheet was tucked round her, and a pillow was underneath her head. The man was standing over her, examining some sort of ID card belonging to Thabo. Andisiwe had previously vaguely noticed it lying on the shelf next to the hand basin.

  “Shit!” The man’s mouth dropped open with shock. “Thabo!” he said. He lowered his head in disappointment.

  Andisiwe, from her position on the floor, looked up at him and frowned. “Wait, how do you know Thabo?”

  “It’s a long story,” said the man, looking down at her, and shaking his head. “First things first,” he said and leaned down to Andisiwe and helped her shakily to her feet. “Let me help you over to the bed.”

  Andisiwe allowed herself to lean against him. She couldn’t help noticing the superb cut of his suit, and the incredible material that it was made from. Pam’s words regarding Thabo’s suit, said to her what seemed to be a lifetime ago, ran through her head.

  Well, thought Andisiwe to herself as she sank down onto the bed, as the man’s strong arms released her, this suit is definitely not hired. It fits him perfectly, in every way.

  ~•~

  Andisiwe found her underwear amongst the folds of the bedclothes. She had scrounged for them when the man in the suit had left her alone to go and attend to the couple that were still in the penthouse somewhere. Hastily she had slipped them back on.

  “I found this in one of the rooms,” said the man, when he returned. Andisiwe breathed a sigh of relief when she saw he had her handbag in one hand, and her suitcase in the other. She had heard the front door closing behind the couple he had brought with him to the penthouse.

  “Thank you,” said Andisiwe, taking her bags from him.

  “Look,” said the man, “this has all been a massive waste of my time. I take it you come from Cape Town?”

  “Yes, I do,” said Andisiwe, as she scratched her scalp and bit her lower lip, embarrassed.

  “Would you like a ride?”

  “Yes please!” said Andisiwe. She did not know the man, and was anxious about accepting. But what choice do I have, she thought.

  “We’ll leave in twenty minutes,” said the man, turning to leave the penthouse. “Be ready.”

  “Is there time to take a shower?” she asked quickly. “I really need to change my clothes. Please.”

  “OK then, but make it quick.”

  Andisiwe sprang into action, clutching her suitcase and her bag, and retreating into the bathroom. She shut the door and locked it.

  As soon as she had locked herself in Andisiwe scrabbled inside her handbag and found her phone. She breathed a sigh of relief. Taking it in hand she scrolled down in her phonebook, and stopped at ‘Thabo’, then pressed the green button.

  “The number you have called does not exist.”

  Andisiwe’s heart jumped in shock and her eyes filled with tears. She took a deep breath and rang Siya’s number. No answer. Disappointed, she sent a text.

  if u neva hear from me again

  cum lookin 4 me in a penthouse flat in Plett.

  Luv u.

  Taking off her clothes Andisiwe turned on the taps in the shower. She stood under the pounding water for a long time, allowing her tears to mingle with the warm water, and run down her cheeks. After a while she began to feel better, and closing her eyes she even smiled to herself a little, as she remembered the time she had had with Thabo. It had been amazing.

  “What’s love without tragedy?”

  Andisiwe remembered listening to Rihanna’s song. She began humming it to herself as she stood under the water. She began soaping herself with the shower gel, and as s
he did so she began to sing, quite loudly.

  Was it love though?

  It was a sobering thought and Andisiwe stopped singing, just long enough to hear the man’s voice above the sound of running water. He was pounding on the bathroom door, and calling out, “Could you hurry up now please!”

  Andisiwe put on her orange peplum skirt, and a white crop top. She took about ten more minutes to apply some make-up, and then she finally emerged from the bathroom. The stranger was standing in the bedroom, obviously ready to go.

  “By the way, I’m Jacob,” said the man, as he held the front door open for Andisiwe. “What’s your name?”

  “I’m Andy,” said Andisiwe, choosing to use the variation to her name that Thabo did not know. She reached out her hand to shake Jacob’s hand. Jacob reached out to take Andisiwe’s travel suitcase.

  “How do you know Thabo?” asked Andisiwe as they travelled down in the lift.

  Jacob sighed. “Thabo works for me.”

  “Wait! What?” Andisiwe gasped. “He works for you? He told me he had his own business and everything!” Shaking her head in disbelief Andisiwe added, “Oh my word.”

  Jacob put his arm gently around her shoulder. “Andy, Thabo is my security guard. Calm down, I know you didn’t know anything.”

  “Oh, I’m so sorry for being so upset,” said Andisiwe as Jacob opened the car door for her, and she climbed into the front seat. “It’s just such a shock to be abandoned like this.”

  “Its OK, I understand.”

  Jacob pulled out onto the N2 and began to head back towards Cape Town.

  “How did he get hold of the keys of the penthouse?” said Andisiwe, as she distractedly stared at the sea view on the horizon. “We came through security to get in here. The guy knew the car we were driving. I assume he doesn’t have a car like yours?”

  “Nope, he doesn’t have a car like mine. He has my car,” said Jacob, shaking his head. “He has access to my house and to the office. He must have used my car, and asked one of the security guys to cover for him.”