‘You’re not saying anything?’ Tolu asked. Anita looked at him.
She knew she should say something but what? She couldn’t afford to reveal any of the things that she had kept secretly within her for so long. Seeing that she wasn’t going to say anything, Tolu dropped the subject. It wasn’t worth making things awkward between them if she didn’t feel comfortable with the talk. Making a mental note, he immediately changed the topic back to what was more comfortable than feelings – s3x.
‘Ni, I saw you come in with a big shopping bag. Please, tell me that you have cookies, chocolates and all the good stuff that we love.’ Smiling, Ni walked over to the couch and retrieved the bag dropping it over at Tolu’s desk and smiling as he pounced on the junk. Out of habit, Tolu moved his chair over to the side of his desk, scooting over to give her the chance to sit beside him. ‘Sit, let’s chow this down babe’, he offered but she shook her head. ‘No, Tee. Anyone could come in here and think that this is something else. There’s barely enough space for two people here.’ Somehow, that angered him.
‘By anyone, you don’t mean Amaka do you? Because one, she’s not around and two, she understands by now how much you mean to me… as a friend.’ Of course. Anita thought to herself. ‘I’m just saying that you definitely wouldn’t want Amaka to come in here and see us sitting so closely together, would you?’ ‘No, of course not.’ Tolu said, dropping the pack of cookie in his hand and seeming upset.
‘Naturally, I should choose to sit with my girlfriend when she’s around me but right now, she’s not here and I’m with my closest friend. Should I have to explain why I’d rather discuss my business in hushed tones rather than speaking over a distance?’ he asked her.
‘No!’ Anita said. Feeling a bit exasperated herself. ‘Tee, this is so simple. Why’re you making it an issue?’ He breathed in ‘I’m making it an issue because you don’t act as freely as you used to around me simply because you don’t want to ‘offend my relationship’ and it’s not even like that.’
For a second, he paused… then, as if he had a new thought he said ‘It’s simple, isn’t it? Okay then.’ In a split second, he was lifting Anita up. His intentions were to place her right beside him and let her be however, things didn’t turn out so simply because she was struggling so much.
Somehow, she ended up in a very awkward position on his lap with her face so close to his. He could smell her perfume and immediately, his body reacted in a way that he didn’t expect. She kept trying to pull herself from his arms. ‘Stop struggling, Ni!’ he ground out before maneuvering her to the side of his chair. ‘Don’t you dare move away!’, he said and thankfully, she stayed in place.
Trying to ignore the reaction that he had to her, Tolu resumed eating his cookies as though nothing had happened. After a bite or two, he pick up Ni’s favorite pack of Oroes and passed it down to her with a bottle of chocolate milk and when she couldn’t open it, he pulled from her hand, opened it up and stole a cookie from her packet as he had done for years.
He wasn’t looking at her, if he did he might have seen the little tears that formed on the side of her eyes when he did that. ‘Ni sniffed and quickly wiped them away before settling on her Oroes. The air was a bit awkward between them but after a minute or so, Tolu put his arm around her and pulled her close so she had to rest her head partly on his shoulder. ‘I’m sorry’, he said. ‘Just stop acting like things have to change completely between us okay?’ She nodded.
After a while, he said ‘Tell me what to do about her, Ni. Seriously… sometimes, I just think that I have to say something or else, she might think I’m okay with this drought and continue this way for a long time. Frankly, only God knows how much more I can take, Ni.’ Ni smiled at his dramatic expression of someone in pain. ‘Yes, Tee. You might want to talk to her. Just be gentle okay? It’s not easy for her either.’ He nodded and with that, they got talking about other things..
- Unconsciously, Ni snuggled in closer to Tolu who tucked her in beside him. They didn’t realize the picture that they made as they chattered away oblivious to their environment.
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