Episode 20
Written by Oluwatosin Odebiyi
‘’Hi what’s up?’’ Jessica greeted as soon as I picked up her phone call.
‘’I’m cool and you?’’ I replied with a soft tone, wondering the reason she called by that hour.
‘’you asked for another date with me and I promised to give you a reply today. That’s the reason I’m calling now’’ she quickly added as if she knew what I was thinking.
‘’oh cool’’ I stammered, not really sure of what to say to her words.
‘’I will be free for another date this evening, but it’s going to take the form of an outing’’ she said softly, leaving me silent for some seconds.
‘’outing?, I really don’t get what you mean by outing’’ I muttered, expecting her to explain in details because what I wanted was to have a quiet date with her in a restaurant or someplace private but the way she mentioned the word outing looked as if she was suggesting a road trip or something similar which really looked out of ordinary considering the level of our relationship..
‘’never mind, hope you can come over to my house by 4pm?’’ she asked quickly.
‘’Yes of course ‘’ I answered .
‘’Good. Here is my address ‘’ she added softly, calling out her house address which I already knew. After the call, I faced Joe with a smile.
‘’it’s Jessica. She called to accept another date request I made the previous day but she wants a road trip which I really don’t understand. She asked me to come over to her house by 4pm’’ I explained to my friend, who laughed.
‘’maybe she wants you to take her to Nekede zoo or maybe Oguta lake’’ he joked, laughing hard.
‘’this isn’t a laughing matter brother’’ I said seriously, stopping his laughter with my words.
‘’well I really don’t have any advice to give. You already know she was involved with your late uncle and could probably be behind the attack you had last night. So you just have to be very careful. I hope she isn’t taking you out of town to kill you?’’ he said with a very serious tone while I shrugged.
‘’I really think she is very bad but then there is this feeling of calmness, this feeling of openness I always have whenever I’m with her. She acts like an innocent angel and I don’t just know what to believe anymore’’ I confessed .
‘’you just have to be careful. Only time will tell what she really is’’ he breathed with an air of certainty.
‘’I will meet her by 4pm. Life is all about taking risk. Whatever will be will be’’ I said with a forced smile.
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Jude’s side of the story continues
I left Pamela at the hotel by 6am with my head high like someone who just graduated with first class result. Pamela never uttered a word to me nor tried to stop me from leaving after the little talk we had that early morning. I couldn’t imagine what she was thinking by wanting me to leave the country with her. I couldn’t imagine what she could be planning or what exactly was going on with her life.
Leaving the relationship was definitely one of the best decisions I have ever made in my life but deep down I was still nervous, I was still scared that somehow she was going to pop up in my life again.
I returned to my hostel, very restless and nervous. I badly needed something to calm my nerves but unfortunately a long weekend was still ahead and Tracy wasn’t around anymore to keep me company. Without thinking twice, I did the unimaginable by calling her on phone with the news that I was coming over to her
house that very day. She couldn’t believe her ears when I broke the news. She kept quiet for some seconds before speaking.
‘’you are joking right?’’ she asked.
‘’I’m already on my way’’ I informed her.
‘’but why?. What made you change your mind?’’ she asked curiously.
‘’because I miss you very much. I can’t survive the weekend without you. I have seen how important you are to me’’ I confessed, leaving her silent for few seconds.
‘’you just made me cry now. I also do miss you over here’’ she confessed.
‘’I will be there in few hours. I promise’’ I breathed, hung up and got my things ready for a trip to Enugu.
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It really was my first time of visiting a female friend in her family house and of course I was extremely nervous. I prayed for her parents to be kind and accommodative.
‘’I hope your dad won’t get mad at me’’ I asked her over and over as we chatted on my way to her house.
On getting to Enugu, Tracy was already at the bus station waiting for me with a chartered taxi. She cried out with joy as soon as she saw me alight from the bus.
‘’finally you made it’’ she broke out, hugging me tightly and drawing the attention of everyone at the bus station. I felt on top of the world, having such a pretty girl who cared so much for my well being, for my happiness, for my future all to myself. And that is what true love is all about. But did I really deserve Tracy’s love??
To be continued
SHADES OF LUST