MY BEST FRIEND, MY LOVE
Rabby and I walked to the notice board together. There, we found out we had no class on Mondays. That meant “Monday” was our free day. Rabby said, ‘wow!So meaning we have an extended weekend, that’s great!’ I smiled and told her how much I hated Mondays in the past, as it signaled the end of the weekend. We took a picture of the timetable with our phones and then, I asked for her hostel and whether she had something doing when she goes back. I didn’t want to go back to my room that morning as I had nothing doing and no one to visit. So, I asked to go to her hostel with her, as it was at the other end of the campus.
We got to my car afterwards and I got a call from Stanley; he asked how my day was going and I told him it was good and boring as well as I had nothing doing. I told him about Rabby and said I was going to be with her till evening; when he was going to be done with class.
On our way back to her hotel, I told her all I could tell her about myself: which high school I went to; where I stayed; my hobbies and the fact that I had a boyfriend. She did same, but though we did things in common and she lived not so far from my neighborhood, she mentioned that she was still single and had no boyfriend.
When we got to her hostel, Larry called and strangely, I was excited to see that he was the one calling when my phone rang. I picked up and he asked if I had lectures and whether I wouldn’t mind joining him at the mall. I asked if he was alone and he said he was with a friend. So I asked Rabby if she would be cool with us going to the mall to meet some friends and maybe get food since we both hadn’t eaten since morning. She nodded and said, ‘okay’
I drove out of her parking lot and then we got to the mall in like 30 minutes. We met Larry and his friend in front of the mall and I would be lying if I didn’t mention that he was looking good and better than he did the previous day. I smiled and admired him as we walked to meet them, and his friend was also good-looking; I could tell he was checking Rabby out.
When we met them, Larry hugged me and said to his friend, ‘Prince, you see I didn’t lie? This is the girl I was talking about.’ He smiled and said,
‘oh yeah! You sure weren’t.’ Larry Then introduced him to us as his co-worker and best friend. Then, I introduced Rabby to them as my new found best friend and course mate. Larry seemed so surprised when I mentioned that I had just met Rabby this morning, and he said it was too good to be true. I laughed and said, ‘it’s nothing impossible, we met and we clicked. So we are now friends.’
I mentioned to them that we hadn’t eaten and wanted to get food, so we went to a restaurant and ordered vegetable rice and grilled chicken for each one of us. There, I sat next to Larry and he was all over me. He was so funny and made me laugh. Rabby was sitting right opposite us, next to Prince and as we ate, I realized Rabby was so nervous and Prince was all over her too. “Wow! They like each other,” I said to Larry and he giggled. We talked that day about our few days in school and what we were expecting and then I found out, Rabby was an open-minded person and was looking forward to enjoy her independence and life away from home and her strict parents. What she said was, ‘I’ve always prayed for this day, when I would finally live the house and live somewhere else, without my mom checking on my every move and not making me go out to parties in the evenings and even going for sleep-overs.’
We all laughed at that; and they talked about their lives in the university; how much fun they had and why they would always miss their stay on campus. We had a great time at the mall, and after eating, we walked around and then, went to the photo studio to take pictures. It was so fun and when it was past 2, we decided to leave.
We had a wonderful time with the guys and when we told them it was time to go, they didn’t want to let us leave, but we had to. So, I hugged Larry and there, I saw Prince take Rabby’s number. He hugged her afterwards and we left.
On our way back, I asked Rabby, ‘tell me the truth, you like Prince right?’ She nodded and said he was a very interesting and nice guy, and she wouldn’t mind being friends with him or even getting into a relationship with him. I said, ‘nice, but does it mean you’ve never being in a relationship before?’ She nodded and I smiled at her and said, ‘wow! I’m happy you’ve finally met someone you like.’ She also asked a question that I’ve been trying so hard not to ask myself,
‘Bola do you have a thing for Larry. I know you have a boyfriend but it’s so obvious he likes you and anyone who doesn’t know you are dating will think you two have something going on.’
What she said was true but I didn’t want to answer the question; I didn’t want to have to question my feelings and maybe start thinking I was falling out of love for Stanley. So I just said, ‘we are just friends and don’t worry, I love Stanley and will always do. I’m not going to jeopardize what I have with him.’ She smiled and I said nothing afterwards. I was trying to make myself believe what I had said to her, but somewhere inside my heart, I felt like something bad was going to happen. I felt that I might mess up and it scared me.
We got to her hostel in less than an hour; and I went with her to her room to get the movies and music videos. We watched a horror movie together and we screamed out of fear the whole time we watched; but in the end, it was nice watching the movie. And when it was evening, I got a call from Stanley. He asked whether I was still with Rabby and I said, ‘yes’ and then he said he was done with lectures and was coming to Rabby’s hostel so we leave together. He came in no time, and I walked down to meet him. Rabby came along and I introduced her to Stanley. He seemed so happy to have met her and he said, ‘thanks so much for keeping her company for me, and I hope you two remain friends for a long time.’
We left afterwards and I made him drive. On our way back, he asked about my day and I told him about the movie. I didn’t mention us going to the mall and meeting Larry; I honestly didn’t feel the need to tell him and though it wasn’t right I just didn’t. When we got to the hostel, we met Jide and his girlfriend in the parking lot and it seemed they were having an argument. We ignored them, but he stopped talking and stared at us, as we walked into the hostel. I wondered what they were arguing about and hoped in my heart that it wasn’t about me.
I cooked dinner for Stanley and me when we got to my room and it was “Jollof”. I already had fried chicken in my fridge, so I microwaved it and then we ate the meal together. We watched a series,“The big bang theory” while eating and laughed throughout the episodes. Later that evening, we made love and fell asleep in each other’s arms in my room. The next day saw us both waking up early to prepare for class. Stanley left to his room and told me he was going to be back earlier than he did the day before, and then he left. After dressing up, I drove to Rabby’s hostel to pick her up and on our way to the department; she told me she had a date with Prince in the evening. Hearing that made me so excited and she asked if I had heard from Larry the night before. I didn’t remember, I had put my phone on silent mode and so I checked and realized I missed two calls from him. And as if he knew we were talking about him, he called when we got to the department and asked how I was doing. He told me how much he had missed me and I told him I missed him too. I told him I had a lecture that morning and ended the call after wishing him good luck at work that day. When the call ended, Rabby asked if Larry knew I had a boyfriend and then it occurred to me that I hadn’t told him yet. So, I told her I would the next time I spoke to him.
We had a two-hour lecture that morning at 9:30am, and it was an interesting lecture. The lecturer got me to answer a question and though I was shy I got it right and I realized he was so impressed. We had two other lectures that day; and after the last ended, Rabby and I were so tired and sadly, we had been given an assignment that we had to turn in the next day. Rabby whined and said, “Is this how our days are going to be here? I’m already tired.” I told her not to worry and suggested we went to the library to do the assignment before going back to our hostels.
In two hours, we were done. We went back to her hostel, and hurriedly went to her room to get her ready for her first date. She showered quickly and I made her face up for her. She looked so gorgeous when I was done, and then Prince called that he was in front of the hostel. The call made her nervous and she started saying how she wished I would go with her so she wouldn’t mess up or disgrace herself. I smiled at that and asked her to cheer up and just be herself. We walked down to meet him together, and he told her how pretty she was when we met him. Then, I said, ‘bye’ to them and asked them to have a good time and I asked Prince to drive safely.
I got a text from Larry on my way back, and he was checking up on me. He said he wished to see me but I told him I had things doing and so some other time. I felt something holding me back from telling him I had a boyfriend. I felt telling him that would push him away from me or make him stop talking to me and I didn’t want that to happen. I didn’t want to lose our friendship and I wanted to see him and talk to him more. I knew in my heart it wasn’t the right thing to do, but then I was willing to take that chance and said a silent prayer to God to not make Stanley leave me because of that.
And when I got to the parking lot that evening, I met Jide again in the parking lot. This time, he was alone and he walked towards me when he saw me get out of the car. He looked so apologetic and I didn’t want to hear him say “sorry” or anything about what he did to me the past year. I didn’t want him to take my mind back to how it felt when I read his heartbreaking message and how I felt when I saw him with his girlfriend at the cafeteria. So I didn’t make him talk; I just told him I was too busy to talk and I walked past him. I went straight to Stanley’s room and upon seeing him, I hugged him, kissed him and told him I loved him and never wanted to lose him. He knew something had happened and so he asked if it was Jide, I nodded and he got mad. He wanted to confront him again but I asked him not to.
I narrated what happened to him and how sorry he looked. Stanley then asked me not to ever give him a chance to explain things to me and asked me not to make that mistake of thinking he didn’t mean to hurt me or anything. I sensed that he was scared when he said that. Yeah, maybe he felt that I still had a thing for him and so by giving him a chance to explain things to me, I might give him another chance. I told him not to worry and that, he stood no chance with me and I would be stupid if I gave him another chance. We ordered for pizza that evening and we watched “The Big Bang theory.”
At midnight, Rabby called and said she was back and she sounded so happy. I asked how it went and she said, it was great and would tell me everything that happened the next day. So, the call ended after she asked to say ‘hi’ to Stanley.
We fell asleep watching the series. And the next morning, I left to my room. On my way, I met Jide and he called me and asked me to wait so he talks to me. I didn’t mind him and rather walked past him. He followed me and kept mentioning my name, but I quickened my pace and didn’t even look back. I wanted him to stop trying to reach out and as I thought about that, Larry called and asked that I go to the beach with him.
He mentioned that Prince and Rabby were going that evening and Prince had asked him to convince me to go with them. I thought about it and concluded that it wouldn’t be bad and so I said ‘yes.’
After the call, I showered, dressed up and went to pick Rabby up from her hostel. And on our way to the department, I asked her why she didn’t tell me about the beach. She told me she had planned to tell me that morning and even thought Larry would tell me the night before, so I said ‘okay’ and told her I was going to go with them. That made her happy, then she went ahead to tell me everything. She told me they went to watch a romantic comedy, “Perfect match” at the cinema and how nice it was. Then she asked me to guess what happened after. I thought and asked if he kissed her and she screamed ‘yes.’ I also screamed and asked, ‘was that your first kiss?’ She nodded and I said, ‘wow! how was it?’ Then, she told me it felt so good and she didn’t want it to end. I was so happy for her and I realized she really loved Prince and though it had only been two days, there was no denying that. We had three lectures that day, and the last ended at 4:30. After, we went to her hostel to get ready for the beach. I had taken my clothes and make-up bag along that morning, so we showered, and dressed up. After, I called Larry and asked if we should set off and he said yes, so we did. We met them at the beach in less than two hours and there, though it was past 6, Rabby made us swim. She mentioned that she loved the sea and loved swimming. We had a great time and after swimming, I took a walk with Larry.
When we reached the far end of the beach, we stopped to look at the waves and it was so cold then, so I stood in front of him and he wrapped his arms around me. It felt so good standing there with him in silence, with the cold breeze. I forgot about everything else and was lost in that moment. I didn’t want us to leave, I just wanted us to stand there like that, and never leave each other.
Sometime after, Larry took his arms off me and beckoned me to turn and face him. I did that and he kissed me. He kissed me so passionately, his lips were so soft and the kiss was so nice. I loved it and I kissed back. I don’t know whether it was the beach setting or the cold breeze that made it feel the way it did, and I didn’t want it to stop. I melted in his arms and we kissed for so long. It was when we parted lips finally that I realized what I had done. I had cheated on Stanley and I felt so guilty so, I told Larry we had to go meet Rabby and Prince so we leave.
He realized the change in my mood and asked what was wrong. I told him nothing and I needed to be left alone and so he obeyed and said nothing to me till we met the other two. We left after meeting them and on our way back, Rabby noticed there was something wrong, so she asked and I told her about the kiss. She told me she knew from the beginning that I had a thing for him and then she asked what I was going to do and I told her I didn’t know. I was so confused and I knew I couldn’t tell Stanley and I didn’t want to lose him either. So, Rabby suggested I told Larry that I had a boyfriend and what happened was a mistake and she asked that I stayed away from him. I nodded because that was exactly what I was going to do.
After dropping Rabby off at her hostel, I drove back to mine and went back to my room. Stanley called and I told him I wasn’t well and wanted to be left alone. He realized there was something wrong and when he came around, I said nothing to him. I couldn’t face him and I couldn’t lie to him so I asked him to just leave me alone. He wasn’t okay with that and he felt I was shutting him out. That was the first time something like that was happening so he obviously didn’t know what to do but he left reluctantly.
Days after, saw me drawing farther away from him; I just couldn’t pretend that everything was good with us and I stopped picking Larry’s calls after sending him a text that what happened was a mistake and I didn’t want to jeopardize what I had with my boyfriend because of him. So, I asked him to stay away from me but he kept calling. I knew he wanted me and wasn’t going to give up but he had to. I had to figure out a way to save my relationship because as the days went by, it felt like what we had was coming to an end. I kept shutting Stanley out and I couldn’t stay with him for long. I couldn’t even kiss him for long, not to talk of making love with him.
He kept wondering and asking what was wrong but I said nothing. I just didn’t know how to deal with it; so days after, I called my mom and narrated everything to her. She was disappointed in me but she told me she understood and that, things like that happen all the time. She asked me to sit down with Stanley and tell him everything that happened and tell him I didn’t want to lose what we had so I was sorry and was willing to work things out. Then she advised me to not entertain other guys again as what happened could happen again. So, I sent him a text and asked him to come to my room right after class so we talk, and I added that I loved him and will always do. He replied that he definitely would and he couldn’t wait for us to get back to the way we used to be.
Later that day, I had fallen asleep but was awaken by a knock on my door. I almost thought it was Stanley, but then upon second thoughts, I realized it couldn’t be him. He wouldn’t knock like if it were him, so I went to the door only to realize that it was Larry.
He was the last person I was expecting to see. I wanted him to stay away but he was way too stubborn to do that. So I made him come in; my heart raced when he walked in and I suddenly became nervous. I tried to appear strong and bold so I made him sit and got him a drink. Then he asked why I wasn’t picking up his calls. I told him I sent him a text and that what happened was a mistake and I didn’t want it to happen again. Then I told him it had affected my relationship and I could only work things out if I stayed away from him. It was so obvious I had a thing for him but I wanted to let him know that, no matter what, I wasn’t going to leave my boyfriend for him. I had forgotten then that I had asked Stanley to come over and I lost track of time. As I spoke to Larry, he got up and walked closer to me; then he held my chin and looked into my eyes. My heart skipped a beat; I asked myself what he was doing. I tried so hard to seem so strong but suddenly, I felt too weak to even ask him to stop. I couldn’t stop him from kissing me; and once again, I kissed back and melted in his arms as he kissed me. We kissed for some time and it felt great like it did at the beach and suddenly, I heard a knock on my door. Before I could say jack, Stanley walked in and screamed, “Pearl, what is going on here?” He said that on top of his voice and we stopped kissing and I stood there speechless. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know what to say. I just stood there and cried. I couldn’t stop the tears, I just cried.
WATCH OUT FOR EPISODE 05.