CHAPTER ELEVEN
Nahlela
I felt bad that Timi came right to my parent’s place to drop me, so I invited him in. Dad recognized him and they immediately started talking about football. When I joined mom in the kitchen to set the table for dinner, she tried asking me questions about him but I told her that I was interviewing him for an article and we had a meeting today. She tried to dig deeper but there was nothing more to say. Mom always complained that I was not dating anyone and I was growing old, so she always tried as much as possible to encourage me to go out more. Once or twice, she had tried to set me up on dates with her colleague’s sons but I didn’t even go because going meant giving her hope and I was not giving her false hope and of course, I wasn’t wasting my time.
I saw Timi looking at family pictures on the wall and I thought he was going to bring
TimiThe same way I didn’t plan on ending my arrangement with Amanda but did it anyway, was the same way I didn’t plan on texting Nahlela but I did. I read somewhere that midnight was the best time to text girls because the lonely ones will always reply and so, I decided to try my luck. I was surprised when she replied and I was shocked when she told me about her twin sister. I had noticed their pictures at her parents’ house, but I didn’t want to bring up the issue because it was a sad story. I knew a few things about Nahlela from stalking her on Facebook but I pretended as if I knew nothing and waited for her to tell me everything herself.I had spoken about my family with Nahlela and it was a first for me. I had never told any girl anything about my background. Some looked up information about me from google and tried prying for more but I never told them anything. I was letting her in
NahlelaNadine and I finally decided to celebrate her “birthday” at Manjong Night Club. Since it was far from her place and closer to mine, the Plan was for her to stay at my place when we got back. That was just a plan because we both knew there was a high possibility that she will end up in the bed of a random stranger even though we preferred not to talk about it.I was surprised when I saw Timi walk into the club. I didn’t expect him to come over and greet us. When I invited him to join us, I was just being polite and I didn’t even expect him to accept. Before his cousin came, there was no tension because Nadine focused on him but everything changed once Nadine and Brandon started bonding. It was a relief when he asked me to dance because we were just sitting at the table staring at each other awkwardly and saying nothing. When I wen
TimiBreaking the kiss was the most difficult thing I had done in a long while but it had to be done. Things were getting out of hand and if we continued kissing for one more minute, I don’t think I was ever going to stop. Her body was soft and enticing and her curves were perfect. Her breast fit perfectly in my hands and let me not even talk about the burning sensation I felt when she placed her hands on my stomach and traced the line down to my navel. I had this feeling of loss when I broke the kiss. Telling her that we will meet at practice was a dick move and I knew it pissed her off but then reminding her that I won was satisfying in a way.When I left her, I went to my room and had a cold shower. It was my second one in less than three hours but it was very necessary. Sleeping under the same roof with Nahlela but in different rooms was a very effective form of torture. I wish I coul
TimiI waited in the car for about ten minutes before Nahlela came down. She looked as beautiful as ever. She said she didn’t want to go anywhere far and she suggested Chambo Masters Inn which wasn’t far from her house. I didn’t know the place so she gave me directions as we went. it was an old building which looked like it had seen better days. There was soot on the wall in front which was probably from the fire place which was used in roasting meat which was popularly known as suya. The music was low and there was a television at one corner which was showing a football match. The place was filled with men and boys who were watching the match together. I spotted an empty table at one corner and led Nahlela there. I asked Nahlela if she was comfortable and she said she was okay. When we were settled down, a waiter appeared and took our orders. Both of us ordered for Smirnoff
NahlelaWhen Timi pitched me his ridiculous proposal or business arrangement or whatsoever at Chambo Masters, I got so angry and left. As I was stepping outside, a bike was just from dropping someone there so I took the bike and went home. When I heard a knock on the door, I thought it was one of my neighbours, so I opened the door without asking who it was. I was about slamming the door in his face but he blocked it with foot and then he let himself in. I wanted to unleash all my anger on him, I wanted to hit him, bite him, strangle and do anything and everything possible to inflict pain on him but I was normally not a violent person and most unfortunately, I didn’t even have the strength to. As he stood there talking to me, all I wanted was for him to leave. He had seriously disrespected me and it hurt because he was someone I was starting to feel comfortable and even tru
TimiI had royally messed things up. From the way things were, I didn’t think Nahlela was going to forgive me anytime soon. The whole incident had made me realize how much she meant to me. We hadn’t known each other for long but I really wanted to be with her. I made up my mind that I wasn’t going to stop till she forgave me and I wasn’t going to rest till she accepted to be in a relationship with me.Who would have thought that I would loss my mind over a girl in this way? I had always had my way with girls. I didn’t chase them; I rolled with girls that knew the drill. No feelings and no emotional shit. Even when there was chasing, they chased me not the other way round. The only thing I had ever chased in my life was a football. Now I had to do the chasing. I meant it when I said Nahlela was not like most girls so I had to think out of the box.
NahlelaIt had been two weeks since I last saw Timi. I had not received any text or call from him and I wasn’t going to be the one to take the first step. I scrolled through our chats again and had that urge to text him but I decided against it. It had been like this for the past two weeks. Every day I was fighting with the decision of if I should text him or not. The cake he sent me was really delicious. The day we had lunch at his place, I think I had mentioned to him that my best type of cake was plain cake and I preferred butter icing. He really did pay attention to detail.Christmas was just a week away and I had to meet mom to make a list of the things we needed. Every year, mom and dad made a small barbecue part on Christmas night with close friends, relatives and neighbours, but this year they decided to host it on Christmas eve instead. I finally woke up from the bed and started pre
TimiVacation in Nigeria wasn’t a bad idea after all. Aaliyah had come up with a list of places she wanted us to visit. We went to the Lekki Leisure lake, Jos wildlife park, Port Harcourt Tourist beach, The Benin City National Museum, Tarkwa Bay and Terra Kulture. We entered the famous buses which Nigerians called “Danfo” and mom almost had a heart attack but Aaliyah and I were enjoying it way too much. We loved seeing her dramatizing. We had family time and bonded a lot. Honestly, I can’t remember the last time we had time as a family, just us with no outsiders. Mom complained about the strong pillows, old building and a lot of other things but dad asked her to relax and try to make the best out of it and she did. She even surprised us all by saying it was the best vacation she had ever had and she was definitely coming back to Nigeria for a getaway with her husband, no children invited.
TimiI watched Nahlela as she moved towards the fountain, the expression on her face was priceless, it was like she was mesmerised by everything. As she turned and stretched to touch the water, I quietly knelt down and softly called her name. when she turned and saw me on my knee with a box in a tiny velvet box ion my hand, she looked shocked. She wanted to speak but I cleared my throat and she kept quiet.“Nahlela Bih Samgena, from the first day we met, you got under my skin, there was something about you which I couldn’t place my hands on, then we got to know each other and it became evident why you always unnerved me, I loved you from the first day we met. Io love your smile, the way you talk, the way you walk, your personality, in fact I love everything about you. Since you came into my life, you have shown me that there is more to life, you have been my inspiration and muse, you hav
NahlelaEveryone was behaving strangely, like they were all hiding something from me. Timi had been very distant lately. Timi left home very early in the mornings and came back late at night and after eating and taking his bath, he slept immediately. Sometimes he fell asleep in the middle of conversations or in front of the television which was very unusual for him. I asked him if anything was wrong and he passively told me everything was fine. I felt like something was off so I insisted but he insisted everything was fine and I shouldn’t bother. I tried asking his sister Aaliyah but she said everything was fine and I shouldn’t bother.After the whole kidnapping saga, I had moved in with Timi and terminated my contract with my former landlord. I wanted to take a few days off because I felt like I was suffocating Timi; he didn’t exactly say it, but I felt like he needed a
NahlelaMom, dad and Timi rushed into the room at the same time. Before they could start asking me questions, I told them Nadine was behind the kidnapping. Timi said she had called earlier and when he told her I was unconscious, she said she was on her way. Dad immediately called the police and informed them of the new developments, Mom climbed on the bed and kept on hugging me. Timi just stood at one corner and kept on looking at me and smiling. I was so happy and grateful to have them. I told them the full story about how I was kidnapped and how I managed to escape and mom cried all through. I was trying not to cry but she was making it so difficult for me. Timi asked mom and dad to go home and promised to stay with me through the night. Mom tried refusing but we all told her to go home and rest and she said she will be back first thing in the morning. She and
NahlelaLater that evening, Nadine left the building and I was left with the boy who instead of watching me had been concentrating on his phone all through. I told him I was pregnant and needed to pee, so he took me to the bathroom. When I was done, I told him I was tired of sitting on one place and my back was aching. He seemed to take pity on me, so he brought out a tiny mattress from the wardrobe and gave me to sleep on it with a little blanket to cover my body. Early in the morning when I woke up, I noticed that he had fallen asleep and was snoring so I tiptoed to the door and tried the key and the door opened. The stupid boy had left the key on the door and fallen asleep. I wondered where Nadine had taken him from. He looked like a good kid trying to make fast money. I took out the key and when I closed the door from outside, I locked it with the key. The house was
TimiI hadn’t heard from Nahlela since she told me she was leaving the office. I called her and she didn’t pick up. I was worried. Two hours had passed already and it was so unlike her. I called her parents to ask if they had heard from her and they said they hadn’t. They promised to tell her I had been asking after her but I insisted that they go to her house and check up on her. They told me I was worrying over nothing, but agreed to go to her house and promised to take her to their place.Two hours later, Nahlela’s dad called me. He told me he had just received a call from Nahlela’s phone. She had been kidnapped and the kidnappers were demanding a ransom of twenty million francs. I wanted to leave Dschang and start going back to Bamenda but he told me he had it all under control. He told me he had installed a tracker on her phone once. I was really grateful for that. H
Nahlela I woke up when Timi was still asleep. I quietly got out of bed and went to the kitchen. He was leaving with the team for Dschang in a few hours’ time for the university games. I would have loved to go with him to watch the games but I had a doctor’s appointment; so he agreed to give me daily updates about the game so I would add to the article. I made him breakfast and packed some treats for the team to eat on the way. Then even though he insisted on the fact that he wasn’t a kid going to boarding school, I made some snacks for him. Timi insisted on hiring a driver for the few days he was away but I wasn’t having it. He said he wasn’t comfortable with me staying alone so I told him I was going to go and stay at my parent’s place till he came back. I was only pregnant and he was pampering me as if I was a baby. He even
TimiI woke up to seven missed calls from Aaliyah, mom and dad. I was already panicking, thinking there was an emergency but then I remembered it was my birthday so I calmed down. Instead of calling them back, I went to WhatsApp and checked the messages I had there. My friends and former team mates had sent me birthday wishes and the birthday wishes kept coming in. I scrolled down looking for Nahlela’s message but I didn’t see anyone from her. I didn’t really care about my birthday but I wanted her to care about it. I called Aaliyah on video call and then added mom and dad. They were together so dad picked up on his phone and they both used it. We spoke for some time and then dropped the call. I was about to take my bath when I heard the doorbell ring. Mary had probably forgotten her key again. I went to open the door and It was Nahlela at the door. She was hold
NahlelaIt was Saturday and I had decided to stay home, clean my house and then cook and relax a bit. Timi had training with the guys and other errands he had to run. I put on the television and the first thing I saw was an advert for sanitary pad. I picked up my phone and checked my calendar. Lo and behold, my period was a couple of days late. No, strike that; It was two weeks late. I started trying to remember all the times I had sex and see where they fell on my calendar, but I had no such luck. I could not remember all the dates. When I finished cleaning the house, I went to the market to buy foodstuff and also some personal items. I went to a medicine store and took five different pregnancy test strips made by five different companies. When I got home, instead of taking the tests immediately, I tried stalling. I put it off for as many hours I could afford but once I was done
Nahlela“I woke up before Timi and I didn't want to disturb him so I quietly tiptoed into the bathroom and took my bath. I was already late for work so I didn't waste time in the bathroom. When I came back to the bedroom, I was surprised to see that Timi was no longer in bed. The dress I had taken didn't need ironing again so I dressed up and tied my braids in a bun. I didn't even bother with make-up, Just wore my shoes and was going to the living room to look for my laptop and notepad to put in my bag and runout when Timi stopped me&Good morning babe&&Good morning & I answered&Trying to sneak past me huh?&& I'm not sneaking. planned on calling you once I got to work&