Chapter 7: Second date.

Omotayo

  "Oya buy this one na, it's pretty," Angela, a mutual friend of Ini and I, suggested in a hurry but I'm quick to refuse since I wasn't feeling the colour of the dress. I didn't blame her for hurrying though, we've been here for almost two hours and yet I've not found a dress that I genuinely like. 

"Yellow is too much for me. I don't like the colour one bit," I told her and Ini quickly threw me two more dresses to try on, the stress lines on her face showing she's about to give up on me. 

"I hate shopping with you Tayo, you honestly complain too much. We've been here since and not one dress suits your taste but if it's to pick baggy pants now with your oversized blazers, we would have been out of here a long time. Your kind person sef ehn," she hissed and rolled her eyes irritatedly but I could care less about her opinion. If I'm not comfortable with something, I won't buy it. Simple!

I decided to try on one of the dresses she threw at me and I had to admit the dress looked perfect on me. The dark purple blended well with my skin colour and the bust size was just perfect for my overloaded bosom. 

Sometimes I envied Ini for her lucky body type, unlike me, she wasn't too heavy in the front and wasn't an overload behind. She had both sides in perfect form and anything she wore fitted her perfectly. 

As for me, I wasn't too gifted behind. They're so many of my dresses I had to give up to Ini because they looked better on her and Ini being the good friend she is, cleared half the dresses in my closet but promised to go shopping with me to fill up the blank spaces she left behind. 

"This one looks great on you, brings out your boobs very well. I like the cleavage," Ini complimented me with a wild smile as soon as I walked out of the changing room. 

"So I should wear this for tomorrow's date?" I asked. 

"Try the second dress first, if they're both good enough we'll take them and choose one later," Angela replied and I frowned. 

"I'm tired of all this o, you know how much I hate shopping and you're still telling me to change clothes. Let's just buy this one with the other clothes and go home," I retorted and they both glared at me simultaneously. 

"Who did we come here for? No be you? Better go and try it on before I woze you," Ini yelled back at me and to save myself from further embarrassment I comply. 

(Is it not for you? Better go try the dress before I smack you.) 

  After what seemed like hours we finally arrived home. I dropped Angela off at her estate that wasn't too far from mine and as for Ini, she's refusing to go home and instead preferred to stay at my place. Lately, she has spent more time with my bed than I have but I'd be lying if I said I didn't like it. There was no better company than Ini and her naturally positive and fun spirit. 

"From what I read on the dating app, the guy you're meeting tomorrow is really rich, but I don't like the fact that he didn't upload a picture of himself. His account is also just a few days old which I find weird but since he picked an open and nearby restaurant for the date, I'll be open minded," she voiced out and as much as I've tried not to think of anything negative, she had a good point. 

"I would rather not conclude on anything for now. Thankfully, I know the restaurant well so I'll bolt if anything goes wrong," I assured her. 

"You better run so he doesn't burst your head open in public," she joked with a smile and lazily dragged her feet to the bedroom. 

*****

My palms were sweaty and I was certain my feet weren't left out either. I was thankful for the air conditioner that isn't too far from where I sat, if not, I was certain my face would look like I used groundnut oil to rub it. Something was definitely wrong with me as this feeling of nervousness was not a feeling that I was well acquainted with, especially in such situations. 

(Vegetable oil) 

 I wasn't having a bad feeling but something in me felt this date wasn't going to end well and my chest rose up and down too quickly, making me feel out of breath every five seconds. 

Tayo, get out of here! My subconscious warned but my stubborn mind wasn't ready to just bolt for no justifiable reason. 

"You must be Tayo," a deep, terrifying voice greeted me and my eyes looked up to meet with a tall dark man with eyes as red as a raging bull. The first thought that came to mind was that this bull in front of me is not someone I should be caught talking to but I knew better than to stand up and leave now. For all I know, he could be much worse than he looks. 

"Yes... I…am," I stuttered a reply. 

"Wow! You look very beautiful in person, way more beautiful than you look in your pictures. You even have a nice lip colour," he said, giving me a weird compliment and he winked, making my panic button go off immediately. His weird compliment had triggered an old memory that can only spell trouble for me. 

A difficult case I handled earlier this year was to defend a twenty year old that was almost beaten to death by her boyfriend and his gang. They wanted to rape her to death but she kept struggling and used her acrylic nails to stab one of the assailants in the eye and this made them so angry, they almost beat her to death. The case was honestly the most hideous case I had the displeasure of working on cause most of the gang members ended up getting away with it and I had no power over the bribed judge's decision. 

The reason I'm suddenly paranoid is because of the last words my client's boyfriend had said to me after I won the case partly and he was arrested. 

"I won't forget your face, so don't forget mine," he whispered with a sly smirk before adding the last line that honestly still creeps me out. "By the way, nice lip colour," he said with a smile before the cops finally dragged him out. 

I snapped back to the present after spacing out for a few long seconds. "Thanks," I replied nervously with a forced smile after snapping out of my momentary flashback. "So what's your name?" I asked and he chuckled dryly before replying. 

"I'm so sorry, I should have introduced myself first but a beauty like you can make any man forget his name," he replied, still leaving my question unanswered. 

"So are you not telling me?" I asked with a small smile and I could tell he wasn't too pleased with my persistence. 

"My name? Hmm... Just call me Kingsley." He finally said his name and my heart immediately dropped to my stomach as my suspicion was confirmed. 

*****

Adebayo 

"Mom, is this really necessary? Do I really have to go on a date with that stranger?" I asked again, hoping she would tell me she's joking. 

"Yes you have to. I already called her parents to inform her of the date. In fact, I know a perfect restaurant for you and I reserved the best table available. So now go get ready and pick her up from her place like a proper gentleman should," she replied to me, leaving me no choice than to go on a forced date with Blossom, her friend's daughter that she hasn't stopped singing praises of. 

I already met her the other night when mom invited me over just to introduce us. She was far from my type and marrying someone like her would only ruin my life. 

I sat in the car patiently waiting for my date to come out of the house but as expected, she wasn't ready yet. Since it was in most women's nature to be late on date nights, I wasn't holding it against her. 

She finally showed herself by coming out and I must say her effort was commendable but I still felt no physical attraction towards her. Her backside was something any man would drool over and the fact that she was this thin and still had such a portable backside confused me. She must be working really hard, I thought to myself.

"Hi," she greeted shyly and as the gentleman I was raised to be, I helped her open her side of the door and she sat with a smile, like she was impressed by my curt gesture. 

The drive to the restaurant was quiet and I was thankful for that. I wasn't so sure of what to say to her and she seemed to be just as lost as l was. 

"What would you like to have?" the waiter asked and we both placed our orders before excusing the waiter. 

"Is this your first time here?" she asked suddenly. 

"Yes, it is. Have you been here before?" I replied. 

"I recommended the restaurant to your mom," she said and I mentally rolled my eyes. 

We silently wait for our food and I take that time to look around the restaurant. The place was obviously famous, seeing that most tables were already occupied.

My eyes continuously roam around till it meets with a familiar face that completely stunned me. 

It was obvious she was on a date but the look on her face didn't sit well with me and I'm starting to wonder why I run into her nowadays. 

She seemed lost and I could have sworn she looked scared but I decided to mind my business and not interfere with her date night with her boyfriend. 

"Were you listening to me?" Blossom's voice snapped me out of my temporary daze and I stared back at her apologetically. 

"I'm so sorry, I got lost. What were you saying?" I asked her and she gave me a small smile that obviously wasn't genuine. 

"Never mind, it wasn't important," she replied sharply and I mentally scoffed. Does she really think I care to know what she said? 

She was obviously disappointed that I didn't pester her to tell me but I wasn't ready to butter her bread and give her false hope. The waiter arrived with our meal and I unhappily munch on my food, feeling miserable and bored out of my mind. 

We both had nothing to say and the more we spoke the more we both realised just how different we are. She was more of an introvert, over pampered by her parents since she was an only child and the more she spoke, the more I realised how arrogant she was but she hid it behind her mask of false innocence. 

"Have you ever taken public transport?" she asked suddenly. I stared at her for a while, wondering why she had the brilliant idea of asking such a question but I decided to play along and reply to her. 

"Of course, I have. Just in case you didn't know, I wasn't exactly born with a silver spoon. My parents had to work very hard to change my spoon to silver," I replied with a light chuckle and I could have sworn I saw a glimpse of disappointment in her eyes. I honestly don't care if she is disappointed, I'm always going to be proud of where I came from. 

No one would have thought that my dad, a taxi driver who struggled to put food on the table would one day become the successful business man that he is today. 

"Wow! That's sad. Lucky for you, you're never boarding one ever again," she replied back, immediately irritating me. 

"Is it a crime to take public transport?" I asked, "You're making it sound like boarding a bus or taking a bike is actually a bad thing. Some people live their lives boarding public buses and they're still alive and well. So what's so sad about it?" I asked defensively. 

She immediately started to laugh and I honestly didn't find her reaction or my question funny at all. 

"What's so funny?" I retorted. 

"You obviously!" she answered, still laughing. "I honestly don't see why you're taking it so personally. It's not like you're planning on going back to the gutter or something. I'm not saying boarding buses and the like is a crime, I'm just saying it's not for people like you and I. Although, I've never been poor but you have and now you're past that and neither one of us are stooping to that level ever again," she explained, losing the last thread of respect I had left for her. 

"You're obviously the one with a sad mentality but as for me, if I have an emergency and I had to board a bus, I would. It helps me remember how far I've come and how far I can still go by being diligent and hardworking. Let's just hurry up with our meal and leave," I told her and she stared at me with wild eyes for a while before focusing her attention back on her food. 

We sat back for a few more minutes after our meal and after pondering over it while eating, I decided it would be best to tell her how I felt. 

"Do you want to get married?" I asked. 

"Why the sudden question? Do you want to reject me?" she replied with her own question and now that she has mentioned it herself, I won't hesitate to give her an honest reply. 

"Yes, I'm rejecting you and I'm not saying you're not good enough or anything but we have absolutely nothing in common and I can't marry someone I can't connect with. I'm sorry you had to waste your time," I told her straightforwardly and she looked visibly shocked as though she had never been rejected before. 

"I'd like to compliment you for your honesty but you just hurt my pride so I can't do that. Let's just leave here with fewer words, I don't want to ruin my makeup," she stated calmly and as much as I'd like to feel guilty, I couldn't bring myself to feel it, instead I felt relieved. 

We were about to leave the restaurant and I honestly tried hard to ignore the fact that that lawyer lady was only a few tables away but my eyes betrayed me at the last minute and I unconsciously stared at her. She looked prettier than usual but that wasn't what caught my attention. 

My eyes met with hers all of a sudden and she briefly stared at me with desperate eyes before staring back at the man opposite her. She looked terrified and uncomfortable and I felt obligated to go help her out but I suddenly remembered that I had to drop Blossom off. 

"Uhmm, I'm sorry but I don't think I can drop you off at home. You can take my keys and drive home yourself. My apologies," I said to her quickly handing her my keys and without bothering to listen to what she had to say next, I walked away from her to go help Tayo.