Chapter 1 - Follow me

Tina remembered how her friend Prisca came to her house and deceived her into following her to see a friend, claiming that they wouldn't stay long, just for a few minutes. 

Prisca begged, "Please, Tina, come with me; let's go see Sharon. I promise you, we won't stay long—just for a few minutes. Please, don't say no."

Tina agreed and followed Prisca out of her father's house to see Sharon. Prisca knew that if she had told Tina the truth about considering dating Patrick, Tina wouldn’t agree. Tina had repeatedly said that she didn’t want to have a boyfriend; she didn’t want to lose her virginity or disappoint her poor mother, who had been struggling to feed her and her two younger brothers ever since their father abandoned them and ran away with another woman, leaving them with no trace of his whereabouts.

As they stepped onto the village road, Prisca stopped a bike man and dragged Tina onto the bike with her before Tina could change her mind. When they arrived at the apartment where Sharon lived with her elder brother, Tina scanned the front view of the house, feeling uncomfortable. She saw a dark man step out of the house and walk up to the compound's exit gate to meet them.

Tina could feel her heart pounding loudly in her chest as she watched the guy approach. He hugged Prisca excitedly as they greeted each other before he left.

Tina felt very uncomfortable as she noted the way the guy had stared at her before departing. She turned to Prisca and said, "Prisca, why don't you just call Sharon on the phone instead of us going into the house? Just tell Sharon that we are outside waiting for her."

Prisca already knew that Sharon was not at home yet, and she replied to Tina, "No, Tina, we have to go inside the house to wait for Sharon to arrive first."

Ignoring the idea of calling Sharon again, Prisca walked up to the front door of the house and unlocked it without even knocking for the homeowners to step out.

Tina gulped as she stood aside, staring at Prisca, and she blamed herself for following Prisca without knowing the way back to her own village. 

Prisca opened the door to go inside. The house was a beautiful bungalow. She paused at the door and said to Tina, "It's not safe to stay out here alone, Tina. Come inside. It's Sharon’s brother's house. Let's wait for Sharon to arrive."

"Sharon's brother's house?" Tina frowned as she repeated Prisca's words. To the best of her knowledge, Prisca had never told her they were going to Sharon's brother's house. Tina thought they were going to Sharon's family house to see Sharon.

Tina frowned, subtly blaming herself for following Prisca; she didn’t even know the way back home to her father's house. She finally followed Prisca into the beautiful house.

*****

Prisca was thrilled to see Sharon's brother, Patrick Scott, a handsome black man around 25 years old, wearing only shorts as he stepped out of the kitchen into his living room, unaware that he would see Prisca.

Patrick's eyes lit up as he also saw Tina. He hadn’t expected Prisca to visit with her. He remembered that he had tried wooing Tina several times, all to no avail, as Tina kept rejecting him and had told him she wasn’t interested in a relationship.

Prisca rushed up to give Patrick a hug, causing him to fall backward onto the nearest blue couch behind him. This made Prisca sit on his thighs, pressing against him and drawing attention to his arousal as she gazed at him sweetly.

Patrick's eyes were glued to Tina, who stood nervously beside the entrance door. Tina refused to move from the door, and Patrick cleverly excused himself from Prisca, telling her, "Prisca, why not sit on the couch? Let me properly welcome you and your friend. She looks so uncomfortable, and I'm still cooking."

"Okay, Patrick," Prisca replied, finally moving away from Patrick's thighs to sit beside him on the couch.

Patrick stood up from the blue couch—he had about seven such couches in his living room—and he approached Tina, who still avoided his gaze.

Patrick remembered how he had tried to woo Tina on his own several times, but she had always rejected him and run away. He had spoken to one of his younger sisters, Sharon Scott, asking her to talk to Tina on his behalf. Sharon attended the same government school as Tina, but she had refused.

Sharon was corrupt, sleeping with different men at just 16 years of age; she already looked more mature than her age, despite being slim. She bluntly told him, "Me and Tina are not friends, and you can't expect me to walk around with that 'local champion'. So, I cannot speak to her for you."

Patrick remembered begging and bribing his younger sister, and she eventually introduced Prisca to him. However, in Prisca's mind, she thought maybe he wanted a relationship with her.

Patrick recalled seeing Prisca and Tina walking down their village road together whenever he drove home to see his parents. He lived outside their village in a nearby city, which was different from Tina's.

Patrick had asked Prisca, "Prisca, I want to know about that fair-skinned yellow friend I see you walking with on the village road."

Prisca thought he was just asking casually and replied, "You mean Tina? Tina doesn't have time for guys or relationships, so just forget about her. She's always at home taking care of her brothers or doing her homework. I can't bring her here to see you."

Patrick knew that Prisca thought he wanted a relationship with her, but he knew that she was just like Sharon, sleeping with different men for money. He didn't bother asking her any further questions about Tina, but he kept giving Prisca gifts for her friend whenever she visited and asked her to try to bring Tina around during her next visit. And now, here she was.

Patrick finally walked up to Tina and said, "Hi, pretty lady. I'm so sorry that your friend doesn't want to introduce us so we can get to know each other better. I'm Patrick Scott. Please, have a seat."

Patrick gestured for Tina to sit on one of the seven couches in the living room. Tina remained rooted at the door, staring at Patrick's face. She remembered seeing him before, among the guys who had been pursuing her for a relationship.

Tina looked at Prisca, but Prisca rolled her eyes in jealousy and turned her attention back to Patrick.

Patrick gestured to Tina again to have a seat, but she still stood by the door, not replying, until she heard him repeat, "Have a seat, please."

Finally, Tina moved away from the door and walked to sit on one of the couches closer to the exit. She felt scared to be in a man's house.

Patrick smiled as he watched Tina sit on one of the blue couches in his living room. He was still wearing only his boxer shorts, and his chiseled masculine chest was bare.

Prisca then stood up from the blue couch and walked up to Patrick. She held his right arm with both hands and told him, "Why not leave my friend alone, Patrick? Let's go inside and enjoy ourselves since Sharon isn’t home yet."

Patrick frowned and stared at Prisca's face. He understood that all she wanted from him was sex and money. He had refused her advances several times, only asking for Tina. Yet, Prisca wouldn’t give up, hoping he would date her.

Patrick finally excused his arm from Prisca's grasp and said, "No, Prisca. Why not make your friend feel comfortable? Let me go inside and get you both some drinks."