Chapter 24: Chapter 24

Chapter Twenty four

*****

From calls to texts and before we knew it, dates. I was referring to David and I, we had hit it off pretty well within the last few weeks especially after the baby shower and he had asked me out on a date. I was over the moon but I didn't admit it to anyone, especially, not him. Anyhow, Laila who hadn't met him was pestering me on a daily, she wasn't satisfied with the pictures and wanted to see the chocolate man with her own eyes. Her words,not mine.

It was a Friday night, Tunji had been home earlier than usual,looking a bit distraught but he tried to hide it, with a cheerful face. The smile wiped off his features when I mentioned I was going on a date with David.

"A date?" He asked like the words were sour on his tongue.

"Yup" I said popping the 'p' while trying to straighten the small creases on my black body con dress.

"Why am I just hearing about this?"

"You're never around Tee" I answered with a duh tone.

"So you're going out on a date with some guy, forgetting your relationship status?" He sounded bitter, pained in fact. I frowned immediately, what relationship was he talking about? We were just best friends right? I didn't even understand him anymore.

"Tunji we're not dating , you know  that" I said with a lot of emphasis. A look of hurt flashed across his features but it was gone as soon as it came.

"Fine then" He half yelled, getting up abruptly, startling me in the process. I regained my composure and looked him dead in the eye.

"Fine" I huffed and looked away as he stomped into his bedroom and shut the door with a bang. What was getting him all riled up? He couldn't have been jealous, or was he?

The door bell rang, bringing me out of my thoughts. It was Tana, but looking up, David wasn't far behind her. I quickly hugged my best friend as she stepped into the spacious living room. I gave David a smile as he walked in too.

"You look stunning" He complimented and I blushed slightly.

"Thank you" I mouthed, I was afraid my voice would come out too screechy if I said anything in my flushed state.

"Lola where are you going, all dressed up?" Tana asked trying to open a pack of chips.

How did she even get to the kitchen just now?

"We're going on a date" David cheekily answered before I could say anything.

"Ooooh" Tana said teasingly, wiggling her eyebrows for more effects. I turned away in embarrassment.

"Tunji is inside, we have to get going" I said trying to change the topic. Tana frowned.

"What about Laila?" She asked instead.

"She went out, she did not tell me where she was going" I said a little worried about how shady my sister was becoming. She would receive phone calls and suddenly step out without giving me details. I was beginning to fret but she kept on telling me everything was under control.

"That's strange but I'll stay here till she comes back" Tana assured me and I nodded in appreciation. David and I stepped out afterwards.

*****

Deluxe Restaurants...

That was where David brought me for my first date. It was a very fancy place and one had to book reservations for weeks on end before getting a table but David being a major shareholder didn't have to fuss about it. We had our seats and made small talk as we awaited our orders.

"If I wasn't a business man, I would definitely be a chef" He said with so much confidence that I guffawed.

"I'm serious" He stated again with furrowed eyebrows.

"So you're saying you cook very well?"

"Yes, Becca taught me well" He boasted but something else caught my attention.

"Becca? As in your step mom?" I asked.

"Yes...we practically grew up together..." He hesitated but I urged him on with a gesture from my right hand.

"Well she was sort of my nanny, a very young nanny" He stopped and shook his head.

"Lemme start from the beginning" He said staring intently at me and I almost shifted in my seat. I laid back in my chair as I sipped my juice eager to listen.

"So my dad was a wild one in his younger years and he kinda impregnated my mum at seventeen, she was sixteen at the time by the way." I gasped and he chuckled deeply.

Oh my... it sounded so sexy

"His parents were disappointed, of course, but it was too late so they started living together with my grand parents. My dad continued going to school but my mum had to drop out until she had me. Her parents were affluent too so they didn't want their only daughter being a drop out, she had to go back to school. So they hired Becca's mother to be the nanny to two year old me. Becca's five years older than I am by the way..." My eyes went wide at that too. He continued.

"I spent most of my childhood days with her since my mum left us after her university education. So believe me when I say we practically grew up together, she was my first crush even" we both laughed at that.

"Becca's mum died when she turned Twenty, she was so devastated as she did not have any other relatives but she had us, myself and my dad. My dad on the other hand, just deeply immersed himself in work so that he could forget my mum but I could see that he was lonely. There were days he came home drunk to stupor, horrible sight, I tell you" He shuddered.

"But Becca took care of him and soon love began to blossom between them. He didn't mind their age difference and later on, neither did she. They got married when she was twenty five. I have to admit, I was quite jealous at first but then I saw how happy they were together, who was I to stop that? She had difficulties in child birth and after series of miscarriages she had Mirabel few years Into her marriage and now she's going to have a baby boy and a girl..." He sighed

"How do you feel about it?" I asked

"I'm overjoyed" He almost squealed. He looked like he was going to cry.

"You look so adorable" I blurted out without even knowing it. He looked shocked then amused.

"You just called me cute" He smirked. The emotional side of him had vanished into thin air, I loved both sides anyway, I felt honored that he could let his guard down in front of me even if it wasn't fully brought to the ground, he had still let me in despite his tough, muscular and incredibly hot exterior.

"I did not" I denied with a giggle. We bantered back and forth over our meals. I threw my head back in laughter at so many of his anecdotes. I truly enjoyed my date with him. For the first time in a really long time, I felt free. Tunji and I really understood each other but with David it was different. It felt real, I felt butterflies in my belly whenever he was around, when I heard his deep throaty chuckles, I never felt that way with Tunji ever.

"Remind me to never have that much chocolate for dessert" I groaned feeling a little sick in my guts. I blinked slowly, still clutching my belly.

"I think I'm gonna be sick" I moaned in discomfort.

"Are you alright?" David asked worriedly, I almost blushed at his concern but the heaviness in my gut wouldn't let me.

"Stop the car please" I practically ordered, jumping out the moment it came to a halt. I bawled by guts by the roadside and God knows the relief that came after was the best thing I had ever felt.

David handed me a bottle of water water to rinse my mouth and made sure I was okay before he launched into a bout of unending guffaws. I was beyond embarrassed, I bit my lips and looked down in shame.

"I'm sorry" He finally eased up but the amusement still danced in his eyes.

Earth! Just swallow me!

"I said not to take too much chocolate" He said like he was trying to pacify a child.

"Fine fine, but you can't blame me, it was just soooo good" I moaned as I reminisced the creamy delight.

"Long throat" He teased, poking my nose a bit. I blushed, he was standing really close now.

"I really want to kiss you right now but that'll be too fast for you, plus you just

hurled out the contents of your belly"  He smirked and bursted into laughter as I smacked his arm in response to his last statement.

"Come here" He held his arms out and I went into them. We stayed locked in that hug as we stared at the dark sky, the moon as our only source of light. My belly flipped a thousand times over at our closeness, something I never felt with anyone else.

****

"Oooh" Laila teased the moment I came in, I just wanted to wipe that smirk off, but my blushing self only gave her more reasons to poke fun at me.

"I take it you had a nice date?" She asked with a mischievous glint in her eyes. I rolled my eyes in pretense, she poked my sides and I yelped.

"Fine fine" I panted before throwing a sharp look. "It was lovely" I sighed dreamily before going on tell her about the date.

"So you puked on your first date?" Of all the things I told her, my crazy sister just had to pick that out. Her boisterous laugher had me bowing my head in embarrassment.

"Tana needs to hear this" She said in between laughter. That perked my ears up, where was she?

"Where is she by the way?" I asked

"She stepped out with Tunji" She responded, wiping her tear stained face.

"Oh" I replied in surprise. "They're cool now?"

"I honesty don't know, they actually were in the middle of a heated argument when I came in"

What else is new?

She continued anyways, "They stopped when I walked in on them and gave a flimsy excuse of going to hang out at some place" Laila concluded with a careless wave of her right hand.

"And you?" I sat back on my seat after changing into a comfy tank top and baggy pants.

"Me?" She asked in feigned befuddlement. With a raised brow, I leaned back with my arms wrapped around my chest, giving me a better view of her face.

"Why have you been sneaking around? Don't you dare lie to me" I warned in the coldest tone I could muster.

Laila sighed in defeat "Lola I don't think you should know"

"Just tell me" I groaned, exasperated.

"I'll tell you when the time is right"

"Why..." I was about asking, when I heard the front door open.

"Who is it?" I asked walking into the living room with Laila trailing behind. Normally I would ignore it, thinking it would be Tunji, but I just had an inkling to check it out.

And behold what I saw had me stumbling back in fear.

****

"Tunji, how could you?!" I screamed tugging at his collar as Laila shook in fear.

"Let go of him right now!!!" Dad yelled in outrage. I flinched in trepidation. My mum looked bruised, he had beaten her badly and from what I saw she was only just healing.

"I had to Lola, everything I have is being put on the line here"

"What do you mean?" I asked, wiping my tears furiously.

"You can't understand" he answered with great difficulty. What in the world was going on?

"Make me understand! Dammit!!" I yelled again my chest heaving in rapid succession. I had never been this angry about anything for as long as I could remember. I never dealt well with conflicts, and I avoided them like a plague.

"I'll explain it to you since he's too lost for words" Mr Wole butted in with a sly smirk on his face. I turned to him and in defiance, I asked..

"What is it that you have up your sleeves this time, sir?" I sounded more bitter than I'd ever been.

"If I were you I'd watch my tone young lady or should I say daughter in-law" A wry chuckle followed that statement as waves of shock wafted through my entire being.

"I'm not getting married to your son" I clarified with immediate effect.

"So you say" He smirked again. I turned to my parents.

"What is he talking about? Tunji and I are not in a relationship"

"Exactly" That was Tana speaking up, all heads turned to her.

"What? You two are not in a relationship but we are"

"I knew it" My sister and I said in unison.

"Its more than that now because..." She hesitated and I followed her gaze which was on Tunji, he subtly shook his head but she turned away from him defiantly and dropped a bombshell.

"I'm pregnant" The shattering of glass was the next thing I heard followed by yells of astonishment and gasps from different corners. It was indeed a full house.

I took a deep breath to keep calm."When did this happen?" I asked

"The night of his get together" Tana, looked at everything but me.

"YOU seduced me in my drunken stupor" The soon to be father yelled in his defense.

"So? You didn't want to choose between Lola and I, so I made the decision for you"  Tana said casually like it meant nothing. What happened to my best friend?!

"Tana I'd always been interested in you and you know why I couldn't do much about it"

"Just because I don't have a fortune that has to be paid to your father, you want to abandon me for someone who has no feelings for you?!" She shouted back at him.

I stood numb at that point, so it was all a game for them? Leaving me in the dark all this time, my naive self kept thinking life was all peachy and rosy. How dumb could I have been? Why didn't I see the signs? Why didn't I learn from my sister's story?The arguing continued, the parents had joined in probably trying to decide who Tunji was going to stick to, me or his pregnant lover.

Out of the blue, he held my hand, startling me in the process.

"Lola I'm a mess right now, but I know I have feelings for you and..." He knew he was about to say something very stupid, that's why he hesitated.

"I want you to be my wife. The baby doesn't have to get in the way of anything, we would be happy together"  He tried to caress my face but I backed away from him. He went down on his knees pulling out a ring from his pocket earning gasps from everyone present with a contented sigh from his father. I gave him the hardest slap I could ever give anyone in my life.

"How dare you?! You must be crazy to think I would marry you after everything I just heard. You're such a selfish bastard!" I yelled as I pushed him out of my way, he was too stunned to say anything, no one else could.

I ran, I just ran, away from all the darkness and hate, all the negative energy, I didn't know where I was headed but I ran. I could hear them screaming my name but I did not respond, I just kept at it. I never thought there was more on the way, I thought nothing could be worse than what I had heard that night but I was so wrong.

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