Chapter 14: Chapter 14

: Offshore

→ Narrator: Asa

Offshore was a man-made island, located off the West coast of Lagos. I've never been there because you have to be the richest of the richest to step foot there.

Jemi's father owned, bought and sold a lot of properties in Offshore and last time I read, he and his wife owned grossly forty five percent of the properties in Offshore.

Jemi has been there a few times, on some business trips with his father and when we asked him how offshore was, he just shrugged and said, "it's overhyped."

Yet we all knew how terribly difficult it was to impress Jemi and he favoured casual nonchalance over excitement.

People said it was a mix between Dubai, Japan and the dream Africa, with the best roads and buildings in the continent and vibrant bursts of wildlife and cleaner air. Where houses focused on protecting the environment, powered by large solar panels, with roofs that housed gardens and trees.

Offshore was ran by a seperate government that was independent of the main Nigerian federal government and they had power and control over all of Offshore.

They taxed cars mercilessly, so rich folks that lived there never had more than two cars. Power outages was a foreign concept in Offshore as they relied on Solar, wind and hydroelectric power. These, combined with the Going Green movement, a movement that sprang up, early this year, advocating for better treatment of the environment, made Offshore a destination for tourists and residents who wanted to breathe cleaner air and escape the cruel clutches of consumerism.

"Oh my fucking God, Asa pinch me. I think I'm in Wakanda."

"What gave it away? Is it the glowing buildings or the flying cars?" Lola asked sarcastically.

"No, Lola, it's the motherfucking smoking hot-chocolate boys!" She suddenly poked her head out of her window. "Yo! What's good? Nice ass!" She hollered, honking noisily and causing people to stare our way.

"Jesus, Kosi, shut the fuck up!" I snapped at her, pulling her back and strapping her to her seat. "You're going to get us arrested."

"B...but... I... They... Sparkly boys!" She pouted at me.

"You need to stop reading those twilight fanfictions, Kosi. They're rotting your brain."

She responded by giving me a saccharine smile and showing me her middle finger.

I rolled my eyes, settling back into my seat.

Lola laughed. "It's good you're single, Kosi. At least, you can try your luck with one of the locals here."

That seemed to pacify Kosi as she drove quietly to our destination. A large two storey twelve room beach Villa, sitting imposingly on large acres of land, complete with a private pool and large backyard with fields that stretched on for miles, overlooking the Atlantic ocean.

"We're in Offshore babies!" We heard Jordan hollering loudly from inside the house as we lugged our bags into the majestic building.

"Help us with our bags, guy!" Kosi grunted, struggling with her six trunks, three backpacks and several makeup kits.

Her trunks full of shoes and jewelry were still in the car.

"What happened to feminism?" Jordan asked.

Kosi shot him a glare. "Do you want to die?"

"Uh. No ma'am. I'll help you with your -oof!"

Kosi threw one of her backpacks into his arms. "Thanks, cupcake." Kosi blew him a kiss, walking into the multimillion naira villa that reeked of wealth and opulence.

Large ceilings, crystal chandeliers, beaming floors and wide windows and sliding doors that offered a fantastic view of the sea and the swimming pool outside.

"The others started a barbecue, so you'll get to taste our meat while you're here. Get it?!" Jordan winked, effortlessly carrying all of Kosi's bags as we climbed up the stairs.

"You're such a pig, Dan." Lola wrinkled her tiny little nose but laughed nonetheless.

The boys arrived few minutes before us, so they had taken all the best rooms already.

I chose the smallest room at the end of the hallway with the best privacy, closest to the library, where I could sneak and read.

I liked this place already.

*

"Okay, spill the deets, Asa. What's up with you and Kam?" Kosi asked as they made themselves comfortable on my newly made bed with clean white sheets and comforters.

They were looking at me intently as I struggled to avoid their gaze.

"Well, two nights ago, at Haliya's party. I met Ariel."

"Who's that?" Lola frowned.

"The girl from the nudes."

"The nudes?"

And I realized that I hadn't told her why Kam and I were not cool with each other in the first place.

I launched into the story, explaining to them why Kam was mad at me and why I was mad at him. The move, the nudes. Everything blown out of proportion.

"Ariel sort of threatened to get Kam back in her hands if I kept acting like a 'child.'" I said, making air quotes.

Kosi bristled. "And you didn't cut the bitch? Or give her a clap back?"

I flashed her an angry look. "You know better than anyone that I can't take shit, Kosi. Violent confrontation is not my thing, and I couldn't put her in her place calmly because she came at me aggressive." Kosi knew I had to stay calm because of my self diagnosed anxiety problems. "But there's nothing calm about me when it comes to Kam. And you know how bad my panic attack gets when I can't calm myself down, 'specially when I'm on my own."

"Oh." Kosi simmered. "Yeah. If I ever catch that bitch, she's gon' catch these fists, for real."

"Anyway, after she left, I started hyperventilating. Couldn't think or breathe properly... Amir... He found me. Asked if I wanted to ditch the party."

"You said yes." Lola deadpanned.

"Yes. I didn't know he had feelings for me or I wouldn't have left with him."

"Woah woah woah!" Kosi said, making an 'X' sign with her arms. "Back the fuck up! Amir likes you?"

I barked out a sarcastic laugh. "I know, right. I thought he hated me."

I caught Lola looking away. "But you knew, didn't you?"

Lola lowered her gaze. "We all kinda suspected it... Except maybe, Kam."

I nodded at her. "Well, we got a little drunk. We had champagne and cookies and talked for a bit. And he just... Kissed me."

"He just kissed you." They deadpanned.

"I swear, that's what happened. I told him I loved Kam."

Lola hopped up and down, squealing. "You love Kam?"

I smiled wistfully. "How could I not?" Shaking my head, I continued. "I thought he just did that because he was tipsy and emotional. But when I came over today, I had another panic attack."

"Crazy how these panic attacks keep coming when Amir's down for you. You think if I fake a panic attack, I'll get a kiss too?"

"Kosi."

"Yeah?"

"Shut up."

"Okay. Shutting up."

I bit back my smile and continued. "Well, he found me in the kitchen. Told me he meant everything he said. I told him it was never going to work out between us. He asked me to prove it by kissing him. If I felt nothing during the kiss, he promised to back off."

They nodded, both understanding why I had decided to kiss Amir.

It wasn't because I liked him back, it was so that he could see that i felt nothing and hopefully back off from this ridiculous joke.

...

Except, things didn't work out exactly like I had planned.

"Oh. Phew." Lola relaxed. "So you didn't jump him. You just kissed him to prove a point. That's a relief."

I bit my lip, feeling guilty. "That's the problem, Lola. That's why I feel so bad."

"What do you mean, Asa?" Kosi leaned towards me.

"I mean, I felt something. It was small... But it was there."

They drew in a shaky breath and stared at me in horror.

"If I let myself, I could fall in love with Amir... I didn't know that before I kissed him."

"It's possible, Asa." Kosi touched my hand and squeezed. "If you let your heart become vulnerable, you could. That's why you don't have to let anyone get close to you once you've given yourself to someone. Because the heart can be a fickle moody bitch and it's going to do what it wants and you can't blame anyone but yourself when you fall for another."

Lola was quiet for a while. "So you... Like Amir?"

"Oh, no. No I don't, Lola. Don't get me wrong. I don't like Amir. I love Kam. Only Kam... But I could like Amir. I could fall in love with him. It's that realization that troubled me."

The girls massaged their temples tiredly.

"Geez, Asa, this is fucked up. Some otherworldly shit going on here."

I smiled at Kosi. "Welcome to my world."

"Damn, girl, you got it going good. You got the heir of Afri-oil, the biggest oil company spanning three continents, on one hand. Then, you got the sultan's son, a motherfucking prince with power and ties to the government on an international level, on the other hand, holding out their balls for you."

"Kosi!"

"What?" She clucked her tongue. "It's true. You've got riches and royalty, Asa. What girl wouldn't want to be in your shoes?"

We were quiet for a while, until Lola asked. "So, what's going to happen now."

I shrugged. "I don't know. I don't want to hurt any of them."

"But you'd have to, in the end. The ball is in your court, Asa. You need to make a choice."

I grinned at her. "I've always ever had one choice, Lola."

"Then let's doll you up and go meet your prince charming."

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