Love in Strange Places (Part 2) - Contributed by @iamthegray

“It’s obvious you don’t remember me.” I heard that voice again.

“I’m sorry…” I pretended not to have heard him. He chuckled. It seemed like he chuckled to everything like a little boy who did not know whether to be happy or quiet.

“I said you don’t remember me.” He repeated.

“Oh. You are kind of familiar. It’s just that…”

“Stop it,” he chided with a smile on his face. “I know you don’t remember me. But I do remember you. You are Chiamaka right? You were the head girl at Saint Paul’s college.”

It was then it made sense. I was the head girl back in secondary school. Of course, everyone would know me. I wondered why I had not noticed this handsome specimen in school. Perhaps he was one of the seniors who graduated before we could meet.

“So what’s your name?” I turned to him with a smile on my face. I loved how he held on to the steering wheel. His grip was firm, with a relaxed grip. Sexy masculinity was dripping all over him. I imagined how he looked on the inside. He probably had….

“Don’t bother. It would serve no use.”

I stopped at once, wondering if he knew what I was thinking. He’s talking about his name, stupid. My mind shouted.

“Well, I would really like to know you. Seeing as you know a lot about me. It’s a long drive to my place and I would really love the company of your voice.” I tried to pronounce the last voice with my most seductive voice.

He chuckled again.

“Yes, I know a lot about you. I’m Ofili. You might remember me as the ‘half-man’. By the way, how is your little brother?”

At that point, I wished the car ran into a tree and we both died. Ofili was the last person I had hope to see. Even worse, I never expected him to know about ‘my little brother’.

….……….

There we were in the car. His gaze was on the road, his hands solid on the wheels. My eyes were searching for something in the darkness beyond the door window by my side. My hands were almost trembling. I had heard stories like this. Stories in which forlorn suitors came back to stalk those who turned them down. Some of the stories involved rape. A few others had murder in them. I was familiar with rape.

“How did you find me?” I managed to force the words out of my mouth. I was not going to allow this half-man, someone we taunted and mocked in school, to have the last laugh on me. I wished we had arrived at my place already. I needed to get out of the car.

“What makes you think I was looking for you?” He chuckled again. I was angry that he did not even take his eyes off the road when he spoke to me, as if I was not worth his attention. It was something I often did to him, but that was many years back.

“Isn’t it obvious?” I snorted. “You suddenly appear out of the blue with a borrowed car, recycled clothes and a fake accent. In case you are still in doubt, the answer remains no. And thanks for the parting gift” I tried to put in as much disgust as I could. My mind told me to leave the car if I was going to be so rude. I ignored it.

He chuckled again. This time, it was annoying. I felt like he was mocking me. He was probably mocking me because I was in his car. i wanted to tell him to stop the car so I could alight but it was too late for that. I only needed to ensure until we arrive at my place. It was then I remembered mother. I pulled my phone out of my phone. I had ten missed call notifications. They were all from mother.

“My God!” I exclaimed.

“What’s wrong?” He asked. There was a strain of concern in his voice. I disregarded it as fake.

“Kindly shut up and drive!” I spat out with derision in my voice.

He drove the car off the road and stopped. I breathed in and felt for the door lock, my vocal chords ready to produced the loudest cry anyone had ever heard

….………….
We must have starred at each other for what left like hours but was less than a minute.

“Why did you stop?” I spoke first. I was never one to engage in silent contests.

“Would you kindly stop treating me like a boy?”

I looked at his face. Beyond the lantern-shaped jaw, manly beard and sexy eyebrows, I saw it. I saw the boy he was. The boy that had hovered around me from junior secondary school to senior secondary school. At first it was just his eyes that trailed my movements. When his legs joined the stalking. By the time we were in SS 2, he was already looking for ways to touch me. He was like a feeling I could not shake off.

“Are you begging now? Seriously? Look. I don’ have time for this. Just take me home and we can think of this night as a bad dream.”

It seemed he had not heard me as his hands began to stretch across to my side of the car.

“I love you Chiamaka. I have always loved you. I never stopped loving you.”

“Stop! Just stop it!” I raised my hands in protest.

“I….” He tried to continue. I opened the door and felt the cold bite against my skin. I got out of the car and looked as cars sped by. I started walking.

“Where are you going?” I heard him call out. We were on a familiar road and I was prepared to walk the rest of the way home, even at that time of the night. It was his next sentence that pulled the brakes in my legs.

“If you have no regard for your life, you should think about your little brother.”

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