Pelumi's Memoirs -22

Pelumi stood in her room trying to find reasons why she shouldn't date Ivan. She had been thinking for a while and couldn't find any, other than the fact that she was afraid she wouldn't fit in well into his world. Oh blast! She thought.

She paced up and down her room and listed all the things she liked about him.

"He's thoughtful, caring, compassionate, responsible and very family oriented. He adores me. He doesn't just say he likes me. He goes out of his way to show me. "

She had heard about men who promised heaven and earth but their deeds didn't tally with their words.

She had also heard rumors of Liyel's philandering ways with women. She hadn't heard anything about Ivan so far. She knew he was no saint but he was definitely a responsible person.

Pelumi smiled at the thought of Ivan. Oh, this felt like playing with fire. It was her first real relationship. But she was willing to give it her best shot.

She picked up her phone and sent a message to the object of her thoughts.

Hi, Mr Akenzua

Ivan replied her fifteen minutes later.

Mr Akenzua?

He sent a confused emoji...

Should I be afraid?

Haha! Is your invitation to the movies still open?

Say what? Of course it is

You scared me there for a minute sounding so serious.

I thought I was about to receive the kiss of death by text

Pelumi laughed out loud

So what time will you be at mine?

Does 6pm sound like a plan?

Absolutely. Pelumi replied.

I'll see you then.

See you in a bit sugar. Thank you for accepting my movie offer

Hehehehehe! Pelumi typed.

****

Ineye and Tare had a fun day at Whispering Palms. The boat ride was crazy fun!  Ineye had been unable to tear his gaze away from Tare who was dressed in a pink open back tank top and shorts. "Dear Lord! He muttered under his breath."

He was fighting wars in his mind at the moment. Why did her lips have to look so full? Why did her skin glow like she soaked daily in milk and honey?

He hadn't known their day would involve escapades in the water. Thankfully, the resort sold swimming costumes and Ineye had bought himself a pair of swimming trunks. Tare on the other hand came prepared.

"Do you remember one of the stupid games we used to play at Corona?" She asked him.

He squinted. "Nope. Tell me."

"Say Lacampagne Tropicana ten times without stuttering!" Tare said, laughing.

Ineye shook his head laughing too. “Oh no! We were so naive. We had fun though!"

The boat ride was over and they both got off.

"Yeah!" Tare retorted before proceeding to splash water all over Ineye.

"No, you don't!" Ineye retaliated and Tare ran off. Ineye was hot on her trail.

Later that night, when Ineye drove into Banana Island, only one question was on his mind.

"Ebitare..."

Tare sat up and adjusted her position in the front seat. Ineye never really called her by her full name.

"Yes....." She answered him.

"You are probably not ready for what I'm about to say but I'll just say it anyway."

"I've been thinking long and hard about you and me. I care about you. An awful lot......

Do you think you could give us a chance to be more than just friends? Don't get me wrong, I cherish your friendship. But I want more. I forget the world is a topsy turvy place when I'm with you.

Do you think you could let me be the one who puts a ray of sunshine on your face every day?"

Tare closed her eyes. Butterflies were dancing at the pit of her stomach. Was this Ineye sounding all smooth like a Lover Boy?

When she opened her eyes, she had tears in them. It felt as though someone had just pulled off the veil that was over her eyes.

She looked at Ineye who was dressed in a Light orange Lacoste Polo shirt and brown shorts.

She was tired of swatting off everyone who came her way. She was tired of the walls she had built around her to prevent her from letting people in.

Ineye was good for her. He was sweet and he understood her.

"Babe, please don't push me away. Please say you will give us a chance. His voice sounded husky."

"Ineye Ogbeha, I can be crazy. Just so you know. I can be acetic like an acid one day and sweet the next. I battle with mood swings.... "

The rest of her words fizzled into oblivion as Ineye covered her mouth with his in a kiss. He broke it off when he heard Tare moaning. What had he just done?

The Spirit indeed is willing but the flesh is weak.

He heard the words playing in his mind. It wasn't that kissing was a taboo in his dictionary.

It was the fact that kissing could quickly lead to things going south that bothered him. It had taken all the will power in the world for him to break the kiss and prevent his hands from going on a journey of no return. He made a mental note to restrain himself next time.

"Whew! Bro, I didn't know you were such a kisser." Tare exclaimed.

He wanted to apologize and say that wouldn't happen again but he wasn't sure the words would come out right.

"Okay, we are on!" Tare said, winking at him.

"Thank you." He said to her. "Thank you Tare. I promise to make you happy all the days of your life, as long as I have breath in me."

Tare slipped her fingers in his and they held hands for what seemed like eternity.

"It's been a long day." Tare whispered.

"I know.  I probably should head home now." Ineye rejoined.

Tare opened the passenger door and made to get out.

"Hold on!" Ineye said to her, getting out of his car and strutting to hold the door for her.

"Buttercup, I know you are independent but please, let me do my job when we are together."

Tare nodded. "Point noted."

Ineye held her hands. Part of him wanted to spend more time with her just chatting about anything but he knew they had plenty time on their side.

His heart danced. Tare Akenzua was his finally.

***

"Girl! You look smoking hot!" Essien said to Celeste who had just walked out of her room.

"Thanks, Essien."  She had opted for a black and white stripped halter neck jumpsuit that accentuated her curves.

Her long hair was gelled into a bun which she held in place with a braided bun clip.

Minutes later in the car, Essien turned on the volume of the song playing

"Essien, I didn't know you had a thing for old school music o!”

"Ehnn, are you kidding me? I have loads of them."

"I can see that!" Celeste remarked

They got to Lola's place around 6:30pm.

"Hello hello!" Lola rushed forward and hugged Essien the minute they stepped into her house.

"Lola, meet my friend; Celeste Braithwaite."

"Oh, I have heard a lot about you. Such a pleasure meeting you." Lola said and turned to hug Celeste.

"Make yourselves comfortable. We have a buffet section over there. She pointed to a corner of her sitting room. There's jollof rice, dodo gizzard...."

"Celeste, let's go have our fill." Essien said pulling her friend's hand.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we will be kicking off the evening with an ice breaker. Please move around the room and introduce yourselves." Lola announced.

Celeste looked around her. There were a bunch of people in the room. Five guys were in a corner of the room talking loudly and animatedly.

Even though her life seemed crappy at the moment, she was glad to be alive, hale, hearty and in good company.

"You should taste this spring roll." Essien said, holding one out to her using a toothpick. "Yummy! “Celeste said after biting into the spring roll.

"Excuse us please." Lola smiled and said to Celeste few minutes later. "I'm going to steal Essien away for a little while."

Celeste smiled. "Sure, go ahead!"

"Be right back." Essien remarked.

Wiz Kid's 'Ojuelegba' was playing in the background.

"Hi there!" A guy said to Celeste, walking in her direction.

Oh! no! Celeste thought. She wasn't in the mood for small talks.

But why you carry yourself come here if you no wan talk to people? A voice in her head told her.

She put on a vibrant persona and flashed the guy a smile.

"Bode Pepple" The guy said stretching his hand out to shake her.

"Celeste." She simply said to him.

"Are you Lola's friend?"

"Uhm, no!" She replied. "We have a mutual friend. I'm actually here with her."

"Oh!” Bode said. “That's great. Where is she?"

"Somewhere around chatting with Lola I believe." Celeste replied.

"Do you live around here?" Bode probed.

Celeste wanted so badly to roll her eyes. She really wasn't in the mood for small talks.

She flashed her pearly whites at him. "Not too far from here. I live at Lekki."

"I see." Bode said, nodding his head. "I don't live too far away. I live at Chevron estate."

Celeste raised her brows on hearing that since she was looking to get a job at one of the oil companies around.

"Ah, that's wonderful. Do you work at Chevron?"

"Yep...." Bode nodded.

"Actually, I just moved from Port Harcourt. I applied to a position about a month ago."

"Interesting." Bode remarked. "What role was that?"

"Software engineer."

"What?" Bode exclaimed.

Celeste smiled. "Yeah, I know it's not a typical role ladies apply to but I've been coding since I was a child. I mean, sometimes, I even code in my dreams."

Bode laughed. "You gotta be kidding me! Well, I'm a lawyer and I handle regulatory and compliance matters at Chevron."

"Nice." Celeste said. "So, do you think you can move mountains where my resume is concerned?"

Bode stole a quick glance at Celeste. This lady had some spunk! They had barely been talking for 15 minutes and she was already networking her way into a new job.

He dipped his hand in his jeans and pulled out his wallet.

"Here's my card with my contact details. Send me your resume as soon as you can.  I'll take a look and route to the right quarters."   Bode explained, while adjusting his glasses which usually sat on his nose.

Celeste beamed. "Thanks a million!"

"Don't be so trusting." Bode whispered, winking at her.

Celeste feigned a downcast look.

"I got you!" Bode said, smiling at her.

"I see we are already getting acquainted..." Lola remarked on approaching Celeste and Bode who were lost in conversation.

"Yes o." Bode answered.

"Hi, I'm Essien."

"Nice to meet you." Bode commented. "Excuse me." He said to the ladies a few minutes after chatting with them. 

"Got to go make some connections over there." He tilted his head in the opposite direction.

"Okay everyone, it's time for Truth or Dare."

A voice announced.

"Yaaay!" Everyone in the room screamed.

"Yeah right!" Celeste muttered under her breath. Whatever happened to Scrabble and Monopoly?

****

Ivan and Pelumi arrived at VIP Cinemas some minutes after 7pm.

"Tickets for two please." Ivan told the lady at the ticker counter.

"This is for Aquaman?"

"Yep!" Ivan nodded.

"Are you a Marvel fan?" Pelumi asked. "I've been wondering cos you seem like one!"

Ivan laughed.

"Of course! I'm a Marvel fan through and through."

Pelumi smiled. "I love action movies too."

The lady handed over the tickets.

"Care for popcorn or something else?" Ivan asked Pelumi.

"Popcorn is fine."

"I'm doing a hot dog. Are you sure you don't want that instead?"

Pelumi shook her head. "Sounds tempting but I'm going to stick to good ol' popcorn."

"Well, you can always grab some of mine." Ivan told her.

"Any drinks sir?" One of the attendants at the food section asked.

"A diet coke for me.' He turned to face Pelumi.

 "Pelumi what would you like?"

"Lemonade please."

"Lemonade for the lady."

"Large or regular?" The attendant questioned.

"Regular. Pelumi replied.

Grabbing the food and drinks minutes later, they headed for the theater.

"Let me help you with that." Ivan said, when Ivan saw that Pelumi was struggling with the control of the reclining chair she was sitting on.

"Here." Pelumi handed Ivan his 3D glasses which she had collected at the entrance to the theater.

"So, Ms Jacobs, have you given a thought to my proposal from the other day?" Ivan asked Pelumi tracing a circle around her wrist.

"Shhhh!" She said to him. "Your voice is distracting.... I mean, you are distracting me."

Ivan grinned. "Okay. I promise I'll be quiet."

They spent the next couple of hours enjoying the movie and making comments here and there. They did their best to keep their voices low.

Pelumi sighed when the movie came to an end. “I didn’t want it to end.”

"He's an eye candy right?" Ivan remarked.

"Who?" Pelumi asked, pretending not to know what Ivan was talking about. "Jason Momoa?"

"Yeah, isn't he good looking?"

Pelumi laughed. "Why do I sense a bait?"

Ivan couldn't help it. He burst into laughter.

"Smart woman! You caught me there. Well, he’s cute but I’m cuter."

“Of course, you are!” Pelumi replied him laughing.

Ivan led the way towards his car.

Pelumi knew he was waiting to know what she'd decided.

"So, I made my decision." Pelumi told him wringing her hands.

"And what is it?" Ivan questioned, raising a brow.

"In the short while I've known you, you've come to mean something to me. You are a man of influence. A man with dignity.  Everyone respects you. I see the way people act when your name is mentioned at work. Yet you find ways to make me comfortable whenever I'm with you.

I forget you are the boss and I'm a bloody employee trying to earn a living."

"Don't.... Don't say that." Ivan rebuked her. "You are not some bloody employee! You're the woman I've come to have feelings for."

"I know I'm taking a risk here since our relationship may be deemed as a conflict of interest if word gets out that we're dating. But, we'll find a way." Ivan added.

Pelumi hugged herself tight. "Cold?" Ivan asked.

"Yes." She nodded.

"Let’s sit in the car where you'll be warmer. Unfortunately, I don't have a jacket on else I would have given that to you.

Thank you. For choosing to go on this journey with me, Pelumi. I promise you'll never regret making this decision."

Light and warmth flooded throughout Pelumi's soul. She couldn't put words to how she was feeling. Was it love or just a burst of emotions?