Chapter 22 Chapter 22 WHAT’S THE REAL DEAL?

E V E

NEWS FLASH: Food is magical.

You've also got to believe me when I tell you this it unites people like nothing else. Good food, more like.

We're all sitting around the table, munching contentedly. I definitely don't need to ask anyone what they think of the jollof rice and shrimp stew. From the look on their faces, they're enjoying it immensely. Sighs intermittently escape newcomer's lips as he chews on his food, drawing my attention to them. They're not as full as Aurey's, but they're blood red, and they stand out in stark contrast to his fair skin.

Everytime he puts a morsel of food in his mouth, a film of oil is left on his lips, making it look like he applied some lipgloss.

Very distracting.

He catches me staring and winks. The zing that passes through me is real -- as real as the fact that I'm attracted to another man that isn't my boyfriend.

I'm mortified at this, so I hang my head, almost burying it in my plate of food.

Aurey can never find out.

He and Dipo had to go meet with the builders that just flew in from Australia for work on their land. They both agreed it was the best thing to do, claiming, yes, it would be expensive, but in the long run they would reap the benefits of having sturdy buildings.

So I'm left alone with a guy who tries at every turn to catch my attention.

"Can I have your attention, guys." Femi puts down his cutlery and looks at each of us sitting at table. "I'm sorry I'm only just doing this, but you have to admit things have been a little crazy today." He looks pointedly at newcomer and we all giggle nervously. "Anyway, this guy . . ." He points to newcomer. " . . . just flew in from Great Britain, his name is Nathan Owen, a great friend of mine." Newcomer smiles, lifts his right hand and does a little wave. Femi smirks and continues talking. "He's a model and the guys he's working with want to take some live shots of him at the site which is somewhere here in Lagos, as opposed to super  imposing him onto the picture. They feel it'll make for better picture quality. Anyway . . . he'll be staying with us on the beach house for the remainder of his time in Lagos. I'd like for you to please make him feel welcome."

I finally put a name to the face. So, hello Nathan -- guy I'm attracted to.

We all chorus a welcome and he smiles and thanks us. The rest of dinner passes without any more hitches, as I'd like to call it. Once everyone has had their fill, which include a second and also third helpings, Fiku and I take the plates and dishes to the sink. Since I didn't do much cooking, I insist on doing the washing by myself, so she leaves me alone to it.

It's kind of soothing as my fingers skim over the surfaces of dishes, my mind blank, intent on cleaning the dirt and grime from them.

"Hey!" Someone says from behind me, making me almost jump out of my skin. I whip around, but unfortunately, the plate in my hand slips and is about to fall to the ground, but the person catches it just as I reach for it also, our fingers gathering at the base.

I look up to see Nathan staring at me keenly. He's standing very close to me, not making any move to take a step back. "Excuse me." I say, clearing my throat noisily, taking the plate from him.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." His voice is deep and rich in timbre. I'm trying not to notice these things about him, but he keeps coming into my space. So I take a step back, and another one.

"I . . .er. . . excuse me." I say again, as I make to leave, but he stops me with a hand on my arm.

"Do I scare you?" He moves close to me again, so I take another step back and he follows. I move back again, still he follows. He continues crowding my space, until my back hits something. When I look back, I'm up against the sink with nowhere to run.

So I jutt out my chin and lick my lips nervously, trying my best to keep the tremors out of my voice. "I've got a boyfriend. His eyes immediately lock onto my lips, and his mouth curves into an amused smile. "You make it sound like it's a disease."

"I already told you; I've got a boy ------"

"Yes, I heard you very clearly the first time." He interjects, still with the same amused smile on his face. "But you didn't answer my initial question. Do I scare you?" He lifts a brow up in question.

I laugh somewhat nervously. "Why would you scare me?"

He shrugs and looks at the ground and then up at me once more. "Well, anytime I get close, you shrink back, like now."

True enough, I'm pressed up against the sink, almost practically sitting inside it. "It's not my fault I'm this way around you. Clearly you don't have boundaries." I point back and forth, indicating the little space between us.

He smirks, but instead of moving back like I expect him to, he moves close, so impossibly close that he's pressed up against me. Then he leans in even further, and whispers into my ear. "With you ----- never." And he moves back, leaving me feeling breathless. He walks away, but then he stops when he gets to the door and turns round to look at me and whispers, and as if by some feat of magic, I'm able to hear it clearly. "Whether you like it or not, Eve, we're going to be more than friends." And then he walks off, leaving me in shocked silence.

Ebere chooses this time to walk into the kitchen, heading straight for the fridge when she stops and see's me practically perched on the edge of the sink. She looks towards the door, and then looks back at me and narrows her eyes. She says nothing as she opens the fridge, takes out a bottle of water and guzzles some, then she turns to me and in a voice dripping with sacharine, asks. "What was Nathan doing in here?"

"Geez, Ebere, how the heck am I supposed to know?" I snap in annoyance. "Am I now his bodyguard?" I don't wait for her retort as the bonds of shock initially holding me loosen, and I fast walk out of the kitchen.

She follows me, fast on my heels. "Why are you getting so touchy. We normally tell each other everything, why do you feel the need to hide things from me now?"

I stop short, and she almost runs into my back. "That's just it Ebere, I'm not hiding anything. Your overactive imagination always thinks there's something going on around me that I'm not telling you." I turn to face her and shake my head.

She lets out a sigh. "Babe, you forget I know you. When I got into the kitchen, I saw a weird look on your face, coupled with the fact that you were practically almost inside the sink. Something scared you." Then she narrows her eyes at me and her voice goes an octave lower. "Or someone."

Hearing this I sigh, because she's right. I turn to glance around the sitting room where we've stopped, but seeing no one here, I look back to her. "Come with me." Eagerly wanting to hear my secrets, she pulls me in the direction of the rooms, but I shake my head. "No! Not there, on the beach."

I walk briskly towards the door and she waddles after me as fast as she can. Once we're through it and have gone a few paces away from it, she rushes to me. "Alright spill the beans, what's going on?"

"Hold your horses, let's get to the beach front first." I insist, picking up speed.

Once we're far away from the house and in front of the waves, watching the ebb and flow, Ebere and I turn to each other at the same time. "It's Nathan," I exclaim. "I think he's got the hots for me."

"You think?" She looks at me like I just grew two horns. "You either know or you don't."

So I sigh and tell her everything that transpired, right from when he came into the kitchen earlier on, up to what he said to me a few minutes ago.

"I knew it!" She sounds triumphant. Joyful, even. "I knew something was going on between the two of you."

"Nothing is going on between me and -----"

"And that's why you've got to go for it."

"Um. . . go for . . . what, exactly?!" It's my turn to stare at her like she's got horns protruding from her head.

Instead of replying, she sighs, shakes her head and moves away from me and waddles towards a humongous wave that is approaching the shore. If she doesn't move away, it's going to drench her from head to toe. She surprises me by doing the exact opposite when she throws her arms wide open in a form of welcome.

"Look ou . . ." The words get clogged up in my throat as the wave submerges her totally. After awhile, it receeds, but Ebere is nowhere in sight.

Panic rises up in my throat and I begin running towards the sea, fear building up in my chest. I don't see her anywhere. I turn around and scream her name. I'm almost in tears at this point.

"Over here!" Someone shouts from behind me. I whip around so fast, I know I'll definitely have a creak in my neck later on. There, in the not-so-far distance, Ebere stands unharmed, grinning like an evil fiend.

I rush over to her, noticing with relief and rising shock, her dry clothes. She doesn't look the worse for wear, either, and she's grinning. "Hold on! You weren't touched by that wave, were you?"

"Nope!" She shakes her head and grins even harder, obviously enjoying my shock.

"Are you going to take me out of my misery by telling me what happened, or are you just going to stand and smile sheepishly?"

"Well you thought I was swallowed by that huge wave, when in essence what you saw was only an illusion. As it got close, I moved to the right just in time and backtracked behind you, and here I am." She splays out her arms and grins harder.

"But . . . why?" I'm confused. Why did she feel the need to play hide and seek with me?

"Eve, Eve, I thought you'd have figured it out by now. Your relationship with Segun is quite like an illusion. Now you see it, now you don't. I had to demonstrate it for you to clearly understand."

Wait, what?!

"What nonsense are you spouting?" Are you still smoking weed, Ebere, 'cause that shit clearly doesn't agree with you." I put a hand on my hip and stare like I'm just seeing her for the first time in my life.

She sighs and moves close to me. "Babes, admit it to yourself. Your relationship with Segun is toxic, and I'm scared for you that in sticking with him and wanting to help him wade through the issues he's facing, you will get hurt in the process. I don't want that for you, so that's why I told you to go for it."

"Huh?!" She's definitely smoking something that's for sure. "Go for what?"

"If Nathan continues making a move on you and he's serious, I think you should date him." She says this with a solemnity that is final as well as scary. She's left me tongue-tied, not even a squeak passes through my lips.

The shock on my face is enough to make her come close and hug me, as close as she's able to with her baby bump in the way. "I know it's a lot to take in, and I understand how you must be feeling right now because you desperately love Segun. I can see that, but you've got to be selfish sometimes. You've got to look out for yourself."

My shoulders slump in defeat, because she's right.

But if she's so damn right, why then does it feel like my heart is shattering into a million pieces?

Tears begin to pool in my eyes.

"Don't cry, babes. I'll always be here for you. To tell you the truth no matter how much it hurts." She cleans the tears from my eyes, and I lean on her shoulder as we remain in silence facing the sea.

Here we stand ---- two best friends with long standing history. One hormonal and pregnant, the other one . . .

. . . confused and conflicted.