Chapter Fifteen

She brushed her hair slowly and gently for the umpteenth time that evening. The hair was too brushed already and she knew it didn't need more brushing, but she couldn't help but continue. Some people bite their fingernails, some pace around, some clench their fists, some listen to music, some try to sleep, while some others prefer to punch the wall. For Bukunmi, she did none of those things when she was panicking. She liked to pretend all was fine and do an act repeatedly, either washing the same cloth over and over again, dusting the same spot again and again, or simply, brushing her hair over and over again, like she was doing right now. To her, keeping your calm and hiding your nervousness was better than showing visibly how scared, anxious or worried that you were. When her mother was panicking, she'd sit down on a chair, her teeth chattering terribly, biting her fingernails and tears will start flowing from her eyes. The only good thing that came out of her being worried was that she was quiet and everyone could finally have peace. Bukunmi had learnt to be her family's support system at a very early age. While her grandmother sighed and refused food, her brother kept drumming his fingers annoyingly on the table, and her mother; well, you know the drill. Someone in the family had to keep the family sane, and she was that someone. She had gotten so used to always being the comforter and the go-to person that she had forgotten how to comfort herself. That is why now, even as she suspected greatly that something was wrong somewhere, she just sat in front of the mirror, not uttering a word, not allowing her heart to feel a thing, and not succumbing to thinking of anything. She couldn't sleep, eat or write. Tade wasn't around, and inasmuch as she knew very well that he was a grown-up man who could take care of himself, she also knew he wasn't an insensitive jerk who would just leave an event, without calling her afterwards. Worst of all in this situation, was the fact that he wasn't picking up her calls. No; he wasn't declining, the phone wasn't switched off, he wasn't busying the call... The phone was ringing, but he just was not picking up. After waiting for him to show up, she had gone to the receptionist, who she showed her office card to, and the receptionist had said he had left...left, not checked out, which meant that he was to come back, unless something happened that was keeping him from returning. She hadn't wanted to make a big deal out of it, but after calling him repeatedly...fourteen times to be exact, visiting the receptionist to see if he was back five times, much to the young lady's annoyed expression, even getting his room number and sitting on the porch till 7pm, with still no sign of him, anyone in her position would definitely worry and panic. Tade Wellington would never ever ignore her calls, fail to congratulate her or be gone for a whole nine hours, without so much as a text message. She knew she may just be overreacting as she hadn't known him for that long, but this was someone who'd pop out of the restroom in the office every thirty minutes (Again, God only knows what he did in there), just to tell her he was still there in case she was looking for him. That kind of person would never miss her calls on purpose and if he was in a good place, he'd send her a text message, saying that he was busy and would call her back. At least, she knew him that well. A knock sounded on her door, and dropping the hairbrush on the table with a bang, she dashed to the door to open it. Something in her told her it was Tade who was at the door and she couldn't keep him waiting now, could she? Of course, she couldn't. With so much anxiety which she tried desperately to conceal, she opened up the door, and instead of seeing the handsome face of Tade Wellington, the one she knew had a hand in her father's death, but who she still cared very much about, she saw a hotel attendant standing in front of her door, beaming with a smile that didn't suit his face, extending a bouquet of flowers and a small box which she suspected contained chocolates to her, to her disappointment. 'I didn't order this," She said, managing to remain cool, trying hard not to show her disappointment, and attempted to close the door. 'You..." 'You've got the wrong room number, you probably mixed it all up," She said, and slammed the door shut in his face, blinking back the tears that threatened to fall. She had been holding them back, but she just couldn't anymore, she... The knock sounded again, heightening her frustration, and she knew she was going to take out all the annoyance she felt on the attendant the moment she opened the door. As she opened the door however, to start blabbering about how angry she was and how she didn't want any disturbance, and how the attendant guy was just so bent on frustrating her life and making her go cray-cray, she was held spellbound on seeing Tade standing in front of the door, close to the guy. 'He..." The attendant started, pointing his finger at Tade, '...was the one who asked me to bring you these," He concluded. The tears Bukunmi had been struggling so hard to fight came rolling down her eyes. She wasn't mad anymore or worried, she was just overwhelmed and...well, she couldn't explain it, but she knew that she was happy. 'I'm sorry for coming this late. I was..." Without waiting for him to conclude what he had in mind to say, she wrapped her arms around him tightly, soaking his shirt with her tears. 'None of that explanation matters. What's important is the fact that you're here now," She said. 'Aww," The attendant said, adoring how cute they looked together, probably wishing he had a girl in his life at that moment. Bukunmi didn't know why, but she grabbed unto Tade more tightly, and she didn't want to stop feeling the warmth of his embrace, especially now that he had hugged her back. Unable to conceal the pain he was feeling any longer, Tade let out a mildly loud groan. At that point, Bukunmi impulsively withdrew from him, wondering the reason for his sudden outburst. 'What's going on?" She asked, looking him all over. That was when she noticed that all was not well. Blood was oozing slowly from the corner of his mouth and there was a scratch on his forehead. How could she have been so self-centred as to not have seen how slightly damaged his handsome face was? 'You were just overwhelmed with happiness. It's not your fault and it really doesn't mean you're self-centred," The voice in her head said. She nodded in agreement, glad that her subconscious was on her side for the first time in a long while, then stopped nodding upon the realisation that other people were present and would probably be thinking that she was going nuts. She fixed back her attention to Tade, motioning for him to speak up. 'Umm..." He started, then stopped. 'Umm...what?" Bukunmi demanded, in a firm tone. He bit his lower lip, then looked at the attendant, who seemed eager to hear the gist as well, signalling for him to go. The attendant, however, pretended not to understand his sign language and continued standing there. Bukunmi, who was already very pissed off, didn't waste time in giving him, there and then, a piece of her mind. 'You... What are you still doing here? Prying and trying to know what's going on in other people's lives is not only wrong, but it is also very rude, impolite and incompatible with your profession, and I really didn't want to use a threat on you, but if you don't leave here this minute..." 'You're going to report to the manager," The attendant completed her statement, interrupting her in the process. 'It's good that you're very well aware of that fact. Thanks for delivering the presents, I'll relieve you of the burden of carrying them, by taking them now," She said, forcefully collecting the flowers and the box from him, and gesturing to him to leave. 'I'm sorry, please don't report to the manager. I only just got this job," The attendant pleaded. 'Don't worry, she won't," Tade chipped in. 'And who says I won't?" Bukunmi asked, eyeing both of them. 'Please..." 'Just pray he has a very good explanation for this. I'm very fond of transferring aggression, be warned," Bukunmi said. The attendant opened up his mouth to speak again, but Tade waved his hand in his face, gesturing for him to keep quiet and just go. He nodded, and as he walked away, he prayed silently for Tade to have a good explanation for arriving to see Bukunmi, sustained with injuries, else his job might just be at stake. When he was out of sight, Tade wore a playful smirk. 'I like how you managed to instil fear in the young man. At least, there's another side of you that I didn't know; fierce," He commented. She folded her arms, and stared at him with a blank expression. 'Apparently, there's another side of you which I still don't know," She said. 'Hey. Don't forget that I'm still your boss," He said, thinking that statement was the ultimate means to shut her up. 'Spare me that crap. You can't just show up at my door with injuries after not being reachable for nine hours, and expect that I'll just fold my arms and ignore it all like nothing happened," She said. 'I got into a fight with a drunk man. He was drunk and was harassing me, so it led to a fight. As you can see, I sustained only minor injuries," He said, pointing to his mouth and forehead. Bukunmi scoffed. 'There may still be a lot of sides of you that I don't know, but at least, now, I know that you're a bad liar," She said. 'I'm not..." Bukunmi ignored what he was saying, turned around and opened her door. 'You're just going to go in?" He asked, not knowing what to do. 'Yes, I'm just going to go in, but you're coming in, too," She said, and pulled him in. It was easy to pull him in as he was very tired and had no energy to argue with her or even put up a resistance. He had had no idea that he was going to be bombarded with questions upon coming back. He had imagined just giving her the flowers and chocolates he got for her, then he'll say he got into a small fight. She'll sympathise with him and even throw insults at the ‘drunk man' who obviously didn't exist, and was a fictitious being that emanated from his own imagination, then he'll thank her for understanding, then go to his own hotel room. Slamming the door shut, Bukunmi made Tade, who was thinking hard, stand in front of her. Slowly, she began to unbutton his shirt. He wanted to resist and he knew it, but something he couldn't quite point out stopped him from resisting. He just stood there like an old tree, as she unhooked his buttons one by one. When she was done, she opened the shirt wide as he no longer had his tie on, and like she had expected, he had several plasters on his stomach, and on his back as well. 'Did these all happen today?" She asked. He heaved a sigh, contemplating on the answer to give her. 'Most happened today," He finally responded, truthfully. 'Who dressed your wounds?" She asked. 'I did," He replied, then clicked his tongue on realising he shouldn't have been honest about that one. Bukunmi nodded her head, understanding that he must have been used to sustaining such injuries, especially since he could dress his own wounds perfectly well and he didn't get all his injuries that very day. She cleared her throat. 'So, why did you fail to dress up the cuts on your face?" She asked. 'So that I'll have an explanation to give you for my lateness," He responded, then almost smacked himself on the head, wondering why he was just dishing out the truth to her on a platter of gold. She scoffed. 'Wow!" That was the only thing that could come out of her mouth. 'Listen..." She put her hand up, prohibiting him from saying another word, and he raised his hands in surrender. 'Sit," She said, motioning to the bed, and like someone who was under the influence, he just went and sat there, not saying anything and not bothering to ask questions. He watched as she walked over to where her travelling box was kept, and open the smaller zip area. She then brought out a small bag, which she placed on the bedside table close to the edge of the bed where he was sitting. Sighing, she opened the bag, then brought out a bottle of iodine, a pack of cotton wool and a roll of Band-Aids. She then began to dress his wounds, starting from his forehead, deciding not to say anything more. 'You're not going to ask me anything again?" He asked, perplexed. She shrugged her shoulders. 'I'm the same lady who chided someone a few minutes ago to stop butting into people's businesses, and I'm not going to do that which I condemn. I am not a hypocrite," She said, as she placed the Band-Aid on his forehead, after cleaning the injury with the iodine and cotton wool, and proceeded to work on the cut close to his mouth. 'So, you're cool with not knowing?" He asked, finding it hard to believe. She stopped what she was doing, and looked at him with eyes that spoke with volumes on how hurt she was. 'Of course not. I am not cool with not knowing, but...but you'll tell me when you're ready, won't you?" She asked. He nodded his head in the affirmative. 'I wanted to ask why you refused to pick my calls though. I called you fourteen different times, why didn't you pick? It's not like you were fighting for nine hours, is it?" She asked. 'I left my phone in the hotel room, not on purpose though," He said. 'How didn't I even consider that possibility? Gosh! I'm so stupid," She said, and picked up the cotton wool, which was moist due to the iodine that was soaking on it. He chuckled. In retaliation, she applied the cotton wool with pressure on the cut close to his mouth, and he winced in pain. 'So much for being a tough guy," Bukunmi mocked and let out a small laughter. He almost laughed too, but couldn't, as instead of laughing, his heart began to thump loudly as he watched her laugh. He already knew she had the most beautiful smile ever, but the way she laughed was even more beautiful and adorable, to the extent that his heart was beating loudly. What on earth was this feeling? Why was his heart racing fast? She stopped laughing abruptly and looked at him all over. He seemed distracted, lost and not finding the situation funny at all. 'Oh! I'm sorry for laughing at you, I was just joking around," She apologised. 'Why are you apologising?" He asked, taking his mind off her laughter for a brief second. She shrugged. 'Cause you seemed distracted and confused, and I felt it was because of me," She replied. He nodded, agreeing with her point. 'I am distracted and confused because of you," He affirmed. 'See? That's why I said I'm sorry," She said, wondering why she had forgotten he was someone who didn't know how to joke around, and constantly reminded her of who was the boss. 'No, you shouldn't be sorry," He said, still staring at her. 'Why?" She asked out loud, wondering why the situation started to seem weird. He didn't respond. There was nothing to say, and all he could do was stare into her eyes, with his heart still pounding. Soon, she met his eyes, and although the shy part of her wanted to dart her eyes away from his, she couldn't help it. Their eyes locked, and they kept on staring at each other. Unable to control himself anymore and with his heart still beating fast without an explanation, he drew her chin towards his, and in a splitting moment, crushed his lips on hers. What the... Was he really kissing Ibukunoluwami Tabitha Ketu? That was the daughter of his lesson teacher, and he possibly couldn't afford to have anything erotic to do with her. He had caused her more harm than good in this lifetime, and she deserved way better than him. Reminding himself that she was totally off limits for him, he withdrew from the kiss just as immediately as it had begun. Bukunmi stared at him, running high on confusion. One minute, he was kissing her, and the other, he was just staring at her like he had made a terrible mistake. 'What's wrong?" Bukunmi asked, swallowing her pride. He looked away from her, cursing himself in the head for starting the kiss in the first place. 'I'm... I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking. I just got lost in the moment, and..." 'And so? What's so bad about getting lost in the moment?" She retorted, not letting him finish his statement. 'Umm..." 'I want to get lost in the moment," She said, and without pausing to think, wrapped her arms around his neck, and placed her lips on his. Frankly speaking, this time, it wasn't on him, he reasoned, as he returned the kiss, giving her exactly what she wanted. They were getting lost in the moment, what could possibly go wrong? He kissed her softly, but she yearned for more, and pulled him harder against her. Slowly, his lips diverted from hers, and his nose began to nuzzle against her neck. He was hurt, but he ignored the pain as he circled his arms around her waist, groaning softly, having never felt this way before in spite of his many experiences and uncountable escapades. This time, it was different; it felt real, and he didn't want her... He needed her. She had thought she knew what it meant to kiss someone; but with Tade Wellington, she knew better now. Was it wrong if she said she was just having her first kiss? She finally knew what kissing meant, and unlike the others, this one had a certain spark as a special ingredient, which she couldn't quite place her fingers on. Soon, she was lying in his arms as he snuggled close to her, after pleading with him to stay the night. Staring at the ceiling, she wondered if her father would be proud that she had made out with the same person who clearly had a hand in his death. Secretly, she had hoped Tade being there that day was just a misunderstanding, but from seeing his injuries today, he probably still belonged in a gang. She didn't probe him with further questions, because she didn't want to be told the truth that he was not all she had hoped he was. However, she wasn't disappointed in herself. She felt happy and satisfied just by lying by his side, and being cuddled by him. Maybe she'd curse herself and punch the wall in regret in the morning, but In that moment, even though it was imperfect, everything felt right and seemed perfect, and just for today, she wasn't going to blame herself. She was going to remain in his arms, thanking the stars that she had such a huge catch beside her.