“Stay, he said.

I looked down at Josh who had taken hold of my left hand and was regarding me with puppy eyes; the look in his eyes is all the convincing I needed. There was something about his eyes that made me want to drown in them; his irises were unusually large and dark and made me feel like he could see into my soul. He had the type of ears I like to refer to as ‘butterfly ears’; ears I would tease people about suddenly looked attractive to me. He had pink lips and I started imagining what it would feel like to kiss them.”

*****

My friends Tsola and Ayo had invited me to a dinner party they were having for their third wedding anniversary. I arrived at the venue, RSVP Restaurant, in Victoria Island at about 6 P.M on a Friday evening, in my new Maki Oh shift dress and a pair of white sandals. My make-up and hair were on fleek. I had taken time to dress especially beautifully for the occasion, and so I was quite disappointed when I showed up and nobody else had arrived. I tried calling Tsola but her number was switched off. I sat alone at the table reserved in Ayo’s name for about fifteen minutes, sipping a cocktail, scrolling through my Instagram feed, and leaving angry texts for Tsola on iMessage.

Finally, another guest showed up, a tall lean man who looked like he was in his early thirties. He had on a black jacket with red patterns printed on it which I immediately recognized from the Orange Culture 2014/2015 spring/summer collection, and a well-fitted pair of dark blue jeans. He asked if I was for Tsola and Ayo’s dinner, and then introduced himself as Josh, a friend of Ayo’s. I shook his hand, my palms cold and sweaty; his, soft and warm.

“I’m Nancy, but you can call me Nay, everyone calls me that.”

“Nay, that’s a nice name. I’m actually Joshua but I hate when people call me that.”

I laughed. “Yep, that’s what I’m gonna call you.”

He laughed as well, and said, “Don’t you dare.”



Just then his phone rang, and he excused himself and walked outside to receive the call. I sat there alone, feeling self-conscious. When after about five minutes he hadn’t returned, I started to get annoyed then I remembered I wasn’t on a date and chided myself. At that moment, he returned with an uncomfortable look on his face and sat down.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, “Where’s everybody?”

“So I just got off the phone with Ayo and …” His sentence trailed off as he laughed awkwardly.

“And what?” I asked impatiently, a hint of annoyance in my voice.

“They aren’t coming” he said, “Well apparently they set us up on a date.”

“Fucking hell,” I muttered under my breath, and picked up my phone. “I’ve warned Tsola against these her foolish pranks.” I sighed and dropped my phone, looked up and caught Josh staring at me with an amused look on his face.

I covered my face with my hands for a few seconds, careful not to ruin my makeup, “This is so embarrassing.” Standing up, I picked up my purse and said, “I’m just going to go home now.”

It was in this moment that Josh looked up at me with a pleading expression on his face, took my left hand in his, and said, “Stay.”

I sat down.

“Listen … I really do not want to be on a date right now, nothing personal,” I said.

“Of course,” he replied quickly, “It’s not a date; it’s just hanging out here, together.”

I sighed, and mouthed a silent “Okay”

“Sooooo …,” I said, looking around the room and then back at him.


More on: http://www.tushmagazine.com.ng/fiction-stay-by-phidelia-imiegha/

Ok....this is so cool.

I always give it up for ladies and gentlemen with a deep sense of courtesy as aptly displayed by the two main characters in 'stay'.


OP nice piece u gat.

this is good... You should continue what you started