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Chapter 10

After driving aimlessly for about an hour, he decided to go and see some old friends he hadn’t seen for a while. Church service was cut short because of a bomb threat that had been making rounds in the area, and he didn’t want to go to his lonely home right now.
He turned up the music full blast and headed towards Western Avenue are of Lagos.

……….

Like old times, he met his friends outside sitting on white plastic chairs facing a football field, watching teenage kids playing soccer while sipping on gin and juice. It was their after church Sunday ritual. A ritual he had tried to get away from, but right now he knew he needed to be around familiar people.

As he parked his grey 2017 Camry by the road side, he looked at all the cars lined up at every his old street, and he was reminded where his love for cars came from. This had always been the trade in this part of town, and it was so easy for him to go into it. You could get just about any car you wanted here; from an old Jaguar, to the latest Bentley.

Before he got out of his car, some of his friends were chanting his name, ‘ANDREW!’ ‘ANDREW!!’ He felt so great and his spirit was lifted instantly. Even though he was not Yoruba like most of them, they had taken him like a brother. He rolled up the sleeves of his white long sleeve shirt, and tucked in the shirt properly into his sky blue jeans when he stepped out of the car.

“Andrew! I thought you had checked out of the country?” One of his friends said and they all laughed as he approached the table.
“Nah! We are going to make our billions in this naija.” Andrew said as he greeted a lanky guy in white native with a bottle of Jack Daniel Whiskey in his hand.

The guy poured a little content of the bottle in his hand on the floor before saying “To our fallen one, Tunde.” The atmosphere around them went dull, as they all got up and poured liquor out their plastic cups. And then, after the few seconds of silence, the lanky guy turned to the barber shop across the street and shouted out “Yusuf, play us some music men! No dulling.”
……….

The music was not so loud that they couldn’t talk, but they still had to use loud voices in communicating with each other. Andrew joined in the political talk every once in a while, but his mind was miles away. He didn’t care if the President had been away from the country for more than two months. He didn’t even care about bad governance anymore; he just wanted to be happy.

Every now and then, a new plate of fried meat would be brought to the table, and within 5 minutes, the plate would be empty. They were on their second bottle of Jack Daniel and Andrew was thinking of leaving any time soon. Even though the drink and being with old friends had lifted his spirit, he didn’t want to get drawn back to the old lifestyle.

He gulped down the content of his cup and was about to announce his departure when power went out, and everywhere became silent. The lanky guy then turned his car to face Andrew and said “Yes! I heard you are in love.”
It got Andrew off guard and he smiled before saying, “Who told you that?”
“Hahaha! So, it is true? Praise God o!” The guy said and his other friends shifted their attention from the football field to Andrew.
“What!!? Are you for real?” The short robust guy in black Adidas track suit said as he drew his chair closer to Andrew. “Please, I want to hear this story.”
As he thought of what to say, his phone started vibrating on the table. When he picked it up, he was shocked to see the caller ID display ‘Angela.’ “Please give me one minute guys.” He said as he got up and walked towards his car. “Hello.” He said into the receiver.
“Hey! Are we still watching Logan today?”
“Umm! Yea.” Andrew responded as his mind wondered what was going on.
“Cool. I’m driving to the mall now. Can we meet there in about an hour?”
“Okay.”
“Okay then. See you in a bit.” She said and the line went dead.
Andrew stood still, with the phone still glued to his ear after the line had disconnected as he thought of what had just happened.

Chapter 3

The view of the beach is a true testament that the earth is spherical, he thought to himself as he looked at the horizon ahead of him. They had all changed to beach wares and Abdul had his jogging shorts and a white t shirt on. Mariam emerged from the tent and shouted out Abdul’s name. He turned around fast enough to see a can of Guinness Stout flying his way. He caught it and frowned at her. “Nice reflexes.” She said as she walked up beside him.
“What did you expect?” Abdul said and made a macho pose, showing off his rippling biceps.
“Oooh! Sexy.” She said and chuckled. He opened the Guinness and took a quick swig from it. She turned to face him and lifted her dark shades before saying “Let’s take a walk.”
“Okay.”He said and turned to face the tent, signaling to his friends that he would be back soon. Lawrence winked at him and Wole made a face he couldn’t interpret. He hastened his pace to catch up with Mariam and put his arm around her waist from behind. She moved in closer on him, and their movement became a rhythmic sequence.

Abdul looked back after a while, and gauged they had walked up to half a kilometer from the main beach and decided to stop. She sat on the sand, and he did the same. They kept talking, and he was surprised they had so much to talk about.

Mariam picked up a black sea shell and dusted off the sand from it; Abdul took it from her, checked it out for a couple of seconds and then handed it back to her. She was telling him how she and her mom owned a clothing line, and called out the name hoping that he would know it. He shook his head, and she continued. She told him how they had a small factory in china, where most of their clothes were made. Abdul was surprised and said he and his friend were actually planning something similar, but working on using Nigerian labor instead.

She started taking off her top, and Abdul wanted to protest, but held back. Then he realized she had on a bra top beneath her t shirt. She placed the t shirt around her neck and looked ahead. Her cleavage hung halfway out of her bra top and it got him aroused instantly. He looked away and tried to control his urge. Even though they had been seeing each other for a couple of weeks now, he just realized he had never seen this much of her body before.
“Are you trying to seduce me?” Abdul asked after a long awkward silence.
She turned to face him and laughed lightly. “If I want you to do anything to me, I would ask you directly.” She said and winked “But now that you brought it up.” She said and took off her shades. “I think I’d like you kiss me right now.”Abdul smiled and looked away. After a few seconds of silence, he turned to look at her again and saw in her eyes she was serious. He slowly moved in on her, she met him half-way and their lips locked. She plunged in deeper into the kiss, forcing Abdul to arch his back. It was sought of like she was on top of him now and in one swift move, he manipulated her, so he was on top. Then he gently laid her back to the ground, without breaking the kiss.
Abdul’s hands caressed her bare back and every other place his hands could reach as they kissed passionately. At some point, the waves brought in water closer than usual, and it touched their toes. Mariam pulled back from the kiss and laughed a little, before locking lips with him again. His hand started fumbling with her bra strap and then she pulled back sharply. “Stop!” She said and rolled out of Abdul’s grasp. “Naughty boy.” She said with a playful frown on her face and it made him laugh.

Story continued here- https://www.nairaland.com/3968520/nigeria-love-part-2-romance#59173187

Chapter 2

“Are you going to go any faster or what?” Mariam said and let out a muffled groan.
“What? You want me to go faster than this?” Abdul said with a laugh. “I’m doing…” He stopped mid-sentence and bent his head a little to get a clear look at the speedometer. “…I’m doing 100 kilometers an hour. I think that’s fast enough.” Mariam bent over to look at the speedometer, and he revved up the engine a little. She laughed at his gesture.
“Dude, that’s not 100, that’s like 75.” She laughed some more.
Abdul looked at her and smiled. I'm so happy to have you in my life right now, he thought to himself.

……….

Parked side by side at the parking lot of a Mall on the way to the beach, Abdul, Mariam and their friends gathered around each other as they quickly concluded on what they were going in to get. Soft drinks, liquor, fast food, plastic cups, ice cubes, and straws were all on the list.
They were engulfed by a crowd of weekend shoppers as they made their way into the mall, and at some point, Abdul found himself walking side-by-side with one of Mariam’s friends. “So, what are you like 7 feet tall?” She said, looking up at him.
He laughed a little before answering. “If I was, I probably would have to bend over while passing through this.” He said, signaling to the metal bar that was directly above them at the entrance of the store they were walking into. She looked up at what he was talking about, and then as she once again looked his way, their eyes met and locked for a split second. She had long eye lashes fixed and the blue contacts she had on gave her an enchanting look. “I’m 6 ft 4 inches.” Abdul said to break the ice.
“That’s tall.” She said and tried to measure where her head reached on his body. He was sure he couldn’t recall her name, so he did his possible best not to have to call her by name during their conversation together. After a while, her friend came over and pulled her away, and Abdul let out a sigh of relief.
On their way back to the car, Abdul remembered that he had forgotten to buy batteries for the camera and rushed back in to get them. He was half way through when he noticed he was holding the car keys. He ran back to Mariam, handed her the keys and kissed her on the cheek before dashing back in.
He got the batteries and was rushing out of the store when he collided with a little boy of about 3 years old. He actually hadn’t seen the kid at all, and knocked him to the floor. Tears rolled down the boys eyes before the loud cry came.
People started turning around to see what had happened and he felt so embarrassed. He was in a crouching position now, consoling the kid, trying to make him stop, and wondered where the mother or whoever brought the little boy to the mall was. Then a figure appeared in front of them with flip flops, and faded jeans on. He looked up and saw a tall teenage girl with her face hidden underneath a face cap. The girl bent down before he could stand. “Did he run into you?” She asked, her face on the same level with Abdul now, but he still couldn’t see her properly. She had on a navy blue tank top with 'MASTERMIND' written across the chest in white prints. “I was actually trying to get him to stop running around the mall; I didn’t know he had come this far.” The boy stopped crying, held her leg, and beat Abdul on the shoulder twice before the girl pulled him away. “Stop that.” She said and laughed a little. Abdul stood and she did the same thing. “Hey…” She said and moved her cap backwards in one swift motion.
Abdul recognized her immediately. “Yea, the rapper right?”
“Yea! Actually my name is Lilly. And you’re Abdul, right?”
“Yea.”
“Umm! Sorry about the little episode with my cousin.” She said and ruffled the little boy’s hair.
“I have to confess though, I actually bumped into him.” Abdul said and watched the little boy look from him to Lilly and back to him, probably wondering why they were smiling at each other.
“So, you came to shop?” Abdul asked.
“Yea, I had gotten everything I came for, but my cousin decided to play hide and go seek around the mall.” She said and smiled. “Maybe it wasn’t that bad after all; at least it led me to you.” Abdul just smiled and nodded. “My mom s probably…” She was saying and caught sight of a lady waving at her. “I better go. I guess I’ll run into you again some time.”
“Yes.” He said and watched her walk towards the lady that appeared to be her mom. He took a wild guess and concluded the mom would be somewhere in her mid forties. She was slender and tall like Lilly, and looked smart in the blue Ankara skirt and blouse she had on. He was about to turn around and start heading out when he saw them walking towards him. The little boy was pulling them back and Lilly's mom picked him up in one swoop.
“Hi?” The lady said as she dropped the kid and extended her hand at Abdul. He shook it and nodded. “I’m Lilly’s mom.” She said and smiled at her daughter in approval of her new friend. “She tells me you are some sought of music producer.”
“Mom! I didn’t say producer.” Lilly said with a frown on her face.
“Pleased to meet you Mrs…” Abdul said with a smile.
“Toledo.” She said with a wider smile.
“I said he is a rap enthusiast mom.”
“Oh! You know I don’t understand all what you be talking about sometimes.” She said using a little Ebonics in her speech, and then she turned to Abdul again. “I’m actually fascinated that anybody would pick an interest in her dreams. She says you think she’d make a good rapper?”
“Yes. She is one of the best females I’ve heard rap in a while now.” He said and looked at Lilly as the smile on her face turned to a blush. “I think with a little assistance, and guidance, she can actually make a career out of this.”
“Hmm! That’s interesting. Can I have your number? You need to stop by our house for lunch sometime.” She said as she went through her bag. “Her dad would love to meet you." She said and handed Abdul a Blackberry phone. As Abdul collected it from her, the little boy kicked Abdul on the leg.
“Hey! Daniel!” Lilly exclaimed and pulled her cousin aside.
“Don’t mind my little nephew; he is a little too playful.” She and waited for Abdul to finish typing his number. “So, your name is?”
“Abdul. I stored my name on your phone as Abdul Lilly. Hope you don’t mind?” He said turning to Lilly. “I tried saving it as ‘Abdul, Lilly’s Friend’ but that was too long.”
“Hmm! That’s cool. Just put a hyphen between the two names, I will get it better that way.” Mrs. Toledo said, still smiling.
“Okay.” Abdul said and quickly made the change on the phone before handing the phone over.
“We got to go now; I’ll definitely give you a call.” She said and walked off with a smile. While Lilly also smiled at him, the little kid made a face at Abdul and attempted to stomp on his feet before Lilly pulled him away and carried him off, laughing.

Abdul stood still for a few seconds as he watched them walk away, and then realizing where he was meant to be, hurried out of the store.
They were all leaning on the Mazda when he got out. Wole asked him if he had gone in for his ICAN exams and everybody laughed.

From Nigeria with Love: Part 2

By

Kayode Odusanya






 

© 2015 Kayode Odusanya



















 

Chapter 1
Abdul got back from his early morning run and his friends were still sleeping as usual. It always made him feel good whenever he got up before every other person in the house and actually did something productive.
Lawrence opened his left eye and from where he lay on the bed and said “How was your run?”
“Cool.” Abdul answered as he bent down to unlace his tennis shoes. “You usually lie down awake like that?” He added.
“I like to plan my day mentally before getting up.” He said and sat up. “So when do we leave for the beach?” He added.
“Probably around 11 a.m.” Abdul said as he took off his shirt and pulled out a sky blue towel from the wardrobe. “Mariam would be here around 10:00a.m with a couple of her friends.”
“Female friends?”
“Of cos! What did you expect?”
Wole rolled over from where he lay on the mattress, wide eyed. “Did you guys just say females are coming around?” He asked.
“Yes. But not for you Mr. Married man.” Lawrence said and hit him on the head with a pillow.
“Hey guys, I’m not married yet. And besides, Bimpe isn’t going to be around.”
“You’re such a jerk.” Abdul said as he walked out of the room.
“Guys! Can’t a brother have some fun anymore?” Wole said as he stretched and got into a sitting position. “What’s the time anyway? I think I better go freshen up.”

……….

At about a quarter past 11 am, they were ready to move. Two cars were parked in front of the house; Wole’s Mazda 626, and Mariam’s red 2010 Dodge Charger. Mariam came with friends that looked very much alike, and seemed too loud to even be associated with her. She had introduced them as Ngozi and Chioma. They were light skinned beauties with identical body shape; big boobs, slim waists, and flat butts. The three girls were dressed alike; bum shorts and clingy white t shirts.

As they all sat on worn out plastic chairs in compound to make their final plans for the beach trip, it was like they had been friends forever the way they joked around.

When they finally walked out of the compound, the girls separated themselves for a minute for some girl talk, and then Mariam walked back to Abdul’s side. “So I and my friends were talking, and they say they want to ride with Wole and umm…damn! I’m always forgetting his name.”
“Lawrence.”
“Yea, Lawrence.” She said, and put up a smile. “Please, don’t tell him I forgot his name.”
“No big deal. So, are we all set now?” Abdul said out loud. They all echoed a big YES! Mariam turned around to look at her friends getting into Wole’s car as she and Abdul stood by her car. He stole a look at her. There was nothing exposed, but the way the t-shirt clung to her upper body made his imagination run wild. She turned around and handed Abdul the car keys before heading to the passenger’s side.
Wole had gone in to get the camera, and when he got out, he stood in the middle of the road, trying to figure out how the sitting arrangement would be. Abdul walked up to him. “The two girls and Lawrence are rolling with you.” He said to his friend.
“Hmm! So you get to ride alone with Princess Allura, right?”
“Very funny; I’ll catch up with you guys at the beach.”Abdul said and tapped Wole on the shoulder before walking back to the Dodge Charger.

I will start posting in a bit, but if you haven't read part 1, this is a link to it...https://www.nairaland.com/3926881/nigeria-love-part-1-romance