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What's Love (A Romance Novelette By Kayode Odusanya) - Literature - Nairaland

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What's Love (A Romance Novelette By Kayode Odusanya) by kayo80(m): 12:46pm On May 19, 2021
Good day people. I'm back, and by the grace of God, I will complete this story by month end. The story is written in first person point of view. I plan to post a chapter every 48 hours, or whenever I get 20 likes on the last post/chapter...which ever comes first.

With that being said, let's go!

4 Likes

Re: What's Love (A Romance Novelette By Kayode Odusanya) by kayo80(m): 12:48pm On May 19, 2021
What's Love?
By
Kayode Odusanya



Chapter 1

Power was out, but the reflection of tiny rays of sunlight bouncing off of yellow painted walls illuminated the room faintly. Everywhere was quiet except for the low sound of spinning blades coming from the standing fan next to me. I was on the bed, lying on my side watching her breathe. Even though we had been a thing for almost 3 years, she was still so appealing to my eyes. She had such beautiful light skin. As if she could feel the intensity of my stare, her eyes opened slowly and she smiled. The white duvet covering her naked body came off as she stretched, and she quickly pulled it back up. “Naughty boy,” she said as she playfully ran her index finger through the length of my nose bridge before getting off the bed. “What time is it?” She said, standing over me, as she rolled the duvet tightly over her body. For a short girl, she looked really huge from where I lay.

"Come back to bed." I said and tried to pull the duvet away from her body. She chuckled as she won the tug of war and jumped off the bed. My eyes followed her as she walked away, till she disappeared into the door that led to my bathroom.

I had been in the apartment for three months and still hadn't finished unpacking. There were still a couple of duffle bags here and there on the floor. It was a downgrade from the three bedroom bungalow I was living in, and I just didn't know where to fit some of my belongings. The only thing I had in the place was the TV set hanging on the wall opposite my bed, and my black LG sound system with the big speakers beneath it on the floor.

The sound of water hitting the tiled bathroom floor filled the air as I sat up in bed thinking of how I was going to spend my day. It was Saturday, and usually, Abike and I would spend it together; mostly indoors or at the beach. But today, she had let me know she had a wedding event to attend. I had met Abike at my best friend, Tony’s wedding, and I went down memory lane. I was the best man at the wedding and she was one of the bridesmaids; the only bridesmaid that caught my eye. Ejiro, Tony’s sister had introduced us at the wedding reception, and as they say, the rest is history..

Abike playfully threw the duvet over me and said something as she appeared from the bathroom area. “What? I didn’t hear you.”
“Are Ubers allowed into your estate?” She repeated herself as she dried her body with my white towel.
“Yeah, but why are you asking? I would drop you off as usual.”
“I’m in a hurry and I don’t want you to stress yourself.”
“Abike, I don't understand. I can jump in the shower...”
“I said, don't worry." The tone of her voice was sharp and her disposition had changed. I had been getting off the bed and I sat back on it, wondering what was going on. I had never seen her get angry this fast before.
The room was quiet as she got dressed. The next word I said might vex her even more, so I sat there and watched her. When she was done, she walked up to my side and said, "I'm really sorry I snapped at you. You know how I get when I have to be at places with lots of people." She had her palm on my right cheek as she stared at me smiling till I forced a smile. “I'll call you later in the day.” She said before turning around and heading for the door.

I sat there in bed after she left, wondering about her anger from earlier on. Was there a part of her I hadn't seen? Or had I started irritating her? I knew she had social anxiety and always got edgy when she had a public event to attend, but she had never shouted at me before.

I sighed and lay back in bed and stared at the white ceiling. I closed my eyes and tried to go through the events of the last twelve hours, starting from when I picked Abike up at her estate gate last night. Maybe there was something I did to annoy her that I am not aware of, I thought to myself.

I was drifting off to sleep when my phone beeped beside me. I picked it up and looked at the screen. It was a text message from Abike. I immediately sat up in bed as it was very unusual that she would send me a text message instead of calling or sending a Whatsapp message.

The message read…
'After thinking this through all week, I realized the best thing for me to do is to end this thing we got going. It's not like we defined anything in the beginning, so it isn't going anywhere. And besides, I am not gaining anything from it. I sleep over at your place, and when I am leaving you give me just enough for my transportation.

I know we have had breaks over the years but this is final. Please don't try to contact me. I already blocked you on Whatsapp. After I hit send on this message, I will be putting all your numbers on blacklist. Bye Olu.'


I couldn't believe what I had just read. I stared at the screen of my black android phone till it went to sleep. Then I slowly dropped it on the bed as my mind raced. I picked the phone up again and navigated my way to Whatsapp. Truth be told, she had blocked me. I was confused. Even though we always had disagreements on the issue of money, I never thought she would actually end things with us. She always believed I could do better than I do financially with her, but I really was giving her my best.

I was exclusive with her, but she had been seeing other guys and the more they spent on her, the more I lost value in her eyes. Deep down in my mind, I always knew this day would come but I never wanted to face reality. I felt she had fallen in love with me over time, but I guess I was wrong.

Abike was a beautiful twenty-four year old girl in her prime, and she probably had just been swept off her feet by the highest bidder. The thought of never having her in my arms again made me boil up with anger and I threw my phone against the wall.

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Re: What's Love (A Romance Novelette By Kayode Odusanya) by oluwatosin070: 12:52pm On May 20, 2021
As usual @kay80,
Your stories are always on point.

Please keep the update going..

1 Like

Re: What's Love (A Romance Novelette By Kayode Odusanya) by kayo80(m): 10:44am On May 21, 2021
Chapter 2

I was too miserable to attend church service the next day. I spent most of the morning going through our past Whatsapp messages, reading the beautiful things she once said about me. It made me angry and happy at the same time; happy because they felt good and angry because I felt she was lying to me all along.

I had been holding back the urge to throw my phone at the wall again. The screen was already cracked in like a thousand places, like tributaries of a river in a delta area. I was lucky it still functioned properly. Sometimes I would get angry at myself and put all my anger into squeezing the phone. At a point I thought it was going to break into pieces. That was how angry I was.

My phone started to vibrate when I was about to put it away under my pillow. It was Ejiro calling. What could she want to talk to me about? I thought to myself. Even though I had known her long before I got to know Abike, they were best of friends, so she was my enemy right now. I cut the call and threw my phone on the bed. The phone rang a couple of more times and then the room went silent. It was just me and my thoughts.

I was about dozing off when I heard a knock at the door. It startled me because I rarely had visitors. In fact, apart from Abike, no one had visited me at my new apartment. Could she be the one? Maybe she changed her mind and had come to beg me. I thought to myself. Then I got pissed at myself for being so needy. I got off the bed, grabbed my white singlet from the bed and wore it as I headed for the door.

“Who is it?” I said and waited.
“Hey Olu, it's me, Ejiro.”
How did she know where I live? I thought to myself as I turned around to look at the state my room was in. It was in disarray. “Give me a minute.” I said as I ran over to lay my bed properly and then picked up a couple of things from the floor. I was heading back to the door and realized I had boxer shorts on. I hurried back to my wardrobe, cursing under my breath as I wondered what she was doing here.

I had put on jeans and was about wearing a polo top when her knock came again. I said in a loud voice, “I'm coming!” I worked angrily to the door, swung it open and said, “What's up?” She didn't say anything back. She just stared straight at me, trying to gauge how pissed off I was.

Ejiro was dark in complexion, slim and tall for a girl at 5ft11. I was just an inch taller than her. She was dressed casual in a plain black tee shirt and blue jeans, with a small black hanging on her shoulder. Her wavy black weavon covered part of the left side of her oval face. We stood still, looking at each other; me with anger in my face, her with a poker face. She was my friend’s younger sister and I couldn’t stay mad at her for too long. After a while, I took a deep breath and stepped aside for her to walk into my apartment.

She took a seat on the couch, by the left side of the bed and I sat on the edge of the bed. I grabbed my phone and started acting busy. The room was silent for a while before she said, "I'm sorry. I understand how you feel."
“You have no idea how I feel.”
She sighed and sat back on the couch. I was wondering why exactly she was here and how she even knew where I lived when she said, “Umm, Abike actually forgot her bracelet here yesterday.” I didn't say anything and she went on to say, “She begged me to come over and help her get it.”

I remembered seeing something golden underneath my desk while cleaning the room earlier, but I had thought it was one of my watches. I went to the spot and pulled out the bracelet. Memories of us making out on the desk yesterday flashed through my mind and I shook the thought away. Without saying a word I walked over to where Ejiro was seated and handed the bracelet over to her. She said “thank you,” put it in her handbag but continued to sit there as I headed back to the bed.

The room was silent for a while before she got off the couch and said, “I'm leaving.” I reluctantly got off the bed and walked her to the door. When she got to the door she turned around and asked me, “Are you still coming for my mom's birthday?”
Or shoot! I thought to myself. I had totally forgotten about her mom’s birthday party. “She would really love to see you.”

I wondered why Ejiro would think I wouldn't want to be there, and then it dawned on me. “Is...Is Abike going to be there?” I asked and she nodded. I sighed and thought for a while before saying, “Okay. I'll be there.” She smiled and turned around to open the door. She walked out the door and turned around one more time to say “bye” before walking off. I wanted to walk her to the gate but I was almost certain Abike was waiting in the car outside. I walked back into my apartment and threw myself on the bed. Thoughts of how the afternoon was going to turn out ran through my mind. It sure was going to be an awkward event that's for sure. I thought to myself.

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Re: What's Love (A Romance Novelette By Kayode Odusanya) by kayo80(m): 10:45am On May 21, 2021
As I stated earlier...I plan to post a chapter every 48 hours, or whenever I get 20 likes on the last post/chapter...which ever comes first.

7 Likes

Re: What's Love (A Romance Novelette By Kayode Odusanya) by dammyd46(m): 1:13pm On May 21, 2021
Sir Kay80 �

1 Like

Re: What's Love (A Romance Novelette By Kayode Odusanya) by BigDebbie: 1:52pm On May 21, 2021
Keep it coming

1 Like

Re: What's Love (A Romance Novelette By Kayode Odusanya) by bimberry1307(f): 3:54pm On May 22, 2021
Ann2012 mama for nairaland
Oya come with all your crew. Like the last update make kayo80 update for us biko

1 Like

Re: What's Love (A Romance Novelette By Kayode Odusanya) by OlufemiWhit(m): 9:40pm On May 22, 2021
kayo80:
As I stated earlier...I plan to post a chapter every 48 hours, or whenever I get 20 likes on the last post/chapter...which ever comes first.
20 likes loun loun.....i go dey wait sha

1 Like

Re: What's Love (A Romance Novelette By Kayode Odusanya) by kayo80(m): 11:04pm On May 22, 2021
OlufemiWhit:
20 likes loun loun.....i go dey wait sha

20 is not much jare. Just 8 more likes.
Re: What's Love (A Romance Novelette By Kayode Odusanya) by Ann2012(f): 5:56am On May 23, 2021
bimberry1307:
Ann2012 mama for nairaland
Oya come with all your crew. Like the last update make kayo80 update for us biko

My sister, I dey here oooo

2 Likes

Re: What's Love (A Romance Novelette By Kayode Odusanya) by kayo80(m): 9:44pm On May 23, 2021
Chapter 3
The party was a big one, and I had been able to avoid bumping into Abike so far. There were white canopies scattered all over Tony and Ejiro’s big compound, with people wining and dining underneath them. Their five bedroom brown painted duplex was a modest one, sitting on three plots of land. It had enough space to hold a thousand guests.

The few times I saw Abike from afar, she looked so happy and unscathed; I was the opposite. To calm my nerves I started drinking a lot. Normally, I would be done drinking with two bottles of Guinness stout in my system, but at the moment I was on my third bottle and was about to go and get the fourth bottle. 

Look at her feeling fly with the weaveon I bought her, I thought to myself as I took a sip from my drink. Tony followed my gaze from where he sat and saw I had been looking at her. “Bro, you need to control yourself.” When I didn't say anything or look in his direction he went on to say, “Don't kill yourself over a woman. Besides, it's not like you guys were dating. This was inevitable." 

Tony was right; she never agreed to be with just me. But it still hurt so much because I felt she had fallen in love with me over time. How can she make love to me one day, and the next day she decides to end what we had together? I thought to myself as I took the last content from my bottle and headed for the main house. I greeted a few of their family friends I was familiar with and when I walked into the kitchen I was face to face with Abike. "Hi." She said and tried to avoid eye contact with me as she walked out the kitchen. I instinctively grabbed her upper arm and slowly pulled her back. "Olumide, I told you..." 
"How can you just forget all the good times we had, just like that." I said, cutting her off. 
She sighed before saying, "please let go of my arm." When I did, she just walked away. I stood in the same spot for some minutes before walking over to the refrigerator. I pulled out one can of Guinness stout, shot the fridge and reopened it to pull out another. 

I heard Tony's mom's voice on the way out of the kitchen and quickly hid the two cans in my jeans pocket. "Happy birthday ma!" I said with a big smile on my face. She was already heading up the stairs and she turned around to look at me. “Hey, Olumide, so you are around and you haven't come to spray me money?” She said before continuing her ascent up the stairs. Before I could think of what to say, she was out of sight. 

I was about to pull out my drinks from my pocket when I heard footsteps coming from above. I looked up and saw Ejiro coming down the stairs. She looked really elegant and a bit older than usual in the native attire she had on. “Hey what's up? Do you need anything?" I shook my head but she walked up to me anyway. She had high heels on stood a few inches taller than me. “Are you okay?” She asked and stared at me. 

“I'm fine.” I said and held up the beads she had around her neck. “Like how much does this cost?”
“What?” She said and laughed lightly. “How much have you had to drink Olu?” 
I just opened my eyes wide and said nothing. “Ejiro!” Her mom shouted from upstairs.
“Yes ma! I'm coming mom.” She said to her mom but didn't leave the spot. Her eyes were on me, searching my soul as if trying to figure out if I would be of any trouble later on. 
“I'll see you later.” I said to her in a low voice and headed for the door.

Outside was lively; loud afro beats music playing from big speakers with some people dancing, and some drinking. I located my table around the side of the house. Someone had taken my seat next to Tony and they were talking soccer, which I didn't have interest in. Besides, I didn't know more than half of Tony's new friends anyway, so I wondered off to the back of the house.

Cooking was still ongoing. I grabbed a chair, sat under a coconut tree and watched three men working on skinning a goat with hot water and a razorblade. There were a couple of women next to them turning a big pot of Jollof rice. I thought of how skilled they must be to know the exact amount of salt and spices to put in the large pot of rice. The sweet aroma coming from there got me hungry. I was sipping my Guinness thinking where to get a plate of rice when I saw Abike near the kitchen entrance, talking to a guy. I wouldn't have really cared if it was a random guy I didn't know, but it was Sesan, one of Tony's friends I didn't like. The guy drove a Mercedes Benz G Wagon, had a duplex on the island and felt everyone else was beneath him. He once made fun of me for driving a 2003 C Class Benz. He said his dad drove it while he was in secondary school. Everyone at the table had laughed at the joke, and I hated him with a passion since then. 

Abike was laughing at something he had said and it made me angrier. I took down the content of my can, crushed it, tossed it to the side and opened the second one. The sound the can made when it hit concrete must have gotten her attention, because she turned around and saw me. Our eyes met. She looked away slowly. She must have told the guy something afterwards because they disappeared into the house. My gaze went back to the men skinning the ram. They had set the ram on fire. Wind was blowing smoke in my direction and I knew it was time to leave the place. As I walked back to join the party, the thought of the guy I hated taking Abike home tonight infuriated me. I took down the second can of stout, crushed the can and threw it away as I headed towards the front of the house. I had had enough of this torture. It was time to head home.
I didn't plan on telling anyone I was leaving as it would ruin the fun for them. But as i walked passed the table Tony and his friends were I saw Abike and the guy approaching. Immediately she saw me, she whispered something to the guy and walked away. The guy looked at me with a smirk on his face. It made my blood boil and as I passed by him I hit him hard with my shoulder.
"Bro, what the..." He said as he turned around to look at me. He was well over 6 foot tall and buff. In a physical fight, he would beat me easily, but I was too pissed and wasn't reasoning logically. I just wanted him to make a move towards me so I could unleash all my anger on him.

I saw anger take over him as he sized me up and just as he made a move to hit me, Ejiro came between us. The guy kept repeating the words, "what the Bleep" as Ejiro pushed him away. Music was loud but people had now caught wind of what was going on and Tony and his guys had gotten off their table to intervene. They pulled the guy to the side to ask what was going and Ejiro approached me. From the corner of my eye I could see Abike standing under a canopy to my left with her hands folded, shaking her head at me. 

"Come, let's go inside." Ejiro said. Reluctantly, I followed her as she pulled me along. We hadn't gone far when I heard the guy say out loud, "this stupid 190 Benz guy is testing me." I lost all control, pulled away from Ejiro's grip and charged towards the guy. People had been all over the guy listening to his explanation of what was going on and a couple of those guys lipped forward to stop my charge. They pulled me away in the opposite direction.

"Olu, are you dey mad? You wan fight because of girl?" Tony said in broken English as he approached me. "You wan scatter my mama party because of woman?" It wasn't my wish to disrupt his mom's party, but it was what it was. They kept pulling me away from the guy, and my blood kept boiling as the guy kept saying very derogative things about me. As they pulled me off I got a glimpse of Ejiro's and the look of disappointment on her face broke my heart. 

When we got to the front of the house, I shook Tony's hand, apologized to him and told him I had to go. He reluctantly said okay and let me go. I hurried out of the compound, not wanting to run into his mom or anyone I knew. I was approaching my car when I heard footsteps behind me. I turned around fast enough to see the guy's face before the blow connected with the left side of my face. It felt like my jaw had shifted as i fellI to the ground from the impact of the punch. The guy and his friends started kicking me. I just held my head to protect my face. The kicking stopped after a while and they hurried off. 

I didn't know if it was out of shame or just pure weakness, but I lay there on the ground for about a minute till someone helped me up. It was one of the men that had been roasting the ram in the backyard. He spoke Yoruba, asking what happened as he helped me over to a Bench by the gate of the house. My jaw, shoulders and ribs hurt so bad. I dusted the sand off my body and looked around for my car; it was just a few meters in from of me. When the guy said he was going to call Tony to come and assist me, I walked over to my car quickly. I was in so much physical pain, I wasn't about to add emotional pain to it. 

I got in my car and sat in it silently for a minute, going through all that had happened in the last 24 hours. A tear rolled down my cheek. Just then, I saw Ejio approaching. I quickly wiped the tears off, I started the car and drove out of the dead-end street in reverse gear.

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Re: What's Love (A Romance Novelette By Kayode Odusanya) by kayo80(m): 9:45pm On May 23, 2021
Chapter 4 is dropping in 48 hours...or when chapter 3 gets 20 likes.

1 Like

Re: What's Love (A Romance Novelette By Kayode Odusanya) by dammyd46(m): 10:09am On May 24, 2021
@Kayo80 na baba for this thing.

1 Like

Re: What's Love (A Romance Novelette By Kayode Odusanya) by kayo80(m): 10:57am On May 24, 2021
dammyd46:
@Kayo80 na baba for this thing.

Thanks for the compliment...I appreciate.

To all the readers of this story, 16 more likes on chapter 3 will get you chapter 4 instantly.

2 Likes

Re: What's Love (A Romance Novelette By Kayode Odusanya) by Ann2012(f): 7:53pm On May 24, 2021
Thanks for the update boss

Olumide shouldn’t have reacted that way at the party.... he really let the breakup get to him

2 Likes

Re: What's Love (A Romance Novelette By Kayode Odusanya) by OlufemiWhit(m): 9:39pm On May 24, 2021
Kay dey write sha

2 Likes

Re: What's Love (A Romance Novelette By Kayode Odusanya) by drewsman: 7:44am On May 25, 2021
IMO, that guy is too emotionally unstable, he is not even dating this girl officially yet.

4 more likes to chapter 4, my people please do the needful.

3 Likes

Re: What's Love (A Romance Novelette By Kayode Odusanya) by froze6(m): 11:14am On May 25, 2021
drewsman:
IMO, that guy is too emotionally unstable, he is not even dating this girl officially yet.

4 more likes to chapter 4, my people please do the needful.
If to say we fit do multiple likes.

1 Like

Re: What's Love (A Romance Novelette By Kayode Odusanya) by kayo80(m): 11:47am On May 25, 2021
froze6:
If to say we fit do multiple likes.

Lol! 3 more likes to go before I drop chapter 4.
Re: What's Love (A Romance Novelette By Kayode Odusanya) by drewsman: 2:29pm On May 25, 2021
froze6:
If to say we fit do multiple likes.
I dey tell you

1 Like

Re: What's Love (A Romance Novelette By Kayode Odusanya) by OlufemiWhit(m): 8:14pm On May 25, 2021
E don enter 20 likes oooo

1 Like

Re: What's Love (A Romance Novelette By Kayode Odusanya) by kayo80(m): 8:32pm On May 25, 2021
OlufemiWhit:
E don enter 20 likes oooo

Nepa is frustrating me here o. Since morning, no light, and my gen is bad. Once they restore power, I will post cos my laptop battery is completely dead. All I need to do is just copy and paste o.

1 Like

Re: What's Love (A Romance Novelette By Kayode Odusanya) by OlufemiWhit(m): 9:57pm On May 25, 2021
kayo80:


Nepa is frustrating me here o. Since morning, no light, and my gen is bad. Once they restore power, I will post cos my laptop battery is completely dead. All I need to do is just copy and paste o.
i dey with you bro......

1 Like

Re: What's Love (A Romance Novelette By Kayode Odusanya) by kayo80(m): 1:19pm On May 26, 2021
Chapter 4

The days that followed were gloomy. I didn't want to talk to anyone, so I kept my phones off. I went to work, did everything on autopilot, came back home and drank myself to sleep. More than just being heartbroken, I was pissed at myself. I hated myself for spiraling out of control at the party. I wished I could turn back the hands of time; maybe I wouldn't have attended the party at all. After hours of introspection, I concluded within myself that the way I was reacting to Abike’s decision to cut me off had more to do with my financial status than the love or lust I had for her. I hadn’t been doing as well as I used to financially because I had been transferred to another department at my office. My income dropped, but the responsibilities I had were the same. As the first child, I was taking care of my siblings and my parents. This had taken a toll on my lately.

A week had gone by and the only person I had spoken to was Tony. I just had to apologize again because I was feeling guilty of disrupting his mom's party over a girl. I didn't tell him about being ambushed by his friends outside the party. There was no need escalating things any further. He had a bound with them that I didn’t want to mess with. Plus I had started the fight, so maybe I needed that beating. It sure gave me a lot of clarity.

Sitting on my bed with my back on the wall, I moved my lower jaw here and there to check if the pain was still there; it was gone. The first few days were hell. Even with the drugs I had gotten from the pharmacy store on my street, I still felt pains all over my body for days. The pains in my shoulders and ribs disappeared after the first day, but the jaw pain lingered. I was contemplating going to the hospital to have it checked out, till the pain disappeared yesterday. Now, I could say I was fully healed.

I was about to head over to the wall and turn on the switch for the TV when I heard a knock at the door. I stayed still and hoped whoever it was would go away after a while. One of my neighbor's had come over yesterday to let me know there was an ongoing donation to fix the generator set the whole house used since the landlord didn't want to have it fixed. I had given him the money right away because I didn't want him coming back. I hope the speed at which I gave him the money didn't make him make up a bogus claim to get some more money from me. I thought to myself. He didn't seem like one who would do that, but you never can tell with people sometimes.

The knocking stopped after a few minutes, and I waited a while before heading to the door. I turned the key gently and slowly opened the door, only to be met by Ejiro's smiley face. She had a black skirt suit on like she was coming from a corporate gathering. I wanted to get angry, but instead I smiled at how mischievous she looked. Plus, it was cool to see that someone genuinely cared enough to actually come over to my house.

I forced a frown and asked, “Are you looking for an anklet this time?” She laughed and I stepped aside to let her in. “Sorry my apartment is a mess.” I said as I rushed to pick up my polo top from the couch she was about to sit on. She just smiled as she took her seat and crossed her legs. I sat on the bed, a few feet from the couch and her eyes went straight to the cut on the upper part of my left cheek. There was concern in her eyes. “I hit my face on the wall in the dark a few nights ago.” I said to answer the question she had on her mind. I knew she didn't believe me. “Did Abike ask you to come and see how I am doing?” I said jokingly. She smiled.
“I came because I was feeling guilty.” She saw the confusion in my eyes and continued with, "I shouldn't have urged you to come for the party."
"Oh."
"Yeah, it was a recipe for disaster." A few seconds of silence went by before she went on to say, "I heard...I heard you got beat up."
I looked away when she said that. It was a blow to my ego and I felt uncomfortable hearing her say it. "Did Tony hear that too?"
"I don't think so. I saw you driving away that day, and asked someone close by what had happened."
"And you didn't tell Tony about it?"
"No." She said and looked at me trying to see if I believed her. "You know Tony and his friends...they...they are in the bird gang and I don't like to meddle in their issues."
"Okay."
"Did you go to the hospital?"
"No."
She got off the couch and came to sit next to me on the bed. "Are you sure it wasn't infected?" She said as she stared closely at my face injury.
"It wasn't a deep cut, more like a scratch. And the guy at the pharmacy gave me antibiotics." When she was done examining the injury, she realized how close she was to me on the bed and moved a few inches away. Her eyes started wondering around my room and they settled on the empty cans of Guinness under my reading table. She looked at me with a smile and I laughed lightly. "Do you want one? I still have a 6 pack in the fridge."
"No thank you." She said as she got of off the bed. "I have to go now. It's good to see you're in good spirit."
I walked behind her as she headed for the door, holding back the urge to ask her to stay a little longer. I hadn't realized how much I craved human interaction till she showed up. She opened the door, stepped out and turned around to face me. "Please turn on your phones so you don't have people worried." I nodded. The way she said it I knew she was trying to say Abike was also worried. "Okay. Bye."
"Thanks for coming around. I appreciate it."
She smiled and said "Take care" before walking off.

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Re: What's Love (A Romance Novelette By Kayode Odusanya) by kayo80(m): 1:20pm On May 26, 2021
Sorry the delay guys. There is still no power...I had to go somewhere to charge. Chapter 5 will be posted when I get 20 likes on chapter 4...or in 48 hours time.
Re: What's Love (A Romance Novelette By Kayode Odusanya) by kayo80(m): 6:55pm On May 26, 2021
Wow! 13 likes already. Nice. 7 likes to go for chapter 5
Re: What's Love (A Romance Novelette By Kayode Odusanya) by Haryomhide1(m): 11:39pm On May 26, 2021
It is now 20 ooh
Re: What's Love (A Romance Novelette By Kayode Odusanya) by kayo80(m): 4:56am On May 27, 2021
Haryomhide1:
It is now 20 ooh

Okay. Chapter 5 coming right up.
Re: What's Love (A Romance Novelette By Kayode Odusanya) by Ann2012(f): 4:58am On May 27, 2021
Well done OP

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Re: What's Love (A Romance Novelette By Kayode Odusanya) by kayo80(m): 4:58am On May 27, 2021
Chapter 5
After church service the next day, I finally took time to clean my apartment. The visit from Ejiro had jolted me back to life, I wanted to live again and start afresh. The cleaning took longer than I had thought it would, but I felt real great when I was done. I had read somewhere that your outside reflected your inner being and I was starting to believe that now. I felt a lot better inside after cleaning my apartment.

As much as I enjoyed staying on my own, I sometimes crave human interaction. This was one of the reasons why I agreed to the complicated relationship with Abike. I didn't care if she saw other guys, as long as she was there for me when I needed her. And she really was there. I shook my head to shake off the thought of her and got off my bed. I grabbed my car keys and headed out the door.
..........

One of my favorite things to do had always been to go to the beach and and seat by the water alone. Being close to nature had a magical way of clearing my head and helping me figure my next move. Plus, I always love being in the midst of a lot of positivity; you hardly find sad people at the beach.

With my jeans rulled up a few folds, I was sitting on the high part of the beach, where the waves don't reach, looking straight ahead. The waves came and went, with some people swimming against it, and others running off when the it came in. The wind made a humming sound in my ear as it blew in from the water; it also had the sky blue short sleeve shirt I had on constantly making a wavy movement.

I felt the ground shaking at a steady rhythm and when I looked to my right, there was a man riding a horse approaching. I got our of the way, moving further away from the beach.

Now I was close to the tents and where people sat to drink and eat. I was going deep into my thought again when i felt eyes burning into my skin. I looked to the right and saw a light skinned girl staring at me. She smiled and looked away. The girl had on a black swimsuit, and a straw hat to hold her hair in place. From the corner of my eye, I saw her look in my direction again. She stared at me for a few seconds before getting up, dusting sand off her butt and walking off towards the tents.

I was tempted to look back at her, but then she might think I was looking to checkout her figure, so I looked up ahead. The sun had dipped a little lower in the horizon, and it reminded me of time. Footsteps behind me derailed my train of thought and just as I was about to turn around and see who was approaching, two hands covered my eyes. The person didn't talk, but from the soft texture of the palms and the sweet smelling perfume, I could tell it was a female.
"Guess." She said...limiting her speech to make it harder for me to tell who it was.
"Ejiro." I said and she waited a few seconds longer before removing her hand and sitting next to me.
"How did you know it was me?"
"I guess I am good with voices." I said and admired the blue floral kimono she had on. It covered parts of her body the white spaghetti top and blue bum shorts she was wearing underneath it would have revealed. "What are you doing here?"
"What are you doing here...all by yourself." She said and I laughed lightly. I looked towards the beach and was silent. "I came with a couple of my friends from my neighborhood. One of them recognized you."
"Oh...I see." I said and turned around to scan the place.
"Don't worry; she isn't here."
"Okay." I said but still scanned the place to be sure Abike wasn't there. "Did you guys bring food?" I asked with a smile on my face.
"Yes, but I am not giving you." I frowned and she went on to say, "I'm just kidding." She got up and straightened out her kimono. "Jollof rice and chicken or with beef?"
"With chicken." I said, looking up at her from where I sat as the wind blew through her hair.
"Okay. I'll be right back." She said before heading to the tents. I turned around and watched her walk away for a few seconds before facing the beach again. The sun had dipped some more and it hard started getting dark. I still marvelled at how the shirtless guy was able to maneuver in the water with the high waves.

My mouth had started watering in anticipation of the food Ejiro was bringing over and I turned around to see if she was on her way. I scanned the whole place and didn't see her anywhere. I turned back around and started to play with the white sea shells beside me in the sand. A few seconds went by and I heard footsteps approaching. "Sorry we don't have beer." She said as she attempted to seat on the sand beside me, with a pack of rice in one hand bottle water in the other. I took the rice out of her had and she was able to use that hand to balance herself as she sat next to me, then she handed over the water.
"Two chicken laps. Nice." I said as I opened the pack. "Your friends didn't have any problem with you giving me these?"
"Well, I cooked it."
"Oh! Nice."
"There is more if you want."
With a chicken lap in my hand, and a mouth full of rice I said, "Hmm...let's wait and see."
She sat there quietly while I devoured the food.
I could feel her eyes burning into me as I ate the rice and I was about to ask what was on her mind when she said, "How bad did it hurt when that guy punched you?"
"What?" I said and turned to look at her with a spoon full of rice in my mouth.
"At my mom's birthday party..."
"Oh! That. Not really." I said and chewed the food in my mouth before going on to say, "Okay, I'm going to be honest, the punch hurt like crazy." She started laughing and I went on to say, "I thought I was going to pass out. I don't know they keep fighting in movies after getting punched in the face."
"Please stop..." She said between laughs. "You're killing me." She was laughing so hard I had to laugh at myself too. We were still laughing when someone called out her name. I turned around and saw the girl from earlier waving Ejiro over. "I'll be right back." She said as she got up and walked off, still laughing.
I was done with the food and now was drinking water as I watched people start to slowly reduce at the beach. Normally I would be leaving around this time, but I felt like staying till the nightcrawlers came out to play.
"Hey, we're leaving." Ejiro said as she approached me. "Do you want more food?"
"Umm... I'm okay. Thanks. I said and watched her walk backwards. I wanted to ask her to stay, but it would have been awkward with her friends waiting for her. I waved at her and said, "Thanks for the food and the company."
"Okay. See ya." She said and turned around to walk over to join her friends. She had made my day, but she was gone and I became sad for a minute. I pulled out my phone, went to Google play store. I typed in Tinder, and installed the dating app. After going through the profile of a few dark skinned girls of my preference, I exited the app, uninstalled it and sighed. I never liked online dating or hookups, and I always regretted it when I tried it out. I put my phone back in my pocket and was preparing to leave when I heard footsteps behind me. "I don't feel like leaving just yet." She said with a smile on her face and two canned drinks in her hand. She handed me the Guinness Stout and held on to the can malt drink.
"What of your friends?"
"They're gone. I'll take a Uber ride home." She said as she sat next to me on the sand.
"Okay."
We opened the can drinks at the same time and it made her laugh. A few minutes of silence went by before she asked, "So how are you?" It was dark now, a full moon was out and I could see the genuine look of concern on her face. I knew where that question had come from.
"I'm okay."
"Are you sure?"
"Sure am sure." I said and took a sip from my can. I looked straight ahead for a few seconds before turning to look at her and saying, "Wait, do you think I'm planning on drowning myself or something?" When she didn't say anything, I said, "Are you serious" and laughed lightly.
"Well, I did meet you by the beach alone, looking sad."
After a long silence I said, "Ejiro, I'm over your friend. I just came here to relax and clear my head."
"Okay."
"I get lonely sometimes though."
"Well that's understandable. You're human."
"Maybe you can introduce me to one of your friends."
"Umm...I'm not sure that would be a good idea."
I smiled before saying, "You're right." I guzzled down a large portion of my beer because of what I was about to say next. "What about you?"
"What about me?"
I put my drink in my left hand and tangled my right hand in hers. "I've always had feelings for you Ejiro."
"Stop playing around." She said but didn't disentangle her hand from mine.
"I'm serious." I said slowly and brought our entangled hands close to me. I kissed the back of her hand gently while looking straight at her. I could see in her eyes she felt the same about me, but wasn't sure how serious i was. I leaned in to kiss her, and for a split second I felt her contemplate pulling back, but she stopped and let me kiss her. I kissed her gently for a few seconds and pulled back to look into her eyes before leaning in to kiss her again. This time, she kissed me back.

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Re: What's Love (A Romance Novelette By Kayode Odusanya) by kayo80(m): 4:59am On May 27, 2021
I will post chapter 6 when chapter 5 gets 20 likes.

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