Nwanyieze's POV:
He looks at me in confusion, brows almost joining together.
"Am I now your driver? What happened to Saheed?"
"Forget Saheed," I reply with a hiss.
"That's no way to abandon your date."
"Jesu, just please take me home na!"
"Is that how you were trained to ask for help? You do know I live at Alausa and you live at Gbagada, right?"
I'm being rude to him, transferring my aggression that's meant for Saheed and I know it. It's unfair of me and I feel remorseful.
"Look, I'm sorry. "
In five seconds I'm out of the car and walking away. A taxi will have to do.
He honks his car horn, but I ignore him and move away from the parking lot.
Maduka's POV:
Of course I was going to drive her home! She ignores the sound of my car horn and continues walking away, and it makes me laugh out loud because the Nwanyieze I knew as a child had stomped away in the same manner whenever she failed to get things done her way.
Turning off my engine, I get out of my car and lock it, and then begin to search for her. I find her standing beside a bus stop shelter by the side of the road, arms crossed with her foot tapping impatiently on the pavement.
"I was calling you to come back," I tell her.
She looks up at me and the light from a nearby streetlight illuminates her face. My imagination takes over, aligning her face with that of a three-year old girl, and I see shocking similarities. Same huge, slanted eyes, and full lips, except for the chubby cheeks.
"Jesus," I murmur.
"What?"
I snap out of it immediately. "Your carriage awaits, oh Queen."
"I don't want to bother anybody."
Too bad, I think. You've bothered me since that first night.
"Oh, no. You're not bothering me. My mother raised me to always help damsels in distress."
She narrows her eyes at me. "I'm no damsel in distress."
"Come jare. Let's go."
Without thinking, I take her hand in mine and start walking. Hers is small compared to my own, and soft as well. The contact feels good, so good that I brush my thumb against the back of her hand absently.
That is when she stops abruptly and pulls away from me.
"I said no."
"You're making me look like a horny guy begging a helpless girl for a round of sex," I point out impatiently.
"That's more reason for you to save your image and just walk away."
"Look, I really want to help you. Regardless of how rude you had been, I would never have turned you down. I'm not that heartless."
I don't like the idea of her out alone at night, and I suppose she had gotten into an argument with Saheed and that was why she had run off.
Did he try a move on her that she didn't like?
"Thanks but no thanks."
"Fine then. I'll wait here for you until you get a cab home."
"Sure thing, Guardian Angel."
The sarcasm makes me smile. I sit underneath the bus stop shelter and watch cars go by.
Ozumba Mbadiwe Avenue is well lit at night, a typical feature of roads on the island. It is home to posh hotels and boutiques to cater for the wealthy. The cars which run along this avenue by this time are mostly the sleek, flashy ones driven by the adventurous partygoers with deep pockets looking for where to spend their money.
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Preordained #ProjectNigeria
RomanceWhen Maduka meets Nwanyieze, he is certain they are meant to be. He knows she is a woman with secrets, but he cannot stay away from her. He also has secrets of his own, of a past that he has been fearing and seeking to confront at the same time... N...
