She Fell in Love…With Her Best Friend
Image: Rawpixel It all started like a bad joke in a boring movie. Kayla had gone to see her boyfriend when she bumped into him. He was tall and big; exactly how she liked her men. She smiled and said hello. He did the same. As she walked past him, she mentally noted that his voice was soft, smooth…almost like he was shy. Her boyfriend introduced them later. Terver. Terver Aondowase. Like she would remember the last name. What she did remember was the array of books in his livingroom. ‘Oh my God! Your Deen Koontz’s collection is legit!’ she said as she caressed his books. Then she remembered. He was a stranger! And she just acted a fool. She blushed clear to her thick afro roots and pulled her hands back to herself. ‘It is okay. Big fan?’ Kayla nodded shyly. Kayla’s boyfriend saw the exchange, looked from one to the other and declared, ‘You book lovers amaze me. Please, before you cum all over his books, come and be going oh!’ Kayla laughed. So did Terver. They were embarrassed; but not for themselves. Kayla took ‘One Door Away From Heaven’, looked at it longingly and returned it to the shelf. ‘You could borrow it if you want. You just have to promise to return it in one piece.’ ‘Don’t give her. She is control spoil. She will return your book in tatters.’ And though Kayla’s boyfriend was right, she gave him a stink look and turned to Terver. ‘I promise to take care of your book if you promise to allow me access to all of them.’ Terver smiled and nodded. As Kayla walked out of the room, she couldn’t have been happier. It wasn’t until she got outside that she remembered her manners. She rushed back into the compound, went to Terver’s flat and knocked. ‘May I have your number? I mean…you just gave me your book without guaranteeing you can get it back. How many books have you lost this way?’ came tumbling out as soon as he opened the door. Terver smiled. He took out his phone and gave her. She dialed her number and returned his phone to him. ‘We will be fast friends, Terver.’ And she was gone. And soon they were. It started with a private message she sent to him. Soon they were talking about any and everything. Their conversations were easy, free flowing and, if Kayla admitted to herself, a battle of wits. He was painfully sarcastic and she was titillated by his intelligence. They spoke every day; first thing in the morning and last thing before they slept. And though they only saw each other once in a while, they couldn’t be any closer. Then one day she texted him; or more appropriately, sexted. It was supposed to be a battle of wits. They had to continue each sentence with the last word from the other person. Whoever got stuck first, lost, and had to forfeit something valuable. When they started, it was fun. Then it wasn’t. Kayla felt the moisture pool in her nether region as the sexts became raunchier. She could barely breathe with how much she wanted him. But he was her friend! When did this move from playful banter to full blown sexual awakening? ‘I yield. You, dear sir, are too much for me and if I continue, I may have to jump you physically. I declare you the winner. Your intelligence turns me on.’ ‘Sapiosexual.’ ‘Huh?’ Kayla wondered what he was about. ‘Sapiosexual. Turned on by intelligence. That is what you are.’ And Kayla knew Terver was right. ‘Can I be real with you?’ she typed, anticipating his response. ‘Always.’ ‘I think we crossed an unwritten line.’ ‘I think so too.’ ‘So are we going to…?’ ‘Do you want to?’ Kayla breathed in deeply and let it out slowly. A minute passed as she stared at her phone. Their sync was so good that they didn’t need to spell out what they saying. That, more than anything else, scared her. ‘Yes.’ *** Two years after they slept together, they were still friends. Best friends now. They shared everything and were each other’s support system. Once in a while, they flirted and sexted but it was more for fun than anything else. Kayla however began to notice that Terver became a bit withdrawn. The calls began to dwindle and when they did talk, he sounded cool; no…cold. She tried to get him to talk but he wasn’t forthcoming. So she gave him space. The first full day they didn’t speak to each other was torture for Kayla. She wanted to pull her hair out. She wanted to drop her pride and call him. She wanted to connect in whatever way. But she stayed resolute. And then it started. One day became a week. A week a month. A month two years. Then he called her. ‘Who is this?’ like she had not memorized his number. ‘Terver. Can we talk?’ *** He was dating someone. Had been all the time they were friends. That was not news to Kayla; she had been dating someone too. Though he loved his girlfriend, he had fallen for Kayla. And though he loved her, they couldn’t be together. She was what he wanted, but his girlfriend was what he needed. She fit the life his parents chose for him; a choice he had to get on board with because it was his duty. For them, marriage was not about love but about solidifying empires. ‘But I didn’t ask you to marry me! We weren’t even dating. Why would you think I would want that?’ ‘Because eventually, it would have gone there.’ ‘No. I wanted my friend! That is all. You were my best friend, my confidante, my support system. We may have had sex – ONCE – but you were my friend! And you left.’ And he did leave. To protect her. His father had sent him a tape with a note. ‘You know what to do.’ The tape
The Truest Manifestation of Love 2
Black Couple SleepingImage: Daily News Ever story has at least two sides. Every action has at least two reactions. The first was here. This is the second. The moment Otobrise walked into the house, Tracy Wayemi knew something was wrong. He was mechanical and her husband was never that. They had been married for two years and had dated for a year before tying the knot and starting their forever. Because he was such an open book with her, Tracy knew what almost every expression, nuance or tic meant. At this moment however, she couldn’t place what brought on his mask. She watched him over dinner, her mind’s eye taking note of every action as he pretended to concentrate on his food. ‘Are you okay?’ Otobrise looked up and smiled. His smile didn’t reach his eyes and he was quick to drop them back to his plate. ‘Just a weird day at the office. I will be fine.’ Tracy looked at him. She could bet her life that his work had nothing to do with his demeanor. There was something almost…guilty about his entire look. She could press and find out but she wasn’t going to that. Instead, she got up, cleared the table and took off her clothes. She watched her husband watch her as she tentatively got on the table and laid down spread eagled. ‘You need some cheering up. So… dessert is served.’ *** Tracy knew she was losing her husband. Oh! He was still the caring, awesome husband he has always been but something was way off. She couldn’t help but remember when it all began. Was it three weeks already? Three weeks since she sat in the crook of her husband’s arm and heard his heart rhythm tell her he was distracted and pensive? She had taken his hand in hers and rubbed it, gentle asking if he was okay. ‘Just a hectic day at the office. We started training the new anchors for ‘The Deal’ and it was a bit grueling. There are five girls – five green girls – who have to be whipped to global standard before their debut in a month. I love working with professionals who already know what to do but you know Shade now; always insisting on making people stars.’ She had smiled and kissed him, trying to draw the tiredness from his body into hers. She broke the kiss and looked at him. ‘Well, if she isn’t that way, you wouldn’t be the ace producer you are now. Would you?’ He had smiled and looked away and that was the moment she knew there was a problem beyond what he was saying. She got her confirmation last night though. When she got naked and laid on the table, there had been that slight hesitation that had never happened before. It was almost like…like he didn’t want to… but the moment passed. He made love to her; slowly, gently and satisfactorily. As she moaned from ecstasy when they climaxed, she couldn’t help but wonder if she was the one Otobrise just had sex with And for the first time in their life together, Otobrise slept with his back to her. *** Tracy stared at Mairo and Bose. She saw their expressions and watched their lips move but she just wasn’t getting what they were saying. ‘….beat the crap out of her…’ ‘…mess up her face so she is never on…’ ‘….never to date a married man in her miserable…’ Yes. That was it. Her husband was having an affair with Tolani Davidson. He hid it well but Tracy found out anyway. Tolani had become one of the more popular faces on TV and was now everyone’s favorite ‘IT’ girl. ‘The Deal’ was doing so well and raking in so much money that Otobrise had been bumped to Program Director at the station. What she thought was him spending more time at work turned out to be him spending more time with Tolani. Tracy was shocked that the affair hadn’t become public yet. They were two high profile people so how were they keeping it secret? ‘Tra…cy! Snap out of it and let’s do something!’ Tracy smiled…or the distortion that passed for that. Typical Mairo; her ride-or-die bestie wanted violence. ‘I am with Mairo on this Trace. We could leak the news and have her fans vilify her but that would serve to hurt you in the long run. So how about we get some hoodlums to rough her up a bit…’ ‘And rape some sense into her…’ ‘Mario!’ Tracy and Bose shouted. ‘What?! I don’t tolerate rape but she deserves it! How is she comfortable having sex with a married man?! And remember how she was nice to you at their premiere party?!’ Mario calmed down a bit. ‘You think it has been going on since then?’ Tracy’s lips quivered. She didn’t think; she knew Otobrise and Tolani had been dating for a little over eight months. That thought was finally her undoing. She crumpled into a heap of palpable sorrow and let the tears finally fall. Mairo and Bose rushed to her and held her. They enveloped her in their warmth and they cried together. Mairo kept saying she would make Tolani pay but even she had lost her gusto. When they were cried out, Tracy cleaned her face on the edge of Otobrise’s shirt she was wearing and breathed out. ‘I am finally pregnant girls.’ And they started crying again. *** Tracy swore her friends to secrecy. It was two weeks to Valentine and she would make her announcement then. And no; she wasn’t leaving her husband. Nor was she confronting him about his affair. How could she when she had broken their cardinal trust rule; the ‘no snooping’ rule? And snoop she did. The last eight months had been hell. Otobrise was still the most loving husband but it was routine; robotic even. He was there but not there at the same time. Unlike most cheating men however, he didn’t take long trips
