~~~

The days ran by quickly. Mr. and Mrs. Innoson were barely around; I only saw them in the evenings some days. Nathaniel, on the other hand, was completely absent, like he had gone on vacation somewhere else. I hated how it made me feel a bit sad. My only company was Emma, and the numerous books in the library.

According to Emma, Nathaniel's grandfather was a book lover and read books by authors from around the world. My routine for the past six days was to wake up as early as I could, clean up, take a shower, eat, and then head off to the library to spend my entire day.

A lot of people would find this boring, but I loved it. It was exciting to read something new every day. Today was just like the others. I spent my entire day reading "The Trials of Brother Jero" by Wole Soyinka. It was a complex book about religion and hypocrisy, and I loved it. I had never read anything written by Wole Soyinka, despite how popular and famous his works were.

Looking at the huge wall clock above one of the tall shelves to my right, I decided I had read enough for one day. Leaving the library, I shut the door behind me. It was 11:21 pm, and I had yet to eat dinner. Emma had come to ask me earlier, but I was too engrossed in the book to pause to eat.

Deciding it would be unfair to wake her by this hour, I made my way to the kitchen to make something to eat. I checked my Nokia mobile phone for messages from my mom, but with each press of the scroll button, I realized Glo network was the only one that had bothered to message me for the day. I cleared their messages, which summed up to thirteen, reminding me that my airtime bundle had expired.

I sighed.

At that moment, I bumped into someone. I grabbed my forehead with a frown. Moving backward, I realized it was Nathaniel. We stood frozen, equally startled, our eyes locked.

"Hey," Nathaniel said softly, breaking the silence.

"Hey," I replied, still processing his sudden appearance.
Where had he come from?

An awkward moment passed, neither of us speaking.

"Okay, welcome..."

"What brings you up?"

We said in unison.

"I forgot to eat dinner," I answered, pocketing my phone. "I want to make something."

Nathaniel chuckled. "Who forgets to eat?"

My cheeks flushed. "I... I was busy in the library."

"Reading?"

"Yes."

Nathaniel stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Not sure your kind of books are in there."

My eyes widened, and my cheeks flushed harder. His eyes twinkled in enjoyment.

"Just because you seized one of the novels I was reading doesn't mean you know my reading preference." I retorted.

" Really?" He challenged taking a treacherous step closer.

It had to be ovulation overriding my senses because as his scent wafted into my nostrils I forgot what I wanted to say. All I could focus on was he had taken out his braids, styling his natural curly hair in a messy bun. His face was perfection as always, he had traces of stubble growing, and God, he was tall.

"Olivia," he called, pulling me out of my ogling.

I blinked, my heart pounding in embarrassment. "Yes... I ... Just because... The thing is you... You know nothing about my preference."

He nodded slowly like he had understood my gibberish.

I wanted the ground to open up and swallow me whole.

"So what were you reading?" He asked still standing close.

I wanted to step back, but his amber eyes pinned me in place. It reminded me of the moment we shared the last time we had dinner. It was nerve-wracking but so exciting.

"Wole Soyinka," I managed to say. "The trails of Brother Jero, and it's not smutty."

Nathaniel nodded slowly again, carefully considering each word. " I apologize," he said, then a wolfish smile appeared on his face, and I knew he wasn't sorry. " It's obvious you're not just interested in what gets you wet. My bad."

My head rang, my eyes widened, and my cheeks exploded. Seeing he had gotten the reaction he wanted – my utter and complete embarrassment – he took a step back, leaving me opening and closing my mouth like a fish out of water.

"I don't get wet," I whispered.

The expression on his face made me wish I hadn't voiced my thoughts. It was as if he was thinking, envisioning me, wet. The atmosphere became thick, and without realizing it, I took several steps back.

"Blood of Jesus! Blood of Jesus! Blood of Jesus! Blood of Jesus!" I chanted, snapping my fingers in rebuke.

He laughed deeply, a sound I'd never heard before. Not even at dinner, when everyone had laughed. He had been moody all night long.

I stopped my chant to look at him; his head tilted back, his Adam's apple bobbing as he laughed. His laughter filled the entryway, and he looked unusually carefree, as if a burden had been lifted. Despite my embarrassment, I found myself smiling.

His laughter finally died down. "You're quite the character, Olivia," he said.

I couldn't stop smiling even though I wanted to. "I'm hungry, Nathan. Excuse me."

He gestured toward the kitchen. "Let's make you something. Actually, I'll make my signature late-night noodles."

I paused. "You can cook?"

His smirk was instinctive. "I can do a lot of things, Olivia."

My mind wandered to inappropriate thoughts. This was going to be a long night. I blew my cheeks out.

~~~
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