Ephemeral: lasting for a very short time.

Unknown Number: "Hello, Ma'am. It's been several days since you called and I have been looking forward to hearing from you for days."

Madina: "Hi. Who's this?"

Unknown Number: "A number you called days ago to rant about your day because it makes you feel better. I admire your grit and would like to hear more from you."

Madina: "Oh, sorry. I do not call a number twice for privacy reasons and stuff. Thank you so much for your concern, it means a lot. I won't bother you no more."

Unknown Number: "Don't mention. I'm glad to have helped."

Unknown Number: "I hope I'm not invading but you see, I'm actually amongst the few therapists here in Nigeria. We can work anyhow you like it. I'm very interested in your case even though you want your privacy, I understand that. You can call me whenever you like, talk to me and I won't say a thing. Whenever you feel like you don't want to talk to me anymore, I'll rule down what is it you need. After your last session, there are so many things I want to know about you to be able to come to conclusion."

Madina: "I don't need a therapist. Thanks for the offer though."

Unknown Number: "Mental health is terribly underrated especially here in Nigeria. There are rare mental health professionals here. You need help even though you don't want it. I don't have to know who you are and you won't know me either. And I'm going to work for you for free."

Madina: "Ugh, you sound too persuasive. Alright then, I'll save your number and keep calling. Nothing personal should be involved for you won't know even my name."

Unknown Number: "I can work with that, Miss Anonymous. I look forward to hearing from you."

It was one in the morning when Madina decided that she cannot stay back inside her room and suffocate when she is not ready to talk to her incognito therapist neither can she hibernate. Not after they spoke just few hours ago, she'd or he'd think that she's been waiting for something like this. Free therapy session.

Walking around the room, she took a Burberry short cutolles and shrugged her short legs inside the gaps, slothful hands hanging around the band in exhaustion. She wants to get high or something because it's been a while. She's been celibate and sober for so long that she cannot feel her mind.

She struggled her hands inside a dark ebony tank top across her braless chest then made her way out of the room forgetting to remove the wig she's slept with, it looks filthy. Drunkenly ambling to the kitchen in search of something to drink from the fridge, preferably a wine with alcohol in it.

There was no success in finding the alcoholic wine but there was pure ritzy white wine inside the fridge making her double take. She didn't order that which reminded her that she shares the suite with Bilal. He probably bought it for himself but that didn't stop her from taking the bottle.

The last time she's seen him was two days ago when they went to the Rainbow Mountain and he saved her twice.

The lights were still off throughout the suite so she made her way outside the balcony she's never bothered going to. The vivacious lights outside beckoned her dimmed obtuse ones. If she's going to nurse an expensive bottle of wine, she needs the view of that castle-like hotel they are staying at.

She sat down on one of the chairs there, her feet at the edge, legs propped beneath her chin as she lay her head on her knees looking at the horizon with blank eyes. The sky is lit with stars, twinkling and almost mocking the dullness that surrounded her. Madina cannot believe how bleak she was from within while the stars shine above her. So close yet they've never been so far away.

Deep into her bottle of wine, she heard a movement from beside her and turned around to investigate where it came from. Her tired lackadaisical eyes landed on Bilal's massive figure sitting on the other side of the balcony and it seems like he's been there for quite a while.

Narrowing her eyes at the sight, she took a long gurgle of her wine and continued to watch him. His back was facing her but she could see the orange light that's probably from a cigar in his hand. Apart from not being the gentleman he's made everyone believed he was. He also smokes? Good Lord.

"A gentleman that smokes, huh?" She called out, not able to keep her mouth shut. Why should she even do that?

Bilal wasn't startled at the sound of her thin voice piercing the night to his ear which means he knew she was there. Who came first? Well, it doesn't matter. What matters is that she's caught him smoking in a hotel that has the policy of not smoking in its premises.

He pivoted his chair slightly to face her, the cigarette now in his mouth as he took a long drag. "Any problem?"

"None, boss. Gentlemen don't smoke and hide it away from the public. I always knew you get high on cheap fifty naira weed." She yawed her attention back to the horizon tuning him out but he wasn't done.

"I'm very sure that bottle is mine. What are you doing with it?" Bilal inquired, one last drag at the cigarette and he's over it. He removed another one from the packet and light his zippo.

"What if it is yours?" She slurred, her words crashing against one another as they fought for exit from her lips.

Am I drunk already?

"You stole my wine and that is against the rules of my company." He stated simply as though he was explaining it to a three year old kid.

"Stealing or stealing your wine?" She murmured in a thick voice, her neck lolling from side to side. She's definitely very much drunk now.

"Both."

She whipped her head around to glare at him with defiance, eyes shining with dormant fire that fought its way forth. "And so what? You stole my chicken but did I say anything? Noooo, because I know when not to start unnecessary drama and clearly you don't."

"You're drunk?" Bilal wasn't that surprised that she knew about the chicken. He's suspected that she does since that day at the Rainbow Mountain.

"Nah! There is zero alcohol in this wine, unfortunately. I do want to get high though. Can I have a dwaag from your cigar? I won't finish it, I pwomise." She set her thin lips into a moue that did great deal malicious things to his body.

"That wine has eighty percent of alcohol in it." In a loud voice, Bilal exclaimed while unfolding his height from the chair tossing the rest of his cigarette away.

She could hear the bewilderment, amusement and concern in his voice but it might be the alcohol doing her anyhow. Slowly blinking indolent eyes at him, she gave him a smile that managed to knock him off his equilibrium. Bilal had to hold the rail behind him to steady his weakened knees.

It was the kind of smile a woman might wear in the sultry aftermath of lovemaking. Very few women possessed such effortless sensuality, a natural warmth that made a man feel like a prize stallion on a stud farm.

As though she didn't know what she's done to his mental state and somewhere down south where a certain anatomy is spasmodic, Madina stared at the bottle of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti with a dainty frown between her brows.

In an equally adorable almost angelic tone, she wrinkled her nose and said. "Really? Let me finish it quickly then. I cannot feel the alcohol in my body yet."

She swung the bottle back to her lips, her eyes literally closing in delight as she fancied the expensive drink. Bilal watched her for a few seconds, not knowing what to do and how to react when he's still trying to erase that smile she gave him from his mind.

With a blank expression, he yanked the bottle away from her pouring a little bit of the liquid in his hand. Seeing that, Madina dragged his left arm and started slurping the fluid from there. Bilal's expression closed up. He looks torn and lacerated as he stared at her lips against his hand.

When she started licking the back of his hand up his arm, he wrenched his hand away. "Fucking hell! What the hell are you doing?"

The corners of her mouth quirked up as though she knew what she was doing. She might. She's always been a Lorelei and she won't hesitate to do the same thing just because she's intoxicated. She is Madina Sambo for a reason.

That teasing smile still tilting the edges of her lips, she added a lilt to her tone. "Leave me alone. Why are you such a pest? Bring that hand back here right now!"

Oh, how Bilal wanted to do just that and see how far she was willing to go but he is not about to take advantage of her when she's in this situation. Instead, he dropped the bottle far away from her reach and decided to carry her back inside the suite which she fought against.

Madina is now in his arms for the second time since they met again and he cannot decide which is his favorite. Probably this time around because she is more lax and clearly out of her wits. She curled her arms around his neck while his arms held tightly around her back and behind her knees.

Moseying towards the door that'll lead them back to the suite, Madina dragged her lush body atop his chest and gave him that smile that nearly made him topple them both over. Why does she have this strong power over him? God, he's about to embarrass himself.

Her scent was innocent and homey and appetizing, making his blood surge and his muscles harden in acute yearning.

Bilal's arms went around her, pulling her farther up against him. He smelled delicious, and he was warm and hard beneath the layers of cotton and skin. The soft gust of his breath against her neck was ragged at the finish making Madina's toes to curl affably.

The feel of the cool leather beneath her naked calf and arms had her curling herself into a tight ball. This is not her bedroom, it is the living room couch she's sat on not more than twice. Bilal let her go albeit reluctantly but she drew him back by tightening her grip around his neck.

Closing her eyes, Madina let herself lean against him. When she felt his lips against her shoulder, she couldn't stop herself from letting out a breathy sigh.

How could she not? This is the man that stripped her off her maidenhood. The first man she's ever known.

His lips trailed upwards like a gauzy Tiffany crystalline stroking her. He kissed the side of her throat, working up to the juncture of her neck and jaw. She felt warm from the bottom of her feet to the top of her head. It has always been Bilal that makes her feel this way. No other man could ever have.

She found something surprising in the embrace, a sense of security. They fit nicely together, softness and hardness, pliancy and tension. It seemed that every curve of her was perfectly reconciled with his masculine contours. She wouldn't have minded standing against him, with him, for a while longer.

But even with her buzzed and well stimulated mind, she knew this was wrong on so many levels. Apart from what he's done to her in the past, there is another line they shouldn't bridge or things will forever be different between them. They are now enemies.

Bilal has already shut down his brain the second Madina had dragged him down with her. Even as he kissed her throat with desperate urgency of a high school kid trying out his first kiss, Bilal wanted more. Ah, God help him, he ached for more.

He was dying to put his hands inside her clothes, and feel every inch of her body. He wanted to drag his mouth over her in intimate trails, kiss and taste every part of her. He shouldn't. He should push her away and leave her there to spend the night but he could not bring himself to do that.

Madina responded helplessly, curling her arm around his neck. She moved against him as if sensation were coming from all directions. And it was. They both struggled to press closer, tighter, their bodies pursuing a new and unsteady rhythm on the couch.

Had they not been separated by so many layers of clothing, it would have been outright lovemaking. Or in this case, fucking. Bilal has no patience for the first action when all she's done is tease him from the day they met till date. The mere thought of her makes him go nuts.

Bilal continued to kiss her long after he should have stopped, not only for the sheer pleasure of it, but also because he was reluctant to face what would happen afterward. Their grouchy relationship could not resume as usual after something like this.

It had been set on a new track with an unknown destination, and Bilal was certain that neither of them were going to like where it led. Madina is going to pin everything on him and he will have no other choice but take the blame. He clearly is taking advantage of her.

Finding that he couldn't release her all at once, he did it by degrees, letting his mouth nuzzle the edge of her jaw, following to the vulnerable hollow behind her ear. Her pulse was swift and vibrant against his lips like her breathy sighs. Fuck, this is the hardest thing he's ever done in his entire life.

Her blood surged with startling force, so that all she could hear was its pounding in her ears. Madina gave a whiny groan when she couldn't feel the weight of Bilal against her.

"Come on, you need to sleep. And I hope you won't remember any of this." He murmured the last sentence with great hope or he won't live off this.

"Why should I not remember?" She slurred out, eyes getting heavier by the second while he caress her forehead and cheeks. Madina is purring like a cat.

"I don't know. Maybe because it will change things between us? Or perhaps you'd think I took advantage of you?" He sat more closely beside her on the couch, his hand not leaving her face.

"You did took advantage of me, boss." She stated in a matter of fact tone.

Bilal grimaced at that. She didn't just say that, did she? Now she won't forget it in the morning. "I didn't. You are just a messy little drunker."

She scrunched up her face trying to think about something then it brightened. "I'm not. Mansur claimed that I am the cutest drunkard he's ever encountered. He called me attractive little quaint when I was drunk. I loved it. He is just so charming and handsome and cute and perfect and adora-" she was cut off.

"Who the fuck is Mansur?" Bilal glowered, his grip around her forehead tightened before he quickly removed his hand there and place it on the hand-rest of the couch.

That mother freaking feelings anchored and squeezed and cinched him in place. Why is he surprised? She's had countless of boyfriends and he knew all about them. Who doesn't know Madina Sambo anyways?

"My boyfriend." She blurted with a large smile overtaking her face while her eyes fell shut.

"You have a boyfriend?" His tone was incredulous when he knew he should be anything but.

"Should I not have one?" Madina's smile yawed into a frown that made Bilal almost happy. She shouldn't be smiling because of another guy.

"You shouldn't." He said like it was a fact.

"Uh-huh."