More than twenty minutes after Paul's exit, I have not been able to take another bite of the delicious jollof rice neither have I moved an inch. The brown-eyed devil can cook, he knows his way around the kitchen, more than I ever will. But that isn't what bothers me, it's the desperation with which I acted. Okay, maybe that's not it. It's more than that, it's this little crush I have on him.

Picking up my phone, I dial Chi's number but she doesn't pick. I dial it two more times and send her a text, letting her know I am about to step out with Paul. It's my way of assuaging my conscience and if she is not comfortable with the idea, I will not go. I will, sadly, have to think up a good excuse.

My heart throbs at the thought of missing out on what he has planned for me, for us. If this is the sweet side of him Chi once talked about, I want to see more of it. My phone beeps a few minutes later, it's a simple text from Chi that says: Have fun.

I tilt my head to one side, trying to see if there's a hidden message behind those two words but I can't think of any. I nod to myself while picking up my things. Have fun with Paul? I giggle, I intend to do just that.

The elevator ride downstairs takes longer than I want it to and as soon as the metallic door slides open, I jog-walk to the garage.

Paul is leaning against my car, checking his watch at intervals. I smile, does he think I will stand him up? No way, I want this too. His head raises and our gazes clash, my breath catches in my throat and my feet forget their functions. I stand there until he comes over to wrap his arm around my shoulders and take my bag from me.

Such a gentleman.

"Thank you."

I roll my eyes, hit him lightly on the chest then gasp as I realise what I have done. He doesn't seem to mind because he chuckles and I smile, this is the most he has laughed around me since we met. I love the sound.

"You were thinking out loud," he says with a shrug and his arm comes back to his side. I smile again. "What took you so long?"

My lips squeeze as I think up a reply, I don't want to mention Chi lest he remembers they are still a couple and changes his mind about this outing. "I had things to sort out."

Paul nods and guides me to the passenger's side of my car. I raise my eyebrows, give him the key and ask, "Where are we going?"

"If I tell you, it will no longer be a surprise."

Paul unlocks the car and we both settle in. "How are you so sure I like surprises?"

I get no reply to that and soon enough, we are moving past places I didn't know exists in Calabar. The car is quiet, except for the swish sound it makes as we drive past these places and a song Paul keeps humming to.

The silence is unnerving, it makes me want to scream so I reach for the radio and turn it on. Soft music fills the car--Simi's voice and I smack Paul's hand when he attempts to turn down the volume. He won't deny me the pleasure of listening to his voice and hers. Why does he always have to be quiet?

I want you to love me ... Joromi baby...

Singing along to the heartfelt lyrics, I nod my head, do everything I can to make him talk but Paul doesn't breathe out a word. He is quiet like a programmed robot that has been told not to speak on its first mission. I send him a glare which he doesn't notice then I do the one thing that comes to mind.

I reduce the volume and let out a scream.

The tires screech and the car comes to an abrupt halt. Paul turns to look at me, his fingers come under my jaw and his eyes skim my face for any sign of injury. The concern on his face soon turns into shock, then annoyance when he sees I am fighting back a smile and I burst out laughing.

"It's not my fault you were ignoring me, I don't even know where we are going," I say in defence of my actions when he scowls.

"You could have gotten us killed!" he barks and I flinch inwardly. "What if I didn't have great control of the car? What will you say?"

"Sorry," I whisper and stare at my hands folded on my laps. I didn't think of that.

"Sorry doesn't fix everything," he mutters in a calmer voice and increases the volume of the radio before I have a chance to speak.

My eyes water, my heart aches at his verbal lashing, I don't like being scolded. I cannot handle it, especially when it's coming from him. I don't look his way again, instead, I stare out the window for the rest of the ride.

I don't realise we have stopped until Paul comes to open the side of my door. I make to pick up my bag when he says, "Leave it, you will not need it where we are going."

"Paul. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that," I say once I step out and wrap my hands around his upper arm. I can't handle him giving me another week of the silent treatment, something he seems so good at.

He tucks a strand of the mini twist that falls out of my bun behind my ear. "I'm sorry for raising my voice at you." He closes his eyes briefly. "You make me lose control."

My heart gallops at his words, unsure how to interpret them. That is also what he does to me. He brings various reactions out of me. I apologise again and he smiles, shifting so I can get a better view of where we are.

The hotel we are parked in front of is in the middle of nowhere, well, not nowhere, but there is a good distance between it and the nearest building to it. My heart skips a bit at this sudden realisation and my hands come to rest at my sides. Maybe he wants privacy.

"Who else knows you are with me?"

"Nobody," I say and my hands come to cover my mouth. I shouldn't have said that. What if he is a serial killer and Chi is in on this?

I shake my head to clear those thoughts, I need to stop binge-watching those YouTube crime series. I need to learn to enjoy the moments as they may never come again.

"Alright. Let's go," Paul says and offers me his hand. My fear dissipates with each step closer to the hotel and my heart picks up its usual rhythm. I want to be here with him.

At the reception, he drops my hand for a moment to exchange a handshake with the huge man behind the counter and I frown at the loss of contact. They discuss in low tunes, sending me occasional glances which send my heart into overdrive and my imagination on a wild ride. I look around, I can't see any exit and I am not sure I will be able to outrun two able-bodied men. When it comes to any form of exercise, I am the laziest.

"Pauline," Paul calls out to me and I stifle the urge to make a happy sound. This is one of the few times he has called me by my first name without attaching a title to it. My head raises slowly and I see both of them gawking at me. His eyes search my face, I smile and bite my lip. "What's going on?"

I shake my head as if to say nothing and he takes my hand in his. Calm returns to my soul as we walk on to a door that has EXIT written in big, bold, red letters at the top. Paul drops my hand again for the second time to unlock the door and when he pushes it open, I forget all about my fear of him being a serial killer. This is... Wow.

The warm breeze hits my face first, I giggle. It's hard to believe we have just come out of the same hotel. Whoever thought of this is brilliant, a genius who will have to forgive me because I intend to bring this idea up with Mr Adams. This is a whole new world.

A small expanse of land sits in front of us, unoccupied huts are a few meters away from where we stand and they have been arranged to form a half-closed circle. My hand drops from Paul's and I walk further into the place. This quiet, empty new world.

The lights on the surrounding fence have been turned off, leaving only a couple on to showcase the empty pool that's a stone throw away from the circle of huts. In the middle of the huts is a fountain of a half-naked woman who has water gushing out of her mouth. The coloured lights dance around her, casting a beautiful glow on her clayed face. My lips curl into a smile as I stare in awe, she's breath-taking.

A hand wraps around my wrist and my eyes locate the source to Paul. "I didn't bring you here to stare," he says but makes no move to leave. Neither do I. "She's a beauty."

I have to agree, she is. The artist put work into this, the intricate details are a show of his craftsmanship. I let out a deep breath and look up to the sky. "We should get going."

Paul is right, we did not come here to stare but this whole place is amazing; a beauty.

We stop in front of one of the huts that has a picnic box and a school bag on its table. Unlike inside and outside of the hotel, the floors of the hut aren't tiled neither are they covered in concrete but it's still beautiful. I purse my lips, Paul kicks off his sneakers before stepping in and I follow his lead.

The fake grass carpet tickles my skin once my bare feet connect with it and I giggle. Moving to sit on the long sofa, I run my feet along the carpet like a train on its rail and laugh again. It's ticklish and I like it.

Paul takes out a blanket from the backpack and on cue, I shiver in my seat, bringing my arms to wrap around myself. I place my feet on the cushion, eyeing him surreptitiously as he takes out plates from the picnic box and sets them on the table without asking for my help or opinion.

There's another long sofa opposite me and I hope he doesn't go to sit there, Paul can be unpredictable sometimes. Besides, this one is big enough for two adults to lie down comfortably, like a mini bed but with throw pillows and I want to pretend --even if it is only for this night-- that we are a regular couple on our first date. I want to cuddle.

I shiver again, Paul comes to wrap the blanket around my shoulders before returning to the table. The urge to lie down is strong and when I feel my body leaning towards the sofa, I give in to it. Paul chuckles at this, joining me on the sofa with a large tray containing small chops, slices of cake and cans of malt.

"Did you finish your lunch?" he asks. I blink, shake my head and sit up. He chuckles and picks a can of malt from the tray to give me. "I hear you like this." I nod in response.

Paul takes out a remote I never noticed and hits a random button which has my eyes widening. The whole place goes dark, except for the blue lights in our hut and those of the fountain and I smile as a warm feeling wraps itself around my heart. This is the perfect valentine's date. My best so far. Lots of thoughts and planning went into this unlike my usual dates with Edward that would have ended at a movie theatre or a fancy restaurant.

"When did you plan all of this?" I ask and cross my legs. He inserts a toothpick into the samosa and stretches it to my mouth.

"Today?"

His response makes me chuckle and I moan at the spiciness of the samosa. It's perfect.

"What if I had said no?" He shrugs. "Did you make this?" I ask and he nods. "I can't cook."

"At all?" I nod, half-expecting him to bash or give me a lecture on why females should be able to cook but I'm met with a small smile playing on his lips. "Do you want to learn?"

"Not really," I say and tighten the thick blanket around me. "Cooking is not my thing."

He laughs. "What's your thing?"

I take a sip of the cold malt which sends my teeth into a crazy chattering dance and I shiver again. "Makeup. It makes me happy. I enjoy making myself and other people up."

"You can't eat makeup," Paul says and I nod.

His voice holds no judgment and it makes me want to continue the conversation with him. "I know," I say and drop the can of malt to the tray. "It's not that I can't cook at all, my cooking skills are limited; very limited."

Paul stretches another samosa to my lips, I chew and continue, "I will rather not take the risk of burning my house down in the name of cooking. I just cook what I can eat."

And the list of what I can cook is short, too short, which is why my fridge is stocked with packaged soups and stews gotten from food stores. The only meal I can make is spaghetti, not even jollof rice that's my favourite meal. A large part of my salary goes into eating out, that's why I never miss out on most of the hotel's delicious meals.

Stabbing one of the spring rolls with the toothpick, I stretch it to Paul's lips--soft lips I hope to get another taste of tonight. He offers me a smile before his mouth closes over half of the spring roll and I smile back, he can't be the only one doing all the work.

"I can't go a day without cooking," he says after he's done chewing. I smile, it's not the case for me. I can go days, weeks without it.

The blanket drops to my waist and I make no move to pick it. "You are always wearing that necklace," Paul states with his eyes on the pendant resting on the neckline of my gown. I can't go anywhere without it.

"My dad gave it to me," I say with a sad smile and pull the blanket up. "I miss him."

Paul stops me from feeding him, his head angles to a side and he asks, "Where's he?"

"He's dead."

There's a shift in the atmosphere but I am quick to take over before it ruins the mood. "What about you, where's your dad?"

A long pause ensues and I bite my lip in anticipation of his next statement. I hope he doesn't offer any condolences; I don't want to hear it. I have heard enough of it. Instead, he says, "I don't want to talk about him." His eyes come back to rest on me. "I like the necklace, your dad had a great taste."

The corner of my lips twitch and I nod. "He did, I got my fashion sense from him." I resume feeding him. "Chi said you moved."

"Yes. From Enugu," he volunteers.

I shift in my seat and stop him from picking another piece of samosa. I want us to talk. A few seconds pass before I ask, "Why?"

"It has something to do with my dad."

The silence that descends over us now isn't one I know how to handle so I switch to a safer topic. "Why are you doing this?"

"I'm attracted to you. I like you, Pauline."

His solemn confession has all my questions about him and Chi's relationship dying in my throat. He likes me. Paul still likes me. I give myself a mental high five and bite my lips to stop from screaming out my surprise.

"Come," he says and pats his laps.

Without wasting time, I oblige him and he rids me of the blanket to surround me with his warmth. My legs come on each side of him as I straddle him and my hands rest on his shoulders. His fingers caress my lip, my tongue darts out to wet his fingertips, hoping he will take the hint and kiss me.

Our foreheads touch, his eyes zero in on my lips and my shoulders sag when he pulls back. Why can't he kiss me? The answer comes almost as soon as the question slips. He can't because he is still Chi's boyfriend.

Guilt settles on my shoulders, almost stifling me and I flinch like someone who has been struck when his fingers trail a line down my neck. I try to move away but Paul places one hand on my back and another on my waist to keep me in place. I stop moving to stare at him.

"Paul," I whisper and bite my lips. "This is wrong. We should not be doing this."

His answer comes in the form of a kiss that silences my voice of reasoning. I gasp and his tongue thrusts into my mouth, tasting every corner. His fingers find their way into my hair, my bun comes undone and my twists tumble out as I rotate my hips against his groin. I want him. I need him.

Our kiss deepens as we continue the lips tango, his hands on my face leaves me with a deep want for his touch on other parts of my body, on my core. I moan against his lips, touching, feeling every part of him that my hands can reach until a phone rings.

We separate to catch our breaths, my hand goes to touch my tingling lips and moves to my cheeks, I can still feel the sparks, the tingles from his touch. I want more of it. I need more of it. The thought scares me and I try to itch away from him again but he is not having any of that. His grip on my waist tightens but he doesn't kiss me again.

"Paul," I say once more and he cups my butt, ridding me of all sane thoughts and making me moan in the process. "Paul."

**********

Picture: Mawuli Gavor.

Isn't he so fine?? 😍😍😍

There are so many things happening at once. I don't even know who I'm shipping, maybe Paul and Pauline or Kings and Pauline.

In appreciation for all the votes, comments, shares and taking so long (cos I'm in some place with no light); I made this chapter longer. Remember to CVF (Comment, Vote, Follow).

Until next time, my lovelies.
                                        💝Mara