King

The curtains were closed, light bulbs were turned off. Except for the rays of light emitting from the flat-screen TV attached to the wall, my living room was bathed in darkness. The AC was on full blast, its purring sound drowned out by the football commentary; the room was chilled but we were too pumped to notice it. The atmosphere was like that of a cinema but without the movie.

Seated on the edge of the sofa with our backs hunched, we tapped wildly on the gamepads in our hands, trying to control the actions of our players moving on the screen. Pogba ran across the field, stealing the ball from Kanté; he dribbled past Luiz and another one of Junior's player before he shot the ball straight into Chelsea's goalpost.

"Their father!" I murmured; hitting my chest repeatedly before punching the air.

Junior was holding the record of most unbeaten amongst us five, a goal against him was equivalent to scoring against the Shaolin Soccer team. It was hard. But whenever we did score, it always followed with a promise of his delicious yam porridge, the type that when you finished eating, you could understand why Esau gave up his birthright.

My jubilation was cut short upon seeing Junior's player run to the centre of the field with the ball. I didn't need to look at him to know that his eyes were narrowed or a frown was decorating his lips. His determination to equalise radiated off him in waves but I didn't intend for that to happen, not when it was less than two minutes to the end of the game.

"This pad no too good." Junior murmured, both of our attention still focused on the screen. It was less than one minute to go.

His statement was met with humourless laughter and I could already imagine the long epistle I was going to write in our group chat, most especially the prowess of the players that I didn't possess in real life.

"Next time you come, we will switch pads," I responded. I might have been lucky to win this round but I wasn't certain my luck would run on if we went for a rematch.

"If somebody sees you now, they will think you beat me like that, not knowing it's just one goal difference." He let out a long hiss, eyeing me like I was the one to blame. He never took kindly to losing which was what always made challenging him more fun, asides from the food.

Laughter bubbled in my throat and I tried desperately not to let it out but it slipped when Junior roughly snatched the gamepad from me, tossing it on the floor, alongside his. "My friend, shift, just because of one goal, person no go hear word again."

Moments like this reminded me of why we called him a big baby. We could have seen a movie to relax, enjoy this public holiday but no, he wanted to play PS4. I watched in amusement as he strolled to the switch, flooding the room with light shortly after. He still looked unhappy with a scowl on his face and his arms folded across his chest, making his biceps appear bigger than they were.

My phone pinged and Junior was momentarily forgotten, his annoyance was not going to last anyways. It was a text from Uti. I couldn't help the smile that instantly graced my face at the message.

Switching to a more comfortable position on the couch, I cracked my knuckles then picked up the phone again, ready for another round of uninterrupted chatting. Our constant texting over the last few days made the wait for her phone number totally worth it.

"Why are you smiling like that?"

"Hmmm ..." My fingers were moving rapidly over my phone screen, working at the same pace as my brain that was supplying me with an unending list of topics to pique her interest.

I saw a hand in front of my face but I didn't have enough time to process what was happening until the phone was no longer in my grip.

"Give me my phone," I thundered, standing up to my full height.

My left hand was outstretched to Junior who was standing by the connecting door to the kitchen with the phone dangling in his hands. In response, he tightened the rope of his grey joggers around his waist, prepared to run should I incase decide to pursue him.

There was no need chasing after him, he was faster and we both knew it, so I resorted to begging. Uti and I had exchanged a ton of embarrassing messages since that night, cheesy texts that were meant for her eyes only. If Junior caught a glimpse of them, there would be no hearing the end of it.

He rolled his eyes at me, typed a few things then walked back to me, handing the phone over with a glint in his eyes, one I had come to associate with mischief. I didn't question him, just gratefully accepted the phone.

"Your babe is fine sha," he muttered when we were back to seating.

Her WhatsApp display picture was an image of her from the red carpet. Everything about the picture was perfect. From her long legs that peeked out of that black, sexy gown to her flawless skin to her oval face to her red lips that were the cause of my recent restlessness, she was stunning.

And damn that thin bastard for interrupting our kiss.

A dreamy sigh escaped me as I remembered that short period of intimacy - the stillness of the water like it was giving its permission for us to get touchy with each other. If I had my way, I would have pushed that driver into the water. 

I couldn't recall the last time I was that excited about a kiss, kisses that the opposite sex was always quick to offer me. But not her. I wanted to do it again. To explore those lips with my tongue, find out if they tasted the same way as they did in my dreams.

"She's not my babe, yet." The last bit was silent.  

"King," Junior's tone was sombre, causing my gaze to shift to him; Uti was yet to reply to my last message. His face was blank, making it difficult to figure out his line of thought. "Let it not be that you are in love oo, I cannot be the only one left in this single lane."

"You won't be the only one, Umar is single too." I broke into loud laughter at his crumbled expression, quickly rephrasing my statement. "I'm not in love, I just like her."

Even as I said this, I couldn't help the grin that was plastered all over my face.

Was this how Uche felt when he met Cynthia?

"You are a goner, bro." Junior shook his head like he could see something I couldn't. This was new territory for me and my feelings wouldn't matter if she didn't feel the same way.

My phone pinged again, it was another text from Uti. Numerous laughing emojis were quoted under a message from me, the one Junior had sent and wisely deleted.

"Baby, are you a lizard cos agama eyes on you?" I read out loud and a sneaky Junior crumbled in laughter. He was smart enough to move far away from me or I might have smacked him.

"Junior!" I growled in warning.

"What?" He responded with an innocent look and I only shook my head. At least she found it funny but I wanted to be the only one making her laugh.

Quickly, I spun a tale of how Junior stole my phone to send that message but she responded with more laughing emojis. I could picture her laughing - the way she would hold her sides when she heard something very funny.

Suddenly, I didn't want any more emojis, I wanted the real deal. I wanted to watch her laugh when I said something funny. To hear that cute snort that followed when she laughed way too hard. 

Junior snatched the phone from my hand again, this time, he didn't attempt to run. Instead, he shoved the phone into his pockets, eyes wide open like a crazed man. "Did you even hear the last thing I said? You are so gone." 

"I'm not gone, I'm still here with you," I muttered defensively even if that wasn't the response he expected from me. We've always done most things together and I understood his fear of being neglected.

Junior was an only child, same with me, it was one of the first things we bonded over in boarding school, the reasons we spent most holidays at each other's homes before the other three came along. Even though we never said it out loud or did our best to act neutral, there was that air of loneliness that hung around us whenever the remaining trio spoke about their significant other. 

He laughed mirthlessly at my statement, shaking his head slowly. Retrieving my phone from his pocket, he glanced briefly at the screen. "It's like your babe is hungry." 

I would have corrected him but I was starting to like the sound of it. Babe did have a nice ring to it.

The phone rang and my smile wavered when Tibiebi name flashed on the screen. She sure had a knack for ruining moments but I wasn't going to give her the pleasure. 

"Who's that?" Junior asked when the phone continued ringing nonstop.

"Tibiebi."

"The midget?" Laughter greeted his question, bouncing off the white walls of my living room. He didn't like short girls and when I had shown him her picture, he had simply concluded that she was evil, just like all other petite girls he had encountered in the past.

"Yes, that one."

"Shey I told you to let's kidnap her but you refused, now see." Cackles accompanied his statement and when he spoke next, there was a hint of annoyance in his words. "What does she want again, didn't you already tell her no?" 

My phone stopped ringing at that moment and a text from her swept in. "She wants to meet."

"Will you go?" Junior's voice was small but his question held weight.

"Yes."

Though it seemed highly impossible, I wanted to hear her out, to know if she had changed her mind. Besides, if I chose to stay behind, the imaginative part of me would hammer me with different scenarios and my subconscious would plague me with what-ifs.

"When are you two supposed to meet?"

"Now." He sneaked a glance at me, raising his head slightly from the other couch he was sprawled on. "Let her wait."

He chuckled but said nothing, his gaze now fixated on the POP ceiling. The quietude stretched and my eyes scanned the entire length of the large living room.

It was scanty but I liked it this way.

The walls were bare of any form of decoration except for the portrait of some lady carrying waterpot on her head and a baby on her back. Behind the thick, grey curtain was a floor-to-ceiling sliding door that was currently locked. The few furniture present were a dark or dull colour, from the centre table to the couch to the black lampstand by the TV.

"Things won't change between us, you know," I said after minutes of prolonged silence. I didn't have to explain further because I was certain he understood.

"That's what they said," came his witty response.

They meant Uche, Tomiwa and Umar. We used to be closer than this, public holidays were spent in either one of our houses with us playing games and doing what a bunch of single men do in their free time but not anymore, priorities have changed.

"You should go now, I think you have kept her waiting long enough." It wasn't spoken out of concern for Tibi but more to avoid the topic and I was glad for that.

"I'll drop you off." I stood up, ignoring Junior's eyes on my outfit - a jumper paired with black denim. It was a better choice than the joggers he was wearing.

"Aye, Sir."

With an arm around his shoulder, we strutted out, each of us to our own thoughts.