RACHEL POV
I felt that I needed to cross-check if I wasn't dreaming. I rubbed my eyes with my palm; How does one's dream come true without one realizing it? How does fantasy become real without much of an effort? It seems like the gods are really happy with my decisions. The excitement from seeing him made my palms sweaty and my heartbeat a little over the normal range. My temperature seems to have also increased by some degrees. I found it hard to believe the man almost a stone throw from me is the person I've been fantasizing about. I just found it hard to believe. Mary almost bumped into me when I stopped abruptly.
"Hey young woman, watch where you are going," she said, interrupting my daydreaming. I realized she was oblivious to what I just saw so I had to turn around to face her.
"Bae, do you see what I just saw? Am I dreaming? It's just not looking real" I almost screamed. She must have understood what I meant because she immediately look towards the direction I was previously facing.
"It's so real dear but sorry you've got no chance" she rubbed the words on my face and pulled me towards our table.
She was right about me not having any chance with him because he's here with my fear and not the literary fear, but his white girlfriend. The girl I can never be. The girl that will always fit in, in more ways than I. She has curves that can make you choke on your drink. Her blond hair was distinct among her features. she looked sophisticated and the way she moved her mouth while she talked was enticing. She was made for him. I had to accept the adage that truth is a bitter pill and it's sometimes hard to swallow. I didn't know I was being talked to until I felt gazes on me. I looked around only to realize that everyone at my table was looking directly at me.
"What?" I asked, confused
"Femi just said you are beautiful" Tom said from beside me.
"Oh, thanks" I told him
"We have never met. I was surprised when Tomide said he would be coming with a friend- well, Mary's friend, of course. Thank you for coming to our little party" it's the first time I looked directly at him and I can say that he's handsome and looked buoyant with his white shirt and wine blazer. He looked like the kind of guy that can make your dreams come true but unfortunately, he's not my type. My type was sitting, adjacent to our table.
"It's fine. I just couldn't stay at home all alone, that's why I followed them here" I replied with my 1000 watt smile.
There were two guys and a girl before we joined them. The discussion went on and on around the table, food was served and everyone chatted and enjoyed the little gathering but I wasn't really in the mood to join in. I was with them physically but my spirit and soul were far from the table. I felt someone looking at me and even though I didn't meet the person's gaze, I knew it was that Femi guy. He had been stealing glances at me since I sat down and each of his actions showed he was very much interested but my attention was on the guy with a blue suit talking to a stunning white lady sitting in front of him. She was wearing a gold knee-length gown with pearl jewelry on her ears, neck, and hands.
She was even laughing at what he said. Even though I could only see her side from where I was sitting, I could denote she was laughing with the way her body was vibrating with force. I couldn't swallow the jealousy that threatened to erupt from the pit of my stomach. I wasn't supposed to be jealous, was I? He wasn't even mine. I saw the way he touched her, pat her hands, and even looked at her. It's so hard to stay calm.
"Young woman, are you here?" I quickly averted my eyes to see Mary waving her hand in my face.
"Forget him and just enjoy the night. He's not worth your mood and besides, you have someone here stealing glances at you since we arrived" Mary whispered into my ear so that only I can hear. I know the someone she was talking about is Femi and I wish she could just stop being pessimistic about Aderemi.
"So Rachel, where are you from?" Femi asked
"I'm from Ekiti state"
"Oh really, my granny lived there before she died last year" he told me. He must have had a great relationship with his granny because he looked sad after telling me.
"I'm sorry about that" I meant it though.
"Come on, she died at an old age. She was maybe 95?"
I wanted to give him a reply when suddenly I heard a noise and it wasn't just any noise but the sound of a slap. The crazy girl just slapped him. If Mary hadn't held me, I would have run over and slapped the bitch. After she slapped him, I heard her call him a bastard, take her bag, and leave angrily. He just sat there like a boy that had just been stripped off of his favorite PJ MASK top.
I knew the embarrassment he was feeling would be too much. He is a well-known guy to football lovers and he didn't deserve what he just went through. I didn't even know how I got up or how I got to his table. The only thing I know was that my name was being called from our table but it sounded like I was being called from another planet.