Melissa
"Hello, Nicky!" I excitedly greeted her when she answered the phone.
"Hi Besty, how are you?" Never has the name best sounded so genuine, not even from Jess.
"I doing alright,¨ I paused nervously before adding, ¨Um, Nicky, are you free today?"
"Aha, let's see, I have a unit at 11, another at 12, maybe at 5. That's when I will be free. Why?"
"Oh, that will be too late already. Okay, let me just tell you now.¨ I took a deep breath and closed my eyes before dropping the bomb.
"Max kissed me yesterday,"
__________________________________________________________________________________
"WHAT!"
Damn!
I had to move the phone away from my ears, or else I would suffer some perforated eardrums.
"Easy on my eardrum, drama queen."
"Easy? What do you easy? Do you know what this means?" I rolled my eyes.
"That you have to stop shouting,"
"NO! It means we have to meet now!"
"What? But you said you have classes."
"To heck with the classes! This is a matter of life and death!" she exclaimed loudly, and I was sure that people were staring at her like some lunatic.
One thing that I discover about Nicky, was that she was an enthusiastic person. Carefree but always careful not to hurt anyone's feelings.
"Life and death? Don't you think you are exaggerating a little bit?" I asked, biting my nail. I was starting to regret telling her, but at the same time, I was relieved that I finally shared it with her.
"Exaggerating??? You have been kissed for, goodness sake, dandy, that's a big deal!" And we were back to shouting.
"Ah, okay, but I am not coming over. Maybe tomorrow, now you need to go to class," That was my final decision. I mean, dah! I would like to meet her, but I wouldn't want to be the reason for her skipping class.
"Do you honestly think I will concentrate in class knowing that you and Max have kissed?"
"Aaargh, Nicky Max has probably kissed almost half the ladies in the world." I tried to reason with her. Nicky knew him better, so I had no idea why she was making it a big deal, though I kind of liked the attention she was giving me.
"Aaah, don't aarrgh me, we are not talking about Max today, we are talking about you! You're the first Kiss!"
Did I really have a choice?
Nop!
And I liked that.
"Meet me at the town square café at one. I will be there," Nicky didn't even give me time to argue before she hung up the phone. I sighed and released the giggles that I was holding in. I loved the feeling.
Before I could toss my phone away, the screem lightened up. It was a text message.
Thousands of butterflies erupted inside my stomach when I saw it was from Max, my Haze. My face burned, recalling the erotic dream I just had today.
Haze; 'Hello beautiful, I am on my way. Hope you are not busy'. It said.
I found myself uncontrollably smiling before realization hit me. Max was coming! And that too, already on his way.
But I was not ready to face him, not yet at least. This was bigger than the last time when he dreamt of the same thing as I. We just shared a kiss and a hot make-up session in my dreams. How was I going to face him?
No, he couldn't come now!
Me; No, don't. I am not at home.
I quickly texted him back. It didn't even take a second before he replied.
Max: Where are you?
Me; I Am at home.
I was about to press the send button, only to end up facepalming myself. I just told him that I wasn't at home, and here I was saying otherwise. I deleted the message and almost dropped the phone when it started ringing, and his name appeared on the screen.
What do I do now?
Maybe in my panic, I hanged up on him.
Wait, I hanged upon him!
What the hell?
Why did I do that?
If I were him, I would be mad. Like super mad. Okay, Mel, calm down. No need to panic. You've got this.
I tried calming myself down, and so I texted him.
Me; Sorry, but I can't answer your phone now. I will give you a call once I am done.
Liar, liar, liar. My conscious self shouted at me. Why have I become such a liar since I met him?
Max; Um... okay, then, just call me when you are done.
I sighed in relief, lying on my bed.
I am doomed.
***
"I can't believe we are doing this. I am so excited!" Nicky squealed like a child excited for a Christmas gift.
"Calm down, Nicky. You act as if you were the one who got kissed." I teased, poking her shoulder. She hadn't come down ever since I arrived at the café. And damn, wasn't she the impatient type? I looked around the café. It wasn't grand but was beautiful.
The café huddled despondent among the huge city buildings. Washed out under the overcast sky, it hunched in itself, fighting against the drizzle. It was still June, so yes, the weather was chilly. Lots of people rushed by outside on the crowded street.
The half a dozen customers glanced up as the door swung open. I guess. Also university students are heralded by a blast of cold wind. Unlike the outside, the interior of the café was warm and cheery, with bright lights and colourful walls. The customers returned to their conversations as the door swung closed behind the new entrant, and the cold breeze was forgotten.
"Come on, dandy. Mercy over here," Nicky snapped her finger in front of my face bringing back my attention.
"Oh, drama queen, let's order something first am famished" I faked a sigh and took over the menu. I tried to hide the wide grin threatening to come out. I enjoyed the way I was torturing her.
"Aaargh, you are so mean," she sighed, then picked up her menu. I regretted suggesting that when I took a peek at the menu. What was this cafe again? How come that nothing was below three hundred shillings?
Maybe I should just order water. I thought to myself, but then water and hunger don't go well. Oh no, it was going to be painful paying the bill.
"Haven't you decided anything yet?" Nicky's voice, quite irritated by the way, caught my attention as the waiter approached us?
"Um, I will just have fruit salad, please," I smiled at the waiter, and she took some notes.
"I will have a Rice bowl & chicken strips." the waiter finally left us.
"So Nicky tells me how was class today," I asked, amusement hidden in my voice.
"Well, it was tiring as always...wait," she paused, then glared at me.
"Why are we talking about my classes?" she asked, furrowing her eyebrows. I had to muster all the energy to stop myself from laughing.
"I am just concerned about my best friend. Isn't that what friends do?" I faked concern.
"Ha ha ha, I am touched. Stop it now, and spill everything," Nicky sarcastically said, showing me her hand as if she were expecting to be given something.
"Are you sure I should spill them on your hand?" I asked, my mouth full, ready to spill them on her hand. With a groan, Nicky huffed, crossing her hands across her chest, sending me deadly glares.
"Okay, okay, I am sorry," I chuckled, leaning back on my chair.
"Apology accepted, and it's because you owe me a juicy story. Now spill it," Nicky looked at me hopefully. I took a deep breath and sighed, "So, where should I start?"
"From the beginning," Nicky sat upright, clearing her throat, which got me chuckling in amusement.
"Okay, I took him out on a date, then we came back and..."
"Aaaand," Nicky drawled, looking at me in anticipation.
"And he kissed me, that all." And I was done.
"That's all?" Nicky asked, an overly prized expression on her face.
"Yeah, what else did you expect?" I shrugged nonchalantly, looking outside the cafe.
"You mean that I have skipped my class just for this?" I swear you could have seen her face. It was priceless. I couldn't hold it any longer, so I released my laughter.
"I swear I should take a picture," I said between my laugh and snapped a photo of her. That was worth remembering. I thought to myself.
"You are selfish, really selfish. I know you guys kissed! I need the details, tiny little details, for goodness sake, Mel!!" If we were a cartoon, I am sure she would be steaming through her ears by now. I cleared my throat and tried to be serious. Jokes aside, I also wanted to speak to someone about it.
"How do I say it? I mean, everything happened so fast. One moment we were just acting in front of everyone, so I decided to act affectionate. Before I realized it, his lips were already slammed to mine." And so we spent the rest couple of the minutes with me going into details about my first kiss. It was exciting and fun. Never in my life had I ever thought that I would be capable of having that kind of conversation with someone.
My phone rang again for the sixth time, causing me to sigh in exasperation.
"Aren't you going to answer that? It has been ringing since you arrived." Nicky asked, pointing at my phone on the table. I sighed and ignored it.
"Who is it anyway?" she asked again, taking a glance, and her face lightened even more before snatching it from my hand.
"Haze, who is Haze," she asked, furrowing her eyebrows.
"My boyfriend." she almost choked on her drink, earning a chuckle from me.
"Come down, that's Max," I assured her, eating my fries.
"Aaaw, we give pet names, aren't we now." she teased, wiggling her eyebrows playfully.
"That ain't a pet name," I never thought of it as a pet name before, but I liked calling him that.
"If you so. Anyway, why are you not answering his calls? 20 missed calls!" she exclaimed, looking at my phone again.
"It's only six missed calls" I rolled my eyes at her continuous exaggeration.
"Are you avoiding him?"
"No, yes, no aaargh whatever, I don't want to face him, especially after what I dreamt of..." I slammed my mouth at my mouth, realizing I just spild another most intimate and embarrassing secret of my life. My eyes widened when I saw Nicky's expression that mirrored mine.
"Oh boy," she started. "You don't say," she pocked me on the shoulder, wearing that smug smile.
"So, you do really like him. To the extent of dreaming with him doing some crazy and hot..."
"Nicky, please stop. I don't want to even think about it. Do you know what the worst part is? Bibi woke me up and witnessed everything. So embarrassing." I covered my face with my hands, embarrassed just by the thought of what happened this morning. Nicky was laughing at my situation.
"Well, knowing Max, you only have two options. Either you answer this phone, or you find him waiting for you back home." now it was my turn to choke on my food.
"Home! No! he can't do that, can he?" Nicky just laughed at me. I grabbed my phone back and dialed Max's number.
¨Melissa!¨
Wow, it didn't even ring once,
"Hi, Haze." I winced, biting my lips nervously, hoping he was not mad.
¨Don't Haze Me. You said you'd call.¨ Max was angry.
"Woa, woa. I didn't know I had to answer your call," I tried to act like the victim.
¨Don't f****n play games with me. I am serious. And I am not in the mood for your silly stunts.¨
Did he just curse at me?
¨That was...¨" I did not even get to finish what I wanted to say when he cut me short.
¨Not another word Melissa. Where are you? I am coming to get you."
"What? No! You can't... hello, hello. Hello," I looked at the phone that was now blank, then at Nicky.
"Did he just. Hanged. Up. On. Me?" I asked Nicky, who in return shrugged.
I dialed his number, wanting to know what was up with him and what gave him the audacity to curse and hang up on me, but the annoying guy did not answer.
I tried a couple of times, ending with the same result.
"Irritating, right?" Nicky asked, raising an eyebrow at me.
"Tell me about it," I answered, not looking anywhere apart from my phone.
"Now you feel him?" I sighed, staring at Nicky with narrowed eyes. I understood what she was trying to say, but it was not a good time.
I sent him a text, and within seconds my phone rang.
"Bingo!" I chirped excitedly at Nicky before answering the phone.
"Hello, dear Haze, now have you calmed down? Ready to talk?" I asked, smiling at my victory.
"Hello, are you there?" Wow, silent treatment much.
"You know you have to talk to me since you have no idea where I am, and you need me. So swallow that pride and speak to me. Come on, be a good boy." I bit my lips so I won't laugh.
¨Not really. I know you are in the city square.¨
And just like that, my heart dropped.
"What? No...no way you are bluffing," I stuttered. There was no way he would know where I was. How could he know about my location?
¨Really? I can track your phone, you know.¨
He sounded sure of himself that I had no doubt he wasn't lying.
"So you are stalking me? How dare you?" I tried my playing the victim technique hoping that it would work, but how wrong was I?
¨How about you say that to my face when I arrive. I am hanging up now. See you then.¨
What?
Wa...wa...wait, please don't hang up." I sighed in resignation, knowing that he won.
"I am sorry that I did not answer the phone, well you see, um remember the issue I told you about, about school? Yes, I was there. I did not know it would take that long, so I put my phone on silence, that's why I did not pick up, but I was about to call you before you called." such a lair. A very good one.
"Hello, are you still there?" I panicked when I got no answer from him.
¨Yeah, I am still coming¨
"Please don't. I am alright, and thanks for worrying."
¨Then I will wait for you at home.¨
"NO!¨ I shouted, gaining curious stares from people in the cafe. ¨ I mean, don't, I am tired anyway, and I doubt I will be good company today. Let's it be some other time?"
¨Tomorrow then.¨
"No, not tomorrow. I will still be busy. I will text you when I am not, Haze.¨ What was up with him wanting to meet so badly?
¨Well am not sure I can rely on that.¨
"Haze, I promise I will, and I am sure that you also have a lot to do. You also need to study. Just go home. I am fine.¨
¨Okay, then, beautiful.¨ I love that name, I thought. He hasn't called me that ever since we kissed.
"Well?" Nicky asked once the call ended.
"I have naturalized the situation." I grinned, paying my bill.
We left the cafeteria silent. Nicky was busy talking to someone over the phone, and it looked serious.
"Everything alright?" I asked after she was done.
"Yep, nothing serious," she answered. We were again enveloped in another silence.
"Nicky," I decided to break the peaceful silence as we continued walking.
"Mmh," she hummed, her eyes not leaving her phone.
"Do you think Max likes me? And I don't mean like, like that way but in a special way," I asked, holding my breath.
"Do I think? No, I know he likes you,¨ she replied, this time her eyes strained on me.
"How can you tell? Did he say anything to you?"
"Nop, he doesn't have to say anything. The way he treats you is different from other girls I know."
"Don't you think is because we have a deal?"
"Deal does not change the fact that you are a lady, a beautiful lady, by the way." She grinned before slowing down on her steps.
"Listen, I have known Max for a very long time to know when he is interested in something or someone. And he is so much interested in you. Honestly I am glad that it is you." she smiled warmly at me.
My heart felt warm, and my heart raced. Nicky's words gave me a little bit of hope, but fear again groped my heart.
Afraid that after one month was over, we would both go our searate ways, as I would be telling Bibi about our break meaning. Meaning that we would be cutting off our ties to avoid misunderstanding with Bibi.
Deep down, I wanted and wished that he would like me back so that we won't go our separate ways.
I was afraid.
Afraid of the unknown.