As soon as Raina saw Darryl approaching, she ducked low. She heard him open the door and start the engine. Silently, Raina thanked god for up to this point. Raina realized Darryl was a bit careless. Any crazed fan of his could easily hurt him. She waited for 5 minutes before raising her head to look at her brother’s brother from another mother. This practically made Darryl her brother.
She had not really seen him in a long while due to the fact that he was now a rising star. His visits were more infrequent than at first, when she was much younger. He was looking good as always.
“Hey Darryl, really you should be more cautious, it’s a bad world you know.”
“What the….” Darryl immediately parked the car at the shoulder of the road. He couldn’t believe his eyes. How time flies! Seems his little Queen was all grown up now.
“What are you doing in my car?
“Oh Darryl! I really want to go to my best friend’s party and I need your help. If you could please take me there I’ll be grateful.”
Even as she said this, she moved to the front seat and looked at him imploringly.
“Look, Leroy told me you didn’t have permission to go, though he did say you’ll find a way. Who knows about your little scheme any way? I think it is better for me to turn around and send you back home.”
But Raina was very smart. She remembered her brother saying that Darryl would do anything for a girl who could cry innocently. That, for Raina, was the easiest thing to do.
‘But Leroy and my mum know about it. I’m sure my brother told you to make sure I get there safely. Here I thought I will surprise my best friend and keep my word for once’. She allowed a lone tear to fall from her eye and sniffed loudly turning away from him.
Darryl sighed. He had long forgotten how to handle teenage girls. What exactly was he to do with her? Seeing as at least one parent knew she will be there, he guessed there was no problem with that. He had no idea why they didn’t let her go to the party anyways. Seeing as if Leroy was here, he would have taken her, he decided to do same. After all, she was like a sister to him.
‘Alright. Put on your seatbelt, I’ll take you there. But count me out of any trouble you get into. I am not into babysitting little girls’.
Raina rolled her eyes at that and made herself comfortable in her seat. She turned on the car radio and tuned it to a station that was playing R&B.
Darryl turned to look at her and shrugged. She was his little sister after all. He had never had one of those. She might as well enjoy herself. He had an older sister though. She was 5 years older, married and lived in another region. He rarely saw her except on those trips she made which were always work related. She was in charge of running his father’s company and she did a very good job at that. He was always proud of her whenever he came across her achievements. He wished he could gather courage to truly express how he felt. Sometimes family was just too difficult.
Shaking his head, he concentrated on driving managing to avoid collision with a taxi driver who had stopped abruptly by the side of the road..
‘Whew, that was close. These taxi drivers!’
‘Just pay attention to the road. I am sure it is not as hard as you are making it out to be.’
‘I am doing my best here.’ He levelled her with a glare that sealed her lips instantly.
Boy, what a character. No wonder his big break was still yet to come. Raina only saw Darryl as Leroy’s friend. Besides her brother was the handsomest guy in the whole wide world. It was often amusing when he went out with just her. He did this when he just wanted to hang out alone without any disturbances. He had such charisma: girls were always attracted to him. On those occasions, he pretended to be her boyfriend and she made the most of it.
Of course, Darryl wasn’t bad looking either. He was clean shaven and his hair was cropped low. With his pointed nose, light brown eyes and thick eye lashes, he cut the figure of a dashing young man. He was tall and a bit gangly though. Leroy said Darryl was planning on starting to build muscle so he could look ‘more healthy’.
‘Okay, my queen, here we are. Hope you have enough money on you. Do have fun. I will just be around the block in case you need anything.’
‘Sure. Thanks. I’ll do just that. Anyway, you don’t mind if I change in your car, do you? Of course you don’t, why am I asking?’
Darryl watched in amazement as the little girl he had always known transformed into a party girl. He could not utter a word. He was speechless.
‘See you around Darryl. Thanks a lot.’ With these words, she slipped out and went inside to join her friends.
Darryl looked at her disappearing form for about thirty seconds before he remembered where he had to be, he put the car in motion and was there in 30 seconds. The hotel was in the same neighbourhood as Eve’s apartment.
After one hour at the party, Raina was beginning to get bored. She had seen Rita but it appeared the birthday girl was busy attuning to her other guests. Right now, she didn’t like the way a trio of boys were staring at her. It was like they were suddenly interested in her. She did not like it one bit.
She had danced, had fun with her other classmates. She had even grabbed a few bites. The food was delicious. However, she was feeling restless. Maybe it was time to leave the party. She had spent 2 hours so far.
She watched with idle interest as Rita came towards her with a group of girls behind her. Oh! To be a princess for a day! Raina rolled her eyes in disgust at the followers, most of whom gossiped about Rita behind her back. Rita knew but she could care less.
Rita gave her a tight hug grinning happily.
‘I am so glad you were able to make it. This party would not have been the same without you. Let’s go and take a few pictures then you can be on your way. I know you have another fancy party to attend.’
Rita said the last part loudly for those with big ears to hear. Then she winked at her. Raina hugged her in return.
‘And thanks for the gift. It is the best by far. I will see you in school on Monday. Have fun!’
This was the reason why Rita and she were such good friends. They understood each other. No unnecessary communication. She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn’t realise the trio of boys who had been staring at her earlier were at the gate. They made no move to get away as she got closer.
‘Why don’t you spend a little time with us. Why are you in such a hurry?’, the heaviest of the 3 said. He tried to touch her but she quickly kicked him in the knee and tried to push her way through. The other 2 guys tried to restrain her, with one succeeding in pushing her against the gate. She saw him aiming to touch her lips with his mouth and quickly turned her head. He succeeded in reaching her cheeks instead.
Enraged, Raina kicked him hard in the groin and hit him with her fist. Totally disgusting! The third guy just backed off and allowed her to leave. Turns out her dad was right. She was really good with her hands after all.
She vigorously rubbed her face and straightened her clothes. She started walking to where Darryl had shown her earlier. After walking for about 8 minutes, she realized his car was parked beside a house with a low wall. Thankfully, she could see he was about to leave and was saying goodbye to woman. She watched him give a tight embrace to her and felt a lump in her throat.
She couldn’t believe some guy from nowhere had stolen her first kiss. It wasn’t mouth to mouth but for goodness sake, that was her first time. Her eyes welled up suddenly and she began to regret leaving the house in the first place. When she heard the gate open, she waved at him. He unlocked the car and she jumped in quickly trying to look bored and disinterested.
Darryl started the car without a word. He was not feeling good about the whole thing with Eve. He knew he had done the right thing by breaking up with her though. It was the right thing. They were not a good fit. He just wished he had not started it at all. Next time, hopefully, he would be wiser.
He stopped the car a few houses away from Raina’s home. It was only then that he turned to look at her. That was when he realized she was struggling to hold the tears that were brimming in her eyes.
Great!, just what he needed.