Meanwhile at the Arthurs' residence . . .
Nadia had arrived about 30 minutes after Raina and Darryl had left the house. By then, Leroy had finished preparing supper and had even taken a quick shower. She had been welcomed warmly by Leroy who then quickly ushered her to the dining room. She gushed appreciatively over the array of dishes on the table.
'Finally, a man who can cook in this part of the world.'
'A rare breed indeed. I got help from my mum, just so you know. I can't take all the credit.'
'And you are modest too. My, oh my!'
Leroy's stomach grumbled loudly and Nadia laughed at his evident embarrassment.
'I guess all that cooking has made me more hungry than i realized. I apologise for that. Come on, let's eat.'
They made small talk over the meal and Leroy was pleased to find that Nadia ate heartily. When they were done eating, Nadia helped Leroy clear the dishes from the table.
'You have a lovely home. where are your parents and sister? I haven't seen any of them around.'
'My parents had to rush to the village. There is a family emergency. As for my sister, I asked her to spend the night at Darryl's house.'
'Oh okay. Interesting. So, we have the house all to ourselves. I really love your home. The paintings and family portraits give it a homey feel.'
She stood in front of one of the portraits and examined it closely.
'Is that you? You look so cute in this picture.'
'Don't I look even better in person now?'
'We both know the answer to that so I won't say anything. Aren't you afraid your sister might have a crush on your best friend?'
'I am not worried about that. Darryl is a great friend. I would trust him with my family. I don't know if he knows it yet but Raina has a crush on him. I am only helping Raina spend time with her crush. Nothing more, nothing less. That I get to spend some alone time with you is an added boon.'
'Hmm, I see. I doubt Darryl is aware. He can be thick headed at times.'
'Darryl may just surprise you in the end.'
When Leroy had called her to ask if she wanted to meet, she had thought they were going to a restaurant but this was a welcome surprise.
'What do you want to do next? We have till 11pm.'
Nadia looked at the wall clock. It read 9.30pm. 'Why 11pm? What is happening?'
'I have to make sure you are home by then.' Leroy replied and smiled at her.
Nadia was taken aback. She had thought earlier that the whole home meeting was a ploy to get her to spend the night with him.
'Don't act so surprised. I figured you are in a relationship. I don't want to put you in any compromising situation. We agreed to be friends at least. And don't worry, I haven't given up on you yet.'
'I guess you are your own man then. Let's play a game. The winner gets to choose whether or not there will be a next date.'
'You are making it even more interesting. We have ludo, scrabble and monopoly. Which one do you want to play?''Let's play scrabble. May the best player win.'
'Are you sure that is the game you want to play?'
'Positive.'
Leroy brought out the board game and arranged it in front of them.
'Let's start then. No backing out. Just so you know I was a 3-time champion in senior high school.'
Leroy got the most points and after a while Nadia had no option but to throw in the towel.
'You could have chosen ludo but here we are. My luck is terrible in ludo.'
'Here I was thinking I was going to impress you.'
'You impress me all right. And you dazzle me as well, especially with that beautiful set of teeth in your mouth.'
'That sounds so corny. I expected you to have better lines than those'
'You are only saying that because you are happy. Just admit it. It won't kill you; you know.'
Nadia laughed out loud, taken aback by his directness.
Leroy looked at the time and realized it was late.
'You have to get going. It's 10.30pm now. I need you to go and sleep so you can wake up bright and early tomorrow.'
'Usually I have to do the sacking and reminding, yet here I am. I have never been literally shooed out of a guy's apartment.'
'Do not say that. You know that if i had my way you will not be leaving. I do enjoy your company and for now I like what we have. I know you are in a relationship and I respect that. You need to know that if you weren't in a relationship though, this scenario would play out very differently.’
'Oh yeah, and how will it play out? I am very interested in that scenario.'
Nadia moved so she was standing directly in front of Leroy. He had both hands in his pockets. She could feel the warmth of his breath and could feel the intensity of his gaze but he made no move.
Leroy looked at Nadia and calmed himself down. He bent down to whisper in her ear.
'Don't start a fire you can't quench.'
Nadia shivered and drew back. She felt hot all over and he hadn't even touched her yet!
'I guess I had better be on my way then.'
'Come on, I will go and see you off. From this side of town, your neighbourhood isn't that far off.'
'I brought my car. You don't have to drive me.'
'Yes, I know. I will just drive behind you and then drive back. And I insist. I won't be able to sleep tonight if I don't do that.'
Nadia was amazed at this expression of chivalry. Alex would never have done that for her. Why was she comparing the two men? She always played the role of the independent female with Alex and he let her have her way. Yet here she was, allowing another man to take care of her. She chided herself for comparing the two men and led the way to the main entrance and exit.
Leroy followed closely behind her till they got to the destination of her apartment. She stayed in a one-bedroom apartment with a living room area and kitchen. It was a 3 storey-building. There were other tenants as well. Leroy walked her up to her apartment and kept some distance as she unlocked the door. Once she was safely inside, he waved and left. She made him promise to call or send a message when he got home.
Leroy smiled to himself all the way home. He had enjoyed the time he had spent with her. She was truly worth it. He knew for a fact she would be thinking about him tonight. He was glad he had made his intentions known to her. He didn't want her to see him as just a person with a good heart. He wanted her to know that he was a man who was very interested in her but was willing to bide his time.
When he got home, he was glad to see she had sent him a message. He replied and then called her.
'Thanks for your company tonight. I had fun. And I hope you remember that I won the game so I get to choose the next date. I want you to look forward to that.'
'Ooh, how exciting! I will be looking forward to the next time we meet. Thanks for inviting me. Goodnight.'
'Goodnight Nadia. Sweet dreams.'
Leroy went to bed that night content with his achievements for the day. Getting Rain out of the house had been more for Darryl's sake than his. He could only hope that this will bring them together.