I got a text from Deremi “Hey boo, you doing ok? I talked to Jide and he said he’ll meet us at 4pm right after class. I think it would be best if you join us but no worries if you are not up to it”. I really wish I didn’t have to deal with him but Deremi is right. This is the only sensible path forward.
I struggle to get out of bed and hop in the shower. I find myself trying to look cute – I look in the mirror irritated at myself then think “I’m looking good for me” I settle on a crop top and jeans letting just a small portion of my perfectly crafted abs peak through.
By the time I walk into Williams Hall, it’s 4:15 and I can see Deremi and Jide in deep conversation. Deremi sees me first and waves me over. Jide looks my way but nervously scans around me like he is not sure where his eyes are allowed to land. His eyes don’t seem to be calling me crazy, if anything he looks a bit apologetic.
“Hey Teni”, he gets up and pulls a chair for me. I seat without saying a word. I am not sure what they’ve talked about or what I just walked into. Deremi breaks the silence “Girl, Jide was just telling me about that night and I am not sure what to think – Jide, please can you repeat what you just shared about the night?”
He looks at me as he starts out “Teni, I am terribly sorry. I did not know you had no recollection of the night. It all kind of makes sense now. We were in the car having a great time when you took the gummy. At the point we were both high, we were laughing uncontrollably. You leaned the back seat all the way and joked about how you felt like you were falling from the sky. You would yell like you were dropping then laugh. It was hilarious and we had the best time.”
“At some point you made a comment that you didn’t realize the vitamins were gummies but you said you were enjoying the high and didn’t like that you were sobering up. You asked me if you could have another. I said no and asked you to relax and enjoy the moment” Jide is totally focused on me as he speaks, but then he pauses and looks at Deremi like he wasn’t sure if he wanted her to hear it.
He looks back at me and continues almost like he is pretending Deremi isn’t there. “I reached for your hand and looking in your eyes I knew I was the luckiest person in the world getting to share this moment with you. I leaned in and tried to kiss you but you drew back. I respected it and actually thought it made the chase more fun. By the time we looked up it was 11pm, you told me you had a great time and I asked you if we could hang out again. You smiled and said you would love that.”
“As you walked out of the car, you were still floating and clearly still on your high. I loved seeing how carefree and happy you were. You started to walk away then came back “Jide can I have another one? I’ll save it for later” I didn’t think much of it when I handed you another. You smiled at me and threw the second one in your mouth.”
“Goodness! Teni! I laughed. That was not the deal at all. You smirked and skipped along, I waited and watched you make it to the door. Then I drove off from the best date I’ve ever had.”
I was filled with mixed emotions and thoughts “Awwwww, he liked me! But who am I? Why did I ask for another gummy and goodness did I actually take it. Sounds like he watched me make it to my building but then how did I make it to Salem Park?”
I responded, “If you had such a great time, why didn’t you call or text me after?” Embarrassed he continued “turns out I was a bit high myself. I drove off and rather than go home, I drove to the marina where I replayed the night in my head blushing like a mad man. I was leaning on the railing above the water trying to draft the perfect text. I had typed and deleted the message so many times when a noise behind me startled me and I dropped my phone in the water.”
When you gave me your number, I had not saved it yet. I dove right to texting you so when I sent the “Who’s this” text, I was at the phone store and had just gotten a replacement. I hit “send” then handed the attendant back my phone to try to recover as much as he could from the cloud. He was with my phone for about 30 minutes. When I got my phone back, I was glad to see it was you but I didn’t quite understand your tone in the response”
“You looked gorgeous when you walked into Cambridge commons, I introduced you to Ike and Jackson since they had heard me talk so much about you again, I was confused by how rude you were to them. Then we started walking away and I was just glad to be with you again”
I should have handled our conversation better but your accusations that I had somehow drugged you and left you on a park bench were fighting words that would get me kicked off the soccer team even before it got investigated.”
“Forgive me Teni. I hate how all this happened. How are you doing? What Park bench were you talking about? Are you ok? Please how I can be supportive”
Awwwwww he is even hotter when he is trying to get on my good side. He has a dimple right under his left cheekbone that I never noticed. He is so stinking cute but I’m not sure how I want to play this. Should I be hard to get or should I fold and reach for his hand. I settled for somewhere in between.
“Jide, you really hurt my feelings but I appreciate you sharing how things unfolded from your perspective” I didn’t want to say too much because we still don’t know how I made it to Salem park and if I am linked to the body found so I continued “I feel much better now, The park was no big deal. I think I was just a bit in my feelings.”
Deremi cleared her throat like a gentle reminder that she was still present and part of the conversation “oh would you look at that? I need to get my something from somewhere” she smiled at me, acknowledged Jide and the walked away.
Jide smiled then took my hand “Do you forgive me? I’m so sorry I called you crazy but I couldn’t be happier that I was wrong” I chuckled “I don’t know Jide, you’re going to have to work for my forgiveness” I teased as I playfully removed my hands from his, got up and began walking away. “I have never been happier to work in my life” he screamed as I made my way to the exit. I flirtingly looked back to see him with the biggest smile just filled with gratitude.
Chapter 11->
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