CHAPTER SEVEN

She must’ve fallen asleep, because when she opened her eyes, Maider was by her side, shaking her. They swapped seats; Jane went to the back seat, paving way for Gil at the driver’s seat. By the time they left, she was fully awake.

He drove as fast as possible to Maider’s place. The silence was too awkward for him to bear. He kept on stealing glances at the front mirror, and every time he looked at it, he found Jane starring at him, or maybe she was looking at the road ahead. He could swear it was him she was glaring at though. He pulled up at the gate; the girls rushed out of the car, waved him bye, and dashed behind the gate. He was now alone in the car; their odors still lingering. He inhaled them as if trying to distinguish which smell belonged to whom.

He took a U-turn, drove past the city center, took a turn to the right after the City Bus moved over the fly-over, and drove for about a mile. He made another turn to the left by the traffic lights adjacent to Naledi Motors, drove again for almost half a kilometer before he turned right. The road led directly to his rented room in Area W extension. He drove in, slowly parked his car under its shade, unlocked the room; shut the door behind him, before locking it again. He threw himself on the bed and suspended all the tedious thinking for the next day. That didn’t stop his subconscious from invading his dreams though. He tossed and turned all night.

Jane helped the staggering Maider into the house, she managed to half lift and half drag her to the bedroom, before returning to the living room. She locked the living room door and poured herself some juice. She sat cross-legged on the couch. She wasn’t feeling sleepy anymore. Alone in the room, Jane tried to convince herself that it was only wishful thinking on her part. I better tip the police of this, but not before I have gathered enough information that can pin him down. The issue at hand was how she was going to go about doing the aforementioned since thieves like Gil were usually very smart. All things said, she was sure Maider was the key to her success in her risky endeavor.

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Maider’s high-pitched voice woke Jane. She opened her eyes lazily and rubbed the eye-boogers away.

“How long was I out? Good Lord! I am glad I was. I just had the weirdest dream”.

“It’s nine-thirty.” They brushed their teeth and shared a bath. Maider’s head still felt heavy from the previous night’s drinking; she’d really drowned herself, to say the least. For breakfast, they each had bacon, fried eggs, and a cup of coffee. They followed each other to the living room from the kitchen, sat on the couch, and watched the 10 a.m. news “I have a bad feeling about that guy of yours Maider,” Jane managed through a mouthful of bacon. Maider paused with the cup halfway to her mouth. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“Where is he from?” Jane asked over the rim of her cup.

“I’m not that sure, he said Maun, but I once eavesdropped on him and an old friend, it seemed like they were reminiscing their early years at Rakops. I’m not sure where he is really from.” She was massaging her head in an attempt to nurse the terrible headache she had.

“I think I saw him just a few days before the break-in at my house.” She paused to swallow the coffee and continued. “And who is this ‘old friend,’ may I have his contacts?” Maider pondered for a while and said “I think the guy is a law graduate, and currently he works at the Attorney General’s Chambers if am not mistaken”. Jane, who had studied law for two years before dumping it to do a teaching course, fared her chances of interrogating a lawyer.

“Can you get the contacts for me and e-mail them, or I will get them when I visit in a week,” Jane pleaded.

Maider nodded. She gave Jane a questioning look. “Are you sure he is the one, Jane?” Jane shrugged as they stood and cleared the coffee table. They headed to the bedroom for some much-needed rest.

Jane called Gil before she switched her phone to sleep mode and they had a chat for over five minutes. The chances of them hooking up seemed to reach somewhere over 85 percent.

“You like him, huh?” Maider poked after Jane hung up.

“Maybe I do, he is cute.” She giggled.

“And you suspect him?” Maider asked with a frown.

“I might be falling for him, yes, but that doesn’t mean I cannot point a finger at him for his crimes. All the evidence so far links him to the scene. Believe it or not, one day the truth will come out that will either jail him or set him free.” A failed attempt at hiding her feelings. Maider didn’t comment, she just raised an eyebrow and rolled over, and they took a nap. Maider’s mobile rang. She sat upright and punched the receiving button.

“Hello…” and she listened to the caller. “No, I’m sorry dear, I’m not partying tonight.” she cut off the caller and glanced at the clock; it was three o’clock in the afternoon. She shook Jane, who went straight to the fridge, poured a glass of juice, and retired on the couch.

Maider pulled a towel from the chest of drawers, wrapped it around her naked body, and winked at Jane on her way to the bathroom. She turned the taps open and the warm water filled the bath…she got in and splashed handfuls on her head while standing. She allowed the water to run down her back, down her thighs, and between her legs; the flow of the water turned her on. She sat down and splashed more water onto her breasts, making circles on her nipples with her tongue. They stood erect. She let out a gasp as she moved her fingers down her belly.

Tilting her head back, she closed her eyes as she touched her pubic area and gasped some more as she parted her thighs. With her middle finger inserted between her legs she rocked to the sensation caused, her hips moving swiftly as she pleasured herself, longing for the real thing. Jane who had been watching her all this time was getting turned on too.

She threw a vibrator into the bath and joined her as they used the vibrator on each other. Once they were satisfied they bathed, dried each other off, and giggled about what they’d just done.

“I wish he was here.” Jane joked. “Who, Gil?” Maider asked with a smirk.

“Yep,” then they laughed. She was seriously losing her mind. How could she have thoughts like that for the guy who’d caused her so much misery? She gave it a long muted thought. She had tried to deny the feeling last night, no, it could not be denied. She was falling for him!

“You’re not satisfied?” Maider pressed, unaware of her friend’s disturbed state.

“Nope…it’s not the same as the real thing, you know.” Jane was done dressing and tied her hair into her signature style: a ponytail. Maider was indecisive about what to wear, pulling this and that and throwing it off again.

“Hurry girl, I need me a walk,” Jane urged. She was almost done, in skinny jeans and a cream white bareback top.

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Gil was having a rough night with a load of what-ifs on his mind. Thoughts of Jane and that night: the guard tied to a tree, a naked Jane… The picture of her naked figure had taunted him for days and nights. He’d used most of the money to pimp the car. And now he was left with the reality of dating a woman he had subjected to trauma, pain, and whatever she had and was probably still going through.

He wanted her and he wanted her so bad. He had wanted her ever since the break-in at her house. Images of her naked body had haunted him daily and he was not sure how he could rid himself of them.

He had tried a couple of women but none of them was as appealing as Jane. He thought about how he’d made her undress that night and her stunning body. That and her beauty combined drove him crazy and he knew if he’d had but time, he would have had her that night. He felt like he was being challenged yet again. The idea of dating Jane still seemed preposterous, even for him. He rose from the bed and had a glass of water; his head was throbbing from lack of sleep and too much thinking.

He had a painkiller and an hour later he felt much better.

Amidst all his doubts and resolutions to be on his guard around her, a tiny ray of hope slithered into his mind; Love is powerful and can conquer all, maybe the love that I will shower her with will blind her from the truth.

The possibility of Jane’s actions being a trap did not elude him. It could be a plan of both her and Maider’s. He began to adjust to the possible outcomes, like that if indeed it was a trap, he’d go to jail and serve his due sentence. His thoughts were at loggerheads with each other, unable to agree on one course of action to take.

He went to the bathroom and filled the bath. He bathed slowly, weighing his alternatives. His cell phone rang. A private number appeared on the screen. He answered.

“I am leaving tomorrow morning, Gil.” He suspected it to be Jane and his heart missed a beat. Why was she doing that to him? Weaving him into her tiny web. She was slowly, but smartly and surely, dragging him into her world.

“When… are you coming back?” He fought to sound calm.

“In a week, and be ready for me.” The phone went dead on the other side. He placed the phone aside and finished bathing with an even more troubled mind. He dried himself and removed the plug. As he listened to the water escape from the tub with ease, he wished he could escape Jane with the same ease. But no, the difference between him and the water in the tub was that he had feelings, stupid feelings that could overwhelm one’s wits and leave him in a compromising situation. A situation they’ll have to pay with their lives to get out of. And his feelings were surely betraying him as far as Jane was concerned, and it was getting harder and harder to escape them.

“… In a week, be ready for me” he had repeated the words a thousand times now in his head. Jane had decided her fate and of course his too. He wished he could repel her. But how? No man in his right mind could curve Jane. He was positive he wouldn’t have answers to any of his questions until Jane had completely dragged him in.

He wore shorts, a plain vest, and slippers. He went to the living room and switched the TV on, caught the early evening news, then the sports news, and all of a sudden he was back in his head again. Thoughts of how he had transformed with a sudden twist from being poor to living a comfortable life, but that things could change anytime. In the six months he had spent in the city after his nefarious activities, he’d managed to possess two driver’s licenses: one for light-duty and the other for a special type of vehicle. Also, he’d managed to find a job as an operator at the mine.

Despite the use of bribery to obtain it, he was proud of it. He was earning around six thousand Pula a month. Botswana is corrupt, he thought. Apart from the money he was earning, he had fifty thousand Pula in the bank, which was specifically reserved for future events concerning Jane. If indeed she had plans and by some luck got to the bottom of them, he could afford legal representation.

Furthermore, his old classmate and friend could be his attorney if need be, so he had nothing to worry about as far as Jane was involved. He switched off the television and went to bed; he had to work the morning shift the following day.