FORTY-FIVE

The moon was showing off tonight.

Maybe it has always been like that as I hardly cared about it. I wasn't like Chinwe whose preferred way of clearing her head was sitting outside on the verandah and staring at the moon. She said she felt all her worries evaporate whenever she did so. The last time I remember paying heed to the moon was when I was little when my friends and I discovered that it followed us wherever we went.

But tonight that I finally paid attention to it, I felt like it was punishing me for all the times I ignored it, with a cruel brashness that almost me curse at it. The only thing that withheld me was Dogo. The last thing I wanted was for him to think I was mad.

It stood there in the sky, with every part of it on display, glowing serenely in the dark sky. Unlike me, it was allowed to show off every part of it without judgment. It wasn't ashamed to come out half or full. Everyone accepted it however it came. A harsh contrast to me who was now a shadow of myself, in constant fear of a part of me being exposed.

"Right or left?"

I sent my attention to Dogo immediately his voice cut through the silence in the car, grateful for the distraction.

"What?"

"Should go I left or right?"

"Left. The red gate by your left".

Dogo nodded and went back to driving. But I didn't go back to staring at the moon. My interest had hooked itself to him. He hadn't said a word to me since Mene left. I wasn't even sure he'd spared a glance at me even though it was obvious that I'd been crying. I didn't expect him to care though. I was just the lady his boss' was screwing. The girl who was stressing his boss out. I was sure he would be part of the people who would try to shoot me dead if my identity ever leaks.

As if noticing I was watching him, his eyes peeked up at the front view mirror. Our eyes locked and when he didn't break eye contact, I decided to speak.

"You must hate me because of how I treated Mene".

"I don't know what happened between you and Mene". The shock splayed on my face was probably the reason he explained further. How could he say that when he was right there with us? "My business is keeping him safe. I don't interfere with his business".

Geez, what's with the seriousness? He reminded me of Monday mornings.

I cleared my throat, prompting my mind to focus on the bone of contention. "So you don't know anything about him?"

He killed the engine, silently announcing that we were in front of my gate. "Is there any particular reason you're asking that?" He was already leaving the car so I waited as he left the car and moved over to open the door for me before I answered his question.

"I wanted to know more about him".

I understood the million doubts that caused his brows to rise. Anyone would also wonder why I wanted to know more about my lover from their bodyguard.

"You know what? Never mind". I told him, realising that this was a dead-end conversation. "Forget I ever asked that".

He nodded in response and I made my way towards our house with my lips pressed together. I really shouldn't have said anything to this stuck-up man in the first place. He was bad energy.

I'd just gotten close to the gate when he spoke to me, to my greatest surprise.

"Trust him".

I whirled around to look at him. He was right in front of the door which led to the driver's seat.

"If Mene makes any comment to you, trust him. He doesn't make baseless statements. Whether it's threats, promises, whatever, he doesn't blab".

His words weren't much but the weight behind them was heavy enough to contend with the fear of the thought of Dr Mary finding out about us. He was implicitly telling me that I shouldn't be scared of anything when I was with Mene. If he'd said no one would hurt me then no one would.

I offered him a small smile. "Thank..." The gate opened with an abrupt force, cutting me off and Chinwe marched out in a flimsy pink nightie that showed off her pebbled nipples and the silhouette of her body.

"What are you doing outside?" I demanded.

"I knew you were back 'cause I heard the car sound but you were wasting time outside so I decided to come and see why for myself. Where's Mene?". She asked, her eyes darting around and when they settled beside me, the twist of emotions in them made me turn to what she was staring at. I was startled when I found Dogo right beside me. Geez, I didn't even know when he got there. He'd probably rushed to my side because of the kind of force Chinwe used to push open the gate.

Mene made the right choice. This man was overly security conscious.

But Dogo and Chinwe were too engrossed in the sight of each other to notice whatever shock I had on my face. My brows knitted as something else grasped my attention, something I knew anyone who came here would also notice. The air around us was clouded with a rush of electricity, a sexual tension so strong, that it was a miracle they hadn't dropped to their feet.

No. No. No.

Every part of me rose in disagreement with whatever was blossoming right here. Chinwe shouldn't have anything to do with this man. Yes, he was an eye candy but he was just as entertaining as a blank sign board. He also had that "trust me, you don't want to know my secrets" aura. He was a red flag. Something within me also feared that he would drag her to that darkness that followed him.

Thankfully, I didn't even have to do much. Suka helped me do the work by shattering the tension with his presence. All eyes moved to him just as he walked out of the gate.

Dogo remained by my side even as his attention moved to Suka. He didn't look surprised that Suka had been here but rather he looked... furious?

"Hi, Tarila". He waved at me and I waved back before he moved over to meet Dogo. I'd suspected that something was wrong from the gloom that masked his face and his tone only heightened my suspicions. I sent a questioning look to Chinwe who responded with a careless shrug. The kind I was certain Cain threw at God when he asked if he was his brother's keeper.

We waited till Suka and Dogo entered the car and I caught Dogo's attention linger on Chinwe for a split second before he started the car. Chinwe hauled me inside, shutting the gate as we strolled over to our apartment.

"What did you do to Suka?"

"I knew you would ask that". She threw her hands in the air in exasperation.

"You can't blame me". I started in my defence. "He was over there looking like he just lost a loved one while you, on the other hand, were busy eye fucking Mene's bodyguard".

I shut the door as she whirled around to face me with a slack jaw and wide eyes.

"I wasn't eye fucking anybody". She denied.

"Please". I rolled my eyes at her as I threw my bag onto the couch before dropping it. "You know you can't lie to me. He's off limits though".

"Why?"

The urgency that followed that question made me cackle. "And I thought you didn't care about him?"

She pursed her lips and folded her hands at me. "Yes. I'm not interested in him and I did nothing to Suka". I stayed quiet, waiting for her to give me something other than that. "Fine". She sighed. "I'm tired of him".

"I'm not surprised". I chuckled. I even expected it to end sooner than it did. That was Chinwe for you. She got tired of men easily for some reason we both didn't know of. "But why?"

"I don't know". She replied, coming to sit beside me. "I just got irritated. He doesn't have long-term goals or serious plans for himself. He acts like a kid".

"Since when do you care about long-term goals and serious plans? I mean you don't even have any yourself". I quipped and she snatched one of the throw pillows and threw it at me which I dodged with a giggle.

"Everything must come to an end. That's a rule in life".

"If you say so".

"Why didn't Mene drop you off? Why did you even come back? You didn't offer me any explanation when I asked over the phone".

The smile that lingered from my laughter dropped as everything that happened at the restaurant rolled back to my recollection.

"We fought".

"We ran into Chinonso".

"The Apostle?"

"Stop calling him that". I scolded her, although to withhold the chuckle that escaped me. She'd been calling him that ever since I told her everything that happened that day.

"But that's what he is. What did he come there to do? To continue his sermon?"

"No. He had an appointment and he happened to see me and Mene with each other. Mene, who knew how badly I wanted to keep this secret from Dr Mary, went on to make it more than obvious that we were sleeping together".

"Shit".

"Yeah. So I called him selfish and asked him to take me home but now I'm feeling like I overreacted". I sighed, relaxing further on the sofa. "He was so hurt when he left the car. I shouldn't have yelled at him like that".

"Awww my poor baby". Chinwe let out a sympathetic sigh, offering her shoulder for me to place my head on for support. "I'm sure you guys would make up. It's normal for couples to have misunderstandings". She rubbed by hands in assurance.

I knew I should have pointed out that we weren't couples and we were just fucking but I didn't.

My heart loved the sound of that.