Growing Together:An African Tale

Chapter 8

  The day was here in a flash and had arrived yet again without any announcement, Bunmi thought as she opened her eyes only to be greeted with darkness, reaching for her bedside table she picked up the phone, awakening the screen and blinding her eyes, in the process shutting them rapidly, a reaction to the action of the brightness.

In another attempt to look at her phone's screen, Bunmi blinked twice to adjust her eyes from the effect and dimmed the light, taking note of the time as it changed from 00:12 to 00:13. She began to wonder what had woken her up at such an hour before her ears picked up the soft knocks at her bedroom door, with worry and confusion etched on her face, she headed to answer the persistent taps growing louder with every step she took to investigate the cause only responding to the disturbance  with a low toned reply.

"I'm coming". 

Upon opening the door, Bunmi was greeted with a tired and very drunk looking Jide, an unexpected early morning visitor. The two stood for a while, she being too stunned to speak as he slurred his words with an alcohol stenched breath. At last their little frozen moment ended with  his name leaving her lips in a whisper,"Jide!".  His only response to his given identity was muffled by his face landing at her neck, driving his feet off balance and crushing against Bunmi's soft frame against the door's lining. He was a whole baggage in that moment and she had no intentions of claiming  or carrying it, her silly joke ensuing a laughing out of her, comprehension hitting her as Jide's weight added more pressure to her bones.

After so many failed attempts at waking him up, she gave up and moved him to her bed as best as she could lead him considering the fact that she had no power to drag him all the way to his room especially with the thought involving those horrible flight of stairs in addition to his weight leaning on her body for support. The whole effort would have done neither parties any good, so for the night her room and her bed seemed like the most comforting option, she tucked Jide in and like a baby he slept, his gentle face washing all that worried her from the party, making everything seem so little now. Bunmi stared long and hard into the dark, forgetting and forgiving the earlier incident before she heard Kemi's voice ring loud in her head.

'He's mine'

Bunmi frowns.

In the quiet of the room Bunmi let out a sigh, she was coming to terms with facts, knowing it was best to keep her distance from all the trouble she could sense Kemi would be bringing her way, challenges she wasn't willing to be opened to or caught in between. This was an acceptance, an acknowledgment of life's active game of 'Criss cross' and one thing she honestly couldn't stomach being in, was the pain, The ability of having to feel it, to hurt from and to be bothered by it. She would rather stay alone and away, that was the ultimate plan, to stay away, to stay as far away as away can be from the hot bubbling stew on the stove.

As she stood to leave the side of the bed Jide laid on, He caught her hand and pulled her on him locking a stunned Bunmi to his chest. There was no moment as greatly awkward as the situation right there, held and trapped in a position unescapable from, a position that left their chest in a clash of connected breathing.

The air from his breath fanning her face repeatedly as she tried to free herself from his embrace, after she had struggled countless times, with his arm-like chains, Jide rolled them to his side, a trapped Bunmi still secured in his grasps.

"Jide?"

Bunmi hoped hearing her calling his name would wake him up, would elicit some sort of response and it would lead to her being free but there was nothing. Her spirit rose with an unrelenting hope, filling her with the energy to continue her various attempts at freeing herself from his hold, this time when  she tried to pry his hands off but to no avail she became defeated, staring intently at the form of her bedside lamp, her body slowly, gradually and finally seeped his warmth, the feeling was strange, unknowing, scary but comfortable, she didn't know when she unconsciously snuggled into him some more and met her eyes with sleep as their body formed to become one.

...
Some nights are for being held,
They're for connecting and bonding,
Some nights are meant so the soul can mate and say hey before it is too late.
...

Jide wasn't aware that there was a thing called attraction, he wasn't aware that you could see someone and time will take a dip. He wasn't aware that one could feel or begin to feel differently, he wasn't aware but in this very moment he felt her, he felt all of her present in his dreams,  he felt her awake, he felt her and clung to her, he smiled and praised the heavens, too tired to realize that Bunmi was actually in his arms, sleeping soundly and as he fell into his imagination with her while he continued snoring softly in her ears. His breath caressed her face and she could feel the goosebumps standing at attention the tiny hairs all over her body as she remained a captive in her own bed.

It was a lovely embrace but she'd hate to let herself acknowledge it or to even let her body accept more than it'd ever get. In that dark room, as they continued to sleep, their breath danced in the large room.

Jide's snore was a comfort rather than an annoyance and with the hours sailing into a beautiful day, they sunk into sleep's realm, waking up blissful dreams that one would not believe could be conjured from two souls clamoring for peace within.

One slowly willing, the other willingly running.

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Small note to my readers:

To my beautiful readers, I'm stuck moving this book forward but I'll continue with this found zeal and give this book the Breathe of life it deserves.

As you enjoy it, it gladdens my heart.

Remember to love your heart despite the troubles ✨

I love you all and really appreciate your reads, catch you next time on another chapter upload ;)