The Right One

Twenty five

"You're coming around a little too often these days, am I safe?"

The question was directed from Hope to her friend who was 'visiting' for the third time that week. It might have seemed a thoughtful gesture coming from anyone else, but this was Tayo, her friend was everything else but 'thoughtful.'

"I take the pain to come here everyday and you're not happy?" Tayo demanded, trying but failing to put up an upset front.

Of course, Hope was not buying it even the slightest bit. "I'm going to get fired at this rate."

"You're an ungrateful being. You know that, right?"

Hope shot her friend a blank look, unimpressed. "Really. How so?"

Tayo repositioned herself on her seat, and Hope just knew she was about to make a ridiculous claim. "I come in here as a customer, and target your lunch break. You get the privilege of seeing my beautiful face, and get to earn more money all at once, because of me."

Hope didn't try much, but she found it hard to reason with her friend's 'logic'. There was no point to it anyway. "Just eat."

Tayo's reply was a derisive snort.

Hope leaned back against her seat as she watched her friend despite her attitude, do exactly that. A fond smile crept over her face. Tayo was right; Hope loved having her around, but she'd never admit that to her. That'd be adding fuel to an already blistering fire.

Resumption was lurking, and Hope was already feeling really nostalgic. She'd always felt like that, but not as intensely as it was this time, and she knew it was majorly because of Raymond. It was not even a week into their relationship and she was already dreading parting from him. Talk about being smitten smitten.

She didn't realize she'd sighed aloud until her friend shot her a weird look. "What's with the sigh?"

Hope shook her head, pouting. "I don't want to go back to school."

Her friend's eyes rolled automatically. "Oh please. Rub it in that some of us aren't going to school."

"Like you're even the slightest bit bothered."

Tayo replied with a wink and Hope snorted. She knew Tayo had never for once regretted her choice to go to fashion school after secondary school instead of the University. What had surprised Hope at the time was that her parents had supported her decision. She could only imagine what her mum's reaction would have been if she'd been in Tayo's shoes at the time.

Tayo's expression suddenly turned thoughtful. "You know . . . It's crazy. I still can't wrap my head around the fact that you and your 'uncle Ray' . . . It's crazy. Never in a million years would I have thought he'd reciprocate your feelings."

"Ouch."

Tayo chuckled. "Sorry, but it's the truth."

Hope exhaled, a smile curving her face. Maybe she'd have been mad if she didn't sometimes share the thought. Even she still found it hard wrapping her head around it sometimes, but it was her reality. And she loved it. They'd not seen each other since the last dinner, which had been three days before and she was craving seeing him again. If possible, she wanted to glue him to her side so she could freely look at him whenever she thought of him -- which was of course like every second. Talking on phone was nowhere near enough, she missed him and really wanted to see him in person, but she couldn't tell him that because the last thing she wanted was to come off as clingy. God forbid she turned into one of those.

"I want to see him!" Hope whined softly, earning another weird look from her friend.

Tayo shuddered, exaggeratedly. "Never ever you do that again. I beg you. That expression is not for you. I think you just made me age a hundred years for experiencing what should never have happened in my lifetime."