Somebody Else (Christian Romance)

TWENTY-FIVE

If anyone had told Stephanie a few months ago, that she'd be in Lagos today, hundreds of miles away from her school in Benin city, on her way to the biggest nightclub in the country, she would have thought the person was insane. But here she was. Charles had asked her to accompany him and Chinasa had been so excited to come along saying it was she wouldn't miss going to that club for the world. Charles had said he'd wanted to introduce her to some of his friends here. It was quite funny how his attitude towards her had completely changed from nonchalant to welcoming. Ever since he began noticing that she had a lot of money, he'd all of a sudden started treating her very nicely. But Stephanie wasn't fooled. It was more than obvious that the moment her bank account went red, he'd be back to treating her like an insignificant toy.

As Stephanie and Chinasa stood in their hotel room waiting for the taxi they'd ordered, Chinasa did some finishing touches on her makeup while Stephanie studied herself in the second mirror. Everything she wore spoke money. Her wig, her bag, shoes, gown, and jewelry totaled nothing less than one million naira. Chinasa had convinced her that this was not an ordinary nightclub as celebrities and other high profile people usually came here and if they didn't want to feel out of place, they needed to look very expensive and classy. She looked around, taking in every detail of their exquisite room in the 5-star hotel they'd lodged in. No doubt, her bank account was flourishing, but at what cost? Was all of this luxury worth the things she'd been doing almost every night to get the money?

Chinasa had introduced her to different men who offered her fat, juicy payments for just a night of pleasure. The more Stephanie accepted their offers, the less horrible she felt about what she was doing. On the contrary, she was beginning to enjoy these nights. They offered her a feeling of ecstasy and pleasure. A temporary means of forgetting about the burden of emptiness and guilt she'd been carrying. She'd also made alcohol her constant companion all in a bid to escape reality.

"How do I look," Chinasa dabbed her makeup brush underneath her eyes. "Do you think I should wear the other gown?"

Stephanie glanced at Chinasa's orange bodycon gown which stopped a little above her mid-thigh and exposed a huge fraction of her breasts. It was a lot similar to Stephanie's gown. The only difference was that Stephanie's was gold and a lot shorter.

"This is okay," Stephanie nodded. This was the first time Chinasa was unsure about her dressing. It was also the longest she'd seen her stand in front of a mirror. "This is the first time I'm seeing you being so meticulous about your dressing." She chuckled. "It's such a sight to behold."

"Do I have a choice?" Chinasa's eyes were focused on the mirror as she smoothed her wig. "I heard that Steamy kid is going to be there," She smirked. "I'm not leaving that place without him getting to know me."

"Steamy kid?" Stephanie gasped. "Are you kidding?" She immediately looked at herself in the mirror. Did she look good enough? Steamy kid was an upcoming hip-hop artist who recently began gaining some level of popularity in Nigeria. She could not afford to b underdressed in such a place and made to feel inferior. She scanned herself from head to toe for the umpteenth time and smirked, satisfied with what she saw.

"You see why I was so adamant on us buying these designer wears? This club isn't for small people." Chinasa looked at Stephanie's outfit as she spoke. "You look very hot." She grinned. Charles will not be able to take his eyes off you." She winked.

"Thanks," Stephanie smiled. If only Chinasa knew that Charles was the least of her worries. With all the men Chinasa had introduced her to, Stephanie was fast realizing that there were boys and there were men. Charles was still a small boy compared to all the men she had slept with. Charles dint have as much money as these men. His room was equivalent to a pig's pen. He could never hold a sensible conversation with her. All he cared about was sex. If she were to be honest with herself, she wasn't going to this club because Charles invited her. she was going because she was on a search for better men. The moment she found a guy who was better than Charles, she'd dump him within the twinkle of an eye.