Romance in Kitalo City Book 1
Nella isn't looking for love. She's had a taste of it and is convinced it's not as glamorous as the world portrays it to be. She's pretty sure romance isn't for her, until she meets a charming basketball player who seem...
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We'd just sat down for dinner, the energy in the restaurant buzzing with excitement from having won our first game against the Rwandan basketball team.
"Ehhh! Who is that girl with Akim and his girlfriend? She looks like she could be my dessert after this dinner!" Koffi, one of my teammates sitting on my right, said. I shifted my gaze in the direction of the restaurant's entrance to see none other than the girl in the shorts walking towards our banquet-style table.
What the heck?!
Both Nella and the girl she'd walked in with looked good enough to eat, as Koffi had just suggested. Chimwemwe and I had just recently started hanging out with Koffi and Akim. Because the friendship was fairly new, we didn't know too much about each other yet, so though I knew Akim had a girlfriend, I had no idea what she looked like. I sat there feeling tense. It would be extremely embarrassing to find out I'd been secretly pining over my teammate's girl the past few days. Even if nobody knew about it but me.
"Bro, was I not supposed to say that? Is she your girl or something?" Koffi said, and I pried my eyes off her to look at him.
"Huh?"
"Well you just scoffed and you look a bit flustered so I thought-"
"No, man. My bad. I don't even know her, really." I tried to laugh off the awkwardness.
"...my girlfriend," I heard Akim say, and my attention went back to them. The girl who'd come in with them greeted us and my teammates started hooting and giving Akim praises. Hooligans.
I just sat there relieved to know that Nella Lola was not Akim's girlfriend.
"Hey, come on guys!" he said with a roll of his eyes as his girlfriend gracefully laughed off our teammates' behaviour. "As I was saying, that next to her is Ornella, Namiko's best friend, and she's off limits, so don't even breathe in her direction."
While the others whined and acted like adolescent boys, I studied her face, noticing that she looked a bit uneasy, unlike how relaxed she was in her Instagram posts and on her YouTube channel. Yes, I'd watched a video or two. Maybe five. Only out of curiosity. At least that's what I was telling myself.
She waved and smiled but the dimples weren't as deeply set as when she really smiled. I kept my eyes on her face to avoid gawking at her body. She looked too good in the silky dress she wore, her rich brown skin glowing. When they sat down, the only seat available for her was directly across from mine. We locked eyes for a moment and she smiled at me. It was still an uncomfortable smile, but her dimples managed to make my head spin anyway. Seeing them up close was enough for me to make a decision right then and there.
I was officially back on the market. And if the girl in the shorts wanted me, then she could have me. It's crazy how I made that decision so quickly after a couple of years of not caring one bit about romance, but now I sat there hoping she'd gain interest in me, too. The night dragged on, my eyes constantly finding their way to her.
