Wolf Iron

Chapter 22 / A Push

Hey babe I'm going to meet Roger now! Wish me luck xoxoxo.

Chioma looked at the message in her Sent section and then closed her phone. She had sent it to Nia more than 20 minutes prior but no response as of yet. 

She was sitting on a flat rock at the outcrop of the hiking trail's entrance, swinging her feet back and forth and admiring the smoothness of her legs. She flipped her braids over her left shoulder so her strong jawline was handsome and clear, catching the sparse and fading light from the setting sun. She was wearing large pendant style earrings, the type that was only meant to be worn ironically and even then, by those who were confident enough in their fitness that they could pull it off. 

She found herself smiling and she tugged up her blouse and straightened her back until her stomach had no crease whatsoever. From the edge of the carpark, she saw Roger Catrell walking in long strides, complete in a dress shirt and corduroy slacks, with a bouquet of flowers in hand. 

Her heart jumped inside a little, even as she grimaced at his clothes. 

"Sorry I'm late, but the botanist shop took ages to ring this little number up for me." He shook the bouquet of daisies and wildflowers. 

Gonna have to work on the fashion uptake but he'll do, she thought. 

"The botanist shop?" Chioma faked a laugh. "You're funny, Roger. Do you just maybe mean the flower shop?" 

"Oh, uh yeah." Roger laughed back and scratched his head. He never knew what to do in these types of situations. 

Chioma laughed again and flipped her braids and decided that a hug was in order, at least from what she had seen on the telly it was the thing to do. They met awkwardly in the middle of an embrace, the bouquet of daisies getting crushed in between them. He handed them to her and laughed. 

"Oh, they're gorgeous," Chioma said, trying to straighten the petals out. "What are they?"

"Erm, roses I think." 

"...Right. So do you wanna-" she pointed behind them with her thumb, to the trail that led to the watering hole, "-head out then?" 

"Yeah, yeah. Trek on," he said nervously. 

They walked along the trail and Chioma stole furtive glances up at Roger, testing his gaze. He hadn't said a word about how she looked and she was disappointed. Roger, from beside her, was thrilled to have their arms rub against each other while walking and enjoyed the sensation of it. 

"Hold up," Chioma said, stopping a little behind him and propping her leg up on a large boulder. "My flats need to be tied." She slowly hiked up her skirt's hem and began tying her shoe, letting Roger see her shaven legs. She wanted him to see it in the light before he felt in the dark. 

"Oh, right then." He turned away and pretended to be as casual about it as possible, scratching at corduroy grooves. This is going well so far, he thought. 

Chioma pouted her lips out and slid her shoe off the rock, scraping it as she did and then she walked briskly, again at Roger's side. This is awful as of yet, she thought. 

They walked further into the thicket, two young people on their way to doing something that was perhaps the oldest thing that people have ever done and as they walked, their thoughts conflicted. One thought of the future she would have when she wasn't a virgin as if that was the key to unlocking the door to total buffness. The other thought about what he would tell his mates and what he wouldn't tell one of them in particular. 

DJ was a good bloke, Roger thought. But he was the one who was always asking who had pulled and who hadn't. He had suspicions about me.