When A Playboy Loves

|| 37.

King

My shock lasted only a few seconds before I cupped my lips, letting out a scream. There was no echo, no resonance. It was safe to say that the darkness ate the sounds I made. I liked that. I did it again, making sure to mention the names of the people that had made my life a living hell in the past weeks.

By the time, the noise ceased, I had cursed quite a number of people. I made a small sound and laughed, this actually felt good, refreshing; better than I'd anticipated. It was fun, different from what I was used to and I was more than willing to return here.

There was a honk, three honks from the ship and on cue, the whole place became quiet. Sadness hung in the air. Probably the same sadness that had crept into Uti's voice when she explained what was going on. It had fled when she talked about shouting.

A weight rested on my shoulder and arms wrapped around my waist from behind. The excitement had dwindled, realisation was setting in. In comfortable silence, we watched the ship leave the dock and I knew, I was not going anywhere without her.

* * *

A smile breezed onto my face as we walked out to the main road with our hands woven together to meet Confidence or whatever the uber guy's name was. Without warning, Uti began to laugh. I stilled, wondering if she had heard some of the curses I directed at a particular person she knew.

"Why are you laughing?"

Her laugh quieted down. "I'm happy."

"Me too," I said; I was. 

For a few seconds, our conversations at the port replayed in my head. It was like a confession to a priest but without the penance. No questions asked or answered.

The fact that I didn't have to ask before she told me all about it made the moment even more beautiful. With the sky, sea and warm breeze as our only companions, I had felt closer to her in more ways than one.

Tonight was perfect, minus the gun scare.

Our ride home was in view now, a Toyota Camry with its inner lights on. The road was empty as we crossed over to the other side, the street lights illuminating our path.

Her phone's flashlight came on and she let go of my hand to pull it from her pocket. An unusual sense of loss overtook me and as soon as she put the phone back in her pocket, I placed her hand back in mine.

Unlike our coming here, there was no space left in between us when we settled into the backseat. Uti brought out her phone when the driver asked for our destination, she fiddled with her hands on her lap, her head raised to meet mine but she said nothing.

"What is it?" I asked; the way she bit down on her lower lip had not gone unnoticed by me. It was a new habit of hers that I liked.

"I'd like to see Madam Bose, she's now a grandma. We won't spend much time."

I had no idea who the hell Madam Bose was but Uti was so cute with her fingers drawing random patterns on her trouser. There were many sides to Uti and I was most familiar with the stubborn side but I found this new, shy version of her extremely cute. 

Uti gave the driver her phone after I nodded my approval. I scoffed, she didn't even need to ask, I would have followed her anywhere. When he confirmed the location, she gave the go-ahead for us to leave.

We journeyed in silence with her head propped on my shoulder and my fingers going up and down her arm. Cool air from outside wafted in through the open window and I relaxed further into the seat. This felt all too strange, a good kind of strange and I wanted this moment to last longer.