THE MAY BE’S

(How we met)

“Excuse me please?, I’m finding it so hard to pick one, could you help me?”, I said stretching my hand with the perfumes carefully placed in them towards the guy sitting very close to the pay point to indicate I wanted him to have it. I had a feeling I disturbed him because he seemed to have been very engrossed in his phone. He looked up, smiled at me, and collected it. 

He rubbed the first one on his left arm and the other on his other arm and he took his time to savor each fragrance before finally saying, “This”. I hesitated a bit while looking at him pensively like I wanted a more precise answer. “I think the lavender fragrance just gives this live feeling to anything and everything”, He concluded to justify the one he had picked. I chuckled at his smiling face and he handed me the perfumes. 

I proceeded to pay and I noticed he walked towards me. “I picked the perfume, it’s just courteous I pay, don’t you think?”, He said while leaning on the pay point counter with his card stretched towards the receptionist. I laughed this time, pulling my other shopping bags closer so he would know I’d bought other things and his help was not needed. “Thank you so much for the nice gesture. I could pay for myself.”, I rushed through the statement but made it clear enough for him and the receptionist to hear. He put his hand to his chest and he mouthed “ouch” still with a smile on his face. “I mean no harm, I just want to pay. An innocent payment.”, He added. 

I was exhausted from the back and forth and I had other things to catch up on, “Go ahead”, I said pointing at him to pay. He paid for the perfume, I got the receipt and I proceeded to leave the store after I showed my gratitude to him. “I could help with your other shopping bags”, He said with his hands stretched out. I felt at this point, I had enough of him already. I gave him two of the bags and we strolled out of the store together. 

This was the start of everything good and bad. Maybe I should have just picked a perfume myself. Maybe I should have just paid for myself. Maybe I should have just carried my shopping bags myself. A lot of maybe’s that should have been but wasn’t and it was everything that led to nothing. I was hurt. I was not just emotionally hurt, I was physically and mentally hurt. The only thing I can feel is pain. The only thing he brought to my life is pain.

“The name is Bami.”, He said finally after we dropped the bags in the backseat of my car. “Thank you so much Bami. You’re a nice guy”, I said and for the first time, I gave a proper cheesy smile. He nodded in affirmation and he said, “I want to exchange contacts with you if you’re comfortable with that. You appear very uncomfortable with my niceness”. I avoided his gaze since his eyes were fixed on me “There’s no problem”, I told him still wearing my cheesy smile. He gave me his phone to input my number which I did unhesitatingly. I told him my name and he repeated it twice and he turned around to leave. “I’ll call you Anna, I promise. See you around”,  He said and he entered the store back. 

I was so caught up in the moment of figuring out if his niceness was an act of generosity or he had an underlying intention that I ignored how good he looked. He looked so good especially with the smile that felt like it was permanently plastered on his face. He had a good stance and was well built. His chiseled abs were… oh shoot. I’m starting to salivate and imagine his naked body. I snapped out of my thought, entered my car and I drove off. I had Bami in mind. I was thinking about him subconsciously till I got home. 

I did not unpack the shopping bags since I needed to film a YouTube vlog for the shopping I did. I was not in the right mood for that. I dropped all the bags in a corner of my room. I collapsed with a gentle thud on my bed and I let myself free think. I am a bank marketer but also a fashion influencer. I am dedicated to both of my professions as this was my source of income. 

I made dinner for me and beauty, a simple dinner of spaghetti and meatballs but I made cheese for Beauty. Beauty is my dog by the way, would I say dog or housemate?, because she seems to invade all of my privacy. 

What attracted me so much to him remains a mystery. Maybe it was the niceness which was most likely the charm he used in attracting women to him. From the first day I met him I knew the twenty minutes of knowing each other was going to lead somewhere. Little did I know it was going to lead somewhere tragic and disastrous. Somewhere like where I was right now, on the floor with my swollen eyes from crying.

I rolled continuously on the bed waiting for Bami to call. I honestly didn’t realize how much I fancied Bami until it was night time and I could not stop thinking about him. I wished he would call but maybe he was being a gentleman and he got my number for that reason. I got up from my bed to pick an outfit for the next day. It was going to be a Wednesday and I am not required to do so much at work except if a new client springs up. Picking the outfit was out of frustration of waiting for Bami's call which did come in two hours after that. 

I was so excited to receive the call. “Hello, it’s the guy from the perfume store”, his husky voice resonated across the phone. I smiled. “I promised I was going to call, remember?”, he said and I could tell he was smiling. “Yes you promised and you did. Thank you for the perfume”, I said while crossing my left leg over the right on the bed. I am not sure of how long the conversation with Bami lasted. It felt like minutes but it was longer. I finally drifted to sleep at 2 am with a chin to chin smile across my face. 

My friendship with Bami got more intimate but I had not gotten a chance to see him physically since our first meeting. We tried, honestly we did. A date, time, and place was set but he rain-checked at die minute. The reasons he gave were not clear but I assumed he must have been working. He worked for his dad who I later found out passed the previous year. I gave in to his excuse because I believe whatever brings one money brings one joy.

We talked a lot more over the phone and I seemed to be addicted to him over the four weeks that it lasted. I would always look forward to getting home and giving him a recap of my day. He became the number one person I wanted to tell about every cyberbullying from my YouTube channel. We would spend hours talking about ourselves, grinning, and even laughing out very loud. Bami understood every aspect of life and it made it easier to talk to him. 

“Hope I didn’t keep you waiting”, I said while walking towards Bami who was already seated in the restaurant. It was our first proper date after the first meeting. This one was a success after three failed trials. “I would wait an eternity to see your beautiful face”, He said smiling while adjusting the chair so I could sit. “Thank you gentleman”, I replied him smiling too. He went back to his seat and we exchanged pleasantries with our hands and eyes locked to each other’s. I was more comfortable with him since I’ve spent the last month and a half talking to him over the phone. We ordered a two-course meal and ravished it in silence while looking up to smile at each other at intervals.

Maybe I should have just said thank you and not exchange contacts. Maybe I should have not picked his calls. Maybe I should have not entertained his friendship. Maybe I should not have gone on a date with him. 

All of these maybes ran through my mind as I lay on the floor with tears trickling down my eyes and blood through my legs. I was angry but I was in pain. A pain that ran through every vein of my body. I took my phone and dialed his number for the umpteenth time. “THE NUMBER YOU HAVE DIALED IS BUSY PLEASE TRY AGAIN LATER”

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This is a fictional story I wrote in my free time and I just felt like sharing it with you all. Let me know if you enjoyed it and would like to see more of my fictional works. Thank you for reading this piece.

Yours,

Adetutu❤️