Adventures With Theresa ??
Episode 16
Written by: Frank The Writer
❌Do Not Copy or Repost ❌
~ Theresa’s POV ~
He kept walking, not paying attention to my calls.
“Can you stop for a moment?” I said when I was lacking my breath. He finally stopped and I was relieved. I was literally panting.
“When were you going to tell me, Terry?” he asked, turning around to look at me.
“I.. I don’t know. I was going to tell you later that I changed my mind.” I looked him in the eyes.
“Well, at least you’re sincere.” He said, now with a sarcastic smile on his face. He then turned around, taking a step away from me.
“Frank, you don’t understand.” I moved my eyes away also. I had an achy feeling in my chest as if I were guilty of something but I wasn’t. I shouldn’t be feeling this way.
“I made that decision for myself. I’d like to go back home.” I tried to explain. “But even when I think of Lagos and all the amazing things I experienced there, the feeling doesn’t go away. And then, you called and this weekend happened, confusing the $h|t out of me.”
“So you’re leaving. You’re really moving there.” He said with an upset tone in his voice. Our eyes met, and he looked as if he was angry.
“Why are you even upset? You have no right to be.” I pointed out, raising my voice a bit. “You also have something to tell me.”
“Hmmm.. Really? And what could it be?”
“Your music career! When were you going to tell me that you are no longer interested in it?” I raised an eyebrow at him, crossing my arms on my chest. He remained quiet. “I rest my case then.”
Everything just suddenly vanished away. The cute words from today at the ceremony, the gazes we shared, his little apology last night, the kiss the other night, the laughter.. in the car, everything… I mean everything.
“I was going to tell you, I..I just…” He ran a hand through his hair, he looked nervous.
“You know what, Frank? You don’t owe me an explanation.” I said, leaving a huge sigh. I have always h@ťěd arguments with people and this time wasn’t an exception
“Just like I don’t owe you one either.”
“No, Terry, you don’t understand…” He tried to stop me from talking but I was just tired of all this.
“No, let’s just leave it like this,” I said, throwing my hands in the air. “We are nothing more than just a couple of strangers that met a few months ago at the radio station and now trying to pretend we are something when we don’t even tell each other $h|t. Eight d@mn months passed, eight! We are even more strangers now that then we…”
“Terry, just stop. I’m not prepared for this unhealthy conversation now!” He yelled, cutting me off. “I’m not ready to talk about it. I’m not ready to place my feet on the ground to realize that I left my music and think of what I’m going to do next because…” He moved his hand to his head, pulling from his hair. “Because I don’t even know what the f-__-k I’m going to do.”
He turned around, running a hand through his hair for the millionth time.
“I don’t want to bring up how shitty my life is right now when…” He sighed. “You seem to have your life figured out.”
“I…” I chuckle. I was surprised he said that. “I don’t have my life figured out,” I said immediately.
“So why the sudden change of…”
“Frank… just a week ago or so I decided Lagos is the place I want to live in.” I smiled, just thinking about it. “I don’t know where I’m going to live, I don’t have a job there, I don’t even know if it’s going to work out but…I have to try.” I took a step closer to him.
“So I don’t have everything figured out as you think.”
He just stood there looking at me, his lips closes in a tight line.
“And… I’m sorry.” I said, moving my eyes down feeling a bit overwhelmed by his stare. “I didn’t know you were going through this. You could have told me.”
“You are really moving to Calabar?” He took a minute to respond. His question sounded hurt like he doesn’t want to believe it.
“Yes, I am,” I said shyly.
He sighed, turning around, and running his hand through his hair. I don’t know why I always feel so distant from him whenever we stood just a step away. Why do I feel my heart a bit broken? Why do I feel like he’s feeling the same way?
“This is it, isn’t it?” He said, his voice was low but I heard it clear as water. He turned around slowly, he had a slight frown on his face, a glimpse in his eyes. I nodded my head, I’m going back home. No more Nysc, no more Lagos.
“Then… I don’t want to waste any time.” He took the step that was separating us and held my face in his hands, leaning in closer and kissing me so soft but so strong at the same time. This time, we were in a corner where no one could see us. I placed my hands over him, not quite stopping the kiss but he stopped, resting his forehead in mine.
“I…” Frank started saying something but I moved one finger over his mouth, not letting him speak.
I went closer to him and kissed him, my hand holding the back of his neck, securing him, and not wanting to let go of his lips. With his face in my hands and his lips on my lips, I didn’t care about anything else than the kiss. Those long months that he didn’t call vanished away from my mind.
“Terry…” He moved his lips away for a moment. “Wait…” I opened my eyes, wanting to close the gap between us again. I looked at him, his thumb running on my cheek.
“I don’t want you to think I’m using you,” his eyes looked ashamed
I didn’t respond right away, his eyes were mesmerizing in the sunset light. I sure know what to do. This time I will be the one to tell him what he meant to me.
“Come with me,” I said, convinced of what I’m going to do. “I have to show you something.”
I took his hand in mine and started walking towards his car, getting away from the wedding. He didn’t hesitate to follow me, so I just kept walking.
“Come inside,” I said as I opened the back door. He climbed inside and sat close to the window. He couldn’t figure out what I was up to.
While he was there, I reached for my bag and brought out my diary. I opened it and began to search for the write-up I had penned down on the day we first met. I felt he needed to see them now. I didn’t plan on telling him or showing them to him. But I felt kike this was what I had to do.
“I… I don’t know where to start.” I shut the door and closed the book, seating very close to him.
“My journey was just beginning and as more places, I visited the more inspired I was…” I opened the diary for him to see. I felt a warm feeling inside my chest. Frank was just staring at me.
“I wrote epistle about you on my diary after we met that very day.” I touched the pages of the diary. He then looked at me, but my focus was on the book; my diary. I remembered the days I couldn’t sleep I took it against the paper.
“Terry…” He took the diary from me, his eyes going through the writings. He kept looking at it page after page, moving his finger to where I wrote “I have been waiting for you to call”. He grinned.
“This is beautiful. You must be a good writer.”
“Um, maybe. Thank you for the compliment, anyway.” I blushed.
“You are welcome. So, tell me, why did you bring it now?”
“Because I want you to know that even if I’m moving to Calabar…” I paused. I sighed. I didn’t know this was going to be this difficult to say.
Frank was calmly waiting for me to complete my sentence. “Go on.. I’m all ears,” He said.
“A part of you will stay forever with me.”
He then turned completely and faced me eyeball to eyeball, his eyes were glossy, a frown on his brows.
“I was really a fool for not going after you that first time.” He said, staring into my eyes until he blinked. “I’m not letting it happen again.”
Frank moved closer, taking my face in his hands, and leaning closer to kiss me. He kissed me hungrily. I liked how his lips felt; soft and so gentle but at the same time a bit rough. Mind you, we were inside his car. There were other cars parked there and no one could see us unless the person had to stare deep through the windscreen which was all wined up.
Frank gently laid me down, being careful so he wouldn’t be hard on me. I didn’t stop him either. I had been craving this moment for so long. I could feel his weight over me. I couldn’t believe we were going to make love inside his car. Never done this before and it was about to go down. I felt my heart pounding in my chest rapidly.
“Are you…um, okay with this?” He asked, his voice sounding raspy.
To be continued…
Frank The Writer