Friendzone HQ #11 By @Tomilola_coco

Vanessa was that woman who knew when and where to draw the line.

Years before, the guy she had been dating before she met Segun had been a serial cheater. The guy had believed for some reason that the female kind was missing out if they did not get a piece of him and so flirted with every single thing with a hole.

He’d hit on her sister, her cousin, his friend’s girlfriend and everyone basically.

Once, they had gone to the mall together and he had slipped his number over the counter to the girl who sold movie tickets to them.

Vanessa had found out about the girl months after, when that one had gotten pregnant and had refused to remove it.

She remembered how badly that night had gone.

“There’s no proof the baby is even mine” He’d said, in a bid to prevent her from packing her things and leaving his house. “We had sex just once and she promised she was safe. I couldn’t have hit it raw if I had an idea she could get pregnant”

Vanessa had been appalled and had left the house without saying a word.

It was how she treated men who treated her like crap.

So why was she finding it difficult to pack her things and return to the UK after finding out about Adaeze?

It should be easy, she should not find herself in a situation as difficult as the one she was in.

“Why did you not tell me about her?” She asked Segun as they drove home silently.

“But I did” He said without glancing at her, the way he had been talking to her since she arrived unannounced the week before.

“You did not”

He glanced at her now, a deep frown on his face. “Are we choosing what we remember now?” he asked her and she looked away immediately.

She remembered that he had told her about Adaeze now.

The first night they met, they had screwed in the backseat of his car. It had been amazing and she’d felt liberated, the way she had not felt in months.

However, he’d told her what he did was wrong because he had a relationship that he had not officially ended.

Vanessa never asked about that relationship, maybe because she did not see him after that night until two months later when they had ended up in his apartment and had sex again.

They started dating the week later and she never asked about the girl he did not “officially” end things with.

“So this is my fault now”

“Stop trying hard to nag, Vanessa. I don’t have the patience for it”

“Why? Because you’re crazy about her?”

He stifled a chuckle, “You must be high. I’m not crazy about Adaeze.”

“I’m talking about your best friend”

He almost slammed his leg on the brakes when the shock hit him, how the heck did she know?

Kayode had mentioned at the dinner that their chemistry had been obvious but he had not thought for a second that Vanessa would notice.

During the dinner, she had dedicated her time and energy to Adaeze, how did she now realize he was ogling Oyin like the world began and ended with her.

“Segun, this is wrong. I am in love with you, I came all the way for you and this is what I get?”

Segun wanted to let her know he did not ask for her to come, he wanted to put the words out there, wanted to let them hang in the air like a stench so she could remember that she had made that trip on her own accord and could not hold him responsible for anything.

But he chose not to, he was preoccupied with other things anyway, like if what he was feeling for Oyin was pure lust or something more.

He liked her, he liked her a whole lot and that evening at dinner, after he’d learnt about her relationship with Kolapo and had kissed her, he had realized liking her was not just what he felt.

He was crazy about her, he wanted to push her against the wall, raised her dress and have her in the heat of the moment.

He wanted to have her on his bed, in his backseat, against the wall, on his kitchen counter, under the shower and in the rain.

The mere thought of her naked body pressing hard against his was already causing a reaction in his pants.

He wanted her so bad and he was going to get her.

Tonight.

***

Kolapo wanted to tell himself that Segun hanging around his new girlfriend was harmless.

He wanted to drop her off at hers, go to his and sleep soundly, telling himself that Segun did not want more even now that they were together.

But the more he tried to banish the thoughts, the stronger they came, pushing through his mind like a strong wave and causing him to become paranoid.

Earlier, when she had stormed out of the dining room for no particular reason and Segun had immediately followed her, he had gathered all the strength inside of him to keep him seated in the chair where she’d left him.

It had also taken a whole lot more to not go after them when Kayode had told him to sit down.

But he knew there was more that had happened when they left him alone.

“I’m a good man you know” he began to say as he slowed down by a traffic light, waiting for the light to turn green.

Her eyes were set on the empty shops on the other side of the road which were now vacant because of the time of the night.

She ignored his questions, her mind carried away by the kiss that happened between her and Segun, the way her body responded and the way it still responded.

She wanted him so bad, she wanted him to make love to her, she wanted to moan his name while he pushed into her and placed kisses all over her body.

She wanted him.

“Oyin, I am a good man and I would never do you wrong.”

She faced him now, “I know” she muttered and then pointed at the light, “it’s green”

He slammed his leg on the accelerator, jolting her and causing her to reflexively grab the door.

She knew the action was as a result of something else going through his mind.

“So why then are you doing me wrong?” he asked, the hurt in his voice clearer than the moon on the nights it came full.

“I am not doing you wrong”

“But you would eventually”

The car fell silent, her eyes returned to the other side of the road as they sped by.

“I am not sure I have met anyone with so much pessimism in their own relationship” she said to him, silently hoping he would stop talking.

Truth was, she did not think it was wise to talk about the night and what might have happened.

What Kolapo did not realize was the more he mentioned Segun and her, the more she thought about him doing more than he was allowed to do while they were alone in that room.

“Oh, this is a relationship? I did not know o. maybe because my girlfriend is fooling around with her supposed friend who clearly wants to sleep with her and dump her!”

Her hands found her phone and she began to scroll through pictures on Instagram.

He was either angry or he was trying to be.

Either way, he sounded like he was going to say something he would regret saying later.

And she did not want to lead him there, she did not want to indulge him or anything.

So she was going to do anything to distract herself while he ranted.

“Oyin you are one of the smartest people I know. But how in the world can you not see someone who is trying to use you for who they are?”

“I think we should stop talking about this”

“Why? Why do we always do what you want to do ehn? It feels to me like this relationship is one sided”

She looked at him now, “Stop yelling, KP.”

He laughed drily, “You even call me KP. Not babe, not bae not boo not anything special”

“Come on, you are not going to make that one into an issue would you?”

“You don’t get it do you? If you felt something you would not be behaving so ordinary and you would definitely have apologized for tonight.”

She shrugged, “Maybe because my boyfriend is obsessed about my best friend so much it is almost irritating.”

He nodded slowly, refusing to ban the next thought that crept into his head.

It was a foolish thought and it was likely going to prove disastrous but he was going to do it regardless.

“Okay I’m sorry.” He said, “Can we go to mine?”

She nodded, “Sure”

And as he sped towards his, intensifying his speed, he knew she was not in the least bit prepared for what he had in mind for her that night.

Friendzone HQ

– Tomilola Coco Adeyemo