His kind of girl (7)

“Doris!” Matthew, my co-worker called. I almost fell off my chair. “Yes, yes what is it?” I asked offended. “Chale they don’t pay you to day dream over here oh?” He said annoyingly. I looked at him and rolled my eyes. “How may I help you?” I responded. Before he could utter a word my phone rang. I saw that it was Pierre and smiled. Matthew dropped some files on desk and walked off fuming. 

Me: Hello, I thought you couldn’t make calls at work.

Pierre: Congratulations, you made me break the rules. How’s your day going?

Me: It’s fine. I just pissed my co-worker off though. Hey I really can’t stop thinking about the other day.

Pierre: Same here. You know what; we should meet up tomorrow night. I would like to…ermm I have to run love, will call you later. 

He had said enough. My mind was made up! Team Pierre for the Doris!!! Let’s face it; Pierre was older so we were more likely to get married sooner than Sedem. Sedem wasn’t too romantic either. I mean his idea of fun was watching movies and eating. Not forgetting the kiss test, Pierre won hands down. Now the problem was how to tell Sedem.

 After work I decided to go shopping. There was this really nice shop around my place. I knew the attendant there so I was assured of a good discount. Pierre was a fancy guy so I had to maintain my fancy look to compliment his. When I got there, my options were over whelming and so were the prices! How did people send so much on a dress made from ONE YARD of fabric?!! After trying out clothes for almost an hour, I settled on a really stylish black dress. It had a very sly way of making my belly look really flat. I bargained with all my strength and might. “Don’t worry I’ll give it to you for that amount. Do you know why? Because you look really fly these days.” Ebo, the shop attendant said with a giggle. “You see ooh.” I agreed. He put the dress in a bag for me. “How’s your friend doing? The one you came to buy the suit with? Is he better now?” He asked. “Oh Nana, he’s fine.” I replied giving him the money. Then I paused. “What do you mean by is he better?” I inquired. Ebo looked at me funny. “As in, has he recovered from his accident?” He explained. 

I got to the hospital in less than 30 minutes. I met Nana’s mother and asked her what happened. Her eyes were red. She looked like she hadn’t slept in a year. “Doris, he was drunk driving and run into another car…” She said, almost in tears. Just then, she was called by a nurse. I sat down and tried to absorb all the stories. I couldn’t believe it. Nana never did that. He was careful when it came to driving. Why would he do that? It seemed so unreal to me. His mum came back. “The doctors said he’s showing good signs of waking up.” She explained. “Waking up?” I asked. She turned to look at me like I was Nemo. “Nana has been in a coma for over a week now.” She finally said. My heart missed a beat. This was simply too much for me to handle.

I blamed myself for not checking on Nana. Maybe if I did I could have prevented this. I rescheduled my date with Pierre the next day and went to visit Nana. His mum allowed me to see him. His leg was in a cast and he had cuts on his chin. He was asleep peacefully. I couldn’t stop my tears from falling. I sat down next to him. Just then he moved one finger. “Mrs. Obeng-Yeboah did you see that? His finger moved!” I exclaimed. She just shook her head. “The doctors say that’s normal. He does that quiet often.” She said, trying to conjure a smile. I realized how much she was hurting. Him being her only child and she being a single mum and all wasn’t easy at all. She held my hand and I just then I knew we both loved him very much.

I needed someone to talk to. Nicky had gone on a work trip to Tamale and so I decided to go to Sedem’s place. I knew I couldn’t talk to him about Nana but at least he could help me get the hospital images out of my head. Sedem had a way of making you forget your problems. I stopped a taxi from the hospital and took it straight to his house. I spotted two people outside his house when we were getting closer. If he had company I would just have gone straight home but something made me stop. It was a girl and she was laughing like she owned the whole neighbourhood. Sedem didn’t see me at all. There was barely an inch of gap between them. I walked to them slowly. 

“Hi!” I announced. Sedem turned around and saw me. THEN, he moved a bit away from the girl. “Doris, what’s up?...this is my friend Alima.” he said. She smiled but I wasn’t even paying attention to her. This was my chance and I wasn’t going to let it pass me by. I knew it wasn’t the best of ways to shake him off but who knows. I put my hands on my hips and thundered, “So this is how you treat me after all you said? I should have known.” Sedem’s face turned into a complete question mark. Alima turned to look at him. Apparently none of us saw this coming “What is that supposed to mean?” He asked. “Alima is my course mate from Uni.” He shot back. Eish this could be very embarrassing but I wasn’t going to give up so easily. “That’s the new lie now eh? Sedem you know what? Let’s just be friends because obviously you can’t even be honest with me.” I said and turned around to leave. He run after me and grabbed my hand. “Doris I’m not lying. She’s my friend. You can ask…” he went on but I pulled my hand back and said, “You know what, I don’t care. Go on with your flirty Uni chat.” I increased my pace. “Isn’t this what you like? After all you were a door mat to Nana while he changed girls!” He shouted out of anger. I stopped and turned around. “I’m glad I didn’t say yes to you.” I said and this time I wasn’t acting.

To be continued…

His kind of girl (6)

“He’s definitely caring and all but we grew up together. Nicky you know that!” I complained.  Nicky stopped combing her hair and looked at me. “It’s amazing how blind you are.” She said. “No I’m not. I know Sedem is a nice guy but…” I started but she cut in rudely. “Oh my goodness, you are that blind. You are doing the same thing Nana did.” I paused for a minute. She was right. Nana wouldn’t date me for the exact same reason and I was calling him a jerk. Maybe I was just like him, a jerkette though. “Well sweety, the ball is in your court. I can’t tell you what to do. Besides, Sedem is my cousin so I really don’t want to get involved in this. Good luck. I have to get going. Max is on his way to my place.” She said and walked to her car. She gave me a hug and drove off. She didn’t make my situation any better. I looked up and admired the stars for a moment. “God give me a sign.” I said and walked into the house.

After careful thought, I decided to do the best thing. I was going to test how I felt about Pierre and Sedem. They say kisses don’t lie. I mean how else would I know who I wanted to settle down with? I knew Nicky wouldn’t agree to this so I decided to do it all by myself. It was going to be hard but I knew I could pull it off. That weekend I called Sedem up and asked if we could talk. He suggested we go on a date. I agreed and we went to see a movie. I must admit I was very comfortable around him. We made silly jokes here and there and got a cozy place to sit in the cinema. Things got a little awkward when he put his arm around me. It was just a bit weird but when he said, “My arm isn’t a beast you know.” I giggled and leaned closer to him. This wasn’t as bad as I thought. 

“I had a really fun time.” I said when we got back. We were parked in front of my house. There was a brief silence. “So have you made up your mind about what I said?” Sedem asked nervously. This was not going to be easy. “No not yet, I’m still taking my time. I don’t want to make the wrong decision.” I explained. I saw his face turn cold. Just impulsively, I moved closer to him and kissed him. My heart was beating really fast. When I moved back his expression was priceless. Almost immediately he grabbed me and kissed me again. This was nice.

From being in the background to being hot cake was amazing. Sedem called me a thousand times every day. The attention was so much fun. He made me laugh even more. I did think about settling down with him but the mystery of kissing Pierre was just too tempting so when he asked to have dinner with him after work one day I said yes as fast as Road Runner. Pierre was very classy. When other boys will say, “Let’s go grab a bite,” he would say, “would you like to have dinner with me?” He seemed like a perfect gentleman from a movie. Maybe that’s why I wasn’t too free with him. It was almost like I was on a date with a celebrity. I was even afraid of how I would kiss him. Chale ino be easy oooh. 

“Why don’t we go over to your place?” I suggested, after our amazingly EXPENSIVE meal. But I wasn’t bothered he worked at Bank of Ghana! He smiled and looked at me funny. Was I sending the wrong signals? “If you don’t want to it’s fine.” I added quickly. “No, no it’s not that I don’t want to. It’s just late and I have a meeting early tomorrow.” He answered, taking his last sip of wine. Yes I said wine! I nodded unstably like a bubble head and sipped on MY glass of wine too. This was fancy living. I hoped his money wasn’t going to cloud my head. I mean Sedem was well to do too but Pierre dierr…undisputed! We walked out of the restaurant to his car. When we got to the car he took out his keys but froze. He walked to me and grabbed my hand, dragging me along. “Come, I want to show you something.” He said with a very bright smile. He stopped in front of a very beautiful view of Accra by night. “Isn’t this lovely? The lights match your earrings.” He teased. I laughed and stared at the unbelievable view. “Bling, bling..” he teased, playing with my earrings. I took a deep breath, turned around and went for the kiss. The breeze was refreshing and Pierre’s lips were just like the view…unbelievable. The kiss went on and on and on. I had butterflies flying around in my stomach. It felt like a dream and I didn’t want to wake up…

To be continued…

His kind of girl (5)

My whole weekend was dark and cloudy. My eyes were aching because I had been crying for so long. I managed to go to church on Sunday but rushed home even before the service ended. God knew what was wrong with me. In fact he watched it all happen on Friday! Nicky had gone to see her grandparents for the weekend so I wouldn’t see her till Monday. I needed a shoulder to cry on but I needed a shoulder that understood where I was coming from. I stayed in my room all day Saturday, so on Sunday I decided to take a walk. I tied my long (expensive Brazilian) hair in a ponytail and wore the blue pair of shorts and tank top Nicky gave me on my 23^rd birthday. I never wore them because the shorts were really short and the top was as tight as my own skin. I guess I wore it that day because I felt like breaking free. From what, I don’t really know. When my mother saw me, she looked straight from my sneakers to my hair. “Eii this transformation is serious oh. You had better grab a husband whilst you are at it.” She said and my father burst out laughing like my mother was Russell Peters. 

As I jogged slowly down my Spintex neighbourhood, I felt like Gabriella in Desperate Housewives. The music I was listening to made it even better! I’m sure I was yelling instead of singing. “To the left, to the left, everything you own in a box to the left!” It was just unfortunate that I didn’t have anything that belonged to Nana. I would have thrown it in his face. I was almost running now. I stopped to catch my breath. How did people jog so easily? It was so tiring. There wasn’t a seat anywhere so I leaned on a tree. Just then a couple walked by holding hands. The guy whispered something into the girl’s ear and she giggled. Tears were forming in my eyes. “God, I want this too. Haven’t I waited long enough?” I asked out loud, looking up.

I decided to check up on Sedem. I hadn’t returned his calls the other day so I stopped over at his house. The security man teased me as I walked in. He said I looked like a dancer. I managed to pull a smile. I hope Mr. and Mrs. Djumor where not home, I had been teased enough! I worked my way to the boy’s quarters as quietly as I could. “Sedem, can I come in?” I asked almost whispering. "Errm... Doris give me a minute.” He replied. I smiled because of what came into my head. “Eish Sedem are you alone? If you are not I can leave you two alone.” I teased. “Oh, what do you mean, I’m alone.” He shot out. “Then don’t worry about hiding the lotion. I mean, it’s just me.” I went on. This time I was laughing. Just like magic he opened the door. “You are silly, very silly.” He said and I walked in. He stood in front of me as I sat down on his bed. “You went jogging, what’s wrong?” he asked in disbelief. “Oh why, can’t I go jogging for no reason?” I said, trying to sound genuine. He shook his head. “You look good though.” He added and sat on a chair next to me. I told him all about how I decided to kick Nana ‘to the left’ and start afresh. The rest of the visit was exactly what I needed. Letting everything out and teasing Sedem seemed to make me feel a lot better. 

Nicky and I finally spoke on Tuesday evening and we decided Nana was a jerk! A fine one though. He hadn’t called me since Friday and I wasn’t going to call him either. Pierre and I on the other hand were going on a date, a real date. He was an unbelievably handsome and respectful guy. The type of guy a girl would die for. I just didn’t think he liked me for me because he didn’t really know me. Every time I was with him, I couldn’t be myself but I was going to give it a try. I got dressed and waited for my French man.

 I saw a car pull up in front of my house so I dashed out. When I opened the front door I noticed that it was Sedem’s car. He got out and walked to me with something in his hand. “What’s up?” I asked when I was close to him. “I saw this at a shop and thought it would come in handy with your new found sport.” He said handing it over to me. I opened the bag and saw a blue head and arm band. It was the same colour as the shorts and tank top. “Aww this is cute.” I said giggling. Sedem was so thoughtful. “I need to tell you something.” He started and sat down. I looked at him and the bands for a minute. “This had better not be some bribe for a favour oh.” I warned and sat down next to him. “I don’t know how to say this…” he started. “Don’t worry, you can say it anyway.” I said with a giggle. He didn’t even smile. He was obviously nervous. “Doris, I’m in love with you. I’ve had this feeling for so long. I couldn’t tell you because you were always going on and on about Nana so I’m telling you now. I honestly feel it’s now or never.” He shot out. I was speechless. I never saw that coming and I didn’t know what to say. “Sedem, I don’t know what to say.” I finally said. He took my hand gently. “You don’t have to say anything now. Just think about it.” He added and kissed my hand. When I nodded he got up to leave. I sat there alone with the most confused face in the world.

To be continued…

His kind of girl (4)

I stared at the clock every second. Why wasn’t 5 o’clock coming? I couldn’t wait to meet Nana. He was already in Accra. He came by to see me at work. He was here for just a few minutes but it was so nice seeing him. I told him about the annual Black and White party and he planned to go with me. I was more than excited! I had to leave work on time so Nicky could help me dress up. He was picking me up at 7 and Nana is a little on the punctual side. I rushed out of the office after 5 like I was heading for the toilet with a running stomach. I got home at 5:50 and called Nicky to come work her magic. After we managed to finally pick the perfect dress, Nicky looked at me in a funny way. “Nick, what’s wrong?” I asked. She put the hair brush she was holding down and sat next to me on the bed. “Maybe putting make-up on and dressing sophisticated isn’t what Nana wants. I mean, it didn’t really work the first time.” She said. Was she kidding me? “You have it all wrong. He wasn’t sure he liked me but now he sees I can be snatched at any moment he wants to make us solid.” I carefully explained. Nicky wasn’t convinced. “I hope you are right on this one because Pierre seems like a nice guy so…” she started but I cut her short. “Pierre is just a friend. It’s Nana I like. Nana and I were meant to be.” Just then my phone rang. It was Pierre. Speak of the devil! He wanted to know if I wanted to hang out with him. It wasn’t that hard saying no to him because I wasn’t looking directly into his beautiful brown eyes. That would have been difficult. He declined nicely and said he would call me later. What a guy!

It was 7:15 and I hadn’t heard from Nana. I was all dressed up in a black mini dress (obviously Nicky’s) and a slim white belt. I advised myself this time and went for black flats. Tous les (all the) accessories were for my dear Nicky. Just when I was about to call Nana, he sent a text. “Doing some work for my mum. Will be at your place at about 8.” It read. I rolled my eyes and sat down on my bed. After all the ‘dropping’ I took to get home on time, I had to wait! Then there was a knock on my door. It was the helper. She said Sedem was looking for me. Then I remembered I had to return his pen drive. I took it from my bag and went outside to see him. 

“Hot mama sita, where are you off to?” Sedem teased when I got into his car. I giggled. “I’m going to the Black and White party with Nana.” I said proudly, handing him the drive. “Isn’t Nana supposed to be in Cape Coast?” he asked. “He came back just today.” I explained. This time he was completely staring at me. “I know what you are thinking but it looks like he really likes me now. He just needed time to realize it.” I went on. Sedem took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. I wasn’t ready for the lecture so I opened the door and got out of his car. “I’ve got to go; he’ll be here any minute from now.” I lied. Sedem nodded and drove off coldly. I understand him but this wasn’t any of his business. This was what I wanted. Nana was the man I wanted. I walked back to the house to wait for my Knight in shining armor. I turned on the TV and sat on my bed to watch.

I opened my eyes at once. I had fallen asleep watching one of those lousy Telenovelas. This was bad. I grabbed my phone and saw three missed calls. Oh my goodness, I checked to see the time the calls came and they were all from Sedem. What did he want kwraa? It was almost 10 o’clock. I ignored Sedem’s missed calls and called Nana. His phone was off. I tried and tried again but got the same response so I sent him a text and waited. This was just sad, I kept trying but his phone seemed like it was off for good. I sat down and stared at the two black tickets on the dresser. Love wasn’t just painful, it was costly too. I put my head down and tried very hard to think positive.

When my phone rang at about 10:15, I grabbed it like a refugee grabbing bread. To my surprise it was Pierre. He told me he was bored at home. I looked at the tickets one more time and asked if he wanted to go to the party. He agreed instantly and before I knew it he was at my house. For a fly guy he seemed very desperate. What at all did he see in me? I called Nana over and over again but I just couldn’t get through to him. I rushed out of the house and hopped into Pierre’s car. He was looking and smelling amazing and for some reason I felt free around him. 

When we got to the party I couldn’t tell if people were staring at me or him. Either way we turned heads. It felt really good and I could feel the envy in the eyes of the girls when I held his hand or leaned close to him. This was so much fun and his fragrance made it so easy. All the fun came to an end when I went to the bar to get a drink. “Can I have two cocktails please?” A familiar voice said from the side. “Nana!” I exclaimed. He turned and saw me. He was with a slim light skinned girl in a very small dress. “Doris, what are you…I’m sorry I didn’t call you. I thought because it was late you wouldn’t want to come.” He stuttered. He asked the lady to give him a minute and she left with her drink. Nana tried to hold my hand but I moved back. Just then Pierre came around. He put his hand around my shoulder and asked, “Is everything ok?” Nana didn’t even look at him. “Oh so you are seeing him now? I guess you never really liked me then.” Nana said, stepping back. I couldn’t believe him. “You are the one who stood me up remember? I waited for you, called your phone a million times and this is the card you play?” I said with tears in my eyes. He looked at Pierre and at me and walked off. This was the worst party ever. “Do you want to talk about this?” Pierre asked but all I wanted to do was lie on my bed and cry all my pain away.

To be continued…

His kind of girl (3)

It seemed as if my pastor was speaking straight to me. He was right. In life, no matter what you do, you can’t always get what you want. I guess I should be settling with what he said. As Nicky said, if we are meant to be, we will be. I wiped a tear from my eye and smiled. “God knows best. Wait patiently on him” my pastor said. After the service I saw Mawuena with her friends. She showed me a necklace she got from her birthday. Sedem joined us. “Hey are you ok?” He asked when the girls run off. “Yea, why?” I said, straightening my skirt. He looked at me funny. “I saw you crying in church.” He added. I looked down. I couldn’t lie to Sedem, he sees right through me. “Nana told me he wasn’t ready for a stable relationship. He said when he wanted to get serious I was his first option.” I replied. He shook his head. I knew what he was going to say. He never really liked Nana. “Doris, I seriously don’t know what you see in that boy. Let me give you this bit of advice. Every guy who finds a girl he likes will go for her except…” He started. I looked straight at him. “Except what?” I asked eagerly. “Well except she is in love with someone else so he’s not sure she likes him but he knows you like him. Forget about him, you deserve better.” He said nervously. Just then my parents called me. “Hey I’m off. Will call you when I get home.” I said and rushed off. The painful part was that I knew he was right.

My week was pretty boring besides my co-worker Matthew bought me lunch because he thought I looked really cute. I guess beauty pays. Nana was in Cape Coast spending time with his dad. His parents were separated. I think that’s a serious turn on for me, don’t ask me why. We spoke everyday though but I felt reality was beginning to set in. Who was I kidding? I clearly wasn’t his kind of girl. On Thursday night, I got back from work a little early. I called Nana and he told me he wasn’t sure when he was coming back. I wanted to see him so much but I played along nicely. I got out of the taxi at my junction and we kept on chatting as I walked to my house. Just then a very familiar car pulled over right next to me. It was Pierre. He smiled and opened the door for me. I was startled. “Nana, I’ve got to go, I’ll call you back.” I rushed and hanged up. 

Pierre was unbelievable. He was drop dead gorgeous! I couldn’t believe I was sitting next to him again. “Are you going home?” He asked as he drove off in my direction. I nodded and he giggled. I think he noticed I was nervous. So shyous! “I’m going to get some food from Kenny’s. Could you see me off?” He asked again. I gathered all my courage but all I could do was nod. “Not much of a talker eh?” He teased. This time we both giggled. I know the first rule in keeping a guy attracted to you is to always seem confident. So basically, by the end of the day Pierre wouldn’t want to look at me twice. I needed to step up but it was just too hard.

“My goodness Nicky, it was crazy. He insisted I try the ice cream there and it was so good. Then he dropped me off at home. He took my number and sent me a goodnight text when he got home.” I rambled over the phone to Nicky. She was giggling the whole time. “Wow, looks like you have a new boyfriend. I told you the new look was a good idea.” She said. Just then I remembered I hadn’t called Nana back. “Hey Nick, got to go. I’ll talk to you later.” I said to her and called him right after.

Me: Hey you, what were you saying about your dad’s dog again?

Nana: Now you call me. What kept you?

Me: Oh I met this guy…friend of mine and he gave me a ride home.

Nana: Really, anybody I know? You told me you were at your junction. Why did you need a ride home?

Me: I met him at my junction, went to see him off to buy something and he brought me home. No, I don’t think you know him, he’s called Pierre.

Nana: Pierre, hahaha why is he French?

Me: Actually he is. Well half way. He’s part French, part Ghanaian.

Nana: I see. How come I’ve never heard of him? Are you hiding anything from me?

Me: Nooo, we met just last week Saturday.

MTN: You have just one minute remaining.

Me: Hey I just run out of credit. Will call you tomorrow morning ok?

Nana: I think I’ll come back to Accra tomorrow. I’ll come see you immediately I get there. Goodnight.

Me: Goodnight.

After the phone call I couldn’t help thinking “Nana is jealous!!!”

To be continued…

His kind of girl (2)

I cried my eyes out that night. I couldn’t get what happened out of my mind. Nana called me several times but I wasn’t in the mood to talk. How could someone I had known so well be so mean? By 5am the next morning I got myself thinking that it wasn’t his fault. Maybe it wasn’t the physically sophisticated girl he liked. Maybe he liked girls who put their nails, hair and make-up first. I just wasn’t like that. Besides he was is a good friend. All was well, besides I really couldn’t keep up with the whole ‘heels’ thing. My feet were killing me! I rolled over to the other side of my bed and finally drifted off into sleep.

“…Beautiful girls all over the world…” my phone rang. “Apparently Nana didn’t like this beautiful girl.” I said to myself and cut the line. It rang again and annoyed me even more. Why was this song my ring tone again? I took a look at who was calling. It was Sedem, then it hit me, (like Tina did Ike in the Limo it finally hit me) his sister’s party! I cleared my throat and answered the call. “No, I’m not asleep. I’m almost done dressing. I’ll be there in 15 minutes.” I lied. I put a pillow over my head and snoozed.

When I got to Sedem’s house his little sister, Mawuena was furious. Just so you know, Mawuena is a completely spoilt child who feels she is a queen! I apologized to her majesty and decorated the place as fast as I could. Just when I asked Sedem about Nicky, I heard her voice from the gate. She was on the phone as usual. When she saw me she rushed to where I was. “Hey you. You got back very late last night eh? Wow, tell me all about it.” She said all excited. I put the star I was holding down and looked away. “It didn’t work out. He doesn’t like me. He still sees me as just a friend.” I replied. Nicky seemed shocked and Sedem turned to look at me. “Is he mad? Does he know how much we spent on the new look?” She blurted out. Sedem just giggled. “You find this funny?!” I shot at him. “No, not at all. I just think you put in too much for this guy. Any guy who doesn’t like you for who you are and how you naturally look is a jerk. Forget about him.” He said. “Hey, Nana is not a jerk ok?” I replied. Nicky put her hand around my shoulder. “Doris don’t worry. If you guys are meant to be he will come around. Did he call you today?” She cut in. I nodded and she smiled broadly. “You see, there’s hope.” She added. “I don’t believe you guys.” Sedem said and walked off.

I stayed till the party ended. I was glad I stayed there. I had the chance to forget about Nana, at least to an extent. I sent him a text saying I was at Mawuena’s birthday party and I would call him back. Nicky kept my phone so I wouldn’t be tempted to call him. “Hey, I’ve got to get going. Walk me home.” I said to her. We waved at Sedem. “Hi, I guess the party is over.” A guy said walking towards us. A very fine guy for that matter. We both smiled and nodded. His little sister I guess was at the party. She ran to him when she saw him. “Errm this is my sister Annette. I’m Pierre.” He said, shaking my hand. It felt weird to have all the attention. That was Nicky’s thing. I was always the girl next to the fly girl. “I’m Doris and this is Nicky. We err did the errm the decorations oh and Nicky is the birthday girl’s cousin.” I stuttered. So yawa! “Pierre could you drop Doris off, she lives just a few blocks away.” Nicky hitched nicely. I was so shy I didn’t know what to say. “Sure, will do.” He said. Nicky smiled and rushed back to the house.  

I sat down in the front seat and wondered what was happening again. We got to my house in no time. “That’s my place. Thanks for the ride.” I said politely. “Sure, it would be nice to see you again. Would it be ok to pass by next time I come pick Annette up?” He asked even more politely. “Yea, that would be nice.” I replied. He smiled and waved as they drove off. I stood and stared for a while. “Why didn’t Nana want me?” I asked myself. I took my phone from my bag as I walked into the house. He sent me a text. “Call me as soon as possible. I miss you.” I smiled and dialed his number.

Me: Hey, I got your text.

Nana: Doris. Thanks for calling. About last night I’m …

Me: It’s ok. Forget about last night. Let’s do what we do best, be friends.

Nana: Are you sure that is what you want?

Me: Huh? That’s what you were going to say right?

Nana: Well yea but not exactly. Are you home?

Me: Yes, why.

Nana: Let me come over. I don’t want to do this over the phone.

I called Nicky after this conversation and she advised I go take a good shower, put on some sweet perfume and wear my Hello Kitty shorts and tank top. I told her that was silly but did exactly as she said. In 45mins Nana was at my door. I went out and the stare I got was worth the hassle. We sat down on the veranda. “Nana Obeng-Yeboah, you have my full attention.” I said to break the silence. He took my hand and my heart missed a beat. “Doris, you are one of the most amazing girls I have ever met. You play a very important role in my life. Will I go out with you if I had the chance? Of course! I mean, which boy won’t?” He said. I can bet my last Pesewa that if I was white I would have been blushing like it’s no one’s business. “You know me well, and you said it yourself that I like to date sophisticated girls but you got it all wrong. It’s not about how they look; it’s about the way I relate to them. I haven’t really been the long term girlfriend kind of guy and you know that. These girls don’t mind just dating me just for a good time and honestly because my life isn’t very stable with me traveling here and there it’s the best. If anyone mentions marriage or long term girlfriend, you are the only one on my mind but for now I want you to be my friend, my best friend.” He said. His eyes were tearing. I looked at him. I was so confused. I didn’t know what to say. “Please Doris. I don’t want to lose you. Please understand me.” He added. I smiled and hugged him. I told him my mum didn’t want me to stay out late so we should talk later. He hugged me again and left. As I went to bed in my Hello Kitty outfit, I told myself over and over again, “God, help me let him go.”

To be continued...