Walked down,
had me sitting up,
demanded my attention
had to give it up...
__
Red.
It was the colour of his blood, of the cells in his body -- his new favorite colour, and she was wrapped in it, looking like a fucking full course meal.
He tried to keep his thoughts at bay but couldn't help it. Especially when the brown of her skin, in contrast with the blazing material looked edible.
His eyes accessed her, slowly- from the beautiful hair-do she had on that made her look like she walked out of a fairy tale, to her face -- her beautiful ancient eyes, cute button nose that begged to be poked and cooed at. And oh her lips-- the red of it, like fresh strawberries and old wine, beckoning him to come take a bite, or more a sip.
He tried hard, so hard to veer his mind from having unholy thoughts, but couldn't. His eyes went to her long graceful neck, glistening under the sunset and suddenly, he wanted to know what it felt like to place his lips right there, where her pulse beat thick and fast. Then there were her clavicles, clear, tanned and aesthetically prominent, leading down to proud shoulders holding the red dress.
Red should be the color of everything unholy, he mused. Finally realizing he had functioning legs, he began to walk, his eyes still trained on the red dress. It dipped in the right places, making prominent her subtle curves which she hid well in halter skirts and hoodies.
He wanted to reach out, take her into his arms and scream to the whole school population that she was off limits, strictly and arrantly. He continued his slow journey towards her, she had a small smile on, which looked sincere, happy and relieved and he tried so hard to keep his eyes on her face and not her slim creamy thighs that gave way to clear and straight mile long legs.
"Hey." She said, her voice velvet soft when he approached her.
"Hey, you."
The smile couldn't leave her face and for once, her gaze wasn't cryptic. He could read through them, like he knew her thoughts -- the realization of what he saw made his heart soar. She was happy or more, relieved to see him-- like she'd been waiting.
She sighed in utter relief.
Her clamped fingers showed that though she was relieved, she was nerve wrecked. He took them into his and immediately felt the softness and warmth that came with holding her hands in his.
"Why were you standing over there?" She asked, her voice coming out like a breathless whisper.
A slow smile made to his lips. "Was trying to pick up my fallen jaws."
"What? Why?" Realization dawned on her and in seconds, her whole being had lit up. "Ooh,"
"You look adorable by the way, so much that I could barely keep my jaws in place." He whispered so only her would hear.
Students climbed up and down the stairs of the auditorium, leaving the two in the middle, the beautiful glow of the sunset scattering over their bodies.
Chimdi tried not to act too flustered, but failed badly. Clearing her throat, she smoothed out the barely-there red thing she had on, while his eyes tried to stay locked on her face and not the movement of her hand.
"You don't look that bad yourself." She replied with the firmest voice she could muster.
"I know right." He teased, playing with her fingers.
She hissed playfully at him. "I didn't say you looked good Kodiri."
"Yeah you said I looked hot," he sassed back. "And I appreciate the compliment."
She faked a scowl, trying to fight back a smile. "Jeez, you're tiresome."
He took her arm into his, turning them to face the large mahogany door. "And your date tonight. Don't you dare grow tired of me yet."
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"Did you guys have hot as fuck Christmas parties back at NYC?" Chimdi whispered to TJ, whose head was lowered, giving her full attention.
The first phase of the party was coming to an end with Dr Addy giving a necessary speech on how to party hard and still be responsible students of the school.
TJ shook his head. "Not really, but we had hot as fuck parties to compensate."
"Shhh," Elo hissed playfully. He was sitting beside TJ. "Save your love talk for later."
They both gave him the finger before resuming with what they were doing.
"I doubt." Chimdi disagreed. "You guys only had toxic substance to make y'all think the party was on fire. The after effects will always be gut clenching migraines and nausea."
He grinned. "But that's the fun of a party. And you forgot the girls and oh, skinny dipping. Ain't nothing adventurous."
Scowling, she faced the makeshift stage. "I doubt."
Dr Addy's speech got rounded up.
"Chill , you'll see for yourself what a real hot as fuck party looks like, without the toxic booze and girls."
Finally, Dr Addy left the hall with the school staff and junior students to leave the senior students to carry on.
And soon, the humming Xmas number got switched to Cheque's Zoom, causing the students to go crazy as they sang along with loud voices. The floor was let open and soon, students were getting on their feet and vibing to the beat.
"You going to teach me these cool ass moves or what?" He shouted, the beat of the blasting song filled the air.
They were among the few students sitting, Even Jiki was whisked off to the dance floor.
She smiled, the thumping music and dancing students giving her enough vibe to break out in her own move. The DJ's wheel spun to Patoranking's Abule and if the crowd went crazy before, they went wild this time.
"Of course, I will," she shouted her reply. "I need a drink first."
She stood up. "Be right back."
He held her back, raising a confused brow. "You can't get a drink for yourself Miss," he curtseyed, causing her to giggle. "When you've got a handsome date by your side."
He stood up. "Your preference?"
"Smoove Chapman please," She sat back down, totally enjoying the show.
"Sure, be right back in a minute."
She watched him walk away and couldn't stop the smile on her face.
She felt like she was floating on bubbles - nice scented ones. The party was yet to begin and she was already having a lot of fun. It was too surreal to seem true to her. His mere presence had her feeling happy- and safe.
To her, he brought with him all the positivity one could possibly have and she couldn't help but tap from it. He suddenly became her fun plug -- her everything good plug, when it involved feelings. Her head was in bright clouds, he made her feel things both explainable and unexplainable. Her mind was in a jumbled mess -- a mess the she loved and didn't wish to sort out.
The memories of moments from hours ago and how he made her feel came rushing back. The way he'd looked at her, his eyes had been like a lovely caress, making her heart go wild with excitement and nervousness. She'd felt like the only one that mattered as he'd held her gaze -- as he'd smiled at her, paying the people surrounding them no heed. The excitement along with every other feeling she felt were intoxicating, like a high that didn't involve narcotics and alcohol.
The screaming students snapped her out of her reverie when the DJ spun his wheels to Tekno's Skeletun. She stared at the party crazy students, half smiling and laughing as they moved in sync, imitating the artist's dance moves. She finally broke out into fits, the scene so captivating and funny that she thought of TJ and his initial request for a dance tutorial.
Now where is he?
She looked around but couldn't find him, couldn't even get a glimpse. She was beginning to get worried -- she stood up, headed to the drink vendor, on reaching there he wasn't present. She was getting tired and even angry.
He couldn't just leave her all alone with the promise to return and yet he was no where in sight.
Her initial happiness morphed into sadness. She felt like the nice scented bubbles she was floating in were all bursted, bringing her back to the wake of reality with a loud bang.
She was left wondering what nature had against feelings. Whether there was absolute limit to every human's happiness, because to her, it suddenly felt like every human had invisible shields limiting them from getting a hold of what they crave -- what they want even after several temperamental soul tests.
Like lines, invincible ones. In the air, between people, around their hearts, limiting them from reaching out to one another and yet subjecting them to several emotional torture.
Looking around her, around the happy party crazed and pumped up students, she couldn't help have such deductions and feel so unhappy. It sipped though her skin, whispered into her ears, in her line of vision -- hauntingly telling her to give up. But she couldn't, not easily and not with the new found giddy feeling.
She began to journey back to her seat, maybe she could see him there. The DJ changed the song to yet another vibing song, one that had everyone but mostly the girls, singing along.
Someone drew her into the crowd.
She spun around to see her friends with matching grins and sweaty bodies, each holding her hand, screaming on top of their voices. She couldn't help it, didn't have much choice. She could either be happy and join them or sulky for the rest of the evening.
Who no like enjoyment,
If money dey for pocket-
shebi na national budget o?
we go blow am like trumpet!
Koroba, koroba, koroba, koroba...
She screamed along with her friends, jumping around in circles, forgetting her worry and search for TJ as she got drunk in the pure fun and positive energy surrounding her.
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