Veronica left me for a far off place when we joined the university. So I was alone. In the first semester of college, Jeremiah cheated on her and he dared to come apologize to her after she found out. Someone had sung to her about it. Most probably one of her friends who had seen Jeremiah at the party rubbing crotches with some girl on the dimly lit dance floor. Apparently they had even left the party together. This was after he had told Natasha he was going home for the weekend. I had never seen Natasha this angry. She sure blew a fuse whenever I startled her but never this much. She loathed Jeremiah and did not want to see his face. Every breath he drew in her presence offended her. Jeremiah was dismissed and his absence meant I had to take up some of his boyfriend roles since I was her closest friend. These included hanging out with her, telling her she looked pretty, helping her pick out outfits and occasionally a shoulder to cry on whenever she was lonely and had a meltdown.
“don’t you ever have somewhere better to be than here listening to me bitch about Jeremy?”
"I could but I don’t”
“you should get you a new catch. Veronica has been gone long enough”
sigh
“i'm serious. Any girl would be lucky to have you. Actually I want my next and last guy that I decide to date to be like you”
“what about you? Are you not any girl?”
“I am. But an extraordinary one”
After we had this conversation, she dated three other guys that were nothing like me and worse than Jeremy. She seemed to love the company of misery since it was all they served her. She derseved better but she had to learn to find it. My dating life hadn’t been any smooth either. The first girl I went out with after veronica, Monica, had a glucose guardian. She had alleged he was her step-dad until I found him in his boxers at her place. Daddy indeed. I was basically her side piece that catered to her other needs. Her successor Jeanine had control issues and a very jealous being. She hated Natasha with her body, mind and soul.
“I know you're in love with your little friend. Why don't y'all go get married?” she often said. And sigh I would.
It had been three years since our graduation when she was done with the last guy. As always I was the custodian of her crying shoulder. She decided to take a long break after this one. Almost an entire year went by and she was just about healed from all the heart break. But she always seemed most desperate and lonely at night. I had talked her out of several bad decisions and all I got in return were several compliments on how great I was. But just when I thought she'd never remember any of it she brought it up a few days to her birthday.
“do you remember our deal?”
“I sure do”
“well… My birthday is on Friday”
All I got from this was that she was finally ready for me 14years since I made my first move. I had loved her since that first day. Part of me was happy I was going get the girl I always wanted. The other part felt I wasn’t getting her on merit. Like circumstances had left her no choice but to settle for me. But I wasn’t going to feel sorry for myself. I had to seize the opportunity and show her that I was best for her. Prove to her that I'm the one she's been looking for but always missed it because she looked too hard. To start, I had to throw her a surprise birthday party. I feigned sickness on the morning of her birthday so she'd think I wasn’t up to anything at all except resting and regaining my energy. In that time my minion friends set up everything. Later that evening after she visited me at the hospital I sent her to pick up a few things for me at my place and bring them to me the next morning. That gave me 10 minutes to get to my place before her and be part of the surprise. Surprise her I did. While she was being startled by the people yelling “SURPRISE!”, I congratulated her with a hug and a warm kiss. There was a bit of lust in there I think.
“What. The. Fuck?” a tear sped down her cheek. She sniffed as if she was sobbing and put her palm to mouth.
“what?”
“a party? A kiss? And you’re not sick? What the hell Moses? What the bloody hell?”
“Is there a problem?”
“you damn right there is. A surprise party is okay. You not being sick… quite the surprise. A kiss, that’s just showing off”
“i'm afraid I don’t follow”
”I have never been this surprised and happy in my entire life” she continued with her mini-sob till I hugged her again and sat her down
“You blew my socks off. But that’s ironic because i'm not wearing any so you blew my shoes off. my panties too”
"Is the panties part ironic too?" I pretended to stare at the ceiling and she punched me hard on the shoulder
“okay missy we get it. You're very surprised.”
“no you don’t. Actually, eat my lips again so I know its real”
This was the start of the best part of my life which lasted only 373 days. I was the happiest man since that evening until one year later when the universe decided I was too happy and had to balance my life out. Natasha had been missing for two days until I received the phone call that somewhat ended my life too. They’d found her corpse by the river bank. Nude and used. The autopsy also revealed she'd been with child. Five weeks in the oven. They say God never gives you more than you can handle but I started to think that was a lie. How could He? I felt so alone and mostly angry. I would later go on into a depression that almost killed me twice but I kept getting saved by the attendants at the psych ward. I gave up on suicide and just hoped for death.