‘Ife, my love? I am bored’, I said, speaking into the phone. It was 9:15 a.m. on Saturday morning, and I was already at work, although I had no patients yet. I was tired of the monotony of work, home, and church every week. I needed some fun. I wanted to get a drink and get high, and so I called a friend of mine, Ife.
‘Hehe, Seyi. Are you sure you would have time to party with us?’, he asked.
‘Yes. I’m so bored. I need a break’, I whined.
‘Alright. There is a party after the wedding reception this evening. I’ll text you the address. A lot of my friends are there from faraway places. Dress sexy’, he said.
‘Sure, thanks’, I said in gratitude. I proceeded to call my sister to help me pick a sexy dress and some make up and shoes and take them along to my mother’s shop so I could change there before heading to the party.
The party was all I could think about the entire day. I didn’t really care about meeting people; I just wanted a scene different from the one that I was used to. I kept checking my watch every now and then, up until 4:00 p.m., when it was time to sign out of work. Bidding my boss goodbye and assuring him that I would see him on Monday, I rushed out of the office and boarded a commercial motorcycle to my mother’s shop, which was just 10 minutes away from work.
At my mother’s, I washed my hands, feet, and face and applied make-up to my face. It took me about two hours to get ready because I also had to stuff my face with food.
I arrived at the after-party venue at around 6:30 p.m., which was also in the same place as the reception venue. It turned out that the reception had just ended and the after-party was yet to start. A lot of people were leaving, and I could only see youths like me staying. I called Ife to tell him I was around, and he came to pick me up where I stood and took me to the reception hall to sit with some of our mutual friends.
‘What would you eat?’, he asked me as we arrived at our friends’ table.
‘What is available?’
‘Semo. Amala’, he stated.
I declined and asked for a drink instead. He brought me Star Radler and left me while I drank and talked with my friends.
Laughing out loud. I remember seeing a guy seated a few tables away from mine. He was alone, seated, enjoying the songs played by the DJ. He had a broad back, which was well defined by the deep green native attire that he wore. I stared for a minute until I was met by another pair of eyes looking back at me. Those pair of eyes were his. I looked away, ashamed that I was caught, and continued my conversation with my friends.
‘Would I meet him at the after-party?’, I thought to myself. The reception ended at 7:00 p.m., and everyone moved out to a different hall to be used for the party. Most people hung outside the party hall as it wasn’t lit up and it was hot. I stood alone, and Ife found me and gave me his phones and car keys, saying he had to get the party started and needed me to look after them while promising to get me a blunt. I could only nod in agreement.
Twenty minutes later, everyone was in the party hall, music playing loudly, alcohol being passed around, and the atmosphere started to feel different. The walls of the hall were lined with mirrors from floor to ceiling, and there were lots of dim white, blue, and yellow lights with a disco ball hanging at the centre ceiling of the hall, their reflections dancing on our bodies. It was beautiful.
Some people started to talk to me, and we all laughed at completely stupid things. I realised that it wasn’t what I wanted. I felt choked at some point and couldn’t keep up, so I stepped out to get some fresh air.
‘Tomi, hey?’, I called out as I saw a friend. ‘Can I have some of that?’, I asked as I walked towards him while pointing to the already lit blunt he was holding.
‘Sure’, he said. I took the entire blunt from him, smiling, and retreated to a moderately lit corner to indulge in it. I felt at peace here. ‘It would’ve just been nicer to have someone to share this moment with as Ife is busy organising the party’, I thought.
The guy I had seen earlier, in deep green attire, walked past me. ‘Good evening’, he said.
I looked at him, looked around me, and looked back at him.
‘Oh! You’re greeting me?’, I asked as I pointed my index finger to my chest. He looked back at me and smiled.
‘Oh! Good evening to you too’, I said, laughing as I watched him go into the party hall.
I remained outside for 15 more minutes, feeling elated for some weird reason. I finished what was left of my blunt and went inside to the same spot I sat in before, where I watched everyone having a good time.
A pretty-looking, petite female came to meet me.
‘Hey’, she said.
‘Hey’, I said back.
‘You look pretty’, she said, smiling at me.
‘Thank you’, I said, smiling.
‘Let me introduce you to someone. He is my friend, and I am tired of him sitting alone all the time’. She dragged me up while I was still trying to create excuses about why I could not be on the dance floor in my head. ‘My God, she’s fast’, I thought.
She took me to meet this guy who was standing directly beneath the disco ball and put my hand in his.
‘This is a very beautiful girl. I think you'd like her', she told him. 'Take care of her', she added. It was the guy in green attire. I took a good look at him at this moment. He was slightly taller than me and had a fair complexion. His broad chest had me thinking of my pillows back at home. He had a calm face with cute pink-coloured lips. ‘Hmm’, I thought.
‘Hi...’, I said to him.
‘Hey’, he replied, and I watched him stare at me from my head to my toes. I shivered.
‘I saw you out there; will you dance with me?’, he asked, jolting me away from my reverie.
‘Yes, please’, I replied. He put his hands around my neck as I did around his.
‘Why are you here? You have been alone since I saw you', I stated.
‘I was bored in Lagos and just needed something different. A trip, someone, anything, different from what I am used to’, he said.
‘Ditto’, I said, smiling at him.
‘I don’t even know who is getting married, but my friends do, so I just offered to drive them down here as I haven’t been in Kwara State before’, he told me.
‘You are welcome’, I told him. ‘Has your stay been pleasant?’
‘Well, you are the highlight of this trip’, he said, staring at me intently. I felt heat course through me with the intensity I felt from his gaze. I shivered again.
‘Why isn’t your hand on my waist?’, I queried.
‘I had to ask first’.
I didn’t wait for him to ask, though. I took his hands from my shoulders and put them on my waist by myself. He giggled like a girl.
‘Interesting’, he said. I put my arms around his neck while we stared intently into each other’s eyes while swaying to the sound of the music. At that moment, I forgot everything, and I just wanted to be there for a really long time, not wanting it to end. I could swear that it was the first time I experienced that with someone I barely knew.
After what seemed like a long time, he asked us to step outside. I checked my time; it was 9:00 p.m. ‘I have to go home soon’, I told him.
He looked disappointed. ‘Stay with me?’, he asked.
‘Alright. I’ll leave by 10:00 p.m.'
We went to a corner with seats and sat in silence, enjoying the cold breeze and alcohol. We talked about our jobs and planned to spend time together again.
‘This is what I needed—something different’, I thought. I left by 10:00 p.m., after dropping off Ife’s phones and car keys. This stranger in green saw me off to board a straight motorcycle home. He got my phone number and made sure I was home on time and intact.
I got to meet this stranger again in a few months.
This stranger’s name is Abimbola.