Epilogue Ofosua
ACCRA
“Cole, stop it.”
But Cole was having none of it and slid a hand over my ass. Up ahead, my mother chatted rapid-fire over the wedding coordinator as she gave the tour of La Palm Royal Beach Hotel. The hotel was beautiful and had been recently updated. But we were, as my mother said, only there because one of her friends was the director of events and she had to make a show.
She had other plans for where she wanted us to get married: the Ado Lane Resort, two hours away in Cape Coast and brand-spanking-new. Off in the distance, you could see Elmina Castle. Cape Coast had some of the most stunning beaches, far less crowded than Accra. Either way, we walked hand in hand behind my mother as she rattled off requests for catering and space. I was bored. My feet hurt. Cole was incorrigible as always. “Hey, come on. Let’s leave your mom to it. She obviously doesn’t need us. None of this wedding is about us at all.”
I laughed. “I told you. The moment you slid this ring on my finger, it gave her carte blanche to be the motherzilla of the bride.”
He laughed. “Well, it makes her happy. And at the end of the day, I get you, and that’s all I care about.”
I squeezed his hand. “Agreed. I will let her do whatever she wants, plan whatever she wants, invite whomever she wants, because honestly, I’m exhausted. And I would rather just get to show you Ghana.”
Thus far, we’d had quite the adventure. The day after we arrived, I’d dragged him off to Wli Waterfalls. We’d done the six-hour hike, stayed overnight and everything. Despite the treacherous hike where we almost died more than once, the greenery and view of Togo from the top was truly awe-inspiring. And the view had sight lines straight into Togo.
I couldn’t believe that I’d never done it before. I was, at the core, a city girl. The city was comforting to me. The sounds. The sights. The people. But there was so much more to Ghana than Accra. So much more to be seen. So much more to be felt. So much more to experience. And I was glad I was able to show Cole some of it.
But the moment we’d returned from the falls and that treacherous drive, my mother had gone full-on wedding planning ballistic. If there was time, I wanted to sneak off and take Cole to Peduase. There was a beautiful resort there where we’d get to unwind and chill out. But we’d have to sneak away. Mum was busy filling our days.
She didn’t seem to care that we were only here for two weeks, which I knew wasn’t long enough to be in Ghana, but at least it was a start. And Cole and I had started talking about vacation homes and the best areas to live in.
He tugged my hand, and I laughed. “What are you doing?”
“I am sneaking off with my wife-to-be.”
I laughed as my shoes made a clopping sound on the terrazzo floors of the hotel. “Where are we going?”
“I have no idea.” But he took my hand, squeezed it tightly, and then he was off running with me in tow, and we were giggling like schoolkids off to be naughty. My mother didn’t even seem to notice.
When we stopped, he tugged open a door, pulling me in. I squeaked. “What are you doing?”
He laughed. “Shh, you ask a lot of questions.”
We were in a small supply closet, given the small amount of light sneaking in from under the doorway. “Cole, we can’t be in here.”
“Nonsense.” He leaned in and kissed my neck. “You’re my wife. Or at least you will be soon.”
His hands slid to my waist, squeezing slightly and then lifting me on top of something. “You see, staying in your parents’ house has put a damper on sexy times with my stunning fiancée. You know full well I love seeing you wear nothing except that beautiful smile and that rock on your finger.”
I laughed. “You know full well I shouldn’t be wearing this thing. It’s five freaking carats, Cole. It belongs in a safe. I am happy to wear a replica. This is terrifying. What if it slides off?”
He shook his head. “It’s not going to slide off. Besides, I want people to see that thing from space.” He nuzzled into my neck and whispered, “Just be happy, Ofosua.”
“I am happy, baby.”
He laughed. “You still haven’t settled on an endearment? I personally would prefer Hot Cole.”
I rolled my eyes. “I will never forgive Kukua for telling you that we call you Hot Cole.”
He grinned. “Oh, you will call me Hot Cole, woman. Especially when I show you just how hot I am.”
He nipped at my neck, and I groaned. “What are you doing?”
He whispered against the shell of my ear. “I’m showing my wife-to-be what she does to me. I don’t think I can wait until we get home.”
“Cole,” I breathed.
His hands slid to the hem of my skirt, pushing it up as I spread my thighs farther apart, allowing him room. “You are a temptress, walking around looking like that. How am I supposed to concentrate?”
“Who said you’re supposed to concentrate?”
As he chuckled, he kissed along my jaw and then finally made it to my lips. I parted mine on a gasp, because as always, kissing Cole was like coming home and riding a tornado all at once. There was no taking a breath.
When Cole slid his tongue between my lips, it was all plunder. All need and excitement and urgency. In seconds, I was grasping at his short sleeves, grabbing his shirt, going for the buttons. He was shoving my skirt even farther up, and along the edges of the fabulous brown, white, and green Christie Brown creation, his fingers made contact with my sex.
“Fuck, Ofosua.” He breathed into my mouth. He kissed me again. Slower this time, as if trying to get himself under control.
His fingers teased the hem, his knuckles brushing over my clit, making me groan. When he slid his fingers beneath the lace trim of my panties, I shivered. “Cole.”
I ran my hands through his hair, tugging, and he hissed. “Fuck, Ofosua.” And then we were in a flurry. Me tugging at his shirt and belt, pulling it through the loops and snapping open his shorts.
Cole dragged his lips from mine, kissing along the column of my neck, down to the bodice of my blouse, which he’d pushed open. His groan was muffled as he nuzzled into my breasts. “So fucking perfect.”
With one large hand on my ass, he scooted me to the edge of whatever I was sitting on, and he was right there. Thick and full and very, very erect, pressing against me, wrapping strong fingers around the base of his dick. When he lifted his gaze and met mine, he smirked. “Every time. I can’t fucking believe—”
I leaned in and bit his bottom lip, murmuring, “You talk too much.”
And he sank in. His lips dragged from mine and his head fell back as he muttered very loudly, “Oh, shit.”
I hissed at the fullness. “Cole, oh my God.”
“Next time, we need to find some time alone so we can take our time. But oh my God, Ofosua…”
And then we were a murmur of lips and kisses and hushed, “Right there,” and “Don’t stop.” And of course, the ever-present “Fuck. Fuck. Oh, fuck.”
The adrenaline spiked in my blood, mixed with desire and longing and pure joy. Our climaxes hit us hard, leaving the two of us shaking, breathing heavy, gazes locked, and he grinned that shit-eating grin that told me everything I needed to know about him as he said, “You are a menace.”
I laughed. “Me? I was minding my business.”
“You have to do something about this sexiness, or I’m going to have a hard time controlling myself.”
“And who’s the menace?”
Our kisses and touches in the dark were soft as we righted our clothes. And, true to form, he couldn’t keep his hands off me. Being loved by Cole made me feel sinful and sexy and loved. When he tried to help me fix my hair, we laughed together. He was only making it worse.
I caught him watching me intently in the low light. “What?”
“You are absolutely incredible. I’m so lucky.”
I grinned up at him. “I love you, Hot Cole.”
“I love you, Ofosua Addo, soon-to-be Drake.”
“Addo-Drake, please.”
He looked serious. “How about we both go hyphenated? That way, our kids have the hyphen.”
I quickly blinked away tears. “You’re on. How did I get lucky enough to find you?”
He grinned. “I was right under your nose all along.”
He opened the door and we tumbled out, giggling as we fixed each other’s clothes and hair. Cole just shook his head as he looked at mine.
I gave him a major side-eye as we turned to find two presumably Ghanaian men engaged in a very intense conversation at the end of the hallway. There was no one else in the hall except the four of us, and they hadn’t seen us yet. One of them reached out to the other, almost cupping his face as he held on, bringing their noses within an inch of each other. They looked like they were about to either fight or fuck.
It wasn’t until we took another step forward and I could see the other man better that I realized I knew that profile. I knew it well.
When I froze, Cole looked at me. “What’s wrong? You know them?”
“It’s Yofi,” I breathed.
Cole frowned, and then recognition dawned. “Oh my God.”
Our hushed tones had made the other two aware that we were there, and they sprang apart. Yofi’s eyes met mine, and he stumbled forward. “Ofosua, this isn’t wha—”
I put a hand up. “No, stop. It’s none of my business.”
His eyes went wide with panic. “No, wait.” We heard the other man scoff and run off. Yofi turned around to look. “Thomas, fuck.”
He turned back to me. “Any chance that you will pretend you never saw that?”
Suddenly, all the puzzle pieces my brain had been working on in the background fit together. The distance, the indifference. And I knew everything that happened had never been about me. Only about him and his attempt at survival. “Already forgotten. I saw nothing.”
He sighed. “Ofosua, I—”
Cole squeezed my hand, letting me know he was going to take the lead, and I squeezed back. “No, Yofi, you’re fine. You have nothing to fear from us.”
His whole body sagged as if he was letting go of something. “I’m sorry.”
I shook my head. “You should be for what you did and for how you did it, but you should never be sorry for who you love.”
“Yeah, well, I’m already locked in, aren’t I?”
Pamela.
I nodded. “You should talk to her. Don’t hurt her like you hurt me, okay?”
He shook his head. “I don’t know if she’s going to understand.”
“Maybe she won’t, and maybe she leaves. But don’t hurt her. It’s not fair. She didn’t do anything wrong.”
He nodded. “It’s an impossible situation.”
I shook my head. “I can’t pretend to know what you’re feeling or what you think you would lose, but I know living a half life can’t be what you want. Especially if you have someone who really loves you. You have to try.”
He held my gaze for a long beat, and then his gaze flicked to Cole. “You were at my wedding.”
Cole grinned. “You recognized me for my dance moves, huh?”
Yofi laughed. “Looks like you two figured it out.”
Cole wrapped his arms around my shoulders and I snuggled in, tilting my gaze up to meet his. “I think we did.”
And with that, Cole and I scooted around Yofi and tried to find my mother, who no doubt was looking for us. As we walked down the stairs, my body still throbbing from what Cole had just done to me in the storage closet, he leaned over and kissed my temple. “Are you okay?”
“A hundred percent fine. I ended up exactly where I was supposed to be.”
“You most certainly did.”