Chapter 20
20
Several weeks ago … July
Voice-over: Wale and Kelechi are getting cosy by the fire pit. Things are heating up. Excuse the pun.
‘You have insane eyes, y’know that?’ Wale says dreamily.
Kelechi giggles and covers her face. ‘Shut-uuup,’ she says in her Brummie accent. ‘My eyes are literally dark brown, like yours.’
Wale laughs. ‘Nah, man. It’s not just the colour. It’s the shape too. The way they pinch at the corner and turn into a squint when you laugh.’
Kelechi pretends to go shy. She covers her face again.
‘C’mon, let’s have a staring contest,’ he says.
She swings her knees towards him. Wale drops his head between his palms. They stare at each other for a good minute, their eyes locked in a starry gaze.
Until Wale blows out his cheeks like a puffer fish.
Kelechi bursts out laughing. ‘You’re such a goofball. Come here.’
She kisses him.
Dramatic music plays.
Right , that ’ s enough!
I hit the pause button, tears stinging the backs of my eyes. My God, Temi, why are you punishing yourself? I stopped watching The Villa three days ago but then I saw a thumbnail of Wale and Kelechi on YouTube and silly me just had to click on it, didn’t I?
I tilt my head back to prevent tears from falling. I will not cry in the middle of a Starbucks.
Fingers quivering, I reach for my bottle of water. It’s practically empty, still, I bring it to my lips. I turn my focus back to my laptop.
Channel your anger into your story .
Gritting my teeth, I resume typing. I’m up to the chapter where Sophie has just released her exposé book about her ex and it’s gone viral. Wayne is receiving a lot of backlash on social media.
The man deserves to be cancelled
I type.
#CancelWale
I’m getting back into my writing groove when a familiar voice calls my name.
Kojo.
‘I thought it was you,’ he says with a wolfish grin, a plastic cup in hand. As always, Kojo is dressed as if he’s on his way to the gym, his cap back-to-front. He struts towards me and, to my disgust, he plops himself on to the spare chair.
‘What you saying, T?’ he says. ‘How’s it going?’
I haven’t seen Kojo since the night Wale and I broke up. If my memory is correct, he was bigging up Wale for not dropping out of The Villa . Even before I’d overheard him, I’d never been a fan – his excessive thirst for women makes me uncomfortable.
Folding my arms, I stare at him pointedly. But Kojo’s too busy moving my phone so that he can make room for his drink.
‘Oh, snap!’ He notices the frozen still on my screen: Wale and Kelechi kissing. ‘You’re watching yesterday’s episode?’
A rush of prickly heat creeps up my neck as I snatch my phone from the table. Since Wale’s appearance on The Villa , I feel as though I’m walking around with a sign that says, ‘I’m Wale’s stupid ex-girlfriend.’ A couple of weeks ago, I bumped into an old friend from school – and even she knew.
‘I’m sorry things didn’t work out with Wale,’ she said with a pitying expression.
I stared at her, shocked. We hadn’t seen each other in over a decade.
‘I follow you on Instagram,’ she explained tentatively. ‘You took down your pictures …’
It’s as though everyone knows.
Everyone.
‘You all right?’ I hear Kojo say as my eyes begin to well up again.
It all gets too much. I lurch to my feet and run to the ladies’ bathroom where I lock myself in the cubicle, push up my glasses and cry.
I hate this , I hate this , I hate this .
I hate the impact this break-up is having on me. How the very mention of Wale’s name makes me cry at the drop of a hat. I hate how fragile I’ve become. I never used to be this emotional. No, I’m going through a rough time; it’s okay to cry. Still, I hate how Wale has quickly moved on while I’m locked away in the toilets bawling like a baby.
I hate him.
And I hate that I love him.
I take my time blowing my nose and wiping my glasses before taking in a big lungful of air. I’m hoping Kojo has enough emotional intelligence to know that he needs to leave me in peace.
I return to the café and tut. Kojo’s still here and – What the hell! Why is he looking at my laptop?!
‘What are you doing?’ I slam the lid shut.
‘Rah, man!’ Kojo scoffs. ‘Is that how you say thank you? I was keeping an eye on it for you.’
I roll my eyes and slump back in my chair. I begin to pack away my belongings.
‘Check you writing a revenge book,’ I hear him say. ‘ The Ultimate Payback . Catchy title.’
I shove my Vaseline into my bag, making an act of ignoring him.
‘Lemme guess,’ he continues anyway. ‘You’re Sophie. Wale’s Wayne?’
I stare at him, speechless, for a beat too long. ‘You’re out of order,’ I say finally.
Kojo holds up his two hands in front of his chest. ‘You’re right. My bad, my bad. I shouldn’t have read your work.’ Then, in a mutter, he says, ‘Didn’t deny it, though.’
My mouth feels as though it’s been injected with anaesthesia. It’s not working as sharply as I would like it to.
‘It’s not about us,’ I say curtly.
Kojo smirks. He looks unconvinced. ‘Oh, yeah? So, why did you call Wayne Wale, then?’
My patience grows thin. ‘What are you talking about?’
Kojo motions towards my laptop. ‘Go on. Have a look for yourself,’ he says very calmly.
I know better than to let Kojo under my skin, and yet I open my laptop.
Kojo leans forward towards the screen. ‘There annnd … there,’ he says with a slanted smile. ‘Hashtag CancelWale.’ He laughs. ‘Rah, man. Are you that savage?’
A surge of blood rushes to my cheeks as I snap my laptop shut again and shove it into my bag. ‘It must have been a typo,’ I say, my voice breaking. ‘I must have got confused when I was watching …’
‘Aww, Temi, I was only playing, man.’
But it’s too late.
Hot tears steamroll down my face.
‘Aww, Temi, don’t cry.’ Kojo puts a hand on my back.
I flinch at his touch and rise to my feet. Hurling my bag on to my shoulder, I make a dash out of the door. To my dismay, Kojo follows me.
‘I said I’m fine,’ I say again as I stomp down the busy pavement, Kojo calling me.
He catches my wrist and tugs me back, forcing me to a standstill.
‘You’re a mess,’ he says softly. ‘I’m driving you home.’
I try to object. He insists.
‘Fine,’ I relent. I have no desire for a public back and forth.
In stony silence, I follow Kojo to his car – a silver hatchback Audi parked just a street away. Quickly, he steps ahead of me to open the passenger door.
I’m doing up my seat belt when Kojo reaches towards the back seat. He pulls out a can of Red Bull from his gym bag. ‘You want one?’ he says.
I’m so thirsty, I nod.
‘Thanks,’ I say after he opens the can and hands it to me. I down a large mouthful and place it in the cup holder.
Kojo smiles. ‘See, Wale isn’t the only sweet boy.’ He starts the engine.
The drive to my flat is excruciating. Kojo bombards me with first-date-type questions.
‘So, what you up to these days? You got any holidays coming up? How tall are you again?’ (I never told him my height in the first place.)
I keep my answers short and to the point, every so often compulsively checking the GPS to see how close we are to home. Finally, we arrive. I unbuckle my seat belt.
‘His loss,’ he says as I brace myself to get out.
He was just talking about Wale and how I shouldn’t bother watching The Villa .
I actually snort. ‘Mate, you’re not serious. You were the one egging him on!’
Kojo jerks his head as though he has amnesia. ‘Nah, man,’ he says. ‘I was just testing him. I wouldn’t have failed.’
He says this so quickly, my head swivels towards him in surprise.
Kojo looks me up and down with lust in his eyes.
My body burns with discomfort. I reach for the door handle.
‘So, what? Man doesn’t get a hug, now?’
With a strained smile, I turn around. ‘Thanks for the ride,’ I say, leaning over to give him a quick hug. But as I draw back, I feel a resistance. Kojo is holding me tight. He won’t let go.
‘Fancy doing something naughty?’ he says, his voice a low rasp in my ear.
Shock sears through my chest; I recoil in disgust. Kojo, jumping at the opportunity, smears his lips on to mine. I want to gag. His tongue is like a slug in my mouth. A wet, rubbery thing.
‘What are you doing?!’ My cry comes out muffled. I keep shoving against him but Kojo won’t loosen his grip. He’s strong.
‘C’mon, man. You wanna get back at Wale, don’t you?’
We continue to struggle; I whack him again and again but it’s like slapping feathers against a slab of cement. Useless. My hand makes a low, thudding sound against his body and over my cries. And then I remember the can of Red Bull. I grab it quickly and toss the contents at him.
‘Argh! You bitch!’
Kojo finally releases me and fumbles at his wet trousers.
Heart thundering, I stumble out of his car and run to my flat.