The date was on tonight. He told me to be clean and fresh , he told me to be prepared for the best night of my life. I believed him.
I carelessly shaved my legs , little cuts appearing .Peter had been my long time crush and lover . Obima had introduced him to me at a party and I thought he was the most beautiful man ever. He spoke to Obima the whole night as I marveled at him. Obima liked him as well so she had asked him to be her boyfriend and of course the fool agreed . My heart had broke but I loved him more so I too had asked him out . During the day he would be with Obima and in the off hours of the night , my flat. I was not so close to Obima for she was just a course mate I had grown fond of as we studied together and made a great team. This crazy game had gone on for years and even after their marriage we would still meet up at our favorite spot when he was in town. I had thought deep down that one day he would leave her for me but one night he had not come home , his phone number was not going through and he had never responded to my dozens of texts. To say I was shattered is an understatement, but that was 4 years ago and I moved on . Everyone had left this hell hole of a town but me.
This week was better than the others as I was on leave to sort out some personal business. I was still asleep when an unknown number had continuously rang in the early hours of Wednesday .
“Hello is this Deorra ?” A cool voice echoed on the phone.
“Who are you and why are you calling this early?” The annoyance in my voice was clear . I hated phone calls from unknown numbers.
He chuckles lightly
“It’s Peter…”
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Peter is almost an hour late and the waitress annoys me when she constantly comes every 5 minutes to ask if I’m ok. I’m am not ok my date isn’t coming this evening! My armpits are itching and my upper lip is burning from the lemon and lime I drank earlier . I had put so much effort into my looks so I wanted to perfect . In about 30 minutes was when the tall , dark and handsome man came in with his seductive face , as pretty as I remember. He sits down , never breaking the stare from my chest.
“You are as beautiful as I remember my love.”
I say nothing but blush profusely. My love . He never calls me by my name unless it he was serious.
“Are we ordering ?”
He signals the waitress to come forth and she smiles at me happy that he finally came .The food is excellent and my date is even more. He tells me that he’s back in town for business reasons ,his hardware store is looking to open a branch this side and he wanted to visit this place for memories and to make sure plans are in order. This town had so many memories for us two and that’s probably why I never left; I didn’t want to lose anything of the past. As much as his presence brings me joy it also fills me with pain especially the glowing band on his finger . I don’t bring it up because beggars can’t be choosers -I will take whatever crumb of attention I can get and will not confront him about our lost contact. He too does not bring that up and knowing Peter he would wiggle his way out of it and I would believe him.
After the lovely meal Peter drives me to his hotel room in the mountainous areas of this town . It’s a way better setting than my flat as I live in something of a make shift home and it’s always empty as if I’m ready to leave at any moment. Peter used to come over regardless . He would compliment the house for it’s little beauties such as the space , the simplicity of it and the effort I had made to make it “our home”. I wanted to let him know that I made some changes ever since that time but as far as I know it is just my home alone. As soon as we enter the room he wastes no time in unzipping my dress in the dark as I did his pants . It was just like the old days where we would be passionate and wild without a care in the world. In the middle of it all tears were rolling down my cheeks because I missed him…I missed us . I had also cried because Peter had held onto me tight but he held onto the band on his finger even tighter .
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The argument started at 6 a.m. when I bring up the idea of him leaving his wife for me since we clearly had a connection last night. Peter locks himself in the bathroom and I am sobbing at the door. “You clearly love me more than her so why are you not divorcing her ?” ,my voice fills with rage. “You further continue to insult me by wearing your wedding ring in my presence when you know how I feel about it”. The shower was turns off and he , with his usual and cool demeanor replied “My love you are asking for too much .I love Obima and I love my children just as much” My emotions cannot be contained. I thought the night had meant something and we were going to be together after these years apart. I hate him for awakening something in me that I tried so hard to heal from. I was a fool to think I would make him love me more than her .He comes out of the bathroom in his towel and smells of the most lovely smell . He ignores me as he looks for clothes in his suitcase. Starts to His phone rings and we both stare at the name Obima with a heart at the end.
“I’m going to tell her about us “ I say . silence
“Did you hear me? I'm going to tell her about us” . He finally looks at me as if choosing his next words carefully .“My love don’t do this with me”
Immediately I jump on the bed to grab his phone and he fights back trying to take it from me . I kicked him off me and get up to wave the phone in the air as if a trophy .His cool demeanor seems to be change as he lies on the bed. “Don’t try me Deorra” . I Answer the phone and suddenly the device is slapped away from my hand and before I have a chance to do anything a slap lands on my face . He tightly covers my mouth as he signals me to keep quiet . I comply . Obima’s voice can be heard from the speaking . Peter picks up his phone and hangs up. The new cracks on his phone are very visible and he glares at me before grabbing my arm roughly and forces my face to his. I fail to utter a word as the lump in my throat is large and I am in shock .
“ You will force my hand to do what it should not Deorra . You will never in your life try that nonsense again”
I stare at the him in disbelief. Does he want to beat me ?
“You are nothing more than the whore I sleep with and you will never take my wife’s position . Know your place !”
The drive back to my place was very silent and this timeI sit in the back with my hand on the bruised cheek. Peter does not sneak a glance at me one bit but I look at him directly in the mirror. I realize that he truly loves Obima ; she was the true prize . Damn you Obima . Peter loves her more than me and that will never change , I always knew that deep down but the slap proves it. She calls him again and he answers . He tells her he accidentally called and everything is fine . I hear his kids making noise in the background and he says he loves them . As he parks outside I quickly grab my bag and dash into the house without so much as a farewell to him. He says something but I refuse to stand and listen. He follows me a few steps behind and I am too tired to protest, maybe I wanted him to come. In the house I grab a bag of frozen peas and place it on my throbbing cheek while I look down as I feel his eyes pierce the back of my head. We stay like this for a few seconds before he says anything.
“I never meant to slap you. I am truly sorry Deorra”
I don’t respond and keep my gaze on the kitchen floor. He didn’t seem to mind as we stood in the middle of the kitchen .He spoke again.
“I’ve never hang out with you in the daylight.” I looked up and he smiles at me before he asks “Would you like to go for breakfast with me?”
I shake my head “I know my place”
He grabs my chin gently as he looks into my eyes
“You are not a whore Deorra I apologize for that. Please don’t be quiet like this”
My face is wet and the tears don’t stop flowing. He pulls me in for a tight hug as he continuously apologizes. He then asks me if I want him to leave and I shake my head .
“let’s go for breakfast my love” .
I force a smile and tell him I have to get dressed into something more casual. He holds my waist and trails after me to the bedroom where I undress and we kiss as passionately as before . I love Peter but he does not love me with the same intensity and I will try to adjust to this. He tells me that he will come back to town more often and he would love to see me again. I tell him he is always welcome. We kiss after a while before he tells me
“You’ve made beautiful changes to our home”
