love out of betrayal
edited by Tebusweke Ismail)
Not everything that glitters is gold but at least those that shine attract the eye’s attention.
A friendship that turned into something tangible. Nabakka was a girlfriend to one of my close mates, Gerald but ended up with me.
Their simple but happy life could easily be envied. Nabakka was a very forgiving woman that was always willing to understand Gerald’s mistakes however many they were.
I can vividly recall a time the three of us went for a movie night sponsored by Gerald to watch the very exciting Black Panther. Oh! how great they are, the Wakanda forever-themed memories.
On a fateful day, I struggled to choose which shirt would perfectly match the only two pairs of trousers I possessed in my wardrobe. I was constantly panting down my room picturing how I would majestically enter the cinema hall. The swagger and charisma with which I would move was a thing that painted a smile on my face. I became paranoid as hours seemed like months to the very anxious being that I was.
When evening time finally clocked in, I received a call from Nabakka.
“Hello Jack, are you ready? we are on our way to pick you up.” I calmly responded with a yes.
It then struck me; I had finally gotten Nabakka’s number. The thought of this made me grin like a fool. I quickly whispered a prayer to myself, “May God bless me with a beautiful woman such as Nabakka.”
A few minutes later, Nabakka and Gerald were at my door knocking. Suddenly I felt reluctant to open the door. Hiding under the bed suddenly seemed like a viable option. But I gathered myself up and opened the door.
I entered the car and we drove off. I kept staring in the window pretending to be reading signposts as a way of avoiding eye contact with Nabakka. When we reached the movie hall, the number of people standing in lines was glaring.
In the meantime, we bought some popcorn as we made our way into the movie hall. Nabakka sat in between us since she was the one carrying the popcorn. I stealthily moved my hand and touched her body.
Surprisingly there was no resistance from her. All I could see was her beautiful smile which showcased her very meticulous dental setup. I immediately withdrew my hand at the mere thought of being caught by Gerald.
A few moments later, my phone buzzed with a message from Nabakka which read as “I heard your last words before our call ended today.”
My heart skipped at the idea of having been texted by the most stunning woman I had ever laid eyes on. I quickly replied, “I am sorry” only for her to respond with a text that read, “It’s very fine so long as we play it cool and Gerald does not find out.”
When the movie finally got done, Gerald dropped me off at my place. As I lay in bed that night, my head was perplexed with the idea of whether I should pursue what I felt or withhold my feelings in order not to betray Gerald.
The thought of Nabakka in her skimpy blue dress which showcased her voluptuous body was not making things any easier for me. I pictured myself as Chadwick Boseman defeating any enemy in my path to Nabakka’s heart. However, I was struck with fear whenever I would think of the kind of reputation that I would potentially hold amongst my friends if I indeed snatched her from Gerald’s grasp.
When I pondered deeply about this matter, I came to the conclusion that these are earthly things and coupled with Gerald’s cheating antics, I surely deserved to fulfill my heart’s desires.
When Nabakka and I met, I discovered that she was going through an atrocious time with her man. As the days passed, we grew closer as I was always available to listen to her problems since I was unemployed. Occasionally she would even pass by my place and we hang out.
And as fate would have it, one particular afternoon when she had come around whilst we were playing some music on my laptop, she teasingly asked if I knew how to dance. As I lazily stood there without any response, she reached for my hand, pulled me closer and we started dancing.
In a bid to impress her, I injured myself as I tried to pull off the world-famous Michael Jackson moonwalk since the surface of my room was of bumpy nature.
When Irene Ntale’s song came on, I found myself caught in the moment as I sang along to her melodically curved out lyrics which sounded something like, “Baby come closer, you know how I need you”
Believe me when I tell you that the sight of Nabakka smiling to my coarse voice singing along to the song’s lyrics is one of the best feelings I have ever experienced. As she smiled I couldn’t help but pull her body closer to me. I am surely not a scientist yet this moment had lots of chemistry entangled in it.
What ensued next was a hug that felt like it lasted for an eternity. Her body was so soft and warm as I groped her shoulders with my hands slowly moving down her spinal cord. It is no wonder that I was ready to risk it all and decided to passionately kiss her sweet-tasting lips. I prayed and wished for this moment not to end. My heart’s biggest desire had just been fulfilled.
A few minutes later as we both lay down on my single bed, we had to address the million-dollar question. “What would happen if Gerald found out?”
She just laughed and replied, “That’s only possible if you let him find out.” We promised each other to be more cautious
What we did not factor into mind is the fact that if our love grew deeper, it would become harder to hide our feelings for each other
Time reached when I was no longer able to afford my rent as I lacked a reliable source of income. Gerald proposed that I move into their two-roomed house where he resided with Nabakka.
I was reluctant to accept his request but he insisted that since we were good friends, he could not tolerate seeing me struggle. I finally accepted and moved in. I used to sleep in the sitting room and during the day I would take my mattress back to the bedroom.
Since I used to stay home, Nabakka would come back earlier than Gerald and we could have some moments together before he returns.
I really enjoyed my 4 months' stay at this home until one day Gerald called me and suggested that we needed to talk. During the call, he assured me that whatever we had to talk about was so important as it impacted their future life together with Nabakka.
On hearing this, I got so scared because my gut feeling speculated that Gerald had found out what was happening between me and his girlfriend. When the day of the talk approached, we agreed to go to the bar and have some beers as we discuss.
At around 2 am, Gerald was quite drunk, laughing obnoxiously as he touched my hand while screaming, “My man, am in a tight scenario” he repeated this statement numerously with tears rolling down his cheeks.
I calmly inquired what the issue was, only for him to tell me how he was expecting a child from another woman but he didn’t know how to face Nabakka.
At that moment, I was speechless because I didn’t know how to react. I asked him if there was a possibility of abortion. He said that was totally impossible since he really loved the girl who was pregnant with his child.
To my dismay when I questioned him about Nabakka, he just smiled and started to narrate how he was tired of her and was planning even to pretend to leave the country for a greener pasture in order to get away from her.
To this day, I can’t properly recall the kind of emotions that I underwent at that moment. I wanted to jump for joy but at the same time, I didn’t want to showcase my true feelings in the midst of Gerald.
to be continued ...............