The Stolen Kiss

Moving to the city that never sleeps has not been easy on Ada, if not for any other reason she needs to sleep and this city is not helping at all. Okay, that is a bit of exaggeration, she has had “shut-eye” but only for 4 hours each night and that is not nearly enough considering that she just moved to Lagos from Port-Harcourt, the city that sleeps.

Finally, she is in the big city and everything she was told about Lagos is true: the big houses, the flashy cars and the fine boys. Oh! The fine boys, what is she to do with them? They keep bothering her at work, at home and even in the church, the very house of God and all she wants to do is to focus on work, earn a lot of money and help mama in the village.

But the man from the bar last night was different. She hasn’t felt such strong emotions for anyone in a while except for Nnamdi. She believed Nnamdi was the one for her; his missing rib and heaven-sent man for her but when she found out that he was already married, she knew he was not that special; he was just like any other man.

The man from the bar looked nothing like Nnamdi, this one was fair like oyinbo pepper, tall and very handsome. His smile, wow! His smile, she found herself smiling when he smiled at her and something melted in her heart. She found herself shaking, nervous, not knowing what to expect. Was he going to ask her out like all the other men, buy her a drink or sit next to him? Would she play hard in order not to be considered cheap; with the way her heart was beating fast, this man will know that she has already fallen for him.

She sat properly and brought out her new Samsung Note 4 to play with, at least she could mask her emotions behind the phone. The closer he got, the more nervous she became, then a lady walked past her and lurched towards the arms of her handsome man, their lips lightly brushing together as he tries to steady her.

The moment was gone and Ada couldn’t believe her eyes. That kiss had ruined it all, why did she wear those stupid high heels and why did she have to stagger? Why did he have to catch her? The kiss happened right in front of her. It could have been her kiss but it got stolen by a high heel, no good for nothing girl who could have watched where she was going.

She couldn’t see him the same way now and he was a bit embarrassed by what had happened. It was just plain awkward between them, he mumbled “hello” to her and walked away.