Page 60 of Cursed Daughters
“But…?”
“But I would like to kiss you, if that’s okay.”
She couldn’t think of a thing to say; her mind had lost all grasp of language. But she had known it must come to this, so she nodded and watched as he closed the gap between them. Then he simply hovered, as if unsure what to do next, so she placed her lips on his and let instinct do the rest.
—
Swimming became the thing she shared with him, and in return he gave her a crash course on comic books and started her on anime. She hadn’t thought she would be able to follow him into this world of stylised animated characters and fantastical plots, but she fell for it hook, line and sinker. And she felt his gaze on her as she consumed and appreciated the content that mattered to him. He was enthused when she was enthused, he laughed when he saw how invested she was. He fed her with endless lore. She genuinely loved spending time with him. Still, it was tricky when he started to insist on picking her up and dropping her off at home. There had already been a few near misses with her mum, when Ebun had been on the drive, tinkering with the Beetle or putting out the bins. She was not ready to introduce him to them yet.
They were driving back to hers, after spending the day at a café poring over aOne Piecemanga. When they got to the beginning of her street, she placed a gentle hand on his wrist.
“You sure you don’t want to come home with me?” he said. Sheturned to him, raised an eyebrow, but she couldn’t deny she felt heat rising from the pit of her belly and warming her face. Her body was throbbing. He wasn’t looking at her. He was still, as though the moment she gave her consent, he would spring to action. His car speakers were blasting Lojay x Sarz’s “Monalisa”—the right song…the right song could have a girl wildin’ out. She played with the idea of his body against hers for a few moments and then cleared her throat.
“Maybe next time? Drop me here.”
He twisted his head to face her, and raised his eyebrow. Gosh, the boy was beautiful.
“Why all the subterfuge?”
“Z, I just…My family will make this a massive deal.”
“It feels like a massive deal to me.”
“We have only been dating for four months.”
He shrugged. “When you know, you know.”
“Mmm-hmm.” She planted a kiss on his forehead. “I promise you will meet them soon. But I need to…prep them. And you.” He grumbled but let her go, and she began the short trek to the house.
At first she didn’t recognise the older gentleman standing at the gate. For starters, he was in uniform this time. But there was no mistaking the salt-and-pepper beard, and once again he was holding a bunch of flowers. She had forgotten about his previous visit a few weeks ago and so had failed to tease her mother. But now, her curiosity was stirred. Her mother was full of secrets, locked up tighter than a vault. And here was a man who was clearly interested in Ebun, who had Ebun’s address, and yet her mother had never thought to mention him. Stumbling upon him a second time was like holding gold in her hands. How did her mother feel about her handsome stalker?
“Mr. Osagie,” she said, suddenly recalling his name.
He gave her a crooked smile. “Eniiyi, good to see you again.”
She studied the insignia on his chest but couldn’t tell what military branch he belonged to. “You’re in the…”
“Air force.”
“So you’re a pilot.”
“You are correct!”
The man didn’t seem like her mother’s type. He was too…smiley. And he took up too much space, like a joyful grizzly bear. She hadn’t thought her mother would ever get with anyone—after all, the woman had spent the greater part of Eniiyi’s childhood reminding her that the two of them were better off without a man in their lives—but if she did happen to date someone, Eniiyi had imagined he would speak in clipped, superior tones and have a well-paying, respectable job; a doctor perhaps. Definitely not this peppy air forceman.
She smiled at him. “Is she expecting you?”
He smiled back. “To be honest, I am trying my luck. Your mother has rejected me twenty-three and a half times.” No surprises there.
“What’s the half for?”
“On one occasion, she took the flowers.”
They laughed together. She decided she would advocate on his behalf. If nothing else, it would irritate Ebun.
“Do you have her number?” He shook his head, so Eniiyi gave him Ebun’s two numbers, the one her mother used for work and the one she used for personal. The work one was only meant to be used if they couldn’t get through to her personal line and it was an emergency; but true love was an emergency, was it not?
“You look like her…”
