ROULETTE OF THE DAMNED 11: The Maelstrom II

As they both walked into Jiro’s apartment, Andrew felt uncontrollably sad. He had spent years in the UK making friends, meeting lovers, and enjoying the freedom to be who he truly was without prejudice. Coming back to Nigeria had been a good move because he had gotten a good job and he was now with the man he would willingly die to protect from any and everything. Unfortunately, it also meant that he was stuck in a country where people hated, misunderstood and feared his kind. It sometimes felt like the only choices he would have if he was caught having sex with a man in Nigeria was to choose how he would like to die.

They didn’t talk. The night had taken its toll on Andrew, but the brunt of it fell on Jiro’s shoulders. They simply walked into the bedroom, took their clothes off and went into the shower together without saying a word. Over the threshold of the shower and under the warm water, Andrew pulled Jiro into an embrace. They stood that way for some time, Jiro resting his forehead against Andrew’s shoulder. Andrew rubbed his cheek against Jiro’s beard and stroked his back to soothe him. There was quiet comfort in the unspoken words.

Soon after, they quickly finished their shower and dried themselves. Jiro led Andrew to master bedroom and bandaged Andrew’s hand. It had stopped bleeding and the wound wasn’t deep. It would heal completely in a couple of days. Knowing that they hadn’t eaten anything at the restaurant, Andrew asked Jiro what he wanted to eat and Jiro chose to eat rice. Andrew went into the kitchen and warmed up the food from the fridge. He wanted something different, so he warmed up beans for himself, fried some plantains to go along with it, and took both plates to the living room.

Upon getting there, Andrew noticed that Jiro was already drinking rum and coke and had poured him a glass as well. They ate in silence. Once they were done with dinner, they lay down on the couch, with Andrew drawing Jiro into another hug. Turning to face him, Jiro placed an arm around his waist, his hand slipping under Andrew’s vest to touch the hollow base of his spine through the light cotton.

“Thank you for the meal and for not talking about what happened at dinner tonight. It was nice to just be with you and just feel. No words necessary.”

“Anything I can do to help, you know I’ll do it for you,” Andrew replied. “I’m glad you feel better.”

“Thanks. I’m sort of glad it’s out now though. I’m not interested in running around Lagos telling everyone how I feel about you, but I feel somewhat free knowing that my attraction to you is not a major secret as such anymore.”

Andrew smiled. “I’m glad you feel that way. For a little while, I thought what they said tonight would make you want to break up with me.”

Jiro looked into Andrew’s face, smiled and kissed him. “Not going to happen, mate. You’re not getting rid of me that easy.”

Andrew chuckled.

“In fact,” Jiro continued, “I’d like you to come with me for my parent’s anniversary weekend next week. It’s going to be quiet. Just my parents, you, and I will be at the house. My siblings are all out of the country on vacation at the moment, so we’ll have the house all to ourselves when my parents go to bed.”

Andrew looked unsure. “I don’t know, Jiro. It’s your parents’ house. I wouldn’t want you to do something you would regret. Be sure of what you want before you risk it all. I’m happy just the way we are. I promise not to pressure you for more than you can handle. I might not always be a patient man, but for you, I’ll wait as long as I have to.”

As he listened to Andrew’s words, Jiro’s eyes softened with an emotion he couldn’t define. “It’ll be fine, Drew. Trust me, if I didn’t want you there, I wouldn’t have offered. So what do you say? Please come with me to my parent’s place for their anniversary weekend. It’ll be boring without you there.”

Andrew still looked unsure.

Afraid he was going to say no, Jiro quickly said, “Just think about it okay? For me?”

The second Jiro said those two words ‘for me’, Andrew knew he was done for. There and then, he knew he couldn’t say no.

He just wasn’t ready to say yes either.

“Okay, my darling. I’ll think about it.”

***

Abbey undressed quickly and got in the shower. Her tears flowed with the water that sluiced down her body. She cried until her tear ducts refused to produce any more tears. She felt both defeated and deflated. After her shower, she felt too tired to wear her pyjamas. Instead, she dried herself with her towel, wore only her panties and got into bed semi-nude.

She had lost Mofe. She had lost the only man that loved her unconditionally and it was all her fault. Picking up her phone, she checked her media gallery and scrolled through all the pictures of her and Mofe together. She felt sad beyond belief as she did so. When she happened on a photo of Mofe shirtless, she almost burst out in tears all over again. He had sent the picture a couple of weeks back to tease her. She loved the picture and had made it her screensaver.

Realization hit Abbey then. She was in love with Mofe.

As she made to drop her phone, it rang. The caller was Mofe. She picked the call to tell him to go away, but her throat felt constricted. She simply held the phone to her ear, sobbing quietly as she listened to him.

“Abbey… Hello… Abbey, are you there? Abbey, answer me!” Mofe said from the other end.

She remained silent, but he heard her sobs.

“Abbey, are you crying?” when she didn’t respond, he said, “Abbey, I am outside your house now and I’m not going anywhere until we talk about what happened tonight. Come and open your door before I break your front door down and meet you upstairs. Don’t test me Abbey. I’m crazy enough to do just that.”

Suspecting the seriousness of his intent, Abbey forced her voice to obey her. “Mofe please, just go home.”

“You’ll have to kill me and drag my dead body from your front lawn before I leave without seeing you. Come and open the door, Abbey.”

As much as she wanted to ignore Mofe and let him do his worst, Abbey didn’t want to have to deal with him probably breaking the front door to get in. Thankfully, her parents were not home; they’d gone out for some dinner function and would not be back for another three or so hours. Too tired to refuse anymore, she simply said “Okay.”

Still clad in underwear, she left her bedroom. As she went downstairs, she considered again ignoring Mofe, but she remembered how badly she’d behaved at dinner, and then felt she could at least see him one more time before she decided never to see him again.

She got to the living room, and took a deep breath to try and calm her nerves.

“Abbey!” Mofe shouted from outside. “I’ll count to three before breaking this door down.”

Abbey hesitated, putting her hands on her head, unsure of what to do with Mofe.

“One!”

She shut her eyes, feeling a maelstrom of emotions roil inside her.

“Two.”

She opened her eyes, determined to send this man from her life before she ruined his completely. Before he could say three, she walked to the front door and opened the door.

Mofe stood before her.

“Babe, we need to talk,” he said, his face set with purpose. Then he took note of her naked breasts and gave a sharp intake of breath.

Abbey stared at him and opened her mouth to tell him to leave. She never gave voice to the words, because just then, she noticed what lay on the floor in front of Mofe.

The sight of it made her gasp.

Written by The Controvert