Everyone loves a little drama right? ? This story has a lot of it, so stick and stay.  I hope it serves as a perfect distraction from our very busy lives?.  I will love to dedicate this story to all my friends. You all know yourselves and you mean the world to me❤️❤️

 

Episode one- Truth-or-Dare

“Do you want to come inside for a drink ?” Hazel asked.

Derek looked at his watch.

“ Umm…I have to get to church. I am already late” he said

Hazel made a sad face that made Derek laugh

He got out of his car and opened the door for her. 

“ I will try and pass by after church,” he said and closed the door

“Promise?” Hazel asked

“ Yes. I promise. Happy Birthday, Beautiful” Derek said and gave her a peck on her cheek. Hazel blushed.

Derek got into his car and admired Hazel as she walked toward the gate to her apartment. She turned to look at Derek and he waved at her before speeding off. 

Hazel has never been big on birthdays, but she smiled widely when she walked into her apartment and saw all her friends. 

They had planned a surprise birthday “get-together” for her. Her closest friend in the group, Shirley, walked to her and hugged her. 

Her other friends later gathered around her and wished her a happy birthday. 

Shirley held her by the hand and they went to the bedroom. 

She waited for Hazel to change out of her work clothes while they spoke about their day.

“Derek ordered lunch for me this afternoon. He is so adorable” Hazel said 

“ Aww, you two are so cute. I still can’t believe someone as discreet as you could have an office boyfriend”

“ He isn’t my boyfriend yet,” Hazel said and blushed 

“ But his actions speak volumes. He likes you a lot”

“ I like him too,” Hazel said and blushed.

She chose to wear a purple blouse because it’s one of her favorite colors.  

“ Femi is here,” Shirley said suddenly and rushed to Hazel’s window.

She then saw Femi and Fitzgerald walking past the window.

“ How did you know Femi has arrived?” Hazel asked surprisingly. 

“ I know his perfume,” Shirley said shyly.

Hazel laughed.

“I know right? Tell me about it. Geez! That guy smells like money. But are you okay that he is here though?” Hazel said

“ He is still your friend Hazel and it’s your birthday. I am glad he could make it”

“Are you very sure you are good?” Hazel asked

Shirley nodded.

“ Okay great. Let’s go out then. I don’t want to keep the others waiting” Hazel said

The party had already started when they got out. 

Dompreh is the one with great taste in music in the circle so he is always the “ DJ” when they have private parties and he was already turning up the place. 

Hazel smiled when she saw everyone dancing. She had just moved into her apartment a month ago and didn’t have a lot of furniture but she loved how her friends didn’t mind and still made it work. 

Shirley handed her a drink and sat her down. They placed some throw pillows around Hazel’s center table where they decided to play a couple of board games since Hazel had a ton. They played Monopoly first and continued with UNO. 

Alex, Shirley’s older brother knocked an hour into the game and Shirley went to open him. He had texted her early on when he was on his way. He apologized for coming late and placed Hazel’s present on the kitchen counter. 

Hazel saw the present, it was a big box and it made her wonder what Alex had gotten for her. 

Alex took his Vans off and crept playfully in his socks to join them by the table. 

“ Since Alex is here, I think we should start over,” Fitzgerald said.

“ oh no. I don’t mind. You guys should go ahead, I would join in the next game” Alex said.

“ You know what guys? Why don’t we do something completely different? Like play Truth or dare” Aisha suggested

The others groaned

“ Truth or dare is so 2002 Aisha. I don’t think anyone plays it anymore” Femi said 

“ Come on. It would be fun. These board games are boring. No offense Hazel” Aisha said and chuckled

“ None was taken,” Hazel said and smiled

“ Okay, okay. Since it is my birthday and also my apartment, what I say goes. A little truth or dare wouldn’t hurt. If we play and we don’t like it. We can stop” Hazel said. 

Shirley raised her eyebrow and looked at Hazel

“ Are you sure?” she asked

“ She is sure. Come on. Let’s do it” Aisha said excitedly

Alex looked at Hazel, she didn’t seem too comfortable with her decision. It looked like she did it to make Aisha happy. Knowing Aisha she wasn’t going to stop until she got what she wanted and Hazel wanted her peace of mind. 

Alex smiled to himself and went back to focusing on the game. 

“ So I’d go first. I pick Femi. Truth or Dare?” Aisha said

“ Dare,” Femi said without thinking. 

“ Okay. Let the person seated to your right, DM a girl using your Instagram account” 

“ What?!“ Femi said

“ You chose dare, buddy,” Aisha said and shrugged

The other friends were already laughing hysterically. Aisha knew how very naughty Fitzgerald is and he was the one seated on Femi’s right hand.

“ Okay! Give it here” Fitzgerald said stretching his hand to collect Femi’s phone. 

“ oh, God. I can’t watch” Hazel said covering her eyes

Femi reluctantly agreed and gave Fitzgerald his phone but he went easy on Femi and sent Aisha a DM instead. That clearly wasn’t what Aisha wanted but it worked anyway. Femi laughed when he found out what Fitzgerald did

“ Yes! My boy!! Oya chop knuckle” Femi said excitedly. 

“ You guys! That’s cheating!” Aisha said

“ You said to DM a girl and that’s what he did? Aren’t you a girl?” Femi said and laughed some more.

“Okay my turn now,” Femi said

He looked around and decided to pick Alex since he hadn’t participated in anything yet.

“ Okay, Alex. Truth or Dare?” Femi said

Alex chuckled and answered Truth. 

“ In light of Hazel’s birthday, tell us truthfully a couple of things you like or dislike about her” 

Alex was a little uncomfortable with the question. It wasn’t a typical truth-or-dare question and he wasn’t prepared at all but he decided to give it a shot. 

“Ummm…let’s see. I like the way she gets lost in a book and absentmindedly plays with her hair while she reads. I like her beautiful hands and feet and her nails that she always keeps neat. I like it whenever she wears slippers or sandals because I get to steal glances at her cute feet. 

The way she laughs hysterically whenever she reads a good meme. 

 The way she goes on and on about a new series makes me want to secretly watch it.

 I wish she knew how incredibly beautiful she is and stops being a wallflower.

I like the way she calls me Alex whenever I do something to annoy her just to get her little attention.

I love watching her sleep. It’s so peaceful it makes me wonder if she ever has bad dreams and dislikes I have none because she is pretty amazing” Alex said. 

Everyone at the table was speechless

Alex shyly smiled when he noticed all his friends staring at him. 

“ What? You guys wanted to know what I like about her. And that’s what I like” he added and laughed

“ But we weren’t expecting this much detail. I had no idea you observed her that much” Fritzgerald said

“ And how many times have you ever seen her sleeping ?” Aisha asked

Alex laughed 

“I have seen her taking a nap once or twice at home in our living room,” Alex said. 

Hazel was surprised, she wasn’t expecting that much detail either. She shyly looked at Alex but looked away when their eyes almost met. The boys laughed and teased Alex. 

“Enough guys. I chose truth and there you have it. Can I have my turn now?” Alex said. 

“ Sure you can go,” Aisha said

“ Okay. Dompreh. Truth or dare?” 

“ Dare” 

“ Okay. Dance without music for one minute”

“ Oh Easy!” Dompreh said and got on with it

Hazel stole glances at Alex as he watched Dompreh dance. She really liked the things he said about her, she had no idea he had been watching her or even knew her that well. 

The others laughed some more when Dompreh finished dancing.

“ Okay. Shirley. Truth or dare?” Dompreh said trying to catch his breath. 

Shirley hesitated a bit and then chose Dare. 

“ Show us the most embarrassing photo of you that you have on your phone” Dompreh said

“ Oh, God! I don’t have any” Shirley said and Hazel giggled

“ Hazel seems to think otherwise” Aisha said

“ You guys should please leave me out of this” Hazel said and laughed. 

She got up to get some water from the refrigerator and her phone rang. She had placed her phone on the table just before she left for the kitchen. The others were focused on Shirley showing them an embarrassing photo that they didn’t pay attention to Hazel’s phone. 

Alex on the other hand couldn’t help it and looked at her phone to check who was calling. 

He saw the name Derek with a Purple Heart emoji next to it. 

Hazel got back with a bottle of water in her hand and she sat back down next to Shirley. 

“ Has Shirley shown you guys the photo yet?” she asked

“ I don’t have any Hazel,” Shirley said and made a face at her. Hazel looked at her and laughed

“ I want another dare please,” Shirley said

“ No, it doesn’t work that way,” Aisha said

“ Come on, please. I would do anything” 

“Anything?” Aisha asked

“ Yes anything” 

“ Alright then Shirley. Kiss Femi for five minutes” Aisha said

“ No. No Aisha. Let’s not go there” Alex said

“ I just want to make it a bit more fun,” Aisha said and chuckled. 

She looked at Shirley hoping she would laugh too but she didn’t find it funny.

Aisha always had a way of getting on her nerves. Femi stood up, he too had gotten uncomfortable. 

“ You know what?! I think we should stop playing now” Hazel said.

She had noticed the tension that was starting to build up between Shirley and Femi. 

“ Can we go back to dancing please?” Hazel added

Shirley walked out of the apartment to get some air to keep from confronting Aisha. 

Hazel went after her, she had already gotten downstairs to the car park. She was leaning against Alex’s car with her arms folded when Hazel got to her. Shirley was so angry she was shaking.

“ Calm down Shirley …”

“ Why do we still stay friends with her? She is insane. I shouldn’t have invited her” Shirley angrily said. 

Femi who was trying to keep his composure the whole time gave in to his emotions and confronted Aisha

“ I just want to know Aisha. What were you trying to prove by suggesting that?” 

“ It’s just a game Femi. Get over yourself” 

“ Get over myself? Are you mad?!” 

Femi was starting to get more upset. Fitzgerald quickly held Femi. 

“ She is not worth it. We all know how she is” Fitzgerald said trying to calm Femi down. 

“ How am I, Fitzgerald? Like I said I just wanted to make the game a little more fun” Aisha said

“ Fun?!” Fitzgerald said

“ Aisha don’t act innocent like you didn’t know what you were trying to start. You know how much their breakup destroyed them and how very messy it was.  It’s just our luck that they can now stand each other enough to be in the same room. You also know that Femi has a new girlfriend now so please make it make sense, Aisha. Just make it make sense. Besides, it wasn’t even your turn Aisha, it was Dompreh’s turn” Fitzgerald added

Femi took his phone and wore his shoes. 

“ You know what? I have to go now. It was nice seeing you all but I have a long day tomorrow” he said and left the apartment. 

Fitzgerald walked out with him. They run into Shirley and Hazel on the stairs. 

 Shirley had been crying but tried to hide her face when they bumped into Femi and Fitzgerald.

 Femi quickly noticed Shirley’s puffy eyes and that made him more upset. 

“ I am leaving Hazel. Happy Birthday again and have a great year” Femi said and hugged her.

“ Thanks, Femi, and thanks a lot for passing by” 

“ You are welcome,” he said and smiled

He wanted to say something to Shirley but he didn’t know what to say. Things have been a little awkward with them since the break-up but they pretend well when they are around their friends.

Femi walked past her and Fitzgerald followed him 

“I will be back soon,” Fitzgerald said and the girls nodded.

Shirley looked over the balcony and watched Femi drive off as she walked back to Hazel’s apartment. 

When they got back inside, the party was over. The others were preparing to leave. 

Aisha apologized to Shirley and Hazel for ruining the party before she left.   

Alex hugged Hazel very warmly at the door before he left too. 

Alex wasn’t really part of the circle but as time went by he got closer to the other friends because of Shirley. 

“ Don’t worry so much about Shirley, I would take care of her” he whispered

Hazel smiled and nodded

“ I know you would. Thanks so much for passing by Alex” Hazel said

Femi thought about Shirley as he drove home. 

Seeing her puffy eyes hurt him, he has always hated it when she cries. 

He wished he didn’t love her that much, after their breakup, he contemplated leaving the Circle but he also didn’t want to be so far away from her. 

His phone rang, it was Kendra his new girlfriend. She hasn’t had peace of mind ever since Femi told her about Hazel’s party. She knew Femi was going to see Shirley. 

“ Hey Babe,” Kendra said

“ Hey”

“ How’s it going? Checking in on you” she said 

“ It’s over. I am coming home” 

“Really?” 

“ Yep”

“ Do you want to see me?”

Femi chuckled

“ Yeah, but I can’t stay for long. It’s a work night”

“ Sure babe. See you soon. I missed you” 

“ See you soon hun” 

Kendra and Femi lived in the same neighborhood. Her house was three blocks away from Femi’s. 

Alex and Shirley didn’t talk on their way home but Alex asked her to fix her face so that their parents don’t notice that she had cried. 

When they got home, Shirley rushed to her room to avoid her parents. 

Alex told them she was tired from the party and wanted to sleep. 

Femi pulled up in front of Kendra’s gate and texted her. 

He smiled when he saw her walking to the gate. He got out of the car and hugged her. 

“ I missed you, baby, ” she said 

“ I missed you too”

“ How did the party go? Was Hazel happy?”

“ Yeah, she was. It was nice”

Kendra wanted to ask about Shirley but she held her tongue. 

“ How was your day?” Femi asked 

“ It was alright. I closed early today” 

“ I see. I had to close early too because of the party. I couldn’t finish most of the work I had to do today. I will have to go to work very early tomorrow ” he said and checked his time

“ I am tired babe. I have to go now” he added

“ So soon?” Kendra cried.

Femi smiled.

“ I will be seeing you tomorrow hun. Have you forgotten?”

“ Are we still on for tomorrow? I thought you will postpone it since you said you have a lot to do at the office”

“ Ooh no. I will come and get you don’t worry. You know I always make the time for you Babe” 

Kendra smiled and nodded

“Yes, you do. Okay then. I will see you tomorrow. Drive safe” Kendra said and kissed him

Femi kissed her back and smiled 

“I will text you when I get home,” he said 

Kendra nodded and watched him drive off. 

Hazel thought about Alex a little bit before she slept. She hasn’t really thought about Alex in any way, he has always been like an older brother to her but that evening the way that he spoke about her really touched her in a way she wasn’t expecting. 

Hazel and Shirley have been friends since primary school. Their mothers were teachers at the school so their kids became fast friends. They have been inseparable since. 

Hazel is a data analyst in an Investment Bank, and Shirley is a Petroleum Engineer but is in between jobs at the moment. Alex is a medical doctor.

Fitzgerald is an IT specialist for an advertising firm. Aisha is a lawyer. Dompreh is a chartered accountant. 

 Femi manages a chain of businesses for his father in Ghana and in Nigeria. 

He moved to Ghana three years ago to open new branches in Accra and Kumasi but stayed longer than he had planned. 

He met and became fast friends with Shirley through their mutual friend Lauren. They decided to meet for the first time at an Ebo Whyte play at the National theatre.  

Lauren and Shirley were roommates at University. They had an exceptional relationship in school and stayed in contact even when Lauren went back to Nigeria.

Femi had broken things off with his then-girlfriend because she demanded a lot of attention and time that Femi couldn’t give her. 

The trip to Ghana was just what he needed to clear his head about the break up so when Lauren mentioned Shirley, Femi wasn’t in the mood to talk to anybody. But Lauren kept trying and Femi finally gave in just to make Lauren happy. 

He wasn’t sure what Shirley looked like even though they have been texting back and forth for months. Shirley sent him just a couple of old photos of herself because she didn’t have a lot of photos, Femi didn’t want to push for more photos so he let it be. 

When Femi got to the National Theatre, he called Shirley but she hadn’t gotten there yet so he waited in his car for her. He was getting a little impatient when he got a message from her telling him that she was in front of the theatre. 

Shirley noticed the frown on his face when he got closer and she quickly apologized. Shirley is a chronic latecomer. 

Femi was just too upset to take a better look at her, they stayed hours in the dark hall watching the play and didn’t say much to each other. 

When Shirley realized how cold Femi behaved toward her she decided to cut him off the moment she got home that night. After the play, Femi suggested they grab something to eat. 

Shirley wanted to decline because she wanted absolutely nothing to do with Femi but she agreed because she was famished. 

She drove behind him to one of Femi’s favorite restaurants in Ghana which eventually became their spot.  They got a chance to talk properly. 

When the evening ended, Shirley didn’t dislike Femi as much anymore and decided to keep him around. 

Femi also thought Shirley was pretty but he didn’t want anything serious with her. The next day after their first meeting, Femi suggested they hang out again because he wanted to look at her very pretty face. They became good friends because they both weren’t sure about each other. Shirley introduced him to some of her friends. 

He got closer to Fitzgerald quickly because they had some personal interests in common. He started gyming and partying with Fitzgerald and before they knew it they had become best friends. 

Femi got closer to Gina, a girl he met at the gym, he did almost everything with her. Shirley hadn’t noticed she really liked Femi until she saw him spending an awful lot of time with Gina. 

Femi liked Shirley too but she looked too innocent and conservative for a bad boy like him so he never pursued it, he cherished their friendship more. 

Shirley started avoiding him completely to help her get rid of all the feelings she was starting to have for him.  

Femi noticed it, her distance, the other friends in the circle also did but nobody really thought to ask them. Femi had a birthday dinner and invited Gina and that was the straw that broke the camel’s back for Shirley. 

She thought it was going to be a private birthday party with only people in their Circle.

She pretended to answer a call and left the restaurant when she saw Gina coming in.

Hazel followed her out. It was really awkward making Femi feel very uncomfortable. Hazel came back without her and lied saying Shirley got an emergency at work and had to leave. 

Femi called and texted her after the dinner but Shirley didn’t reply or call him back. 

There was nothing from her for a whole week and Femi went to her house to find her. 

Shirley led him to the garden because her parents were around and she wanted them to talk privately. 

The private talk turned into a huge argument about Gina. Femi didn’t get why Shirley was that upset because as far as he was concerned they were just friends.

He said some awful things to her out of anger which made Shirley tear up. She walked out on him in the garden because she didn’t want him to see her cry. Femi left her house very upset and called Fitzgerald to vent. Fitzgerald later told Femi the truth about how Shirley feels about him. He asked Fitzgerald how he knew Shirley liked him and he said Hazel mentioned it to him in confidence. He didn’t know what to do with that information because he genuinely wanted to be just friends with Shirley. 

Shirley didn’t speak to him again after the garden argument, she made it very obvious to the others that she wasn’t cool with Femi anymore.

Femi thought that he would be fine with not speaking to Shirley but it was hurting him a lot. 

After a month of them not speaking, Fitzgerald invited everyone to his office’s end-of-year party and Femi brought Gina to spite Shirley because he knew how Gina made her feel but he was beaten by his own game when Shirley walked in with Joshua. One of her office husbands. They looked so good together and Femi got jealous, really jealous.  

Shirley noticed him with Gina but acted as if she hadn’t seen them even though she was dying inside. 

Femi watched Shirley and Joshua love on each other and he couldn’t stand it, it made him uncomfortable how very upset he was about the situation. He had no idea it would get to him that much.

 He told Fitzgerald that he had to leave the party early because he had a trip the next day, but that was a lie. He walked out forgetting he had brought Gina with him. Gina who noticed him leaving run after him. He dropped Gina at home and went to his apartment to drown himself in alcohol. He hadn’t paid attention to how much he actually liked Shirley too, he was used to having her around so not being able to talk to her killed him. 

He was on his second glass of whiskey when Shirley knocked on his door. He wasn’t expecting anyone so he hesitated before he opened the door. 

Seeing Shirley at his door that evening made him so happy. She was exactly what he needed. He went closer to her and touched her beautiful face. 

He smiled for a short while and kissed her, she kissed him back. They kissed each other forgetting that was actually their first time kissing. Femi broke off the kiss and then asked her if it was okay. Shirley smiled and nodded then kissed him again. They started dating exclusively the next day. 

Femi fell so deeply in love with her, he knew for certain that he wanted to marry her. She was the girl he never saw coming but completely changed his life. They wanted to wait to have sex because Shirley was a virgin but the strong sexual chemistry they had, took over one evening while they watched a movie. 

They went at it a couple more times and Shirley got pregnant. Shirley has always been a workaholic and she knew for certain that she wasn’t ready to have a baby even though she so badly wanted Femi’s child. She told Femi about it and also about aborting it. 

Femi got furious he couldn’t believe that Shirley could be so cruel. They fought about it for weeks; it was like a Cold War between them. 

Shirley decided to keep the baby after thinking long and hard. She loves Femi and she absolutely wanted to have his baby. She decided to surprise Femi at home after work and then tell him her decision so they could stop fighting but that afternoon at lunch she had a miscarriage and was rushed to the hospital. That’s how come her parents found out she was pregnant and that it was for Femi. Shirley’s father wanted to confront Femi but Shirley didn’t want him to make things messier than it already is so she begged him to leave it to her to handle it but she handled everything poorly. 

She stayed in the hospital for two days, Femi was busy being mad at her and never called to check in on her. Hazel was by her side all through the process and they were very careful to keep it from the others in the circle. 

When Shirley was better she found a good time to tell Femi about the miscarriage but Femi thought she had had the abortion and was lying about it. 

Shirley tried to explain but Femi didn’t want to hear it, he broke things off suddenly out of anger even though he was still very much in love with her. The very next day after their break up, he left the country for Singapore for a year to work but also to avoid running into Shirley because of the mutual friends they had. 

When he returned, the other friends planned a party just to get them in the same space.

Femi thought a year away from Shirley would let the feelings he had for her go away but seeing her at the party brought all his feelings back, he was too proud to ask her to be his girlfriend again so instead he dated Kendra the sweet girl, he knew had a crush on him in his neighborhood. 

Hazel sent Alex a nice thank you message in the morning on her way to the office. He had gotten her an Air Fryer for her birthday. Alex was very busy at the hospital and couldn’t reply to her message until the afternoon. He called her when he saw her message. She sounded very happy on the phone and he was glad he got her something she loves. 

Alex has been wondering about the Derek guy after seeing his name on Hazel’s phone. He was a little jealous

He didn’t imagine himself seeing Hazel as more than just a friend but for close to three months he has started developing a lot of feelings for her and working through those feelings has been very tough on him. 

Before Hazel found her new apartment she stayed with his family for two months, she left an old job in Kumasi because it was mentally destroying her so she decided to catch a break. 

She applied for new opportunities in Accra and got a couple of unexpected interviews. 

The two-week stay she had planned with Shirley eventually turned into a month when she got a call back two days after her interview. 

She gradually left Kumasi and Shirley started apartment hunting with her. 

Alex absolutely loved having her around and he was a little hurt when she moved out. 

Shirley replayed the incident from Hazel’s party over and over in her head. She was still pissed at Aisha. She ignored all her calls that morning.

Hazel visited Shirley after work that evening. 

She secretly wanted to see Alex too. She sat with Shirley’s parents for a bit before heading up to Shirley’s room. 

“ I thought you were asleep,” Hazel said when she entered her room

Shirley turned to look at her, she’s been watching movies all day. 

“ How are you feeling today?” Hazel asked

Shirley sighed and sat up properly on her bed

“ I am alright. I only wish I had a job to distract me from thinking about Femi so much”

“ Yes, I know. How’s the job hunt going by the way?”

“I haven’t gotten a callback. This isn’t funny anymore Hazel. Mummy and daddy do not speak about it but I know that it deeply worries them”

“Don’t beat yourself up. If you are in a season of waiting, God isn’t punishing you, He is always preparing something greater. Trust me. Just look at me, months ago I remember sleeping in this same bed crying about my job”

Shirley smiled and nodded. Hazel smiled back and got up to remove her shoes to join Shirley in bed.

“Is Alex going to come home early today?” Hazel asked

“I am not sure, he closes late these days”

Hazel was a little sad to hear that, she was really looking forward to seeing Alex. 

Femi closed his laptop and packed it into his work backpack. He checked the time before turning off the lights in his office. Kendra called him while he made his way to the car park. 

“Hey Babe,” Kendra said excitedly 

Femi smiled and replied 

“Are you on your way?” she asked

“ Yeah I would be leaving the office soon” 

“ Great! I am going to get ready” 

Femi placed his office bag in the back seat and went to the driver’s seat. He sat in silence for a bit and pushed his car to start.  

He connected his phone to his car and played some music. One of Shirley’s favorite songs started to play. Femi smiled to himself, he recalled a couple of times Shirley attempted to sing the song whenever they went for a drive. 

She loves the song so much but never bothered to learn the lyrics. 

He missed her, he missed her energy.

 At that moment, the only thing he wanted was to see her. He knew he had a date with Kendra but just for a short moment he wanted to see Shirley 

“Hey Mercedes,” Femi said

“How can I help ?”

“ Call Shirley” 

“ Okay. I am calling Shirley”

Shirley had placed her phone on silent that afternoon to binge-watch a show and also avoid Aisha’s calls. She forgot about it when Hazel came over. 

Femi thought she was avoiding him because of what had happened yesterday in Hazel’s Apartment. He was contemplating whether or not to go see her now since she didn’t answer his call. 

Kendra danced happily in her room as she got ready to meet her boyfriend. She loved Femi so much and sometimes couldn’t believe she was actually in a relationship with him. 

She picked up two clothes she had decided to wear and went to her kid sister’s room to help her choose. 

“ I think the white dress is nicer,” Valerie said 

“ Are you sure? I sort of like the orange jumpsuit better” Kendra added

Valerie shrugged

“ Whichever one you decide on, I am sure would look good on you Kenni” 

Kendra smiled at her sister 

“ What are you up to anyway? You have been in here all evening”

Valarie yawned and removed her eyeglasses 

“ I am trying to finish this report for my boss and also get a flight ticket for him. He has to be in Dubai by Wednesday to present the report” 

“ I know how much you struggled to get this new job but your boss is something else. You are almost always tired these days” 

“What can I do Kenni? I need the money and this stress is expected. Being a personal assistant to a CEO isn’t a walk in the park” 

“ We can talk later, don’t forget you have to dress up and look good for Femi” Valerie added

Kendra quickly got up from her sister’s bed, for a second she had forgotten about her date. 

“ Ooh shoot! What’s the time?” Kendra asked 

“ A quarter past six” Valerie said

“ How’s Femi by the way? Is he still holding back?” 

Kendra sighed

“ He is fine. He isn’t holding back as much anymore”

“ That’s good, right? You don’t seem too happy about it though”

“ I wish he wasn’t always around Shirley. I am still not so secure about them hanging out” 

“ Have you told him?”

“ I can’t bring myself to mention it because we always end up fighting about her. And I am tired of fighting, he is my man now and that’s what matters” 

“ You know you really don’t have to put yourself through this right? You can meet someone who loves you and doesn’t give you ex-girlfriend drama” 

“ I know but I really, really love Femi,” Kendra said 

Valerie sighed and nodded. She felt sorry for her big sister but she also understood her. Loving someone you know doesn’t love you the same can be so hard sometimes. 

Hazel and Shirley were laughing over a fond memory Shirley had remembered when Alex walked into the room. He was surprised to see Hazel in Shirley’s room. Hazel’s heart skipped a beat when she saw Alex too.

He smiled at her

“Hazel? Hey? How are you ?”Alex said

“ Umm…I am okay. How are you too?”

“Great. Thanks”

“ How come you are home early today?” Shirley asked

“Daddy called for me. He wants to use my car tomorrow for the trip so I came back for his” 

“ Your car instead? Really?” Shirley asked

“ Yeah. I don’t know why he wants mine. He didn’t say” Alex said

“ I would be heading back to the hospital now. I could drop you at home Hazel. If that is okay? ” Alex added

“ Umm… sure. I would like that. Thanks” Hazel said 

She was very happy that she gets to ride with Alex home. 

Femi parked at the driveway of Shirley’s home. He hesitated before getting down from the car. 

Shirley got off the bed and picked up her phone. Hazel was fixing her hair in the mirror to look a lot prettier to join Alex.

“ I missed a call from Femi,” Shirley said looking at her phone.

Hazel turned to look at Shirley 

“ Really? Then you should call him back. Curious to know what he wants” Hazel said 

Shirley chuckled and called Femi back. She placed it on speaker.

Femi was startled to see her call, he wondered if she had seen him. 

“ Hey Femi”

“Hi Shirley”

“How are you doing?” Shirley asked

“ I am alright. How are you doing too?”

“ I am well. Thanks. Sorry, I missed your call, my phone was on silent and I was watching a show. Are you okay? What’s up?”

“Ummm…nothing much. I just wanted to check in on you” Femi said

“ That’s nice. Thank you. I am okay. I hope you are too?”

Femi smiled

“ Yes I am” 

There was an awkward silence, Femi knew he had to tell her that he was outside and wanted to see her but he changed his mind. 

“ Umm…okay then. Have a good evening Femi and thanks for checking in” Shirley said to break the silence. 

“ Alright. You are welcome”

Shirley ended the call and looked up at Hazel.

“ Is it just me? But Femi sounded so weird ” Hazel said

“ He did right?!  I hope he is fine. Nice of him to check up, last night was just crazy” Shirley said

“ Tell me about it. Aisha is insane” 

Femi drove out of Shirley’s house and went on to pick up Kendra. She was starting to get anxious when Femi took a little longer in picking her up. 

Shirley went to see Hazel off outside. Alex dropped Hazel home, they had a nice conversation and they both couldn’t believe what was happening between them. 

As he drove back to the hospital, Alex tried picturing Hazel as his girlfriend and imagined what his parents or sister would think. 

Femi took Kendra to one of her favorite places to eat and she was over the moon. 

Around midnight Brigitte went downstairs to make a cup of tea and found Shirley reading in the lounge. 

“ What are you doing here all alone?” Brigitte asked

Shirley looked up at her

“ I am reading mum. I was tired of being in my bedroom”

“ It’s late aren’t you going to sleep?”

“ I napped all afternoon. I wanted to try and sleep but this book is so good” Shirley said and chuckled.

Brigitte went to the kitchen to make the tea and then came back to sit by her daughter 

“So how did it go with Femi?” she asked. 

Shirley looked confused 

“ Femi? How do you mean mom? We only spoke for a bit today and that’s about it”

“ Oh alright. It was really nice seeing him today” 

“ Seeing who?”

Brigitte surprisingly turned to look at her daughter who looked so confused

“ Femi of course, who else? ” she said and sipped on her tea. 

 

Thanks for making it this far❤️ Glad to be back. See you all soon. Have a nice weekend xx