Chapter 9

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Your secret admirer

I had a secret admirer?

Crazy?

Romantic?

Scary?

Childish?

Whatever category it fell in, I loved it. I smiled as I read it over and over again, still felt like I was reading it for the first time.

Who is this guy?

I silently walked to my wardrobe, swung it open and brought out a small girlie box my mom gave to me when I clocked four. It was meant for important things, and I always hid the key to the box under my bed. I opened the box and placed the note inside it. My first letter. 

My phone rang and I ran to my bed to get it.

"Hey sugar." He said as soon as I answered the phone call. 

"Hey, how are you?" I asked, blushing.

I knew he sent the note, but I was gonna act oblivious.

"I'm fine, I just wanted to check up on you."

"Okay. bye." I said in a hurry, with my heart pounding.

"Calm down, I want to know if you'd be free on Valentine's day?"

"Are you asking me out?" I played with my cornrows that were braided to the front of my left eyes.

I heard him chuckle nervously. "Sort of." 

"It's still far." I reminded.

"Listen, it's sort of weird to say this through a phone call, and I don't know if I'm being too forward or something, or mayb--" 

I cut him off and chuckled. "Just say it!"

"I kinda want us to be an item."

My heart skipped.

"It's a joke, right?" I asked, just to be sure that I wasn't hallucinating.

"No, it's not. I really didn't want it to sound as a joke, but I was too excited to wait for tomorrow." I heard him sigh. "Just take your time, ain't tryna rush you, but don't take too long to give me a reply, bye sweets." Then he hung up.

Bamidele just asked me out.

How did this make me feel? I wasn't feeling happy, neither was I feeling sad. I had mixed feelings and I instantly felt nauseous. I picked up my laptop to Skype Mims, and she picked up on the second ring.

"Hey girl." She waved at me.

"Hey." I waved back. I looked pressured on the screen.

"Stop nau, everything's not a joke, get out!" She screamed in frustration.

"Hey Olivia, your friend is psycho and I literally wanna put her up for adoption!" I heard Jayden's background voice, and then I heard the door shut.

"Sorry about that, the idiot is gone, so what's up?" She smiled.

"Guess what?" I said in excitement.

"Quavo followed you back on I.G.?" She narrowed her eyes.

She was literally bad at guess games.

"No be only Quavo, WizKid too." We both laughed. [Not only Quavo, WizKid did too]

"Then what?"

"Don't freak out," I warned her whilst pointing my index finger at her.

"Okay, I promise." She crossed her heart, by drawing an imaginary cross on her chest.

"Bamidele asked me out." I spilled, and her face dropped.

"What the freakin' fuck!!" She screamed.

"What?" I raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Oya, borrow my legs and another person's legs, then start running like Usain Bolt." She clapped her hands dramatically. "Natalie!" She called.

"Natalie is even around sef?" I asked in a tone of joy.

"We're doing sleep over nau. You should come, this Saturday, trust me you'll love it, my mom is even baking cookies, when you come you'll love it, we always have--"

"Cutest of all!" Natalie cheered and she waved at me, adjusting her eye glasses. I waved back.

"You're just interrupting somebody, abeg shift joor." Mimi snapped at her. [Please move]

"You called me, yet you want to send me away. You're retarded." They argued like kids and I laughed at them.

I snapped my fingers in the air dramatically. "Oya guys, I'm still here nau." 

"So what's up? What's the gist?" Natalie said.

"Where's Katie and Natasha?" I asked with genuine concern.

"David's friend is having a party, so they had to turn up." Mimi answered, whilst I rolled my eyes.

"Don't they get tired?" I shook my head.

"I don't know o," Natalie shrugged. "you guys should gist me fast, I'm helping dem Jason out with something." Natalie said in a hurry.

"Okay, Dele asked me out." I spilled it to Natalie.

"Do you like him?" They both chorused.

I nervously let out a small laugh.

"Sort of. In a confusing way, I want him but I don't want him." I confessed, face palming myself.

"Bamidele is literally a playboy but he's a nice guy sha, he knows how to make his girl happy, from what I've seen, he spoils his girlfriends with surprises and expensive romantic gifts. I'm sorry dear, let's talk better tomorrow, I have to go now." Natalie hurriedly finished.

"I wish you guys perfect luck, I hope he's different with you." Mimi added.

"I'll just have to think it over, thank you and I'll ask my dad about the sleep over thing."

"I think Dele is downstairs sef, I heard his voice. How's little Bode? I miss him so much, I told my mom about him and she said she would love to meet him, she even said that he makes her want to have another child." We both burst into laughter.

"That wouldn't be a bad idea. " I playfully put up a stern face.

"Abeg, I don't want anybody to snatch my position as the last born." 

I chuckled. 

"If she wants a baby, I'll get her a chihuahua or a monkey." 

I smiled at her, "I'll love to meet your mom." 

"She probably wants to meet you too, and besides I barely have friends not to talk of bringing them home." She frustratingly lets out. 

"Why don't you have friends?" I asked with interest.

"Fake friends. Gold diggers. They all want to date my brother, it's stupid. Every friend I have, they just want to control me because they probably have a thing with my brother or my cousins." She rolled her eyes, to the extent were her eye lens weren't visible.

"That's creepy, don't your eyes hurt?" I laughed.

"I do it every time, especially when fake friends are involved in the conversation."

"Crazy girl."

"Just like her best friend." She said, wiggling her brows. 

"So I'm your bestie?"

"Before? You've been my closest friend so far and I trust you, like so much. You make me feel like I have a sister, I just love you, and I'll do anything just to make sure that you never get hurt." She disclosed, touching my heart with each word.

I blew a flying kiss to her. "Aw, I love you too." 

"Miranda!" A background voice called.

"Yes mom!" Mimi answered, yelling, so whoever was calling her would hear that she had answered.

"Sweet heart, I have to go, see you in school tomorrow." She bidded, ending the Skype call before I even said an actual 'goodbye.' 

—

JAYDEN'S POV

"Goal!" I screamed in excitement.

No. I wasn't watching football, I just beat Jason to FiFA on my PlayStation4.

My cousins were at my house, Natalie was helping David text his crush. Brandon was helping my mom in the kitchen, while myself and Jason engaged in a game of football. Katie and Natasha went to a party with Darnell.

Those girls and parties sha.

"Mr man, stop screaming." David warned, giving me a death glare.

"If only you would roll with me, Dele and Jason, it would have been easy to text that girl, even Brandon knows how to talk to his crush." I huffed, clearly trying to hurt his ego.

"Not everybody wants to deceive and ruin a girl, my feelings for her are true, I'm writing what I feel for her, not what I picked from google or a Playboy website." He shot at me.

"How did you even become our cousin sef?" Jason grimaced.

"Aw, this guy is such a husband material, if you weren't my cousin, I would have married you." Natalie cooed, then she pecked him on the cheek.

"Bruh, swear you don't want a guy that'll give you good sex. " Jason scoffed. 

She rolled her eyes, "Las las, you people will end up in hell fire."

The door bell rang, dividing our attention. I rose from the couch and headed for the door. I swung the door open abd it revealed Dele with a bouquet of roses in his hands.

"Your girlfriend is not here, and I'm clearly not gay." I jeered. 

He chuckled, slightly pushed me aside and walked in, while I trailed behind him. 

On getting to the living room he placed the flowers on one of the side stools in the living room.

"They are for Natasha." He announced before he left to go greet my mom in the kitchen.

The roses became a center of attraction, we all stared at it. "They should be up to a hundred," Natalie guessed, squatting and taking a whiff of the beautiful bouquet in front of her. "They are beautiful." She complimented.

"Why did he bring flowers for Natasha?" Jason asked, looking interested. 

"I don't know." I shrugged.

"I offended her and she's mad at me, so I decided to bring her flowers." He answered, as he emerged from the kitchen with a smile that sold the mischief in his eyes.

"Stop messing around with my sister." Natalie angrily cautioned. 

"That's the last thing on my mind, sweetheart." He articulated.

"Natalie!" Mimi called from upstairs.

Natalie had to answer her call so she raced upstairs without keeping her eyes off Dele.

"What's your plan?" I asked my best friend, after my cousin was off sight.

"We are just friends and I offended her, I'm just trying to be a remorseful friend." He smirked, dramatically placing his hand on his chest. 

"Don't mess with her again," I snapped at him, "If you do, I'll soak you in your own blood." I threatened, trying to keep a stern face.

He gave me a playful punch on the forearm, as he made way to sit down on the couch. "Nah, I've got a better one. Who needs your cousin sef?" 

"So who's your next big fish?" Jason asked.

Dele brought out his iPhone, slid it open and showed us a photo of Olivia. 

She was sitting on the beach sand, her spaghetti strap fell across her forearm, she obviously wasn't wearing a bra, she had buried her feet in the sand, and she was laughing, so beautifully.

"I wanna fućk this girl so bad, if I can get her, then my Yoruba Demon rank would go high." He jerked on the couch. 

I cringed.

"Wait, why her?" I asked with sudden fear in my bones.

"Have you analyzed her body. Damn. She's hot." I watched him emphasize on her body, and I clenched my fist.

"She's actually beautiful." Jason added. 

"Why do you wanna take advantage of her innocence, I mean look at her." I blurted out almost immediately.

"She obviously likes me back." He shrugged.

"Leave her alone." David said. "You've had enough girls already, why do you want this one?" He frowned.

"Guys, calm down, don't eat me up. " He raised his hands in the air, dramatically. "I just want to fúck her, nothing more, no strings attached." He smiled slyly.

"And you think it's gonna be so easy?" Jason asked raising his eyebrows.

"If she doesn't want to give in, I know how far I'll go just so--"

"Where's your sister?" My mom asked me in particular, emerging from the kitchen, and placing the tray of freshly baked cookies and cupcakes on the huge dinning table.

"In her room." David answered.

The look on our faces was an uneasy one, we all hoped my mom didn't hear our conversation.

"You children of nowadays, how can the girls be doing something else while a boy is helping me in the kitchen? Your sister that's suppose to be in the kitchen is in her room, even you Taiwo, you can't come and help me in the kitchen, you're glued to your phone." My mom snapped at us all.

"Aunty, my hand is paining me nau." Natalie complained.

She stood akimbo, "If that was how I pressed phone, I wouldn't have gotten married to my husband."

And you met my mom, Mrs Fumilayo Coker, this woman would literally preach the living day light out of you, but you're just end up loving her.

"Miranda!" My mom yelled from downstairs.

"Yes mom." Mimi replied back loudly. We all tilted our head to the stairs, waiting for her to emerge.

She finally came down the stairs, wearing one of my hoodies.

"Mom, can you tell her to stop ransacking my closet and stealing all my hoodies?" I rolled my eyes.

"You're just jealous, because they suit me better." She stuck her tongue out in mockery.

"Shut up, oya follow me to the kitchen, I don't understand the kind of life you people are living. Taiwo, get up and follow me." She left and went into the kitchen.

"Oooo God!" Mimi and Natalie murmured, Mimi stomped her right foot in annoyance and they both went into the kitchen.

"Your mom is savage." Bamidele said as he laughed.

"She's the one preaching, yet she's the one spoiling you guys." David added. "My mom literally forces all of us to the kitchen, that's why Brandon is even interested in the kitchen." He finished.

"Olumide, turn off that TV, all of you to the kitchen!" My mom yelled.

___