There was silence after she spoke. I noticed her eyes were fixed on the table before her and she would not lift them to look at me. Her breathing was slow and hard, beads of sweat formed on her forehead.

She waited for my reply. I was blank. What should I say? My mind replayed her voice to see if I could come up with something sensible.

“I, …I….” I cleared my throat and drew a little closer, trying not to sound nervous as I began again.

“I admire your frankness… I don’t know what to say…but I admire your openness about your feelings. It is natural. When two people work together most of the time, a certain bond develops between them with time…”

“I feel shy and ashamed telling you this…but…it’s been bothering me.” She admitted.

“I do not judge people. I don’t judge you. We are all humans. It’s natural to feel that way. I understand why it happened. Just that we need to keep a distance so that…”

“I understand,” she interrupted. “Thanks for not judging me. I feel relieved. It’s been bothering me these past few days…Each time you come into my office, I just feel like grabbing you…and…Gosh! I don’t know where all these stupid thoughts come from.”

She bows her head and supports it with a hand.

“I won’t tell anyone. It’s just between us. Don’t feel bad.” I assured her.

She rises to close her office windows and shut the lights.

“It’s getting late.”

As I raise a leg to step out of the dark office into the lit corridor, a hand holds mine.

“Can I hug you?” It was her voice.

“Yes.” I replied impulsively.

As we separated, “I feel better now. Thank you.” She sighed.

When we parted ways, she went to her room. Her home and office sat beside each other on the same compound, the last building at the end of No.9 Street.

I hurry home, thinking over the conversation with Mrs. Stella and finding it amusing.

Suddenly I began to feel attracted to her. These feelings weren’t there before. It seems after she’s confided in me that she could not take her mind off me, she’s sown some seeds into my ears and they were beginning to take roots.

My head became giddy with excitement in anticipation of how things were going to turn out in the coming days.

But what does Mrs. Stella really want from me? Is she just telling me this to feel relieved or it’s some cunning strategy to get me thinking of her?

She’s older than I am. She’s wealthy and can easily afford other men. Why me?

She might be feeling lonely after her husband died. It’s been 3 years now. She’s human too. She certainly will long for sex. But if I get intimate with her, where will the relationship go? Won’t people think she killed her husband to be with me?

And what will my friends think of me? They will ridicule me. They will think difficulties pushed me to go for a woman older than I am to help me out.

This thing developing between me and this woman seems to have a gloomy future.

What is all this?

I tried to calm myself. First, she’s confided in me about feelings many would rather keep to themselves. I must show maturity by not betraying her. Even if I am not interested, I must not tell others to mock at her. Imagine how I would feel if I were in her shoes…