I cannot remember what day of the week it happened.

All I remember was that I woke up that day with absolutely no idea how my day was going to turn out.

I was in my room that morning, probably thinking of what to eat as breakfast.
Then I had a call. It was Channel. A new girl I was in a fresh relationship with. We hadn’t had time to chat one on one. Her mom was always around her, hardly leaving her alone. I found her closeness to her daughter annoying. She wasn’t a child. Yet even when she went to a shop nearby to get some provisions, her  mother followed her.

We texted each other. But it wasn’t deep because we hadn’t met one on one for a hearty talk.

Then came our chance. A very big chance.

That morning when Channel called, it was to tell me that her mom was travelling. To their hometown. For a funeral.

“Hallelujah! “ I exclaimed upon hearing the news.

She giggled.

She said she couldn’t wait for us to be alone, for the first time, to have a good chance to truly look at each other, stare each other in the eye, and talk for as long as possible, without fear and without hurry.

I said I felt the same joy too.

I was excited all day, canceling all plans to organize home lessons for a student I taught. That could wait. I had pressing issues at hand.

I lay in bed, watching movies. Waiting for the signal from Channel that her mom has left.

The old woman was hesitant in leaving. When I bumped into her during the day, she didn’t even look like she had somewhere to go. She sat outside our house, chatting heartily with our neighbors.

At some point, I thought she had postponed her journey. In the course of watching my movies, I felt hungry and went out to buy some food. When I returned, Channel told me her mom had left.

“At last! “ we sighed.

” Can we meet now? “ I asked impatiently.

“Not yet!“ Channel cautioned, ” the neighbors. “

She was right. Our neighbours were evil. They love poking their long noses into things that do not concern them. And whenever they discovered good things happening in someone’s life, that good soon turned sour.

Our fresh relationship won’t grow stale because of their evil gossip. We must hide it from them.

So, I lay in bed, counting lines in the ceiling, taking a shower, listening to music, counting lines in the ceiling, planting my ear to my door listening for Channel’s steps as she moved about her house chores. I tried to do anything to kill time. I couldn’t wait for night to fall.

Finally, night did fall, though it took an unusually long time to do so.

My plan was to go to the nearby park where many people in our hood went to relax when the weather was hot at night. That way, Channel could join me after I had left so that the tenants in our house wouldn’t notice that we were going out together.

“I’m going to the park. Will you come? “ I said over the phone.

“Yes. You go first, when I come, I will call you to see which part of the park you are seated.” She answered.

I left, waiting at a vantage point of the park impatiently.

Five minutes. Ten. Fifteen. Seventeen…. Thirty minutes…

Something wasn’t right. I called.

” Aunt Lucy and Maami Alaba are seated at the entrance of the house. They will find it weired that I’m leaving the house at this time.” She explained.

“To hell with Aunt Lucy and Alaba! ” I thought.

I didn’t say anything again over the phone.

Then she added, “I’m scared to sleep alone. I always sleep with my mom or big sis.”

“It’s OK. You can come to my place.” I offered some help, without thinking over what I said.

“OK.” She responded, breathing heavily. “When everyone goes to bed, I will come.” She added.

I went back to my room, excited. Now we could spend the night together. We will talk and talk for as long as we wish. No interruptions. And I can get to watch her for as long as I like, even watch her fall asleep.

But deep down, I was a bit worried. It seemed too soon. Things had been very slow since I took her number and now, everything was in fast-forwarded mode.

Will something happen? In my mind, I just wanted to hold her, and perhaps offer a light kiss on her cheek, that is, if the occasion presented itself. It was my first time meeting her one on one, and I didn’t know how she was going to react to any show of affection.

I listened hard for the last movements of footsteps on our house compound. It was now around 10pm.

Quietly, I unlocked the door to my room and sent Chanelle a message that all she had to do when she got to the door was push, and come in.

I waited and waited. The last footsteps did come in. Madam Alice. Always last to come in. Noisy. Smelling of either cigarette or alcohol, or both. Always with a new guy who escorted her home. It was always a young man, half her age. The young man always had something to pick from her room which took about twenty to thirty minutes to collect entirely, before leaving.

Tonight, I had no time to listen for how many minutes her guest spent before leaving.

Like a ghost in one’s dream, Channel walked into my room, gently locking the door behind her. She wore a pink blouse, a cloth about her waist.

She was beautiful. I hadn’t had time to really take a good look.

I hurried to her. “You’re very beautiful.” I said, hugging her tight, and planting a kiss on her cheek.

She glowed with a smile when the kiss landed on her soft cheeks. Her perfume was sweet.

I held her hand, leading her to the bed. Her palms were tough. Symbol of hardwork.

I offered her my bed and lay on the floor next to her.

Our conversations were in whispers, while I played some soft music from my old laptop.

I couldn’t remember what we talked about. But whatever it was, it didn’t make sense. But it made us giggle and laugh.

At some point, she must have felt guilty that I lay on the cold bare floor while she comfortably rested on my bed.

“Come up her and lie beside me,” she offered, tapping a part of the mattress beside her to indicate where I was to be.

I hurriedly accepted the offer, my heart pounding.

We were both staring at the ceiling, talking softly. It was nice. It felt good. It was memorable.

At some point in our conversation, I turned to stare at her. She turned to face me, shy, smiling. I smiled back, tickling her nose.

Then silence fell between us.

It was becoming odd. To break the silence, I tickled her and pulled away. She chased and tickled back. I laughed out loud.

Then silence fell again between us.

“She’s probably thinking I’m a fool, watching such beauty lie beside me without touching.” I thought.

I wasn’t a fool. So I drew closer.

She didn’t pull back. She just stared at me. Then I kissed her forehead. She was happy.

“Thank you.” She said. Then waited for some time before replicating my action.

“Thank you.” I whispered into her ears. We giggled.

Silence fell between us.

This time it made me nervous. I gathered some courage, drew closer, and kissed her on the lips. She closed her eyes when I pulled away, still lying close to her.

Her eyes opened, and she seemed to shiver slightly, as she breathed heavily out. There was no resistance, so I went for a second kiss, which was longer than I had wanted to give.

It felt good. It felt sweet. It felt nice. And I wondered what was evil about it. I’ve heard so many people preach against it, and yet lying here in bed with Channel, I couldn’t see anything ugly about it but beauty. I loved her, and she loved me, or so I thought.

The kissing intensified, and neither of us remember when our clothes came off.