AMBER ROMANCE, EVERY WAKING MOMENT

AMBER ROMANCE

EVERY WAKING MOMENT

CHAPTER EIGHT

             

Helen walked slowly to the beach; already she could hear the gleeful laughter of people already enjoying themselves. It sharply contrasted the feeling of disappointment and pain in her heart. She stopped as she came in view of the beach, maybe it was all for the best. Chuck was a distraction she couldn’t afford at this point in her life. There were important things she needed to do before she could settle down to the barest form of relationship. She needed to remember who she was. She needed to know if she was free to love another man. So if somehow she had lost Chuck, maybe it was for the best, she thought

She watched as Dave spotted her and she managed a smile and began walking towards him. Chuck was a first class womanizer, she might have held his fantasy briefly, but who could tell how long she would have held it before he got bored and looked for someone else. So this would be a good thing in a long run. With Dave she could have harmless fun, she would be in control but Chuck was a different story. She didn’t need the kind of feeling he aroused in her. She didn’t need that kind emotional upheaval.

‘Come let’s find a space, everyone is having fun’ she allowed Dave to draw into the mood. She smiled at him

‘I would love somewhere a little far from everyone’ she told him with a smile.

‘Why, we will miss all the fun’ Dave said

‘Maybe but we will have a measure of privacy to talk. You know we need to’ she hoped she looked convincing enough. She hoped that he couldn’t see that as what it was a ruse to hide from Chuck.

‘You have a point, okay’

They got to a place which didn’t put them so far from the party but it was a place where they necessary wouldn’t have to be a part of the whole fun if they chose. She could see the disappointment on Dave’s face when she picked the place but she was beyond caring. From now on she only cared about one thing, figuring out who she was. And that meant she put herself preservation first.

‘Will this place do?” she asked just to be polite

‘We will manage’ he replied and spread the mat Nma had given her.

‘I will get us something to drink’ Dave said and left

She smiled and looked around. Uche and Stanley were arguing over the grill. Paul, Nma’s father in law and Charles were setting up a kind of fire. Chuck she saw was helping them while chatting up Star who seemed to hanging to his every word.

Well that didn’t take long, she thought. Now she was convinced that whatever feeling he had for her was more imagined than real. Maybe he thought if he made her believe they had a chance at something different she would fall into his bed begging. Well wasn’t she the lucky one to see right through him. He was welcomed to Star. Star had always had eyes for him, always talking and joking about what and how she was going to seduce him or get him to the altar. She didn’t know how much of her chatter were serious but they were a perfect match for each other. Star wouldn’t feel he was too good for her. She had got her own charm, exceptional beauty and charisma to compete with his every day.

She heaved a sigh and looked around for Dave when she didn’t see him; she stood up, deciding to take a walk. Walking down the beach would do her some good, it would help clear her mind of all that is Chuck and probably put her in the party mood.

Chuck watched her leave the safe distance she must have chosen to get away from him. He chuckled and bent down to hand Charles another wood for the bon fire they were building.  If he was honest with himself he would admit that recently he had been longing for something similar to what Uche and Nma had, something strong and steady. He thought he found it with Kim and tried more than he had ever done to make it work but when he realized he was forcing on himself something he was not feeling anymore, he broke it off. He was sad that it didn’t work out and had somehow blamed himself. He was damaged, thanks to his mother. Only a few people knew just how damaged he was. That was why it was difficult for him to trust any woman.

But what he felt for Helen in just a short period was new and gave him hope that there might actually be someone out there who could make him believe in love but it took only the same short period of time for her to prove him wrong and to confirm to him that he was right all women were the same. With the exception of Rose and Nma but finding women like them was like searching for needle in hay sac.

‘Hey handsome’ Eva said

Chuck smiled as heavily pregnant Eva waddled to his side

‘Whoever she is must be real important’

‘Who, she, and what are you talking about’

‘I have been watching you for a while now, if I didn’t know better I would say you have it hot for Helen. You were staring at her so intensely’ Eva laughed

Chuck was startled. He had to do better; he had to be more careful before people started reading too much into nothing.

‘Pleased to know that you know better’

‘So who is she?”

‘Not she, just figuring some things out’ he said ‘So is it triplets or what? Whoever thought you have this kind of fat in you’

‘Once you find the right woman and it would be my turn to tease’ she walked over and kissed Charles

‘I don’t know what I am doing here, everywhere I turn, someone is kissing someone, here hand this over to him’ he handed the last wood to Charles and made his escape. He needed a drink anyway.

Chuck got his drink and began walking, he needed a little air, and the spontaneous laughter that occasionally rang out was getting to him and worsening his mood. The last thing he wanted was to spoil Nma’s party with his ever increasing black mood.

Helen decided to head back, it was a good walk, what one needed to shake of a bad mood was a sound and sight of rolling ocean being peeped at by the moon, the heavy wind that threatened to uproot the coconut trees and the star light winking mischievously. Helen smiled, here was paradise but it belonged to Nma. She wanted her own brand of paradise.

‘I see you are enjoying this party as much as I am doing’

Helen stopped at the voice as excitement began to seep into her body but she couldn’t find the source of the voice at first. Then she heard the slight thud of feet as someone jumped down from one of the boulder. She saw her dream come true emerged from the darkness and sauntered towards her

‘I just needed to see this beauty first’

He shrugged

‘What’s your excuse?’ she asked

‘I have a lot on my mind’

‘Good luck figuring them out’ she walked past him but he caught her hands

‘Have you told him yet?’

‘…told who what?”

‘Your boyfriend, have you told him you cheated’

‘What happened can hardly be called cheating; a few kisses don’t qualify as cheating’

‘you are right we had a few kisses but in our mind and hearts it was more, we wanted more and if I had not stopped it could have been more and that by my definition  is cheating’

‘As far as I am concerned nothing happened, whatever kisses we had I have forgotten. I call that momentary madness and not cheating’ she told him firmly

‘Let go of me’ she demanded

‘I find it odd that you would forget so soon, I was there remember’

‘I know it might sound impossible to Mr. sexiest man alive but there are actually some women around who don’t think you walk on water’

‘Would you care to test that theory?’

‘Let go of me Chuck, I need to get back to my boyfriend’

‘Of course but when you do ask him this question’

‘What question? She asked

And he kissed her, she should protest, she should push him off, he was holding her but lightly, she could push him away if she so wished but she didn’t. Instead she drew him nearer. How could she not when she felt like she was drunk and swaying. How could she when she felt like one with the strong wind, like she could push all obstacles aside, like the moon, she could ignite and light up whatever darkness that threatened, when she felt like the billions of stars, like a happiness from a distant echo. She moved closer to him and in that moment she could believe that loving this man was not wrong and was the only right thing in the world to do.

This was magic, thought Chuck, as frightened as he was by the overflow of feeling he was experiencing, he knew without a doubt that he wasn’t letting go, he was going to find out what it was about Helen that set his blood boiling, what made kissing her different, what made him loose control when she was near, why this sudden volcanic feeling, why didn’t he notice her before? Why now that he had couldn’t he get enough of her? He had his answer, he thought. Maybe all he needed was to sleep with her to his heart satisfaction, get her out of his blood. After all it was obvious from the way they started that this was nothing more than lust.

Feeling relieved and seeming in control once more, he ended the kiss

‘Ask him why you feel like the moon and stars are within your reach by another man’s kisses

With that he walked away.

No, this shouldn’t happen again, kissing her; turning her body upside-down then walking away and making it look like she was the evil one. She didn’t asked to be kissed by him, she only responded because she couldn’t help it

‘Stop!’ she said before she could stop herself.

‘There were two of us just now, I didn’t tell you how it felt kissing you, and so you must be talking about your own feeling. So I suggest you ask you super model girlfriend the same question but if you ask me I would say it is nothing but lust and unfortunately I have never been the one to give in mere animal satisfaction of the body’

She walked past him ‘It has to mean more for me’ she added to herself silently as she walked with her head held high. It was high time some woman put him in his place. It was time he found out the kind of girl she was, that she was not a cheat or a foolish brainless girl, who thought the moon and stars depended on him for their shine.

Helen got back and found Dave back and looking around for her. He smiled when he saw her and she smiled back.

‘For a moment there I thought you have been kidnapped.

“And who could carry out such fit in this place’ she laughed

‘I don’t know maybe some deity’ he handed a drink

‘Are you superstitious?’ Helen asked jovially as she sat down.

‘When you have the great fortune of being with a very beautiful woman in a magical place fit only for goddesses, you have to know that some god somewhere is definitely your competitor’

Helen stared at him amazed ‘wow that is definitely a great angle for nollywood’

‘I am doing my film next quarter and it is an epic’

‘Really, great, I am already your number one fan’

‘So where did you go?”

Helen slowly lowered the bottle and stared at him. Did he know? Did he suspect?

‘Oh sorry, I am not supposed to ask?”

Helen laughed ‘this place is magical, I just took walk and explored’

‘I am guessing you don’t want to do that again, I thought I could lure to a very far place and search for fairies and neck’

Helen remembering what happened when she took a walk smiled at the memories.

‘Would you settle to slow dancing to that Celin Dion song instead’ she asked

‘Would you mind me showing you off, that we dance where others would envy me?’

She nodded and offered him her hands.

Chuck sat with Star who was trying to chat him up and failing. He couldn’t stop starring at her. The smile that never left her face as she talked with him. The easy way they touched it each other. It nearly killed him when her voice rang out in shocking laughter.

‘Uche tells me you are single again’ he heard Star say

He turned to her and smiled

‘Not exactly’

‘You are getting back together?’ Star asked smiling

Chuck knew she wanted to know and he wished he could give her a straight answer but he wasn’t talking about Kim when he said not exactly. He was referring to this silly feeling he was developing for a girl he didn’t care about until a few hours ago.

‘You know how things go Star, you can never tell what the heart would want’ he smiled at her.

From the corner of his eyes he saw Helen and her boyfriend stopping at the middle of the dance area and started dancing to a really slow song. The pain he felt was real, it felt like someone just pierced his heart with sword. He stopped himself before he could rub his heart.

‘You feel like dancing?’ he turned to Star and she smiled her consent.

Nma walked up to Tessy who was standing still and watching or observing like Tessy would put it. Nma thought

‘What’s so interesting? Nma asked stopping at Tessy’s side.

‘shhhh!’ Tessy replied

Nma silently looked around for something of interest but only Helen dancing with Dave which was amazing because they make a very cute couple and maybe Chuck and Star who were coming to dance floor.

Tessy turned to her and laughed happily ‘Amazing’

‘Amazing, what’s amazing?’ Nma asked

‘Chuck and Helen are on their way to falling love with each other’

Nma turned back to the dance floor and saw nothing to that effect. ‘Are you sure because they are not even dancing with each other’

‘Amazing isn’t it? How we yearn and pray for love, only to fight it when it comes because you are afraid of falling, not knowing if he will catch you. It happened to me and to you and I believe that is the phase those two are in now’ she laughed and hugged Nma.

‘Maybe they need a little nudge into the right direction’

‘How can you tell, Star... Dave…’

‘Pay a little attention honey’ Tessy told her, leaving

Helen missed a step just as Star and Chuck joined them on the dance floor. She found herself gripping Dave tighter.

She dared a look at Chuck and their eyes met and held. Suddenly she was not dancing with Dave anymore, she was dancing with Chuck he drew her closer. And whispered to her ‘I wish we could stay here forever, just the two of us, the rolling ocean, the weaving coconut trees, the winking stars and smiling moon and this serene white sand and no one else. Helen was lost and kissed him… on the shoulders. If Dave was surprised he didn’t show it, only hugged her tightly.

‘Switch partners?’ she heard Chuck say and Helen was startled out of her day dream and she looked up at Dave but he was smiling easily as he took Star’s hands and delivered her up to the one man who could destroy her and her world as she had come to know it.

‘What are you playing at?’ Helen hissed at him. Somehow she knew he had one up his sleeve and she was not going to like it

‘Nothing’ he whispered in his husky voice and she found herself falling

‘Like I would be foolish enough to believe that’

‘You are right, there are a lot of scenario playing in mind but there is not a thing I could do about it with all these people milling about’ he whispered

‘It doesn’t matter, whatever you have in mind would take two to accomplish I have sworn that nothing like what happened before would ever happen again’

He laughed softly ‘Be careful of what you wish for darling I might decide to help your vow along’

‘And I would be the happiest woman on earth’

‘No honey, you would end up the bitterest woman on earth from having to wonder for the rest of life what it could have been like’

Feeling frustrated, she stepped on his toe and he jumped she smiled ‘be careful of what you are playing at, you really need those toes to be sexy’

‘You….’

She stepped out of his hands and turned to Star ‘I would have him back now’ still smiling. She took just one step back and saw him starring at her and smiling like the devil himself. That startled her because that wasn’t what she expected.

‘I would be leaving soon’

She turned to Dave ‘why, the party is getting started’

‘I don’t want to be getting back late my friend’s house, he is married’

‘Okay…, I think I should go to bed too, we would have an early start tomorrow’

‘Why you just started enjoying yourself’

Helen laughed ‘It wouldn’t be the same without you’

‘Now I feel guilty for leaving’

She smiled and touched his brows ‘don’t, I really am feeling very sleepy’

‘You are exceptional’ he smiled and they stopped dancing ‘No matter what happened from here you will have a part of me’

‘That’s the sweetest thing I have ever heard’

He held her by the hand and they left.

Chuck watched them leave and felt murderous. He couldn’t help the image of the two of them together. It was obvious from the way they couldn’t stop touching each other what they were going to do.

Slowly he smiled at Star and kissed her, anything, just about anything to stop him from following and ending up a murderer.

He broke off the kiss when he realized he could actually hurt Star. He shouldn’t take advantage of her. When did he become so insensitive that he would use a friend so callously because he couldn’t decipher what was wrong with him? Feeling like a monster he let go of her and led her out of the dance floor. He was going to fight this feeling, it was not right that a woman should have this strong hold on him and he was going to win no matter what.

HELLO DEAR READERS

SO MUCH APOLOGIES

BUT NEW YEAR NEW BEGINNING RIGHT

I HOPE YOU WOULD FORGIVE ME