AMBER ROMANCE
EVERY WAKING MOMENT
CHAPTER ELVEVEN
Helen saw Nma and Tessy out in front waiting for them.
From the loud sound of music she realized that the party had already begun.
Chuck was still holding her hands, the way they walked together one would think
they were a couple with their children. She closed her eyes and let herself
dream, relying on the man leading her for direction. She wondered if her dreams
would ever come true, if the day would come when she would become Mrs. Obi. She
smiled at the thought and opened her eyes.
‘The questions in their eyes is incredible’ Chuck
observed
‘I would be curious too’ she laughed
‘Think we should assuage their curiosity?’
‘You wouldn’t dare’ she said in mock horror but still
moved away from him because she knew how fast he could be when he had the mind
to.
He smiled and drew her back to him. ‘I was only
teasing’
‘With you it is difficult to know’ she whispered as
they reached Nma.
‘Hey you two’ Tessy greeted as she took her daughter
from Helen
‘I didn’t realize I gave you child minding duty too’
Nma teased Chuck
Chuck laughed ‘would you believe me if I said I wanted
to see my nephew?’
‘Hmmm no’
‘Okay then, there you have your answer’ he laughed and
kissed her forehead
‘You are beautiful’ he said to Nma and smiled at Tessy
‘you know I have a crush on you’
Tessy laughed ‘is no woman safe with you?’
He smiled ‘Oh it is the other way round honey but for
you. Anytime you get tired of grumpy Felix, my offer still stands’
Tessy smiled and blew him kiss ‘your charms are wasted
on me and besides all the charms in the world wouldn’t save you from grumpy
Felix if he overhears’
Helen watched the exchange with something akin to
jealousy. But she knew better, she knew it was all words and nothing more. She
knew he would never betray his friends and for that she loved him even more. It
was not possible that a human could love so much, so much that her body quaked
with it. How she wished that he would love her back then it wouldn’t matter,
nothing would. Not her amnesia, not her past.
‘You two look cute together’ Tessy observed winking at
Helen
Helen looked down shyly. And wondered what he thought
about that. Chuck chuckled ‘Do we?’ he asked and smiled at her.
‘Yes she is everything a smart man would want to have
and keep forever’ Nma rejoined
Chuck suddenly looked at her and she looked up at him and
the world stood still. There was no Nma or Tessy or the outside world. Helen
was lost in his green eyes and in the emotion he couldn’t hide. She took step
towards him drawn by a power more powerful than anything she had ever felt. And
so powerless it rendered her that all she wanted at that instant was to be
wrapped in his hands, to hold and be held, to touch and be touched.
Chuck knew he had to look away but he couldn’t, he was
floundering and looking for something to hold onto before he fell into the
whirlpool that was her brown eyes. Such power, such hold was more than anything
earthly and somehow he believed in that moment that this was the woman for him.
He had to have her, he had to know, he had to explore.
So caught were they in each other and the intense
feeling they could easily invoke in each other that they didn’t hear her at first.
‘Hi Chuck darling’ she repeated
If Nma and Tessy could, they would have banished former
most beautiful girl in Nigeria, Chuck’s ex girl friend to oblivion and beyond
because in that moment they realized
what before had not being certain that Chuck and Helen needed each other and
together they would find the most precious of all, love.
Helen was the first to turn and her heart skipped
several beats when she saw the most beautiful in Nigeria looking breathtaking
like an Amazon queen smiling at Chuck. Chuck turned and the spell was broken.
The feeling suspended though both could still feel the after quakes of it. Her
body vibrated with it and she felt energized and weakened at the same time. How
was it possible, how could it be? No human had the right to have this kind of
feeling over another human.
Chuck could have kissed Rissa for choosing that moment
to interrupt what he couldn’t even begin to fathom. He became angry when he saw
that his hands shook. What was going on, what power is this, what feeling. He
needed heavy dose of reality and distraction and it presented itself in the
person of his ex and he couldn’t have been happier seeing another human being.
“Rissa’ he called and she practically flew into his
hands
Helen watched with raging jealousy, she felt like
scratching the beauty queen’s eyes out but instead she took a deep breath and
was about to leave before she gave in to the raging intentions and embarrassed
herself.
‘Everyone this is Rissa’
‘Rissa this is Nma’
‘She needs no introduction, we are good friends. She
is my designer’ Rissa said jovially
Nma forced a smile, being a lucrative client didn’t
stop her from wishing for a whirlpool to carry the beauty queen away’
Chuck turned to Tessy ‘And I have had a crush on this
one since I met her but she happily married and won’t leave her husband, Tessy’
Tessy smiled at the girl
‘Her loss, my gain’ Rissa laughed
Helen wanted to sucker punch her even her laugh was
sexy and nice to listen to. No wonder Chuck fell for her, briefly her mind
reminded her, if Rissa with all her beauty and charms could only hold his
interest for a very short period then she didn’t have a chance that she could
and would hold his.
Helen smiled at the girl coolly when she heard her
name. She was curious to hear what he would introduce her as.
‘And this beauty here is Helen, she is... I am still
figuring that out’
This time around Rissa didn’t smile. She dismissed
Helen with a look and turned to Chuck
‘I was wondering if you could do me a favor’ she said
to him
‘I am afraid my gift to your son is rather heavy, I
will need your muscles Chuck’
Rissa smiled
that pure innocent smile of hers that won her the crown.
Chuck turned to the Helen and She watched him go but
not before he turned back, starring at her intensely for a moment and Helen was
lost in the sea green of his eyes but in this sea it didn’t matter if you could
swim, a woman would willing drown in its tempting depth and alluring whispers
and then he smiled at her. ‘Later’ he mouthed to her and winked. Helen heaved a
sigh. How I love him, she said to herself, but it was useless because she was
no beauty queen. .
Helen turned to her friends and tried to go inside
‘You are mistaken Tessy, they look cute together’
‘Don’t sell yourself short’ Nma said
‘I don’t want to talk about Chuck and his many women
and why I could suddenly become the one he would choose’ she smiled at then
‘What happened is proof enough. He didn’t have to hug her, touch her, smile
like she was the most beautiful woman on earth and his heart desire. I have
been kidding myself’
‘Not so fast
Helen’ Nma said
‘Are you going to tell us what is going on or not?’
Helen looked at them ‘I don’t know what is going on’
how could she tell them what she didn’t know, where did one begin to explain
what she didn’t understand. She loved and wanted nothing like she wanted him
and yet she was afraid, afraid of what would happen if it wasn’t enough, if he
made her give him her all and didn’t give anything back in return, she would
die, she thought with so much sorrow at the sadness of the finality of her
thoughts. Loving him was a journey she could never return from for good or bad,
for happiness or sadness, loving him would change her but what could she do,
she had already begun the journey. She prayed he would meet her half way
bearing some light to chase away the darkness of her thoughts.
Feeling down and tired she turned to her friends ‘but this I can tell you here and now that I
am irrevocably in love with a man that has nothing more than a holiday affair
to offer me’ she didn’t know she was crying until she felt the tears roll down
her cheeks
Nma pulled her close smiling
‘Helen love is a beautiful thing, it is not something
you cry about or shoot me, this is the first of the many tears you would shed
for him and over him and about him if you truly love him’
Helen heaved a sigh and cleaned her tears ‘I thought
love made you feel beautiful and happy but all I feel is this incredible fear,
confusion and pain’
‘yes and it doesn’t stop but it gets better when he
finally realizes that he can’t live without you, when he finally speaks those
three special words to you, then your happiness will be immeasurable’ Tessy
said
‘So till then I am to remain miserable?’
‘till then you are to love him and be there for him
but the truth is I know he feels something for you, it scares him to the point
of denial but for how long if you know how to you can get him to see that you
are meant for each other’
Helen nods ‘that’s sounds easy but how do you make a
man like him see… don’t mind me. You saw the way he was with her, he totally
forgot about the rest of us and about me.’ She heaved a sigh, she didn’t want
to talk about this not now, not here. ‘The guests are here and the celebrant is
not ready’
They laughed ‘haven’t you heard of fashionably late’
Nma laughed as they went in.
Chuck walked towards his room, after helping Rissa
with her gift, a tricycle he was sure she could have handled alone. He chuckled
it seemed that the news that he was single again was giving a lot of his exes
hope anew. He shook his head at the casual way she had asked him about his
relationship status. Rissa was beautiful and smart but whatever he felt for her
ended when he couldn’t take how spoilt and demanding she was. The only woman he wanted for now was Helen. He
missed her already; he wanted her close to him. He needed one last kiss before
the party began. This kind of need was foreign to him he thought as he opened
the door and entered. Shouldn’t he check it, did he need this kind of
distraction? He would soon go back to his base, could he go back and still be
relevant in his club if he was hung up over a girl. A girl he didn’t want to
have forever, he had nothing to offer but the moment. His friends didn’t know
but he had sworn he would never marry. He had sworn he would never pass down
his mother’s genes to the next generation. He didn’t kid himself that he was so
different from his mother. A look at his lifestyle could tell. So what in
essence was he offering her? Everyone believed she was the kind of girl you
marry and he was not the marrying kind.
He closed his door as if he could close off his mind
by doing that.
‘Been waiting for a long time for you’ startled he
turned and stared at Star.
He recovered fast thanking God that Helen hadn’t come
back with him or else how would he have explained this situation. He smiled at
her ‘You could have called me’
She moved from the wall she was leaning on ‘I didn’t
think about it’
‘So now I am here, what’s up?’
‘You and Helen I didn’t see that coming’
He grinned ‘Don’t Star’
‘Don’t what, don’t ask, don’t feel betrayed, and don’t
get mad’
‘I am sorry if I hurt you but I don’t understand, we have
not been anything but friends’
‘Of course that is because I would wait for you to act
on your promises but each time you come home there is a different girl hanging
on your hands and I would forget all the conversations we had on the phone. You
go back to your base and then you remember me. It is merry go round but this
time you hurt me. Helen is my friend you bastard!’
He heaved a sigh ‘I am sorry but I don’t get what I am
being accused of. I never made any promises to you. So don’t put this on me, I teased
and you teased me back. Yes we may have flirted a time or two but deep inside
we are more friends than any other way’
‘You don’t tell your friends you want to kiss them;
you don’t kiss your friends’
‘I didn’t
realize you meant any of what you said over the phone, it was all game to me
Star and then most times when I am back there is someone in your life how am I
supposed to believe what you say when you never lack for male company whether I
am around or not’
‘So you decided that Helen should be your next
conquest since she never dates’
‘Helen is as much surprise to me as she is to you. I
don’t know what I am doing with her but I am willing to see it to the end.’
Star looked at him, wiped her tears and straightened
her clothes ‘well I guess it is as much my fault as it is yours, I was a stupid
dreamer which is strange because I don’t believe in dreams.’
Chuck felt like kicking himself, he didn’t realize
that she had built so much hope around their word game and he felt like an
ogre. ‘I am sorry Star’ he said lamely for lack of nothing else to say
‘You should be’ then she smiled ‘this time around I
hope you have a ring waiting somewhere for her. If you hurt her, your friends
are going to come after you and maybe ostracize you’ she laughed with satisfaction.
‘Karma is a bitch’ she left with that.
Chuck sat down on the bed and heaved a sighed.
Wouldn’t it be better to cut this off now that much had not transpired between
them, no promises have been made yet? No hope built because the truth was, he
was going to end up hurting her. It was a part of him he inherited from his
mother. A part of him he had sworn would die with him.
Helen having resolved a way to handle Chuck hesitated
at his door indecisive whether to enter or not, suddenly Star came out from the
room, and their eyes met and held. Helen’s eyes narrowed with temper not at
Star but at Chuck. What game was he playing? Did he think he could play two of
them against each other, what about Rissa. Right timing Helen said to herself.
Here she was thinking that she could make it work, that she could make him more
than care for her, even love her enough to marry her. Here she was deciding
that she would leave first thing tomorrow morning so she could get started on
remembering her past. Here she was being faced with the reality that the man
was nothing but a world class liar and womanizer.
‘Sheath your claws; he is all yours now if you know
what the heck to do with a man of that caliber’
Helen stared at Star silently, determined that she
would not fight her friend over a man who cared nothing for either of them.
‘Hey’ they both heard behind them. They both turned to
find Rissa standing behind them.
‘This is becoming interesting’ Star smiled sweetly at
Rissa
‘Does Chuck still use this room?’
Helen was too shocked to even answer the girl.
‘Yes he does’
Thank you’ Rissa said and began walking to his room.
‘But he is dressing up’ Rissa stopped to smile at Star
‘Perfect’ she said and winked at them as she knocked
slightly and entered.
Star turned to Helen. Helen swore that she was not
going to give her the satisfaction of seeing her angry. She walked away, moving
on to her room.
‘Helen’ Star called to her
She turned ‘that is the man Chuck is. Women are
forever after him, whether he wants them or not. If you are going to date him,
you have to develop a thick back’
‘What happened now has nothing to do with a thick back
or other women. What you did was low even for you’ she opened her door entered
leaving Star staring after her.
She didn’t care to make sense out what Star said, all
she cared was to leave here, to leave Chuck before she found herself roped in
too tight that she could never get away without the ropes cutting her. She
would endure the party and then she would leave. Either Star or Rissa was
welcomed to him. They both could have him for all she cared. Helen slammed the
door shut, shutting the stinging feeling that was spreading all over her heart.
Helen decided she was going to look sexy and alluring
and drive his libido to the sky and then flirt with Dave all day long. It was
more than he deserved. So she put on a white body suit and wore red and white
checkered short flay skirt over it. She sat down and applied her makeup. When
she finished and brushed out her waist length hair. She couldn’t believe that the
sophisticated woman looking back at her was her. She refused to compare herself
to Rissa or to Star both voluptuous beauties. She was only going to concentrate
on enhancing her best features. She might not be as beautiful as her rivals but
she had her charms. Rivals, was that what she was calling them now. She laughed
bitterly. She was no one’s rival because she was no longer among those vying
for his attention. She turned back to her makeup, she smiled genuinely she was
caught up in her thoughts that she did not pay attention to what she was doing
and it turned out magnificent. Wow she exclaimed, Yes Nma had given her a few
pointer on applying makeup but this, this was more than a few pointers. Was she
a makeup artist? She laughed and slipped her feet in white flat sandals. Eat
your heart out Chuck she murmured and left the room.
When she got to the garden, there were children
everywhere running around and parents were standing in groups sipping from
their wine glass and chatting. Uniformed Waiters passed wine and fruit juice in
trays. She smiled. Trust the Nma to do everything different. She saw Tessy and
the others standing on the pavement chatting, she went to join them.
‘Wow’ Amber exclaimed ‘You look amazing’
Helen smiled ‘I decided on a good experiment with my
makeup purse’
‘It becomes you. Always apply it this way’ Eva said
‘Thanks’ Helen smiled and looked around for Chuck she
didn’t want to miss the look on his face when he would see her nor did she want to miss the look on his face
when he would see her with Dave.
‘Where is the celebrant?’ Helen asked
‘The last I saw his mother was chasing him all over
the room trying to put some clothes on him’
‘Just like his father, when he was young, I could
hardly get him to wear his clothes and when I do, he promptly removed them’
Rose said.
‘He must have been a handful’ Helen murmured absentmindedly.
Chuck stood at the door hidden by the dwarf trees. He
was raging mad and feeling murderous. He couldn’t understand how Rissa ended up
in his room. Was there no one to stop her? He was angry with the whole occupant
of the house and especially with Uche’s security, which he was told was beefed
up for today. It was more than alarming to come out from the bathroom to find
Rissa on his bed and then to make matters worse she had smiled that her
infuriating smile. How had he ever thought that smile was charming before? With
only a towel round his waist there was so little he could but ask her nicely to
get out oh but that had only given her the effrontery to walk up to him and tug
at his towel. Remembering was making him
angrier by the minute. He needed to calm down before he approached anyone.
His eyes landed on the group he was going to join but
he didn’t want to go to Nma and the rest with his temper hanging in balance. He
saw her come out and he watched her smile at everyone.. Something deep and
powerful tugged at his heart and he rubbed his chest. He made a move towards
her but stopped. Did he not just promise himself he would leave her alone
before he hurt her? Did he not just conclude that he would ignore the feelings
she could so easily invoke in him. Fat good his pep talk to himself did if one
look at her sent him on over drive, made him forget his temper. How could he
resist her when she looked so slender, so achingly beautiful and so fragile
with those huge brown eyes and heart stopping smile, long legs that seemed to
go on for miles? How could she wear that short skirt, did she not realize what thought
every man in the room would be having about her. Feeling possessive and
suddenly angry when he noticed the admiring glances she was receiving from
other men, pep talk be damned, he said and went to claim his woman.
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