❝there is again,
that funny feeling.❞
JUL 21,
two months and twenty-one
days after the funeral
"I'M
telling you, he's so fine, jude," nisha continued to say as she busied herself with putting away her clean laundry, her hands folding her jeans, sweatshirts and t-shirts as jude huffed once more at her comment.
"he's my teammate shan', stop saying that. it's weird!" the footballer grumbled as he couldn't stand hearing nisha ramble on about how handsome karim adeyemi was. firstly, because she had been talking to him about his teammate at least once a week for several months already, but more importantly, secondly, because a pang of jealousy pierced his heart whenever she reminded him of that.
"i'm just saying," she raised both hands in the air innocently, "you could try and set me up with him y'know," her shoulders rolled suggestively and an offended look that was far too dramatic for the situation crept across jude's face.
"me? alive? ne-ver," he articulated his words, his eyebrows still furrowed in displeasure and nisha burst out laughing into the camera, folding yet another piece of clothing.
"why not? what is it with you not wanting me to date footballers?" she questioned him, one eyebrow raised and an ever-so-mocking smile dancing on the curve of her full lips.
a grumble of displeasure from the boy rolled from between his lips as he had to scramble to come up with a believable excuse. it was true that jude was reluctant to think of his best friend with a footballer —unless it was him— because he wanted someone good for her, nisha deserved it.
"first of all," he raised his index finger in the air, raising his eyebrows and nisha laughed harder at his annoyed look, "i never said that," he contradicted her and the girl tilted her head to one side as if to indicate that his words sounded more like a lie than anything else. "i never said that!" he resumed more vehemently in the face of the doubts the young woman expressed about his words, "second of all, it's just that most of them aren't worth your time anyway."
"who are the ones worth my time then?" her phone held by a pile of clothes in her wardrobe, she placed her elbow on one of the shelves and moved closer to her screen with a suggestive eyebrow, and jude had only one answer in mind: him. his mouth was itching to say that little word and focused on nisha's perfect face very close to his phone, he had trouble thinking straight.
so he stammered for a few seconds before finally finding the right words, "not my teammates, and especially not karim," a threatening finger pointed at her, nisha rolled her eyes and huffed, pulling her elbow off the shelf and getting up to finish her task. "anyways, why were we even talking about this?" asked jude.
"oh yeah, you remember thomas?" she declared nonchalantly, not noticing the fall of jude's smile and his eyes that had crinkled slightly. he remembered, yes, but his heart remembered him even more from the way his beats had become erratic, jealousy taking its toll. not to let on, he simply nodded and nisha resumed with more enthusiasm, "he asked me out, tomorrow!"
"oh really?" jude tried to look interested. he forced himself as hard as he could but he couldn't help it, his features remained drawn and his heart bruised.
"yes! i'm glad he noticed me too," nisha smiled back and jude forced himself to return it but he had never had so little energy as he did now. why did it hurt so much? he wondered.
