BEFORE

CHAPTER 3

The following week passes by without anything eventful, well except for me being busy and catching only 4 hours of sleep every night just because I have to meet deadlines and attend classes and tutorials regularly. Final year is always the hardest because you have to work harder, grasp whatever you can from your seniors, try to make your work stand out from the crowd and just excel in everything you do. The pressure often gets too much. Which is why I never say no when someone suggests some time off away from campus. This girl who is our neighbour, Xolelwa, told us that she broke up with her boyfriend two days ago. She had already bought movie tickets to start off their one year anniversary celebration but the guy just dumped her for no particular reason. Men. So she asked me to accompany her since you can’t get a refund on tickets.

When we get to the movie theatre, we head inside after taking our snacks. The movie is not that bad, just that I am not into romance that much. So I don’t feel any excitement watching Amelia Clark with her colourful socks and her paralyzed boyfriend for the next hour and a half. Xolelwa sheds a few tears in between the movie and at the end. I don’t know if she is crying because of the movie or her breakup or both. Men are trash. Even the ones on the movies. Our next stop is a hotel where we head straight to the bar just to get wasted.

“Don’t worry about getting drunk. I will call my brother and he will pick us up later.” Xolelwa drawls and I grin.
“Well, let’s have unlimited fun then.” I raise my glass and we toast.
“Please slap me when I start rambling about Andrew.” That’s the ex.
I chuckle. “I will.”

We take shots and the bartender just keeps them coming. A gqom song comes on and Xolelwa stands up, almost tripping on her feet. She starts dancing with no care in the world. I laugh and join her, not caring that I probably look like a goat reversing. When the song ends, Xolelwa heads to the restroom and I sit back down just to recuperate and then ask for a glass of water from the waiter. I gulp almost all of the glass contents and I am startled by a tall somebody sliding on Xolelwa’s chair.

“This seat is taken, buddy. So move along.” I mumble and the person chuckles.
“You sound so cute when you’re drunk. But next time leave the dancing to the professionals.” I raise my head and I frown when my eyes land on Wesley. What the fuck is he doing here? Is he stalking me? Also, why does he look so hot?

“What do you want, sex freak?”
He laughs. “You have no right to call me that unless you’ve seen me in action.” Again with the daring words. The guy is clever but not enough.
“Well you can miss me on that. I have no desire to see you in action.” I murmur, finishing the water and sitting back.

“I have never been rejected by a woman. Worse twice. So, since I want you so much, I am going to up my game.” I wanna say good luck but then decide against it. Having a conversation with this guy will mean I am interested and I am but not the strings attached shit he is suggesting. “A little birdie told me that you wish to move overseas next year after completing your diploma.”

I am going to murder my roommate. It’s not a secret that I want to go overseas to pursue my career but for her to discuss me with Wesley is not on. “It must be nice being you. You’re so resourceful and shit.” He chuckles. Xolelwa chooses that moment to come back and I sigh in relief. “My date is back, so make yourself scarce.”
He grins. “I will drive you both back to your apartment.” He stands up, kissing my cheek and then walks away.

“Who was that handsome hunk?” Xolelwa asks, taking her seat.
I wave her off. “A nobody. Now how about we order some food. I am starving.”
She smiles. “I agree with you on that.” We move to a vacant table and a waiter quickly comes to take our order and soon after, he comes back with our drinks.

“How has your night been so far?” I ask. The aim of the night was to forget about the asshole boyfriend. I hope I have made things easier for her.
“I thought I would ball my eyes out at the restroom but that wasn’t the case. I guess hanging out with you is therapeutic.” Aww. That’s so good to hear and it warms my heart.
“Well cheers to woman empowerment.” We do a toast and continue with our drinking.

Our food arrives after 20 minutes and we dig in. Xolelwa is a cool girl and I wouldn’t mind hanging out with her some time again but I can’t afford spontaneous outings so I guess I will have to wait until month end to get my allowance. After eating, we order a whole bottle of wine and finish it over crazy conversation. She is a vibe.

“I think I’m ready to go home now.” She announces, burping, and I nod.
“Yeah, let’s get the bill.”
We signal for the waiter to come to our table.
“Your bill has already been taken care of.” His words don’t come as a surprise to me. This has Wesley written all over it.

“Whatever. Let’s get out of here.” I murmur, getting up from my chair and nearly tripping over my own feet. Alcohol. We walk out of the restaurant and I spot Wesley’s car parked next to the sidewalk. “Let’s get in.” I tell Xolelwa and she grins. Wesley quickly comes out of the car and opens the door for us. He bends the passenger seat and Xolelwa gets in at the back. I settle on the passenger seat and he takes his place. “Wesley, this is my floor mate and new friend, X. I don’t wanna butcher her name. X, this is Wesley, a total stranger who is rich.”
They both laugh. “Nice to meet you, rich stranger.”
Xolelwa is a talker. By the time we get to our place, I know Wes’s last name, place of birth and that he is childless and single. I just kept quiet the whole way, listening to the both of them. He parks outside our apartment and helps Xolelwa out via his side.

“I will see you inside.” The girl screeches before heading in. This seat is so comfortable. I am slowly drifting off. My room feels so far.
“My bed is more comfortable.” Wes announces before powering the engine. My eyes snap open.
“Where are you taking me?”
“To my place. Relax, I won’t fuck you. I will do that once you’re sober.”

Well talk about bluntness. The moment we get to Wes’s place, I am more tired. He carries me inside his place and puts me on the couch as soon as we enter. He locks the door and disappears to one of the bedrooms or whatever is in here. I sit up and take off my shoes. I stand up, stretching myself and then search for the kitchen. Locating it, I head straight for the fridge and drink cold water. That calms me down a bit. I lean on the fridge and just look around his kitchen. It’s very clean, spotless and classy. There are literally no bottles or chips lying around. He enters the kitchen wearing only boxers and carrying a t-shirt.

“That’s for you to sleep in.” he hands it to me and I give him a small smile before stepping out of my clothes and putting on the tee. When I raise my head, I find him starring at me with a weird look on.
“What’s up?”

He blinks a few times and then clears his throat. “Nothing. Here, drink. For the hangover tomorrow.” He hands me some pills and I give him an inquisitive look. “I won’t drug you. I am not a pervert.” I huff before downing the pills. “You can sleep in any of the rooms down the hallway.”
I smile. “Thanks Wes.” I walk over to him and kiss his cheek before dragging myself to the direction of the bedrooms. I don’t even ask which one is his. The first door I come across, I open it, spot a bed and literally throw myself in.