The Last Time

Chapter 9

Now...

I woke up with an unhappy grunt, staring angrily at the ceiling as the clear visions of the dream I'd been having swirled around in my mind as I regained full consciousness.

The dream had started off beautifully, with a vivid memory of the first kiss I'd shared with Koffi, his tongue blissfully mingling with mine as I sat on the edge of his kitchen counter, feeling like I was right where I belonged. I wouldn't have been surprised if someone told me they'd seen me smiling in my sleep, because that's how fond I was of the memory of that night.

I could still taste the croissants I'd made, the fresh scent of the cream and strawberries mixed with the cologne he wore back then was still so memorable it was almost tangible.

The agitating thing about the dream is that it didn't stop there. It segued into scenes that were harder to stomach, fights we'd had, tears I'd cried, heartbreak so raw and real, my face was stained with tears when I opened my eyes.

And she was there. Cheyenne Chenjela, her lips spread in a sickening smile as she mockingly stood on Koffi's side and tried to tame the angry beast that was quickly making its way through my veins, ready to pounce on the two of them.

"It's not what it looks like, Ketura." she said repeatedly in the dream, the sound of my name coming out of her mouth making my skin crawl.

The "mnchww" that came out of my mouth when I finally sat up in my bed was passionately executed and I took a moment to rein in the aggression.

It was only a dream.

I repeated those words to myself, trying to calm myself down as I played my Gratitude playlist through the speakers in my room. The uplifting gospel music calmed me down as I went through the motions of making my bed, going through my shower routine and getting dressed. As I prepared myself a healthy breakfast, my heart felt lighter, all thoughts of my irritating dream forgotten.

When I finally sat down to eat and have my morning devotion and journal session, I felt free and relaxed, ready to meet up with my girls for some quality time before we went to watch the guys play against an esteemed basketball team from Kenya.

It had been a few days since the equally great and disheartening evening I'd spent with Koffi when I invited him over to my place and I hadn't seen him in person since. We had spoken online a couple of times, though.

Well, we'd shared hilarious videos with each other and had spent time laughing at each one and marveling at the crazy stuff that gets caught on camera everyday. It was a bit nostalgic, and I could admit that through holding onto anger that wasn't doing anything beneficial for me, I'd missed out on great times like this with him.

I grabbed my keys from the clay bowl I kept them in and left my place, hoping that the guys would win their game and that seeing Koffi in person today wouldn't be awkward or uncomfortable.