Noma and Kea

CHAPTER 9

Ntokozo walks in 2 hours later, she finds me watching TV. I’m watching my K-Drama’s, because I don’t even know how to get that history channel back. “What are we eating tonight?” she asks. “Oh sorry babe, I only cooked for myself tonight” I say. PAYBACK. She walks into the Kitchen, and looks at me squinting, “You cooked for yourself only?” she asks with a hint of Interrogation. She’s looking around the kitchen.
I see her through the corner of my eye, “Yeah” I reply.
“Nobody else?” she asks.
Does she know? I shake my head, “Nope”.
“So then why are there 2 dirty plates with rice and 2 mugs? Last I checked we don’t have a ghost in this house?” she says quickly. Shit.
I look at her, “So who was here?” she runs towards me giggling.
“Nobody” I say.
She throws herself onto the couch and looks at me with her beaming eyes, “So who was it, did you finally give Tshego a chance?” she asks.
“No, it was nobody” I say.
She takes a deep breath and sniffs me. I look at her weirdly, WTF. She takes in another deep breath, “That’s cologne” she says.
“What?” I smell myself.
“Ah Hah. You see, you wouldn’t smell yourself if I wasn’t onto something” she says, “So who was it?”
“Goodnight, Ntokozo” I stand up and walk to my room.
“No. Please don’t hold out on me” she says pleading, “PWEEAASSEE”.
“Goodnight” I say and close my door. I get undressed and my phone vibrates, who could be texting me at this time? ‘Hey it’s Kea, just wanted to say, Thank you for Dinner’. How did he get my number, I walk to the balcony to see if he is still outside? There’s no car. Ntokozo looks at me and I shuffle back to my room. ‘How’d you get my number?’ I text. ‘You left your phone on the table, while you were cooking. I just copied your phone number’ he texts back. I don’t know to be Impressed or concerned. HOLD UP, this is creepy and not in a good way, ‘OK cool’ I text back. ‘I’ll see you tomorrow’ he texts. ‘Goodnight’ I text. ‘OK’ he sends back. WTF. Who sends this back. I say GOODNIGHT AND YOU SAY ‘OK’. WTF. You know what, its BEDTIME. Let me, let my dreams wonder.

Tuesday, nothing happens on a Tuesday. I just realized while doing my hair, I should really get my hair done because this combing is not fun anymore, “Heavy Sigh”, LOL. I comb it out and let it shrink it self-down. I get dressed, black top and leather jacket, as well as black heels and pants. I connect my earbuds. I’m late for the bus, this time. I rush downstairs. I walk to the gate and open it, there he was parked in the middle of the street, leaning on his car. Tan pants, white shirt, gold chain as well as bracelet and watch, with white air forces. He walks towards me. Today I’m carrying my laptop bag.
“Sawubona” he says.
“Sawubona” I say, can’t help but smile at him and he smiles back. He grabs my bag and walks me to the passenger door and opens It for me. I would REALLY like this more if he wasn’t stopping in the middle of the street. I step in and he places my bag in the backseat and steps into the car.
He switches it on and speeds off, “How’d you sleep?” he asks.
“I slept well. How about you?” I ask.
“I slept alright, although my side of the bed was lonely” he says as he turns onto Stanza Bopape. I laugh, “What?” he asks.
“So your side was lonely” I ask.
“Yeah, Wasn’t yours?” he raises an eyebrow looking at me.
I try and avoid his eyes and keep quiet, “Oh it wasn’t, OK” he says.
“I didn’t say that” I remark.
“Oh so it was” he says.
“Boy shut up, I’m older than you” I say. He starts laughing, “Being older than me means absolutely nothing to me”. “But it means I am your elder” I say. He laughs some more, “Facts”. We sit in some more silence, I need to know what’s his deal with Lana Del Rey, “So Lana Del Rey?” I ask.
“Yeah she’s awesome” he says.
“Never met a man who publically listens to her” I say.
“Yeah well I’m not any man” he says as he turns and looks at me. I nod and he smiles and looks back at the road. He speeds up, turns and parallel parks. He steps out and I step out as well he hands me my bag. I look at him with my back towards my office, “I’ll see you later” he says. “OK” I nod. He stands over me and again kisses my cheek. AHHHH. He turns around and gets into his car and speeds off.
I turn around and standing at the door looking at me was Tshego. I walk past him. I wonder if he saw all that, he probably did, but it’s no business of his who I kiss and all that. He holds the door open for me and I step into the elevator. It starts moving up, “I’m not giving up that easy” he says. I look at him crazy.
“I will get that date” he says.
“Well, Keep it in your prayers” I say.
The elevator stops at our floor and we both walk out. I walk to my desk and switch on my Computer and Laptop. I get started with Work.

It’s lunch time and the elevator dings open before I even get up. He is standing in front of my desk, “Kea?”. He has that smile of his, he’s holding Chicken Licken. “Hey” he says. “How did you get in here” I ask surprised and whispering. There’s one only way in the building and that is through the front entrance.
“Underground parking” he says.
“What” I say, “Did you sneak in here?”
“Sneak is such a strong word. I merely exploited the weak points of your security” he says smiling. This isn’t fucking funny; he could get arrested. “Listen go before anyone notices you” I say standing up.
“I’m kidding. I said I was Uber eats and they let me up” he says. Thank God. I almost had a heart attack over here. Mandisa walks up, “Chomie(Friend) we heading out. And who is this Handsome sculpture?”.
“This is…”
“Don” he interrupts me.
“Don, that’s a name right there” she says all seductive. He just looks at her crazy.
“So Don, how do you know my friend over here?” she asks.
“She lives in the same building as my brother” he says.
“Brother? So there’s another one of you?” she asks. He looks at me like, ‘get rid of her’, “Chomie(Friend), I’m not leaving with yall” I say.
“Ok shap(cool)” she says, “Bye Don.”
He says nothing back and looks at me. I smile, “Is that for me?”
“Yes, it’s something small” he says.
“Still don’t know what to get me?” I ask.
“Yeah” he says.
“You have been doing good so far” I say, this time I stand on my tiptoes and kiss his cheek and bite my lips.
He smiles at me and is flustered, “Uhm, 4 o’clock right”
“Yeah” I say.
Tshego walks up to us and stands there, “You going out?” he asks.
“Tshego there’s someone in front of you, don’t be rude greet” I say. He looks at Kea and Kea looks back at him, “So you coming or not?” he asks. Can he not see I already been given food, “You should get going, the elevator is gonna leave you” says Kea.
“And if I don’t?” asks Tshego.
Kea smiles, “Don’t do that to yourself, please don’t” Kea says in a tone, that’s as if he is threatening him, but also warning him.
“Tshego go, I have my lunch” I say.
He looks at me and nods. He starts walking away, “And for future notice, she never has to go out” says Kea. I look at them, and Tshego walks into the elevator and it closes.
“I should get going” he says, “4 O’clock?”
“Yeah.”
He walks in the direction of the fire escape, “Where you going Elevator is that?” I ask. “Remember when I said, ‘I told security that I’m Uber eats?’” he says with air quotes. “Yeah” I reply.
“I lied, I’ll see you at 4” he says and pushes into the fire escape stairs. WHAT THE FUCK. The door smack close. He actually snuck into the Motherfucking building. I can’t with this boy. YOH.

4pm and Tshego has avoided all contact with me after that stunt he pulled. I don’t even wanna see his face. Who does he think he is, you know what FUCK HIM. It’s time to go home, we get downstairs and we push the doors open and he walks towards me and I smile looking at him he goes in for a hug, and grabs my waist. Which surprised me, why am I letting him do all this, first the kiss on the cheek and now hugs. I mean I’m not complaining, but DAMN, slow down. Know what I mean. He kisses my cheek and grabs my laptop bag and opens the door for me, “Bye Noma” says Mandisa, “Bye Don”. I wave my hand and Kea just closes my door and says nothing, no Bye, no Wave. I am guessing my wave was meant for the 2 of us. There’s Tshego again and I don’t think Kea noticed him this time. He steps in and speeds off, “How was work?” he asks. “Boring” I say, “Sometimes I just wanna be at home and do my paintings”
“You paint?” he asks.
“Yeah” I say.
“OK Vincent Van Gogh” he says smiling.
I laugh, OH MY DAYS, “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.” He replies.
“Why do you park in the middle of the street, and I know you can parallel park, because for the past 2 days you have been parallel parking?” I ask.
He starts chuckling, “I only parallel park when I know I’m gonna be there for a while” he says. “So you have no regards for street rules?” I ask.
“I do, hence I sometimes have my hazards on” he says, “What’s the time?”
“16:15” I respond, “why?”
“Nah just asking” he says and drives even faster. We arrive at my building and he stops in the middle of the street and he steps out, he opens the door for me, “You not coming in for dinner this time?” I ask.
“Nah, me and the boys have something planned, so can I take a rain check?” he asks. Why am I even inviting him in again, “Sure, tomorrow then?” I ask, NOMA WHAT ARE YOU DOING?
“Yeah cool” he says I open the gate and I look at him, walk back and kiss his cheek, “Thank you for today”.
“Don’t mention it” he says. I walk into the building and as I open the door, I see Mandla running down the stairs holding a Nike duffle bag. I walk to the balcony for my usual tradition. He dabs up Kea and they put the bag in the car and speed off.
Question of my life is. WHAT HAVE I GOTTEN MYSELF INTO?