Tuesday goes smoothly without any hitches or communication from Melisizwe but I am not surprised since I blocked him. But all that comes crashing Wednesday when Gugu comes to inform me that I have a visitor waiting at the front who won’t leave until he sees me. Somehow, I know that it’s him before I even exit my office. I take deep breaths and walk to the front. I greet a few customers with wide smiles and stop for a few seconds to ask if they are enjoying their food or the service they received.
I usually do this maybe once a week, but right now, it is a stalling technique. I do understand that breaking up with a person over a text, even though we were not really dating, was wrong. I am old enough to admit that. I see him sitting at the table near the exit. He stands when he sees me. He is wearing sweatpants, a long-sleeved tee and sneakers. His hands are buried deep in his pockets. He has a blank stare on his face and somehow that stings a bit.
“Mnguni.” I say as I come to stand before him.
“Hlengiwe.” Ouch. I am so used to him calling me Ntokazi. Hearing him call me by my full name is a bitter pill to swallow. “I need to talk to you in private. We can go to your office or somewhere else.”
I look behind me to see some of my staff watching us. Fuck. “We can talk somewhere.” I exit the restaurant and he follows me.
He doesn’t say anything as we head to the underground parking lot. When we get to his car, he opens the passenger door for me and I climb inside before he closes it and goes to his seat. He starts the car and drives off. I don’t even want to ask where we are going. I don’t like this quiet side of Mnguni. He is not that talkative but at least he communicates. Fine, I was wrong and immature but he doesn’t have to be this mad at me.
We don’t drive for long. he pulls up at the Sun Lodge and parks the car. He looks at me and without saying anything, I know I should get off his car. He gets off and I follow him inside. He smiles at the receptionist who passes him an access card and we take the elevator to the third floor. We enter one of the suites and he closes the door, then leans on if and stares at me.
“Hlengiwe, one of the things that attracted me to you were your maturity, your kindness and your wisdom. Yes, this is new and maybe communication isn’t your strongest quality in relationships, I am yet to learn that. But you don’t just block someone like that. We are not kids. I have kids and even they know that confronting someone and clearing out any misunderstandings is the best way rather than blocking that person. When you broke up with Mbulelo, didn’t you guys sit down and have a grown-up conversation?”
“We,” I clear my throat. “We did.”
“Now, don’t I deserve that same courtesy? I am not fighting with you, sthandwa sam. I am just asking.” The way he says ‘sthandwa sam’ even though he is mad at me makes me giddy.
“You do.” I don’t know when was the last time I got reprimanded like a kid in this manner. Probably back when I lived with my sperm donor.
He takes a few steps until he is standing right in front of me. “Before I say my peace, tell me. What made you block me? Because it can’t be the fact that I cancelled our date to be there for my daughter. You are not that cruel.” I swallow hard and look down. “You are not shy, ntokazi. Look at me when you’re answering me.”
I look up at him and sigh. “I am not a home wrecker, Mnguni. I am not a family destroyer. I am just a young girl who fought so hard to be where she is. Who spent sleepless nights preparing investment pitches. Who drafted countless business plans that ended up in trashcans. Who has put all her hard work, sweat and tears into one dream and kept on hoping that it will succeed until someone actually looked at it and saw her vision.
“I know how society is like. I know how women are always the wrong ones on every scenario. Even with rape, people will always look for something to blame on the woman. Like what she was wearing or if she led the man on or was she flirty. The reason why I am making reference to this is because Healthy Eats is my life’s work. I don’t have a back-up plan if it fails. that’s all I have. My investors put me on a probation and one of their terms were that I don’t get involved in a scandal that might impact badly on my company. If I were to fully date you with no holding back and then your family or people find out and they splash our dirty laundry on social media, what do you think will happen to my restaurant? What do you think will happen to the contract I have with the investors? You would probably go unscarred, but I have a lot to lose from this. I can’t just go in blindly. There are a lot of things I need to consider.”
He nods a couple of times before he takes my hands and leads me to the bed. We both sit down and he exhales loudly. “I hear you and I understand all your concerns. I am not kidding. I do understand where you are coming from. Your feelings and fears are valid. I see you and I hear you.” Hearing him say that makes me emotional but I don’t wanna tear up right now. I don’t want him to think I am a cry baby. “Baby, I am no Bill Gates, but as long as you have me in your life, I will make sure that nothing happens to your restaurant. I will protect you at all costs and make sure that nothing affects your mental health.”
I shake my head. “I don’t want any money from you, Melisizwe. I don’t want to owe you anything when it comes to business. I also don’t want to mix business with pleasure.”
He smiles. “I understand you. I am not saying that we will get married next month or next year. But I do believe in us. I wanted us to be on a probation just to see if we can make this work before we disclose our relationship to people that might be mostly impacted by it, for example, your investors and my family, especially Mbulelo. Can we please try dating for at least a month and see where things go? If we are still growing strong, then we can set a meeting with your investors and find a way to break the news to my family. All I am asking for, again, is a chance, Ntokazi. You want me to go down on my shaky knees and beg, because I will.”
I chuckle and my voice comes out shakier than intended. I am definitely getting emotional. “But why me? You could go for anyone out there. Am I worth the trouble? I don’t want Mbulelo thinking that this is payback for anything because we parted on good terms. This could end your relationship with your son or even your daughter. Are you ready for that?”
He lets go of one of my hands and touches his beard, then he stares ahead before he looks at me with a serious look on his face. “Love is a very complicated thing. Sometimes, you never know if it’s going to work out or not. You never know if you are going to get your heart broken or not. You never know whether to trust that person with your feelings or not. You just have to trust your instincts and your guts. They are usually never wrong when it comes to relationships. So, I am not hundred percent sure about us. I don’t know if we will end up breaking up in less than three months or we will get married and live happily ever after, even though I was for the latter to happen. But what I do know is how I feel about you and how I want to go to the deep end with you. I have fallen for you, ntokazi, and I am not afraid to show you how I feel. All I am asking for is that you trust me. Do you?”
I look at the hand that is still on mine and I squeeze it. He presents a very strong argument and I won’t lie, I do like him. What I do know is that should I give him the chance now, there is no going back. I won’t have other opportunities to block him or get all righteous about our situation in the future. I can’t play hide and seek with him. I am either in or out.
“I am choosing to trust you, Mnguni. But do note that at the sign of any trouble, I will bolt and protect my business at all costs.”
He smiles. “I wouldn’t expect anything less from you.” He cups my face and captures my lips in a slow, sensual kiss. He pours out his emotions in his kiss in a way that it overwhelms me. I break the kiss, putting some distance between us and he kisses my forehead. “You are my forever and I will prove that to you. And before I forget, can you please come and spend the weekend with me in Durban? I promise, we won’t do anything that you aren’t comfortable in.” I chuckle and I nod. I am caught in the moment. Gosh, this silver fox is very sly.
YOU ARE READING
Unhinged Love
Romansa"I have never felt love like this before. So wrong yet feels so damn good. I must be going insane. That's the only explanation." Hlengiwe is a cool calm and collected lady but her world is about to be turned upside down when a man crushes into her l...
