A CHANCE TO LOVE YOU

chapter 2. getting to know him

We rushed trying to catch up with him.
hi, I said as I waved at him. My heart was doing, hubbly bubbly inside. I was excited.
oh hi, how are you girls’ he said fine how are you, me and Tina responded
" I'm okay, thank you’
‘’ so where are you heading to’, I asked
‘’just over there, he said as he pointed towards the house we were staying in. I couldn’t believe my ears and my eyes.
"hold on, wait…...u mean, we stay together in that boarding house
yes, he replied
Honestly speaking, my heart celebrated, however I felt, I couldn’t understand it, but I was glad that we were together.
how come I never see you, Tina asked
it’s because I am usually in my room, he responded
‘’you are an indoor person right’’ I asked
‘’not really, I go out sometimes but not so often’’
We talked all the way until we reached home and we did our various activities. When it was time to cook, we met in the kitchen again and my heart started changing positions, I could not bear the feeling of being next to him. I was really crushing on him.
‘’so what program are you doing?’’, I asked him
‘’bachelor of science in computing. And you?’’, he asked.
‘’Bachelor of Business administration. Actually I forgot to ask what your name was’’, I said while smiling at him because I was kind of blushing.
‘’oh yeah, my name, you can just call me Patrick’’.
"come again", I asked him because I couldn’t clearly get his name.
He looked at me and said, Patrick
“oh, it’s a nice name, my ex-boyfriend is Patrick too”
“oh really”
“yeah”
“looks like I got myself a namesake”
I chuckled. He was so cute. He voice was too calm.
“yeah. Sadly, we had to break up. But I loved him, he loved me too”, I said
“but then, why did you have to break up if you guys loved each other?”,he asked
“well, I think we just couldn’t bear being in a long distance relationship plus we had other issues going on”, I said looking sad
“didn’t you talk about it. As in couldn’t you resolve it?”
“it was complicated, but it is now over and I don’t want to date anyone until I  finish my studies”
When I said that he looked at me in a way that argued with my words. When I saw his reaction I smiled. “Why are you looking at me like that?”, I shyly asked him.
“nothing”, he smiled at his response. ”Am just wondering how you would be so sure of not dating anyone until you complete it”
“Am sure. Right now I am 22 years old, by the time I am graduating, I will be old enough to be in a stable relationship”, I said firmly
“all the best to that”, he said
“oh, thank you, I said with a smile on my face.
‘you did not tell me your name”, he reminded me
“my name is Liya”
“liya huh, such a nice name”
I blushed at his words.
so which church do you go to Patrick, I asked
the sowers, he answered. How about you, he asked.
‘’I go to pilgrim’’
‘’pil…. What? I have never heard of that church before" I giggled because he could not pronounce the name of my church.
‘’it is pilgrim Wesleyan church. But it has a few branches around here. So I am still searching. It will be sad if I don’t find it because I will have to stay home during Sundays which of course I do not want’’, I explained to him.
"can’t you find another one" He asked. ‘’even Seventh Day "he added
‘’no no no, I can’t go there. Am not an Adventist person I said as I got a spoon to add salt to the gravy I was preparing. I could not even pay total attention to the amount of salt I was adding because talking to him at that moment was my dream come true. I was excited inside of me. I needed nothing more than this moment to last forever and ever.
He looked at me with a questioning expression. I melted at the sight of his eyes. They were so catchy and cute. They were breathtaking.
‘’well……my ex-boyfriend is an Adventist. I just wouldn’t want to go there, not just because of him but because I just don’t really like it. And we would argue about it because I was not ready to leave my church for his’’
‘’oh really?’’, he asked
‘’yes. We have been together for some years now. But I miss him though, I said and he just looked at me. ‘’Am guessing you have a girlfriend’’, I said while hoping for him to say no
‘’yes, I do. We have been together for five years now*. He said.
Thud…...my heart was torn at the hearing of it. I expected something like that but I didn’t want to hear it. My joints felt weak as though I was injected weakening substances. But I didn’t show it.
"I'm guessing you love her a lot"
‘’yes I do"
"okay that is nice if you do. Don’t break her heart, support her always, I said as I finished preparing my meal and I left.
I told myself to forget about him as I believed it was just a normal feeling that would fade away.
After having eaten my supper, I went to the kitchen hoping to see him before I went to bed, and there was the handsome figure I was dying to see in the living room pressing his phone. I went straight to him because I could not waste a minute to be with him.
“Hi, I thought you have already gone to sleep “, I said as I situated myself on the couch that was on his left side. I didn’t face him because I was very shy.
“actually this is when I am planning to go and sleep. I was just updating my school email”
I was glad to find a reason to stay with him a bit longer
“well, I haven’t updated mine, can you please do it for me”, I said, in my heart hoping, he will say yes.
“sure, I can update for you”, he said gesturing for me to hand him the phone.
“you can move closer so that I can show you how to do it”, when he said that, I could not believe that I would sit right next to him.
So I moved to where he sat so that I could see clearly what he was doing. So he started showing me how to update it, I was not able to concentrate on whatever he was showing me, but I pretended to pay attention. i was just hearing his sweet melodious voice, nothing else mattered. I loved the way he was pressing my phone. He continued explaining, when he finished, he handed me the phone.
“Oh, is that so?”, I asked
“yeah, it is now updated”
“so I can submit my assignment”
“yes you can. Let me show you”
The more I spent time with him the more I felt like I was flying, this was my dream come true. But I didn’t expect him to notice or to know how I felt for him. I was afraid he might reject me. so I was okay just being close to him without him knowing my intentions or my feelings. We were like two different people. He was rich, and I wasn’t.
After we were done, I collected my phone, we headed to the corridor and he went into his room, I also proceeded to my room. I just went smiling. Tina as the roommate who was close to me, noticed my smiley face.
She started smiling and said; “I won’t say anything”. I didn’t respond I just smiled then I went to bed thinking about Patrick.