At Gun Point

~20~

Dusk had now overhung its black cloak on the vegetation ridden terrain, registering the sun's departure to the world on the other side. The distant western mountains were casting their long shadows,overshadowing the farms,villages and the town in the east. We were driving towards those mountains. A kilometre away from the foot of the mountains lies our expansive luxurious and breathtaking estate. Before it became ours,it was owned by an Austrian white old man. After he died,his family sold it to me and returned to their country of origin. It had a two storey building on its eastern side,which I renovated into a twenty-first century mansion.

In my final year at the University of Malimbuku, I played the American Powerball lottery online and won a jackpot that carried me swiftly up the ladder of monetary prosperity. Before I won the jackpot,I used to play both local and international lotteries, always failing to win. I was persistent,though, maybe it became habitual. Some people view betting and gambling as bad,but I view illegal gambling and betting as bad,because some of it end up with people dead. In both legal and illegal betting and gambling,a few people succeed and most of them embezzle their monies trying to get rich. I just take lottery as a game,you win or lose,just like any sport.

That memorable day I opened my email inbox and saw the American Powerball lottery company informing me that I have won $102 000 000.00,my betting six numbers had matched the ones that were drawn that week. The email went on to say that since I was not a native American, they were going to remove 30% on the total cash. I didn't have a problem with that,the 70% was a lot of money to me. It also said I would receive it as a lump sum or as yearly instalments for twenty nine years. I later opted for the later.

I went crazy that day. Some students and lectures,when they saw me running around,spinning and dancing, they thought madness had seized me. After some time, I calmed down and announced the news,they all joined me in the celebrations. Some were doubting Thomases,they wanted to see the email so that they may acknowledge what I was saying. I showed them all in the institute's main hall,on the big screen and the hall roared with laughter,noise and wild celebrations. We then danced a conga on the stage with my friends. I was rendered a celebrity from that very day.

I have always loved the girl who was the National Miss Universities at that time,but our social differences were too much. Her father was an army commander in the air force department(though he died a mysterious death a couple of years ago. He was seen lying dead in an abandoned building in the outskirts of the capital). Her mother,a well known white woman,who was the Minister of Women Affairs in the cabinet and member of parliament of a province in the western region of Malimbuku. Compared to this girl,I was down there and she was up there. The government was the one paying my fees. I was on a government scholarship and it was hard for my mother,as a single parent and a peasant farmer to provide me with the other amenities. So I was pushed to gamble legally and I finally won. The money I used for gambling came from fixing other students' mobile phones and laptops. I am good with electronics though I was studying business at that time.

The winning of the jackpot gave me the courage to approach the beauty pageant. When I started to court her,she told me if it was my money that was pushing me to come to her,then I was on the wrong road,my wishes were going to get shattered. I wasn't going to win her just like the jackpot I had won the previous three weeks. I looked so stupid in front of her that day,my body started to tremble uncontrollably,like I had a seizure. I began to sweat,though the weather wasn't that hot that day. She seemed unfazed by my reaction to her words. She left me in that state,joining her elite friends who were waiting for her at a distance. The second time we met,I explained myself,telling her I loved her before money even came into my life and I wasn't loving her for who she was,in terms of her social status or who I now was. It was mere love that was driving me. At first she dismissed my explanations, saying that's what every guy had told her. She told me I only wanted to bed her and dump her later,so I could boost my reputation and celebrity status whilst scrapping her from hers. That was a big lie. I really did love her without involving who we were. I did reps of my explanations until she was beginning to understand me. I even cried that day. Her face fell,pathos taking hold of her, causing her to feel pity for me. She saw I had money but I was vulnerable. I lacked a supporting pillar. An urge to pull me in a hug came to her but she controlled herself and told me she was going to think about my proposal. I saw something in her eyes that made my heart jump from its place that day. It was the epitome of love. The one I was looking for. She left me with a heart that was yearning for her to come back.

The third time, I proposed a dinner out and she agreed. I was exhilarated by that. I couldn't wait for the time we had agreed to meet. When the time came for us to go,she came with her sister driving a Benz V6.When she came out,I was dazzled by her radiant appearance,she looked more like an angel wearing a freshly bloomed red rose as its dress and matching red stiletto shoes. She was holding a small red purse with a long gold coated chain. She wore a sweet smelling perfume,that would have caused bees to follow her if we were close to a bee hive. I froze at the sight of her. I was clad in an black Italian suit with matching suede black shoes and a white high-collar shirt. I was standing beside my Ferrari LaFerrari with my arms akimbo and my mouth ajar. She just laughed uncontrollably at my surprised stance. I joined her in the laughter and at the end we locked eyes,no body moved for sometime. Our eyes and hearts were talking their own language. A passing car relieved us from that enchanted eye talking moment,I can still remember the moment like it happened yesterday.

She then started to tell me I was crazy,what...what...We both hopped into the expensive piece of metal and drove towards the city centre,to a restaurant known as The Luscious Food Restaurant. It was situated at a ten storey building and was on the second floor. It constituted the whole floor. It had couches of different bright colours that were curved in semicircle with tampered glass table in their middle. There were two per each table. The lights hanging on the ceiling were like yellow lanterns,illuminating the expansive room with a yellow-orange colour. It was breathtaking. We sat at one of those systematically placed seats in a corner away from the others. Instead of sitting opposite me,she opted to sit beside me. I was surprised. Surprised. She called the waiter and we took our orders. Later on the waiter came with our food and I started to devour it,with her looking at me intently,holding a wide grin on her face. She then gently poked me on the shoulder and stopped me from eating. She told me I was eating wrongly. She then took the utensils and started to spoonfeed me. This made feel ashamed but it all brought laughter to her. I couldn't help but took the food in like a three year old. Later on I stopped her and reciprocated the same treatment. She then said she wanted to eat the food from my hands,that means I had to drop the forks down,wash my right hand and feed her. I did that and she enjoyed it all the more. She never cease to amaze me that day. I remember this day until the end of my time.

I paid the bill after eating,leaving a tip and we exited the restaurant,into the elevator and down onto the ground floor towards the garage where I have left the sports car. After we have seated in the car she told me we were now going to the city centre park,there was something she wanted to tell me there. As I was driving ,I couldn't wait to hear what she had to say. After parking my car,we hopped out,she came over, took me by my right hand and dragged me near the centre of the park where there was a small pool. The park was so quiet and the sound of the wind brushing against leaves and branches of trees was the only phenomenal noise around. We then stopped and stood in front of a shrub with pink long flowers and the pool behind us. She pulled me into a hug,our bodies brushing against each other,then tightened the hug and gazed me directly in the eyes for a minute or so before hungrily clamped her luscious lips to mine. We both closed our eyes and kissed passionately,letting our mouths explore each other. Both her hands were over my shoulders,behind my head,pushing me closer to her. I was holding her waist,as we were mooching. Her saliva was mixing with mine,our tongues rotating. My whole became hot. She was tormenting me,I couldn't wait,I needed more of her. Some wicked thoughts came to me,but I restrained myself. This was our first date and doing more than we had already did was going to ruin our new born relationship. I wanted her,but I had to let her go,until the opportune time.
This was our first kiss. I will tell you of the official one at our wedding day some other time.

We broke from our passionate kiss when we heard the clapping of hands and a male voice saying,'Bravo! Bravo!'We turned to see an inter-racial couple standing on the other side of the pool,cheering at us. She started to giggle,and I followed suit as we walked back to the parking lot. When we reached the car,I pulled her to myself,and told her I love her so much and she told me she loved me too. I gave her a short kiss before we got into the car and drove back to the low density suburbs in Brookdale,where she was living with her elder sister and brother. This was Lisa Falcon, the one who is my wife right now. We wedded after six months of dating. She took my heart and so did I. Only death will part us!

FROM THE AUTHOR: Thank you for reading!If you have enjoyed the story,please remember to vote and feel free to comment below. Note: All comments,good/bad,are also very welcome. I'd really like to know what you think. It would mean a lot to me as a budding writer, and may help my career.

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