'After the Storm' - Chapter Three

'After the Storm' - Chapter Three

Yemi heaved a sigh of relief when she finished the assignment she had to hand in the following Monday. She was going out with Akeem later that day and wanted to have as little work to think about as possible, so that she could relax and enjoy the outing. They had not been out together since the previous Saturday when he had taken her to a friend’s party. She packed up her laptop,gathered her books, and walked out of the library

            There were two girls walking in front of her, but her eyes were drawn to the one dressed in denim pants and a cropped top. She had such a great figure, a proper mannequin, and Yemi found herself mentally dressing her in haute couture and smart casual. She wished she could sketch down the designs right there and then, but grinned to herself as she thought of the weird looks she might attract.

            Her eyes were still focused on her fashion target when she heard her name being called from across the street. It was her course mate Ada.

            "Whoa, Yemi, aren't you a dark horse!" Ada exclaimed, as she made her way across the street to meet Yemi.

            Yemi looked at her curiously, "What are you talking about?"

            Ada grinned, "You, my girl, are one lucky chick!" She rummaged in her big bag and brought out a magazine. "I saw this picture in the new edition of 'City buzz’ and my eyes almost popped out!"

            Ada flipped hurriedly through the popular magazine until she came to the page she was searching for. She turned the page around and jabbed her finger at a picture on the page. Yemi stared at it. She had attended the previous Saturday with Akeem, but she had no idea that they were being photographed.

            "You're going out with Akeem Kadiri?!" Ada continued, looking at her with something akin to awe on her face.“I can't believe it!" She was almost dancing with excitement."Small wonder you've never been interested in any guy on campus. You had your eyes set on much bigger fry!"

            Yemi frowned, "Bigger fry? You know I'm not like that."  She looked at the picture again. It had been taken during one of the moments that Akeem had his arm around her and she was gazing up at him. The caption beneath the picture said: Akeem Kadiri, scion of the famous Kadiri family and CEO, Kadiri Holdings with the beautiful Yemi...' The article went on to talk about Akeem and his family but apart from that reference to her, there was nothing more about her. They had noteven bothered with her surname.

            "Girl, I'm so impressed with you!" How does it feel to be dating one of the most eligible guys in the country?"

            Yemi exhaled slowly. She didn't even remember that when they were together. "He's just a nice guy"

            Ada's eyes widened, "Oh so it’s true? You are in a relationship with him?” Ada was getting more and more excited. “I told Brenda and Paula you're much too straight forward to deny if anything's really going on but they didn't believe me!"

            Yemi sighed. Brenda and Paula were girls in one of her classes. They were pretty loud and that meant many people would get to know very soon. "I’ve got to go now,” Yemi said to Ada. “I 'm really tired, I’ve been in the library all morning."

            Ada winked at her "You don't need to sweat anymore. With a catch like Akeem Kadiri, you're settled for life!" She paused, before calling out after Yemi. "But wait a minute, what about Sesan?"

            Yemi stopped in her tracks. "What about him? I've told you a million times that he is just a friend."

            "And I'm believing that story for the very first time!" Ada laughed. "I always thought there was something going on between you two."Yemi rolled her eyes and turned on her heels. "Why should I not? The guy is so hot and I didn't know how you could claim to be just friends when you're always together!"

            "Sesan's just like a brother....”

            Ada grinned. "Save your breadth, girl, I 'm going after him now that I know for sure!"

            Yemi shook her head and laughed. “Go ahead. I can even chip in a good word for you."

She waved at Ada and continued towards home. She called Akeem and told him about the magazine. He did not seem as surprised at the news.

            “I haven’t seen it but does it bother you?”

             Did it? She wasn’t sure. “I’m not just used to being the center of attention.” She could just imagine the stares she would get on Monday.

            "I don't really get chased by the paparazzi. I'm just a businessman and there are enough celebs to keep them busy.ButI do get photographed once in a while at public functions, so this can happen again."

            Yemi grimaced. Her life was getting 'interesting'. She only hoped it would be 'nice’ interesting and not the other way around.

            “But tell your friend it's the other way around.” He said softly. “I'm the one who’s lucky to have you."

            Shecould not help smiling after the call.Solong as he knew that she did not consider him a big catch or anything like that, then it didn’t matter if anyone else thought so. She would just smile through Monday and whatever comments her classmates made. She stopped and bought a copy of the magazine at a shop near her house. She wanted to read it again when she got home.

            Her parents were out at a wedding. Shesnacked on some biscuits and Pineapple juice and decided to take a quick nap. But just as she settled down, she heard a knock on the door and her immediate elder brother’s voice.

            "Come in," Yemi responded wearily. Her brother entered the room. "You sure know when to come for a visit."

            "Wow, someone sounds grumpy. What’s the matter?"

            "I just got home from the library. I’m a little tired, that’s all." She rubbed her hand across her forehead. "How've you been?"

            "Good. I decided to come see you since you don't bother about us anymore since the entrance of that guy into your life, er…what's his name again?" Dotun asked, pretending to think hard.

            "I won’t bother to answer you," Yemi said, sitting up. Obviously, she was not going to be sleeping now. At that very moment, her phone vibrated. It was a text message from Akeem. She read it and smiled broadly. He must still be thinking she was bothered about the picture in the magazine.

            "From your smile I can guess who that was.” Dotun looked at her amusedly. “Whoa! I can’t believe any guy can sweep you off your feet like this!”

           “Deal with it.”

  “We’re all trying to, do we have a choice?” Dotun reached for her hand and pulled her off the bed, "Come on; let’s go downstairs. I came withShez.E HeH”

            "Oh really? Where did you guys meet up?"

  “We met at the gym. He was planning to come here anyway, so we decided to come together."

            “That’s nice. I’ve not seen Shez while. He’s abandoned me."

            "Well, can you blame him? His best friend has found a new best friend."

            Yemi poked Dotun in the ribs with her elbow, "I have not. And Akeem is not my best friend."

            "Sorry, my mistake. He's my new best friend!" Yemi swatted at him and he ducked.

            "Hey! What’s going on with you two?”Sesan said standing up as they entered the sitting room with Yemi still trying to catch him.

            "She's assaulting me because of her Hausa guy!" Dotun laughed, quickly moving out of her reach again.

            Dotun’s phone rang and he signalled to Yemi and Sesan to excuse him. From his face, Yemi knew it had to be Feyi, his girlfriend.

            He finished his call a few minutes later and turned to Yemi. "Feyi's really tripping up, she says you're in some magazine or something."

            "What magazine?" Yemi askedcoolly.

            Dotun was not fooled. “You‘ve always been a bad liar.” A frown creased his brow. "I don’t know how you are going to cope with all the attention this guy is bound to draw to you. I still wonder why dad did not make a fuss about you dating him.”

            Yemi glared at him. “Excuse me….Have you forgotten the fact that I am an adult now?” She turned back to Sesan who was watching their exchange. “Shez dear, would you like some cake?”

            “Yes, please.” Sesan replied.

            "Hey, what about me?" Dotun protested following them into the kitchen “I 'm not even interested in cake anyway. I need some real food.” He opened the fridge and grinned like a Cheshire cat at the contents.“Shez, I’m sure you must be hungry too after that work out. I’ll fix us up soon.”

            “Funny how some people who don't live here anymore keep coming back here to eat." Yemi grumbled as Dotun was pulling a bowl of jollof rice out of the fridge.

            Dotun ignored her and whistled tunelessly as he served himself and Sesan large portions of the rice. Yemi eyed the heaped plates and wondered how they could eat so much and yet still have such impressive washboard abs. Must be all the working out that they did.

            "Exams are gradually getting closer, aren't they?" Sesan said to Yemi as he dug his spoon into the plate of jollof rice before him.  "Everything just appears to be going so fast."

            Yemi made a face, "Yeah, it is, I hope I'll be able to go through smoothly with the grades I need." She had been on a 4.5 aggregate so far, but felt that if she put in a little more effort, she could do much better. Of course, with so many distractions, aka Akeem, how was she supposed to concentrate?

            "You’ll be okay; you've been pretty steady all along."

            "I'm sure you'll be fine, Yemi," Dotun chipped in “Like Shez has said, you've always been a hard worker."

            "First positive thing I've heard from you today!" Yemi said, rolling her eyes at her older brother.

            Sesan laughed and stood up to get some water from the fridge. Yemi looked at his muscled frame in his tank top and knee length cargo shorts. She could understand why Ada would have a crush on him. Shewas occupied with Akeem now so maybe it was time she helped match make her best friend with someone too.

            “Someone's got their eyes on you,” She winked at him. “Pretty nice girl too. Hot and all that!"

            Sesan just looked at without saying anything.

            "Maybe I should introduce you two. You will like her, I promise you."

Dotun snickered. "Shez can do his own pulling when he wants, he doesn't need any help from you.”

            "I wasn't talking to you. I was talking to my dear friend Sesan here." Yemi said.

            "Dear friend, huh?" Dotun guffawed then turned it into a cough when Sesan glared at him.

            Dotun pushed aside his empty plate. "Can I have that cake now, please?” Dotun said to Yemi as he sat back from his now empty plate. “And there is no need for you to look at me like that. You know you can't stop loving me!"

Yemi shot him an evil look. “Unfortunately.”

"Lucky guy," Sesan said quietly addressing Dotun but following Yemi with his eyes as she made her way to get some wine from the fridge.

∞∞∞

            Yemi forced herself to focus on the Sunday morning sermon. Her mind had drifted off halfway during the message. It wasn't her fault, the Reverend always took so long to deliver the sermons. But at least the elderly people didn't snooze off the way they used to during the time of his predecessor. Drift off in their thoughts maybe, but no one could really sleep. The reverend was too fiery. He was different from their former reverend who had retired a year earlier. He didn't seem to take into consideration that their church was Orthodox and the congregation was not used to preachers who left the podium and pranced across the altar.

            She glanced over at Teju, Sesan's older sister. She was sitting a few seats away, listening intently to the pastor’s sermon. Yemi wondered what she found so interesting. Teju and some other friends had started saying they were ‘saved’ about a year ago courtesy of the new Singles/Youth group the Reverend had formed as soon as he joined their parish. They had all been pretty much decent kids and Yemi didnot understand what they needed “saving” from.

            Nevertheless, Teju had taken her newfound status very seriously. She had even broken up with her boyfriend, Deji, because he was not saved. That decision had shocked everyone because Deji was not just good looking but was also such a nice guy. Yemi had been baffled by her decision because she knew that Teju still liked Deji. She had been with Teju and they had bumped intoDeji at the local Eatery on campus and Yemi had seen the effect that Deji still had on Teju. Sesan had also told her that Teju still good moody occasionally over the split but yet she stuck to her guns. Yemi thought it was all so weird and she made up her mind she was not going anywhere near the youth group.

Yemi knew she was a Christian, she had been born one, and had grown up as someone that was used as an example of a nice person. She never had spats with anyone, had always had excellent peer relationships and she was yet to meet anyone that she couldn’t get along with.

            Her phone vibrated as a text came in. It was Akeem letting her know what time he would pick her up later that day. She texted him back, she was looking forward to seeing him too.

          She turned her attention back to the Reverend. He must have said something because many people in the congregation were laughing. He continued preaching and she tried to listen. The guy was passionate and exerted himself so much. Small wonder he had to keep wiping the sweat off his forehead with his handkerchief even though the church was fully air-conditioned.

            Her thoughts switched to Akeem again. He was even more chilled out about religion than she was and felt people were just emotional about it. Akeem had Muslim roots, but his family had become Christians some generations back. He was a member of some posh orthodox church in Victoria Island, but he rarely attended services.

            He had once told her how he thought it amazing that intelligent people seemed to lose all ability to be analytical when it came to religion, he said it put him off.

            Yemi didn't completely agree with him. She didn't want to be like Teju and her so called 'saved' friends, but she had been brought up to attend church and she liked the feeling she got from doing so. She was definitely going to keep trying to persuade Akeem do attend services regularly.

∞∞∞

            "How did your game with Javier go?" Yemi asked Akeem as they waited in the restaurant for the food they had ordered to be packed up.

            "It was a draw, so I guess it went well.” Akeem smiled.

            Javier was a family friend of Akeem’s. They had grown up together and attended the same schools. Javier’s younger brother, Devin, wasengaged to Nadia, Akeem’s younger sister. Yemi had heard that rich people loved to walk in the same circles, but she did not know how true it was until she got to know Akeem. And even though he was not as forthcoming with information about his family, and she hadn't met any of them, from the little that she had heard from him, almost all the people connected to him were people of means and they all appeared to have such a strong network between them. 

            Yemi smiled as she saw Akeem looking at her.

           “You look so gorgeous in that dress and I can’t get over the fact that you made it.”

           Yemi bobbed her head teasingly. “Thank you, kind sir”She had made the dress a while ago but had not had much time for sewing since then, due to her school workload. However, she was looking forward to picking up her hobby right after her exams.

            The waiter brought out the bags of food and they made their way to Akeem’s car. Yemi leaned against the seat. She did not realise how tired she was until she did so. At that moment, she could not wait to be over with school.

            "I thought that maybe we could go bowling before heading over to my place," Akeem said. "What do you think?"

            "Mmmm….I’m not sure I have the energy for that. Can we just go straight to your place?"

            “I’ll breathe a sigh of relief when your exams are over.”  He started the engine and eased his way out of the parking lot. “I hardly get to see you as it is."

            Yemi was amused at his tone. "Well, it’s just a month to go, but come to think of it, I see and talk to you more than anybody else, including my brothers. Even Dotun has started complaining about me abandoning him or whatnot." 

            He smirked. “Well, he better get used to it. His sister is now taken."

            They engaged in small talk during the rest of the drive to Akeem’s place. She asked about his mother’s health which had not been too good.

           “She’s okay now but feeling a little melancholy. It would have been my dad’s birthday tomorrow.” He smiled slightly. “It’s not just her though, we all miss him. Sometimes, it still feels a little crazy that he is really gone.”

            Yemi’seyes softened. She knew Akeem had been very close to his father. He had told her that a drunken driver had crashed into his father’s car almost three years ago, killing him instantly. “I wish I could have been there for you back then.”

            “Thanks baby. It was a tough time then, dealing with the unexpected loss of my mentor and suddenly becoming the one that everyone looked up to at KH."   

            "You've done a good job of it too. I read up a bit about KH and it's obviously going strong."

            Akeem laughed, "So you’ve been checking us out, huh? Finding out if I can afford to feed and clothe you?"

            "Something like that," Yemi smiled cheekily at him. "A material girl like me needs to be sure that her man has a few pennies in his bank account."

            "That is so not true! I've never met any woman that so actively resists gifts, but you are mine now and so have no choice in that matter"

            Yemi smiled up at him. "I don't want to belong to anyone else"

            A few minutes later, Akeem turned into the close where his house was situated. Yemi stared at the house as they drove through the gate. She still got struck by its beauty. It was an architectural masterpiece surrounded by well-tended lawns. Tall ornamental trees that dotted the compound giving it the appearance of a beautiful aristocratic woman holding court amongst admirers.

            “Finally,” Yemi exclaimed as they got into the sitting room a few minutes later. “I'm so tired, I slept really late last night."

            "I know you have a target, but don't overdo it. You look like you've already lost some weight from all the stress."

            Yemi put her hand on her hip and stuck a pose, "But I thought skinny was cool."

            Akeem gave a low wolf whistle. "Whoa! Gisele Bundchen is in trouble now!" He teased, "But fashionable or not, I don't want you to disappear into thin air.” He took the take-away bags from the table. “You just sit down and I’ll sort this out myself.”

         “I’m not that tired.” Yemi protested.

         “Orders.” Akeem told her as he headed towards the kitchen.

            They chatted as they ate and he insisted on clearing up by himself. Yemi watched him as she lay back on the sofa. This was why she could never consider him a ‘big catch’. He was so sweet and caring that she forgot who he was. She was only reminded of his status when she went to his office or when they were with other people.

            "Come here," She beckoned to him when he popped a glass of fruit punch by her side. "I love you," she whispered before kissing him.

            Akeem leaned in and deepened the kissuntil she pushed him away.

            "But you started it…." He said with a roguish gleam in his eyes, looking like he wanted to continue. Just then his phone rang and he ignored it but it kept on ringing. He looked at the caller ID.

            "Sorry baby, I have to take this call, it's Adil."

Adil was his younger brother andlived in Abuja with his wife and their twin sons. He headed the Abuja branch of the KH office. Yemi was aware that he had flown into Lagos several times since she and Akeem had started dating, but Akeem had never suggested that she meet him, or any other member of his family for that matter. She was a little concerned at times but she didn’t want to ask him why because she felt that would imply that she was pushing for a commitment and after all they were still just dating.

∞∞∞

            Yemi felt all tingly and warm inside as she dressed up for her date with Akeem. She remembered how nervous she had been the day before, when she had gone to check on her results, and then had felt like screaming withjoy when she saw that she had graduated with first class honours.

            "Yemi, Akeem is here.” Her mother said coming into her room."My, you look beautiful!"

            "Thanks, mum" She didn't know where Akeem was taking her, but he had asked her to dress up. It was the first time she would be wearing the beautiful blue silk Vera Wang dress that he had bought for her a couple of months earlier. The dress emphasised her small waist and showed off her slim figure, swirling softly around her feet as she moved.It also had an embellished bodice so she opted to leave her neck bare and just wore a pair of silver drop earrings with a matching bracelet.

            After one last check in the mirror, and her mother’s approval, the two of them exited Yemi’s room and made their way to the sitting room where Akeem was chatting with her dad.

            "You look stunning," Akeem said, rising to his feet Yemi came into the room with her mother. She felt warm all over at the look of admiration in his eyes and smiled back at him.

            Her dad beamed proudly. “Just the way her mother looked at about that age."

            "Don't I look the same now?" Yemi's mother teased as she linked her hands with her husband's.

            "Of course you do, my dear. You are just as beautiful as ever."

            "I quite agree sir," Akeem said. "I can see where Yemi got her good looks from."

            They stayed and chatted with her parents for a few more minutes before setting off. Yemi was pleased at how easily Akeem got along with both of her parents. She could tell that they liked him a lot. Not that there was anything not to like. Akeem was always so polite and cultured in his dealings with her family.

            "So, how's my first class honours girl doing?" Akeem asked her when they were alone. "Has it sunk in yet?"

            "I’m still getting used to it," Yemi admitted. "It's still all so unreal. I was all shaky when I went to check the results."

            "I was just as nervous as you were yesterday. When my phone rang and I saw your number, I was almost too scared to pick it."

            Yemi laughed. "No wonder it rang for a while before you answered it. I thought it was because you were in a meeting."

            "No, I was not. I was biting my nails and hoping with all my heart that everything was okay."

            "Well, I’m glad that it's all over," Yemi sighed happily. There were times when she still woke up at night thinking that she had to study before it would dawn on her that she was truly done with school and exams.

“Do you remember my family friend, Sesan?" She asked him. Akeem nodded. "It was assumed that he would make a first class easily, but amazingly he didn't, he came out with a second class upper."

            "That's still okay."

            "You don't get it," Yemi turned slightly in her seat towards him. "Sesan is brilliant! Easily cleverer than me. So this is such a surprise."

            "Well, now you've beaten him, so that should make you happy."

            "Not really. I 'm more puzzled about what could have happened to him."

            "Like I said, he'll be all right. He does not even need a degree to be successful, but hey let's not talk about academics or anything like that tonight.” He gave her an injured look “I 'm still trying to get over the trauma of you rationing the time we spent together while you did your exams."

            Yemi laughed. "I'm all yours now, at your beck and call!"

            A crooked smile tugged at the corner of his lips. "How about making that offer permanent?"

            "How do you mean?"

            "How do you think I mean?"

            Yemi smiled mischievously. "I have no idea."

            "Really?"

            Yemi didn't reply. He glanced at her smiling face and laughed softly before changing the topic.

            "I’ve heard about this place. Everyone says it’s so glamorous," Yemi said as Akeem pulled into the parking lot of Navagne, a five star hotel that had been recently opened on Victoria Island.

            "I felt I needed to take you somewhere really special tonight to celebrate your success," Akeem said, as he parked the car.

They walked into the hotel and were escorted to their table. Yemi looked at the interior of the hotel in admiration.

            "Nicer and nicer." She said this as they were seated in the VIP section where Akeem had booked them a table.

            "Only the best is good enough for my girl," Akeem said. "It's good to see you looking relaxed again."

            "Thanks." She leaned over and touched his hand. "Thanks for being there for me."

            "I'll always be there for you, baby," Akeem said, softly taking her hand in his. "Always."

            Yemi didn't know if it was possible to love him any more than she already did, but she felt like it. He was everything she had always desired and more. "Me too," She said, holding his gaze.

            Their tender moment was soon interrupted by the waiter coming to take their orders. Some minutes later, he brought their drinks.

            “I'll likely be popping into my office at Abuja this week," Akeem said after the waiter had left. "And I'll also make a quick stop at Niger state to see my uncle.”

            “How long are you going to be away?” Yemi asked, trying not to feel deflated but not quite succeeding.

            “Just four days. I'll be back before you know it.”

            “That’s fine,” She said quietly. “Your mum is from Niger too, isn't she?”

            “Yeah, same town as my dad."

            "Is her family into business as well?"

            "Yes, but also heavily into politics." He laughed. “They also like to have a bit of power!"

            Yemi listened as he told her about his mum's family. She knew she wanted to know more about him but she couldn't help comparing their backgrounds as he spoke.

            The waiter brought their food a few minutes later. She looked at the food but her thoughts were far away. She had deliberately tried not to think too far ahead but she still wondered what the future held for her and this man that she loved so much.

            "Baby?" Akeem's concerned voice cut through her thoughts.

            She tried to force a smile and took a small bite of the succulent scallops she had ordered. .

            "Mmmm, these are nice," She said, savouring the taste and trying to appear light-hearted.

            Akeem arched his brows slightly but he started eating as well, telling her about his mother’s plans to renovate their family home. For someone who normally didn’t talk much about his family, he was surprisingly doing a lot of it that evening. Yemi listened quietly. The renovations involved a whole wing of the house and he joked about how his mother was trying to get him involved as much as possible

           “I know she can handle it but she likes to get me involved as much as possible.”

            “You‘re her son.”

           He made a face. “She doesn’t let me forget it.”

She listened to him talk, but her thoughts were still very far away.

            "Pretty girls who graduate with first class honours don't talk too much, do they?" He said, dropping his fork and wiping his mouth with the napkin. “What’s going on in that head of yours?” 

She was so surprised that she couldn't help smiling. This guy knew her so well.

  "So what's up?" He asked.

            Yemi took a sip of her drink before responding. "I was thinking about how different our families are." 

            Akeem grinned. "Yeah, you’re right, no one has made a first class in my family yet. We’re not that intelligent!"

            "I'm not talking about that."

            His eyes grew serious"I don’t know what you‘re talking about but whatever differences there aredissolves in the face of our love. You do love me, don't you, Yemi?"

            "You know I do."

            "Then that's all that's important. I don't think I can survive if you ever stop."

            "Strong guy like you?" She teased, feeling herself relax again.  

            "I'm like putty in your hands." His gaze was intense as he looked into her eyes. "I never knew any woman could make me feel this way.From the moment I set eyes on you in that Hawes and Curtis Shop, I knew you had to be mine." 

            "And are you mine?"

            "Body and soul," He replied softly. He reached a hand into his pocket and brought out a little black box. Yemi's eyes widened as he went down on one knee before her."Yemi, I love you with all my heart," He said gently, taking her hand in his and looking into her eyes. "Will you marry me?"

            Yemi could not speak. She had imagined this moment now that it was here, she didn't know what to say.

            "Yemi?"

            "I love you, Akeem," She replied looking into his eyes. "And yes, I will marry you."

            "Thanks, babe." Akeem replied, slipping a gorgeous diamond solitaire on her finger. "You've made me a very happy man," He kissed her finger afterwards.

            Yemi held up her finger. The ring sparkled prettily as it caught the lights from the chandelier."It's so beautiful," She didn’t think she could ever forget this moment as long as she lived. “And it’s a perfect size too. How did you know my size?”

            "My secret," Akeem smiled at her. “I’m happy you like the ring but we can always choose another one if you don’t.”

            "This is perfect and it means even more to me because you picked it for me."

"I 'm so glad I can look forward to spending the rest of my life with you. I love you so much, Yemi."

       "I love you too, Akeem."

  

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