He clicked into a fresh chat with Obiora on WhatsApp. Quickly, before he could chicken out, he sent a “hello” with the “see no evil” monkey emoji.
Then he buried his phone underneath his pillow and closed his eyes, kicking his legs like a child as emotions bubbled through him like champagne.
When Obiora didn’t respond immediately, Ejiro felt his stomach sink. Then he inwardly slapped himself. It was really late, almost one AM. Obiora was probably asleep. Ejiro shouldn’t get his hopes up. Obiora would reply to him tomorr—
He nearly jumped out of his skin when his phone began to vibrate in his hand.
He yanked it out from underneath his pillows.
Ah! Obiora was calling.
Ejiro sat up quickly, fiddling with his hair, his night clothes, then silently cursed himself because it wasn’t a video call.
He cleared his throat then answered. “Hello. Hi. Hello,” he said shyly, nervously.
“Oh fuck,” Obiora murmured, his voice thick yet light with happiness. The sound of it filled Ejiro from head to toe with heat, made his ribs swell and hurt, too small to contain his thumping heart. “I missed you.”
Oh, Ejiro felt lighter than air. “Hello,” he repeated, like a dork. The butterflies in his stomach were going to make him sick. “I missed you, too. So much.”
“Fuck, baby, it’s so good to hear your voice.”
Ejiro sighed dreamily, like a freaking Disney princess.
Yeah, maybe Blessing had been onto something; Ejiro was definitely in love.
TWENTY-SIX
TWENTY-SEVEN
THE BUTTERFLIES IN OBIORA’S STOMACH had turned into helicopters. Ejiro’s train was going to pull into the platform any second now. Obiora was so fucking nervous. People on the platform had been trying—and failing—not to stare at him curiously since he’d arrived, mostly because of the bouquet of flowers he held. He didn’t blame them; a lot of people loved to see public romantic gestures.
Obiora couldn’t wait to see Ejiro’s face because he knew deep down that Ejiro would adore the flowers. He had gleaned from their conversations—since they’d started getting to know each other back in Oxford—that Ejiro had never been loved romantically the way he’d so dreamed of; Obiora had read between the lines, understanding that Ejiro’s ex had told him, in not so many words, that Ejiro should be grateful for her attention. The thought made Obiora see red. He swore to himself he was going to love Ejiro loudly and proudly. It was the least he deserved.
He straightened when the voice over the intercom finally announced that the train from Manchester was arriving. His heart was beating so hard he could barely hear anything else over the roar of it.
The train pulled in, and Obiora tried to control his breathing. His eyes frantically devoured all the seats he could see through the windows, trying to spot his boyfriend. The word filled him with pleasure.
The doors opened, and a crowd spilled out.
Like it was fate, Obiora had ended up standing right where one of the carriages’ doors had come open.
And there he was.
It’d been exactly a week since Obiora had last seen him, yet it felt like a lifetime. The slightly dreamy atmosphere of the mansion in Oxford wasn’t here anymore, and even though they’d practically been texting and talking on the phone nonstop since Ejiro had left the competition, seeing the man in front of him now was still enough to take Obiora’s breath away.
He was wearing a long-sleeved yellow t-shirt and black jeans, and was sporting a fresh fade, his hair cropped close on the sides, but left a little long on the top. The brightness of the shirt made his brown skin positively glimmer, and along with the way he just seemed to glow when he spotted Obiora—it was like being punched in the gut.
For one breathless moment, Obiora wanted to say fuck the flowers. He wanted to drag Ejiro into his arms and kiss him within an inch of his life.
Ejiro’s expression was already bright when he spotted Obiora, a helpless-looking grin stretching his mouth. When he spotted the flowers though, he literally gasped, his eyes so wide, his hands moving up to cover his mouth like Obiora had just proposed to him.
Yeah. Totally fucking worth it.
“Hey,” Obiora said with a grin when they were in front of each other. His voice came out gravelly completely without his control.
“Hi.” Ejiro’s voice was just as deep, sending shivers dancing up Obiora’s spine.
For a moment, they simply stared at each other.
