I knew I would feel the brunt of her wrath later on at some point, but it needed to be said, one way or the other.
At 5.25 p.m., Kofi and I began to wind our computers down; we both had busy evenings ahead of us and needed to get into the zone.
‘Got a busy evening tonight?’ asked Kofi as he propped his headphones into the charger.
‘Um actually, yeah!’ I replied hesitantly, suddenly realising that I hadn’t really filled Kofi in on the whole ‘fake boyfriend’charade at the pub last week. ‘I’ve got a second date with this guy I met on Hinge, not a big deal really.’
‘Oh nice, I’m happy for you!’ he replied, smiling. Phew. ‘Hopefully this guy is a good one.’
‘We can only hope,’ I replied, switching off my computer monitor. ‘Anyway, how are you feeling about your date tonight with Sade? What time is she getting here?’
‘She should be here in about fifteen minutes or so; I’m gonna meet her at the ground-floor reception. Wanna come with?’ he replied, putting on his jacket.
At that moment, my phone buzzed with several notifications at once. The first was a text from Sade saying:Hopefully see you in a bit! En route to you and Kofi xxxand the second was a notification from theOuiMeetapp from Jericho, which read:Alchemist it is. If you send me your address, I’ll pick you up. I’ll see your fine self later. :).
Pick me up?! I wanted to practically swoon at the proposition. He was really going all out with this, and it made my heart (and ovaries) swell up even more. I sent him my building address as I planned to meet him outside instead of having him come directly to my door. I was an excited babe, but I was also a safe babe.
‘Sade just texted me to say she’s on route, by the way. Let’s make our way downstairs!’ I said, also grabbing my coat. I had everything crossed that Kofi and Sade’s date would go well, and I also couldn’t wait to hear any tea she might have afterwards too. Kofi and I made our way down in the elevator and through the hallway to the main hospital reception point. I had to be honest, when he put the effort in, Kofi actually scrubbed up real nice. We waited at the reception together while he doused himself yet again with his perfume.
‘Are you nervous about tonight?’ I asked, checking my phone for the time. I’d decided to wait until they were both here before jetting back home to change for the date.
‘A little bit. We’ve spoken on FaceTime and stuff so we both know what to expect, but it’s just different in real life, isn’t it?’ Kofi replied, and I could hear his voice slightly shaking with nerves, bless him.
‘You guys are gonna be fine, don’t worry about it! Sade’s a great girl, man. You’re gonna get on great,’ I reassured him. At that moment, I had a short daydream of the four of us: me, Jericho, Sade and Kofi, enjoying a double date together. It irked me how consumed I’d become with Jericho after such a short amount of time, but his company was almost too perfect to pass up on. I enjoyed the way he made me feel; it ignited feelings in me I hadn’t had in so long while being in the dating scene. It was like a drug, and I needed more.
A few moments later, I saw Sade walk through the hospital doors. She looked absolutely sensational, with her long hair flowing in big, bouncy waves past her shoulders. She was wearing a pale-pink bardot cut jumper that showed off her perfectly toned shoulders, and had teamed it with a pair of black skinny jeans and a pair of hi-top Converse trainers. She looked sensational.
‘There she is!’ I exclaimed, moving towards her to give her a hug. ‘The Queen herself. You look incredible, babes!’
‘Thaaaaanks, lovely!’ Sade exclaimed, bashfully tucking her curls behind her ear and looking towards the floor. I’d never seen her appear so shy before – especially when it came to dates. They both must have caught more feelings for each other than they were letting on.
‘Let me take you to your suitor for the evening,’ I announced, as I linked arms with her and strolled towards Kofi. Kofi’s face had changed completely. His demeanour – a moment ago a picture of calm – had broken out into a wide grin, and he was looking at Sade up and down, taking her in. They both stared at each other a moment, before going in for an embrace. It was quite romantic, actually.
‘You look beautiful,’ said Kofi breathlessly, with the biggest, stupidest grin I’d ever seen on his face.
‘And you know it! You scrub up well too, I guess, hehe,’ replied Sade cheekily. After a moment of watching them both size each other up and get into a bit of small talk, I checked the time and realised I definitely needed to get going if I wanted to make the date on time.
‘Now. I have to run as I’ve got my own thing going on—’ I mentioned after a brief moment of allowing them to take each other in. ‘But Kofi, do you remember what I told you in the office earlier?’
Kofi broke his gaze from Sade to me, rolling his eyes. ‘Yes, madam. I heard everything and it was all noted.’
‘Iight,’ I continued, looking to Sade. ‘And Sade, babes, do you remember what I told you as well?’ Sade turned from Kofi to me, giving me a mock salute. ‘YES, MUMMY.’
‘All right, guys,’ I replied, slowly backing my way towards the exit. ‘I hope you both have a wonderful time! Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do, and if you do, please for the love of God use protection because I’m not ready to be an aunty just yet!’
After saying my goodbyes, I raced towards the bus stop across the street from the hospital, just as my bus was arriving. I had timed it perfectly. Seventeen minutes later, I was home, and after feeding Toby, taking a quick shower and meticulously doing my make-up, I was ready. The ‘fuck ’em’ dress fitted a bit more snug than I would have liked, but it still got the job done. I’d paired the dress with my red lipstick – the signature Ruby Woo by MAC – alongside a winged liner and some burgundy blush. I looked like a fucking siren and I loved it.
I checked theOuiMeetapp for any update on Jericho’s side (note to self: try and ask for his number tonight), which there was:
Hey beautiful. I’ll be seeing you soon at 7 p.m. My car will be the silver Audi outside your building. :)
I smiled to myself at the mention of ‘car’. That’s how low the bar was for me within the dating sphere at the moment, my friends; the fact that he owned his own vehicle excited me somewhat, even though he’d already mentioned it in one of our previous conversations.
I quickly typed backLooking forward to seeing you soon!and went into the bathroom for one final checkover. As tonight’s date was more formal, I wanted to make sure that everything was perfect. Teeth? Brushed and flossed. Breath? Doused with mouthwash. Make-up? Flawless, however I gave my face one final blast of setting spray just to lock everything in. After that, I lightly spritzed on one of my top perfumes that I only ever used for dates: the Hugo Boss Elixir for Her. It was the fragrance I’d gotten complimented on the most over the last few months, so here was hoping it would work in seducing Jericho tonight.
With ten minutes to go, I perched on the edge of my sofa like a nervous job applicant, obsessively going over possible subjects to cover during the date like a weirdo. I normally didn’t put so much effort into trying to come across as ‘likeable’ when it came to dates – my natural effervescent personality was normally enough to carry me through most scenarios – but there was something about Jericho that – despite the setup and circumstances of our date – slightly intimidated me. It was almost the same feeling I got from Jeff at work but where my intimidation with Jeff was laced with a lingering feeling of the ick, with Jericho it was laced with a feeling of – lust – maybe? Desire? Whatever it was, I just knew I wanted to see more of him.
A part of me wondered whether this desire to get it right with Jericho maybe stemmed from the pressure I was gettingfrom my parents to date and settle down soon. As much as I would usually shrug it off, I couldn’t help but have that niggling feeling in the back of my head; the urge to please them, to live up to the image of the perfect daughter they’d always envisioned. It was a weight I could have done without, yet one I felt duty-bound to carry.
