Ch.13 Eleven - The Right One

If there was one word that usually could describe Raymond's two bedroom apartment, it was impeccable. On the days Efe was around however, it was the exact opposite. The man wrecked enough havoc in one evening than Raymond could ever manage in his lifetime. He wasn't a clean freak, not really. It was just that Efe was very messy.

He'd started dreading what state he would meet his home when he had gotten a text from his friend on his way back from work stating that he was currently at his place waiting for him. And he wasn't disappointed.

"How did you even manage to make a mess of this place so quickly? It's almost like you do these things to me on purpose," Raymond accused his friend as he fell into the seat perpendicular to the couch Efe was currently sprawled on, arms folded behind his head like he had no care in the world.

Efe's eyes roamed the sitting room like he couldn't find anything wrong with it. "What did I do again?"

Raymond let his eyes fall on the articles of clothing strewn around on his couch then on his friend who had changed out of his office wear and was now in a tee and shorts. His brows raised dramatically.

"I was too tired, alright?" Efe defended.

"But not too tired to ransack my kitchen," Raymond shot back, gesturing at the empty plate and discarded water bottle lying on his marble floor.

Efe ignored him. "I'm sleeping over today. Ada called to let me know she's in my apartment so now I can't go home."

"And why's that?"

"The girl can't seem to get the memo that I'm no longer interested. Market don expire."

Raymond's brows furrowed in confusion. "Hold on, Ada? The same girl you were chasing like a starved man three weeks ago? You already bagged her?"

"Done and dusted, brother," Efe replied proudly. "But now she won't let me be or return my apartment keys."

"Maybe you shouldn't have given them to her in the first place," Raymond pointed out.

"And you're talking as if you don't know me. I didn't. She just took them. She was leaving that night and she just removed the key from the lock. I didn't even know until later," Efe laughed out loud at the memory.

"Reminds me of someone I know," Raymond said with a pointed look at Efe. "Are you sure you want to break up with her though? It sounds to me like you were made for each other."

Efe scoffed although his eyes held a twinkle like this was all just a funny joke to him. Maybe it was. "Nahh, she's too clingy. But then, I guess I can't really blame her. I mean . . . You can't have a taste of this . . . " he paused to gesture at his body. ". . . and not cling. You just have to, you no get choice."

Raymond didn't bother hiding his irritation at his friend's words and smug look. "You're despicable."

Efe wasn't fazed at all by the insult. Instead, his expression shifted to a more mischievous one and he wiggled his brows at Raymond. "Abi you want to give it a try?"

"I'll pass, thank you," Raymond replied with a shudder.

Efe chuckled. "Your loss."

"Really though," Raymond started in all seriousness. "Chasing a girl only to dump her when she falls for you? I can never understand why you do that. It's just not reasonable. Why put in so much effort when you don't really want her?"

Efe raised his brows at Raymond. "Eeyah. So tell me, where has your holier than thou reasonable lover boy attitude gotten you? As in, how many pikin you don born?" (How many children do you have?)

Raymond shook his head exasperatedly. What had he been expecting?

"Exactly. Not everyone can be a nun like you, princess."

"You don't--" Raymond was interrupted by the ringing of his phone. He brought it out of his suit jacket and checked the caller ID. Valerie.

His heart picked up pace and he felt his finger hesitating on the answer button. Why was she calling?

"Who is it? Is It Rose again?" Efe sat up, attempting to grab the phone but Raymond shielded it from him and picked the call.

He cleared his suddenly parched throat. "Hello?"

"Hi! Raymond, it's Val."

He smiled at how cheery her voice sounded over the phone. "I know. How are you?"

"I'm good, how are you?"

"I'm good."

"Good."

"Okay . . . "

"Um," she chuckled nervously. "So, I got back from work and Hope told me you'd come around and asked for me?"

"Oh, she did?" He didn't remember it happening exactly like that.

"Yeah. She did. So . . . "

"Yeah, I was around but you weren't back from work so I asked her to say hi."

"Oh. I thought maybe there was something you wanted to tell me?" She sounded hopeful and that arrested him for a moment.

An invitation to do lunch or dinner was on the tip of his tongue but when he opened his mouth, something else entirely came out. "Uh . . .Â Something? No. There's nothing."

"Oh, really? Uhm, I just . . . Never mind. Guess I'll see you around, then."

"Okay." Her obvious disappointment made him feel guilty.

"Bye. Goodnight." The line went off.

"What was that awkward conversation?"

Raymond regarded Efe who was staringÂ at him like he'd just committed a heinous crime. He decided to feign ignorance. "What was what?"

His friend rolled his eyes. "I don't know who that was but that girl was totally into you. And I can tell from her voice that she's one hot babe. Hm."

"Seriously? You detect facial appearances from phone calls now? That makes sense to you?"

"Who was that?" Efe repeated.

"Sophie's cousin," Raymond responded with a scowl. "She's off limits."

Efe eyed him, a smirk forming on his lips. "Off limits to who? You or me?"

"Both of us," Raymond replied sharply.

"Oga, calm down. I get it that you think I'm disgusting but aren't you Mr Perfect? Why is she off limits to you?" He continued when Raymond ignored him, "And if she's Sophie's cousin, then it's definitely the girl you told me about. Your family wants you together and you're attracted to her, so what's the issue here?"

Raymond leaned back in his seat. He wanted nothing more than to end the conversation. "I'm just not interested, Efe."

"But you are. It's been over a year you ended things officially with Rose. Even a widow would be done mourning by now. It's time you get over her."

"You think after everything, I'm still hung up on Rose? I don't think you really know me either."

"Aren't you still?"

"No, Efe," Raymond replied. "Like you said, it's been over a year."

"So what's stopping you, then? I mean, if it's not Rose--"

Raymond intercepted him, "I guess I just can't fathom the thought of setting myself up for another failed relationship."

"How do you know that? Is there something in particular you're looking for?"

"I'll know when I find it."

Efe shot him a look that said clearly he wasn't convinced.

"Really. After seeing how Sophie literally brought Alex out of his dark hole, I realized they have something special, something they both couldn't have had with anybody else."

"So what? You want someone like your brother's wife?"

Raymond laughed. "No. I'll have to be Alex to achieve that. I'm just saying I don't want to settle."

Efe pretended to think about it. "I believe you're just confused. If this is what love does to people, I never want any part in it."

Raymond laughed, shaking his head at his friend. "You say that now. But one day, you'll meet that woman and you'll fall so hard you'll be unable to get back up. Of course, that's if you don't catch an STD first."

Efe snorted. "Yeah, fingers crossed on that one. We both know that narrative is for you and not me. And who knows? You just may have found the one if only you'd step out of your shell."

"And what happens when it doesn't work out? It'll just make things awkward with everyone. Sophie, Her mum, Alex. I've thought about it and it's just not worth it," Raymond concluded.

"Wow. Seeing you talk like this makes me think we're not all that different in the first place. You can say what you want, but at the end, you're just scared so you're making excuses. At least I'm handling it better."

"Did the almighty Efe just admit he's scared of love?" Raymond teased. "And you think sleeping with different women is better?"

"Says the guy whose only companion at night is his pillow," Efe shot back. "At least I'm getting some. No, that doesn't cut it. I'm getting a lot." He then started laughing hysterically.

"Sometimes I wonder if you're a secret psychopath," Raymond wondered aloud, his eyes drooping closed.

"I wish."

"Plus, I'm not scared of falling in love. Why should I be? Love is beautiful. I just don't want to fall for the wrong person again," Raymond insisted.

"Whatever you say, princess," Efe snorted. "Anyway, all of this bonding was nice but it's run it's course. It's time for you to go into the kitchen and prepare real food for me to eat. Preferably swallow."

Raymond shot him a look he'd give someone who'd lost his mind. "If it's a cook you want, Ada is home waiting for you."

"You're just a hater," Efe laughed.

â¢Â Â Â ~Â Â Â â¢

Raymond rarely ever had any problem sleeping, but that night was different. He had spent a couple of hours with Efe in the other bedroom that had practically been converted into a game room, courtesy of Efe himself until his friend had fallen asleep. He had then retired into his bedroom and then spent the last hour staring at his ceiling, beckoning on sleep and failing.

It was Efe's fault, he decided. His friend had refused to shut up about how lonely he was and now that he was alone in his room, Efe's words were back to taunt him in full force while said friend was probably snoring away like a pig. Life just wasn't fair.

With a loud sigh, he sat up, giving up on sleep. In the darkness, his hands searched his bedside until they caught his phone. He flipped his phone on and started scrolling through it. Nothing interested him. Great.

He opened his WhatsApp and scanned through. There were a lot of unread messages, so much that he didn't bother opening any of it.

He was about to exit when another message popped up and he saw it was from Hope. His brows furrowed on reading the message. Why was she still up?

Hi! :)

00:44

His fingers moved swiftly over the screen.

Aren't you supposed to be asleep? It's almost 1:00 am and you have work tomorrow.

00:45

She replied immediately.

Right back at ya.

Why aren't you asleep?