Cash or Credit 6.......UPDATED

Cash or Credit 5 can be found HERE!

We adjusted Part 6 and so this is the new one! Enjoy!

8.00pm

Thursday evening 49 Bode-Thomas Street Surulere.

The grey Peugeot pulled up the pattern imprinted driveway and Jen hopped out of the backseat with a wave goodbye at Mr and Mrs John. Turning 360 degrees, Jen surveyed her surroundings; they say you can tell a lot about a person from their home so maybe this centre hall plan brick house with double porches could tell her about“You are all mine now” Esosa interrupted her thoughts with an evil laugh.Jen suppressed a laugh and continued to study her whereabouts.

The rectangular planned building with the symmetrically placed window openings and centred entrance seemed to rise from the curved driveway. The door was plain wood illuminated by sidelights and the windows were likewise without ornamentation, having only a sill of wood in the same tone around the edges. The only decorative elements were at the cornice on the roof where the bricks were set at an angle in a corbelled effect.

“Jennifer come here” Esosa said speaking slowly and gesturing into the house.

“Your roof is very pointed” Jen said not moving an inch

“Into the house Jen” Esosa repeated

“No dog barking. I thought you'd have a dog”

Esosa marched down and placing his hands on both her shoulders dragged her into his home. “Shouldn’t you have brought me flowers?” he enquired taking her sweater and placing it at the back of the only sofa in the room.

“Wow u used bricks for your dwelling inside as well” Jen continued to look round“You know what happened to the pigs who built theirs out of hay and straw” Esosa said with a knowing look. Jen smiled and pretended to huff and puff.The red stone tiles laid on the floor stretched out from the welcome mat at the door and down the hall, marking out the entire living area. On one side of the hallway a large corner dark blue sofa that looked comfortable enough to sit at least six dominated the area facing the large TV squarely. Jen found that surprising as she didn’t think Esosa watched a lot of television. Adjacent to the television was a reclining reading chair with foot stool and two dark wood bookshelves which bore heavy hardcopies of titles ranging from Dumas's Three Musketeers to Soyinka’s The Interpreters. Ah now this is what she expected to see. Jen ran her fingers along the titles counting the ones she'd heard of: Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, Shakespeare, Mazuri, Achebe, Chinodya, Defoe, Fitzgerald, Amadi, Bronte, Dickens, Twain, Wilde…Jen’s finger stalled at Austen raising an eyebrow, Esosa calmly placed his copy of Pride & Prejudice underneath a copy of Rich Dad, Poor Dad

“You did not see that” he said softly.

Jen carried on shaking her head; as she continued to roam, her finger had gathered no dust all through its travels. Esosa read everything from politics- Social Statistics by Spencer & White’s Utopia- to sociology- Understanding Classical Sociology by Marx.

“Where is your Harry Potter?” Jen said half-jokingly

“Upstairs with the rest of my books” Esosa responded seriously

“The rest of them…?” Jen looked at the books on display

“The books I have already read and enjoyed are the ones you see here. These ones on the top shelf are those I am yet to read.”

Jen looked through the titles on the top shelf, The Thing Around Your Neck, Book Thief and Time Traveler’s Wife.Jen understood that, Esosa was a man who surrounded himself with memories and things that mattered to him. She already knew that the flowery blue material on the lamp shade on the side-table was sewn by his step-mother, probably the light blue covers for the throw pillows scattered on his sofa as well.

“So if you enjoy it then you place it here, to be read again later but if you don’t…?” she asked

“I donate it to the library”

Jen gave all titles another quick glance, “you only have the tragedies of Shakespeare.”“He writes much better about the sad stuff”“That's disturbing Esosa”

Jen said“A redeeming factor” Jen picked up the copy of Gulliver’s Travels from atop a cushion. The pages were dog-eared and the cover worn. It had obviously been read a 1001 times.

“So you want to meet the Lilliputians” she asked with a sweet smile. Esosa looked confused for a while then he followed Jen's gaze

“No that’s for my brother Osaze. I swear he’s read it 20 times”

Seeing as Esosa didn’t exaggerate Jen believed him. She was also interested to meet the person whose favourite book involved meeting tiny people.

“Where is your brother? Is he here?”

“Want to see the rest of the house?” Esosa jumped up agilely ignoring her question.On the opposite side of the hallway was the wet bar and stairs which led upstairs. The wide distressed mirror reflected the wine and whiskey glasses that hung in wooden rafters above a clear table top. The air conditioner hoisted was on the wall beside it. The table top was cool to touch and transparent, Jen walked over and looked through to see drinks sitting on ice. Esosa reached in and grabbed her Maltina taking the top off in the inbuilt bottle-opener at the bottom. He offered a straw but she refused. Jen could see him doing this most nights after work proceeding to his reading chair and switching on the lamp to immerse himself in a book.Jen followed Esosa down the hall; the first door was a pantry lit by an exposed bulb. It was narrow as a broom cupboard and as tall as she was; but it housed tubers of yam and sacks of potato and rice. Clear nylons displayed egusi seeds and beans, stored with pepper to preserve the freshness. The final door was the kitchen; long room which had wooden drawers and a wide white porcelain sink. Behind the gas hob was exposed brick work adding character to the room. The net door at the other end led out into the backyard and Jen could see Esosa’s AYGO parked safely.
Doubling back Esosa led Jen up the wooden staircase to reveal yet another long hallway with doors at opposite ends. Esosa pointed down the right as his room and towards his left as the bedroom. Looks like Osaze slept on the couch.

Jen walked in the direction of his bedroom with Esosa muttering “I don't know what you are hoping to find”.

He switched on the low ceiling lights as she walked through the door and the twisted iron wrought headboard gave the Queen sized bed an impressive stance. It was centred as the focus point and covered in sky blue sheets with four fluffy pillows. The built in glass sliding wardrobes also doubled as a mirror but she was sure Esosa put it in merely to reflect the light coming from his window. It had no curtains but merely two shutters, one for shade and ventilation and the other for complete black-out. Jen looked at his view of the commercial street, the street lamps shone on cyber cafes, bars and coffee joints. Down the street she could see the bus depot as well.

“I can see your whole day in my head” Jen said from the window

“Good.” Esosa said “Let’s hear it”

“You get up pretty early, stretch by the foot of the bed here” Jen pointed to the right side of the bed “kneel and pray here…”

“Pray?” Esosa asked.

In response Jen pointed to the Bible that poked out from under his pillows.

“Walk down the hall to brush your teeth, telling your brother to get up while leaning on the banister.”

“So far so good” Esosa encouraged

“Get dressed while Osaze makes breakfast and drop him off at the bus depot. You probably pick him up too on your way back from work, and then afterwards he watches TV while you read by your lamp. You each take turns getting the drinks”

“Wow sounds pretty boring”

“Sounds stable” Jen reassured

“Ok Madam detective, dinner” Esosa called from the doorway with an amused smile.He led her further down the hall and through a narrow archway, which Jen hadn’t seen as they climbed the stairs, and into an open flat space. Esosa stepped out first. It hung by the side of the house as a sort of extension to the building. Jen gave Esosa a look“Its safe” he reassured. Jen didn’t move from the archway“See” Esosa demonstrated by jumping up and down on the concrete floor, supported by steel beams. Jen summoned up the courage and walked onto it.
The balcony was a large space- almost as large as the whole lounge downstairs. Tall metal railings ran along the edges, doubling as a protective barrier and a seating area. The space was bare apart from a circular wooden table and two chairs. The white tablecloth that was draped across the table lifted in the wind and two dark blue coolers rested heavily to stop it soaring away. It was much cooler out here and Jen wished she held on to her sweater.

“This is why the roof top is so pointed” Esosa said pulling out a chair. As she sat, Esosa said “Oh the drinks. Please wait here” He rushed through the archway and Jen heard his feet on the stairs. Standing up she walked to the edge to better examine the view from all sides and saw a large plot of land with an uncompleted building and a kiln. Neighbours she thought, it’s a shame that Esosa won't have this 360 view for long but on the upside this terrace provided an even greater view of the commercial district. Jen people watched as Lagosians bought suya and grooved to the music drifting out of the joint.

“Be careful” Esosa warned as he returned with two bottles of red wine and her sweater. Sometimes Jen thought he was telepathic. Jen tugged on her sweater and sat back down as he once again pulled out her chair and laid the drinks carefully on the table.

“You have a great view. I’m jealous” Jen sulked

“Thank you” Esosa smiled “You enjoy people watching more than I do anyway”. He lifted the covers and the aroma of jollof rice wafted into the air. Handing Jen the serving spoon, he also gestured to the smaller cooler revealing thickly cut pieces of meat in a sauce garnished with farm vegetables. The carrots, peas, runner beans, red and green peppers looked so good that Jen’s tummy rumbled like it had not been fed just an hour ago. She dove in and served herself while Esosa poured the wine into their glasses. The pitcher of water that stood on the table beside the coolers was ignored and with each breeze the ice cubes and lemon pieces swirled lonely in the water. As usual the conversation came light and easy, Jen praised his food and he begged her to admit that he was a better cook than she was. They laughed a lot and after scraping her plate- no need to front- Jen and Esosa sat on a red woven mat close to the edge of the balcony to spy on unsuspecting Lagosians. Giggling like naughty teenagers they formulated stories for everyone that passed by: secret chocoholic, in love with the girl next door, planning a nuclear attack on Switzerland, hates cheese, loves cookies…They laughed so loudly that a tipsy bald man looked up at the roof and in his drunken haze invited them both to his mansion. “No thank you” they chorused as the man danced to D’banj singing the lyrics of Fall in Love to Jennifer. She sang back to him as Esosa negotiated a price on her head, they got all the way to ₦6000 when the first drops of rain started to fall.

The lightning in the distance streaked powerfully across the sky, indicating they won't be able to weather the storm and hurriedly they got up rolling the mat and packing up empty coolers and plates downstairs. True to Lagos, the downpour got heavy quickly as the heavens blessed the land with a month of rain at once. Esosa insisted Jen remain downstairs while he brought down the table and chairs. Jen stubbornly climbed up halfway before deciding she didn’t want a lecture and veered off into the bathroom.

Turning on the light she gazed around the room. The bathroom was a good size and the bathroom fixtures gleamed. The white linear pedestal basin, back to wall WC and overhead sliding mirror unit shone as the illuminated mirror brought her face into sharp focus.Jen thought she would look like crap...for lack of a better word; she had not touched up her make-up since she first put it on this morning, her sweater was two sizes larger than she was and she was sure she smelt like the traffic she was stuck in on her way home. It didn’t matter to Jen; she was coming to see Esosa after all so there was no need for fuss; another difference between tonight and her date with Kabir where she had spent hours preening. Also, despite being as quick as they could retreating from the balcony as nature took Jen still got partly drenched in the rain, so it was a complete shock when the reflection in the mirror was almost beautiful in its messiness. Her hair was damp and had turned partly wavy in its wetness, the curls bounced off her cheeks- which shone- and the strands dripped water on the tiled floor. The now soggy sweater clung to her breasts in a way Jen had never seen it do before and her lips kissed by the first rain for months looked wet and inviting. Her long ago applied rosy lip balm had sprung to life once again and Jen ran her tongue over her lower lip, causing something or the shadow of something to stir in her belly. Jen didn’t want to admit it but since the Kabir incident she had stopped viewing herself as anything but someone who worked at Holloway Grove. Yes, she got dressed but lost her self-confidence, she certainly no longer thought of herself as pretty…till now...Staring at her reflection in the bathroom in Esosa's house she felt absolutely gorgeous even with her mascara not exactly in place. Maybe it’s because its Esosa's mirror a little voice said.
Jen pushed it aside when she heard his voice at the door “You can’t hide in there forever”“Yes I can” Jen replied opening the door and smiling. Esosa pulled her out gently “Seriously with the rate this rain is going the electricity will give out soon. I want you where I can see you”“I want you where I can see you” Jen repeated in a bad imitation of his voice. He nudged her playfully as they walked downstairs turning on the light. Jen sat on one end of the sofa comfortably as he switched on the reading lamp in the room casting the shelves in spotlight; Jen and Esosa exchanged a look as the rain begins to thunder heavily on the roof- really heavily.

“What time did you planning on leaving because this looks like it might go on for a while? First rain of the season” Esosa said. Jen looks at her watch- 10.00pm- she should be leaving around now to be honest but as the thunder boomed loudly Jen didn’t see how that was going to be possible. Esosa lay on the opposite end of the sofa looking happily at her. He looked smug.

Jen calls her mom and manages through the sketchy reception to make out her warnings to stay put.“They are saying it will flood” her mom yells down the receiver“This country is never prepared for anything” her dad complains. Jen assumed she must be on speaker phone.“I am just saying I might make it home late” Jen enunciated her words“No please stay where you are. If the rain stops fine but if it doesn’t we’ll just see you in the morning” her mom said and her dad agreed. Jen hangs up and meets Esosa’s look“Okay, your parents are very liberal” he said

“My mom thinks I’m over at Meg’s” Jen answered not meeting his gaze“So you lied” Esosa said slowly

“Yes” Jen answered softly

“Interesting”

Jen throws a pillow at him, he throws it back at her, so she fires two at once, he dodges them both like a pro and pulls her foot sliding her across the couch. Screaming Jen grabs onto the arm rest with her fingernails and springboards on his abs, aiming she lunges the last throw pillow in her arsenal square into his face. Esosa takes the hit and grabbing onto her bare feet slides her even further down, laughing Jen bumps into him and Esosa tickles her till she’s out of breath. Gasping Jen takes stock of her position, her legs were pinned down with his knee and his right hand imprisoned both her palms. They were both wet and panting; Esosa’s eyes locked on her mouth and Jen thought right about now would be a good time to move away, so she did.
Esosa let her go immediately perhaps sensing her hesitation, as soon as she was released Jen started to think that maybe being in bondage would be great. Her body enjoyed the uncomfortable position it had been twisted in. She locked eyes with him not saying a word and Esosa fastened her knees in the position it had previously been in, Jen made no noises as with a gentle jerk Esosa brought her to him, his knees around her back. Jen did not uncross her arms or stop frowning; they were playing a game now; Esosa uncrossed her arms and laid her palms on his chest one after the other. Bringing his head to hers, he laid his fore-head on her hair, breathing in the scent of rain. Stylishly giving her time to refuse, Jen did not move- this was a night of possibilities right?

Give us your best shot Oyakilhome.Esosa as if hearing her thoughts bit her lower lip, Jen sighed. This was different, she thought he would be gentle but he was manhandling her instead. It felt good Jen craved the friction; his lips abused hers and continued to lay havoc as her forgotten hormones awoke with a jolt.As his mouth became rough on hers and her breathing quickened the lights went out with a pop!

Shouts of NEPA from passersby were yelled up and down the avenue and in his living room was darkness so thick that Jen could barely make out his features although her lips were still pressed to his and his nose was against her cheek .This should be awkward she thought and waited for her palms to get sweaty as she became self-conscious but instead a giggle escaped her lips, Jen tried to stall it but it grew more frantic and a second later Esosa chuckled alongside. They laughed in the darkness at the sheer silliness of the situation and Jen’s shoulders rose and fell with laughter till she felt his mouth against hers once more; she gasped his tongue slid in. Jen marvelled at the yoga dance they got into. Her brain was not completely shut off but her body had a mind of its own and it curved into his chest with her arms interlocking around his neck. Jen could hear his heart thudding away at rapid speed as if begging to be set free, his calloused palms slid under her sweater, under her shirt and up her back, her skin bucked at his touch and Jen kissed more furiously tasting wine and spices on his tongue. Now it was his turn to be surprised and her lips felt beginnings of a smile tug the corners of his mouth. It became heated, the rain poured even harder around the house, the wind rushing in from the only slightly ajar window but the lounge suddenly became very steamy. They were going to be here awhile, there was no rush and take their time ripping each other apart with enraging desire. If it would go farther than kissing and groping on the sofa Jen wasn’t sure. Maybe they weren’t ready, but for now Jen pushed herself harder against Esosa almost moulding herself to him, his lips taking from her as his hands cautiously crept up her flat stomach towards her bra.......

“Why is it so dark in here?” a voice from the doorway. Jen and Esosa bump heads as they are surprised by the interruption. They lay still for a second, panting and trying to get a bearing on their surroundings. Jen quietly untangles herself from Esosa and hurriedly readjusts her attire, patting her hair into place. Esosa takes deep breaths to calm himself down.

“My God it’s pouring outside” a voice came from directly behind them just as the front door shut and the emergency electric lamp was switched on bringing the face into focus.Osaze was home.

By S.B