My Perfect Stranger (Part 2)

I couldn't move. How could I, when I was staring into the most beautiful pair of eyes I had ever seen?

People who know me know that I am at least  three things when it comes to the opposite sex: a brain girl, eyes girl, and abs girl.
Words will not do me justice to accurately describe how beautiful my stranger's eyes were, but I will try.

He had large eye balls and I was enraptured by the light golden specks that colored his pupils. His eyes were unusual. Common but not common big brown eyes. There was a sense of openness in his eyes. But they were also enigmatic. Like there were several layers of secret buried in them.

I stared and stared. I couldn't get enough.

I felt like I was drowning in his eyes. I was certain they were looking into my soul. Dangerously deadly beautiful eyes.

Searching. Prodding.

I can't recollect how long I stood staring into my perfect stranger's eyes. 10 seconds? 1 minute? 10 minutes? Who cared about time anyways?

A blare from his car horn brought me out of my reverie.

''Well? Are you going to come in or what? You are drenched'', he said.

Drenched? Me? How?

I finally looked away from him and realized the rain had increased in intensity and I was wet. I didn't have to argue with my over sabi mind on the wisdom of getting into a car with a stranger, regardless of how perfect he is, while soaking wet. That ship had long sailed.

I opened the door and entered the car.

I am no expert on automobiles but one thing I noticed immediately  was that the interior of the car was as sleekly masculine as it's driver. And it smelled lovely too.

'The car or the man?' My two - faced,  double dealing, fickle, absolutely perfidious mind mocked.

I ignored it. We would sort ourselves out later. For now, I was fighting a battle of deep concentration.

I knew my stranger was tall. I had noticed that the first time I ever saw him. It's not easy to tone down more than 6ft of manliness.

However,  within such close quarters, he had a dominating presence. Presence. Such an easy thing to identify.  One either has it or not. My stranger had it in quantum supply.

His tall, erect posture behind the wheels displayed healthy dose of self-confidence.

The car suddenly seemed too small. Almost claustrophobic. I had never been in such a situation before where I felt so out of control. I was the control maniac dammit!

But no. This was different. This was Mills and Boon, Harlequin and Jackie Collins different.  This was stuff romance novels were made off. I had read so many of them that it was easy for me to identify what was going on.

Attraction. Sizzling, cackling,  breathtaking, energy sapping attraction.

I felt it all the way to my toes. But I fought it. I fought it with my mind and spirit. It wasn't going to win. Being in charge was my forte. I  had to take back the control I momentarily lost.

I took a deep breath and broke the silence that was so thick it could be cut with a machete.

''Thank you so much. I totally appreciate this'', I said.

His mouth twitched and I was one hundred percent certain he was fighting a smile.

''The pleasure is all mine'', he said.

He kick started the car and a loud beeping noise permeated the car. It seemed to come from his dashboard.

''Please wear your seat belt'', he said softly.

"Oh, I'm sorry." I replied.

I couldn't explain it  but for some reason, I couldn't buckle the seat belt. I started fidgeting with it. I got annoyed but refused to show it. The seat belt was a true reflection of my mind since I got into my stranger's car.

Unfocused. Shambles. Utter disarray.

"Here, let me"...

Before I knew what was happening, he leaned over to help buckle my seat belt. Our skins touched. Warm dry skin against cold wet one.

Damnnnn.

I sucked in my breath. It was instinctive. Like breathing,  I had nothing to do with it.

I perceived a whiff of his cologne. It was sexy as a hell but in a laid back way. It didn't scream, 'I'm here' , like some cheap ones.  Again, it reeked of class. That's the thing about class. It isn't loud. It doesn't have to say, 'notice me'. But you do anyway. Because it's just class.

Even though I knew it took him less than 5 seconds to buckle my seat belt, I felt like forever. If he noticed my reaction to him, he didn't comment on it.

"There. I'm sorry, the seat belt is a bit faulty. I haven't exactly had time to take it to a mechanic", he said.

"It's okay. Thank you."

Wait a minute. Was that my voice? That tiny thing that hovered somewhere between a squeak and a wheeze. Where did my strong, confident voice go? This was becoming ridiculous!

'No, you are being ridiculous. Leave the voice alone. You are a human being not a stone. I know you like to pretend you don't have emotions, but baby girl, you do. So stop being ridiculous and thank your stars that you are alive and have feelings!', my annoying mind retorted.

What? My own mind was berating me? What insolence. How dare it/she/whatever pronoun mind is! I wish I could give it/she/whatever a hard knock to restore it to its default setting of silence. But that would be ridiculous, wouldn't it? Who knocks the mind?

"So where is her majesty going to?" Mr Perfect Stranger said.

Her majesty? Ngwanu.

"Just drop me off at the junction". Then I added, "I will get a cab home. '

He turned to me. ''In this weather? This rain is crazy. You are drenched already. You want to catch a chill? I will drop you at home. I only need to know where home is. Where do you stay?''

The way he spoke clearly showed he wasn't going to take no for an answer. It was pointless arguing.

"Gwarinpa."

He put the car into gear and drove off. His driving was meticulous and neat. Just like everything else about him. I wasn't sure if it was due to the rain that had increased in its intensity or a ploy to delay the journey for as long as he could, but for some reason, his driving was slow and calculated.

I stared out of the window. It was becoming too dark to see. The flashlights from other vehicles were blinding. Some cars sped by like  they were driven by F1 professionals. I couldn't understand how any sane person could be speeding in the rain. I stole a glance at Mr Stranger and thanked God he was driving slowly. I laid my head on the car head rest and closed my eyes.

"What's your name?"

That voice again. Clear. Calm. Intelligent. Deep, smooth baritone. I tried to imagine how he would sound if he was excited or angry.

"Oge." The lie rolled off my tongue. I have adopted the name as a pseudonym. I would have used something more sophisticated but I wanted something safe. A name I could easily remember.

"Oge." My Stranger tried out the name. I couldn't tell if he suspected it to be a lie. "So, where is Oge from?" He continued.

"East. Abia precisely." I wanted to keep the lie as close to home as possible.

He nodded and said nothing. I waited. And waited. But he said nothing. The hot head of anger reared up inside me. Wasn't he going to tell me his name? I told him mine, didn't I?

"Your name is not Oge", my mind taunted.

Did that matter? He had an advantage of a name. I had nothing. Nada. Zilch.

"So, you are not going to tell me your own name?" I asked.

"You haven't asked", he replied.

What? I didn't hear him right.

"When someone tells you their name, isn't it common curtsy to tell them yours?" I countered.

"Curtsy is also asking for something if you want it. I wanted to know your name, so I asked. Because I was genuinely interested. If you are interested in knowing my name, you have to ask me, and nicely too, sweetheart".

What??? He wanted me to ask him, 'and nicely too'? Mtcheew.  He could keep his name for all I cared. Two could play the game.

But two couldn't. He knew my name. Okay. Not my name in the real sense of it but at least, he had something. I breathed deeply and gulped down my pride.

"Okay stranger. You win. Would your highness be kind enough to let his humble servant know his name? Please?" I made sure I injected at least five vials of sarcasm into the question.

I didn't expect his reaction. He laughed.

His laughter could be likened to butterflies escaping from the pit of his stomach. His laughter seemed like the sun had somehow toppled down from the sky and made a home right there in his heart. His laughter was contagious. I found myself smiling.

"You are a sassy one, aren't you?" He asked. " My name is Richard. Friends call me Richy".

"Nice to meet you Richard." I didn't call him Richy. I didn't think of him as a friend. Yet. I also didn't extend my hand for a handshake. I didn't believe in tempting myself.

"It's an honour to finally meet you, your majesty." He replied. "Well, we are in Gwarinpa now", he continued. "Where's your place?"

Kai. So soon?

I reeled out the direction to my house. In less than 10 minutes, he stopped the car at the gate and killed the engine.

"This is quite a big house". I knew what he was not saying. Or asking. I decided to humor him.

"I live with my sister and her family", I said.

"Oh, really?" He asked. "It's okay. Rent in this town is something else."

He paused before continuing,  "So Oge, here's the thing. I like you. A lot. There's something about you that pulls at me. And this short minutes with you have confirmed that. I don't want this night to end."

It doesn't have to end.

No! That wasn't me. It was my mind, I swear.

"Can I have your number, Oge?"

Usually, this was the part where I reeled out fake number to balance the false name. But with Richard, my stranger, I couldn't do that. I didn't even want to do that.

"Okay." Damn that tiny voice.

He gave me his phone and I typed in my number. And then, he leaned in. Slowly. He was aiming for my lips but I quickly turned my head. The kiss landed on my left cheek.

Chisos!

I turned stunned eyes to look at him. As if to ask why.

"Good night your majesty", an amused Richard said.

I couldn't find my voice. I practically scrambled out of the car. 
Thankfully, the gate was open. I ran into the house and shut the gate.


(To be continued...)








(To be continued...)