If I Were A Boy Chapter 19

Read Chapter 18 here.

Alexa woke up the next morning and got ready for work. She walked to the table near the front door and picked up the car key. When she stepped outside and laid eyes on the car, she stopped herself. She remembered the row she had had with Paul and her bluff for him to come back for the car. She sighed and walked back into the house. She dropped the key back in the drawer and left the house.

She was checking out news updates on her phone when a message came from Theo.

How I wish I could turn back the hands of time

And spare you the moments I made you feel worse

Though my passion may be brewing hotter and faster

I have no right to fan your flames to match mine

So I promise to wait patiently as you go on your pace

And whenever ready, know that I’ll be there

Even if that never happens, I’ll forever treasure your friendship

Cause I’d rather be a friend than a stranger

I’ll hold you close to my heart for ever and a day

Your friend, Theo.

Alexa chuckled and smiled upon reading his text. A voice note came through.

“I’m sorry for being a jerk yesterday. I realized that when I said the magic three words, you couldn’t say them back and that’s okay. I should have known better than to push you. From now on, I promise to drop all expectations and just be a good, fun-to-hang-out-with friend and trust me, that’s more than enough. I’m sorry if I let greed get the better part of me. Just don’t shut me out.  Let me be your bestie number two. What do you say? I’ll check back in 24 hours. Take care, Lexa.”

She closed the chat and stared out the window.

*

Alexa was eating her lunch at work when her phone beeped. She swiped the screen and Esme’s face appeared on the screen.

“Hi cuz!”

“Hey, what’s up?”
“Just checking in. Let me guess, lunch time?”

“Yep. How do you know?”
“Because your hunger clock runs like GMT. What are you having?”

Alexa held up a slice of fried yam. Esme shook her head. Alexa chuckled.

“Why did I even ask? I wonder how you’ll survive if yams were to go scarce.”

“There’s always potatoes. But yeah, I’d be miserable. Miss you, girl.”
“Miss you too. Why not hang out after work today? Got plans?”
“Not really. Go to the cinema?”
“Nah, I was thinking just chatting over pizza and Coke on rocks.”
“Sounds good to me. Gonna call Louie or will it be a girls’ night?”
“Girls. So will you be a darling and come and pick me up from work?”
“Um…didn’t bring the car to work today.”
“Why? Giving you problems already?”
“Oh nah, had a scuffle with Paul yesterday and I told him to come for his car.”
“Whoa…that bad? What happened? No, wait; you’ll spill over pizza. But I really love the car. The seats are paradise,” Esme said.

“I know. But I know better to give it away now than to sell my soul to the devil.”
“Wow, calling him names already.”
“It’s always better to keep things in perspective.”
“Alright; let me leave you to finish off your lunch. Will let you know when I close from work.”
“Sure. Take care, Esme.”
“You too, dear.”
The call ended.

*

Paul went over to the Baiden’s residence after work after Alexa’s father had called him.

“You’re welcome,” Alice said warmly after he had sat down.

“Thank you. Is Alexa home yet?”
“No. I thought it wise that we talk alone first. Let me get my husband for you.”

Solace served Paul with a glass of water. A few minutes later, Alexa’s parents came in.

“Thank you for coming, Paul,” Mr. Baiden said as they sat down.

“My pleasure, sir.”
“So there seems to be some misunderstanding between you and my daughter and I hope we can clear that up.”
“I’ll admit that my temper was quite out of control when I called her. But I didn’t appreciate her tone of voice either,” Paul said.

“Fair enough. Alexa is a free-spirited lady and she hates to be told what to do. God knows we almost lost her because of that so now we’ve agreed to come to a compromise. I understand why you’re upset with the photos but as her father, I’ll ask you not to worry your head about that. We know the gentleman quite well. They have been friends since she was young.”
“Oh really?” Paul asked, shocked by the revelation.

“Oh yes, Louie has been a good friend of Alexa’s since her school days. More like a big brother to her. Her older sister is already married and stays abroad. Her younger brother studies abroad as well so Louie has been all she’s had. There’s nothing to worry about,” Alice said.

“And what’s their relationship like now? Just friends or something more?” Paul asked suspiciously. He caught the quick glance the parents exchanged.

“To be honest with you, there were rough patches along the way as expected of all relationships but they have come out stronger. They are fond of each other and have each other’s backs but Louie is in a relationship with another woman as far as I know,” Mr. Baiden said.

“And you’re sure he won’t be a problem if I pursue your daughter romantically?”
“Not at all. It has never been a problem for Alexa whenever he pursued other ladies. So we don’t see why it should this time around,” Alice said with a thin smile.

“I see. Then I guess I owe Alexa an apology since I mentioned the car and all that. She told me to come for the car. I guess that’s why she didn’t take it this morning. Do you think she’ll be back anytime soon or should I call her later?” Paul asked.

“Let me find out,” Alice said and picked up her phone. She called Alexa’s number.

“Hi mum.”
“Yes, honey. Are you on your way home?”
“No. Hanging out with Esme. What’s up?”
“Paul is here and would like to talk to you.”
“About his car? The key is in the drawer; he can pick it up.”
“Not about that. Maybe you two can agree to meet up and talk?”

“Mum, please it’s quite loud in here. Let’s talk when I get home, okay?”
“Sure,” Alice said with a sigh. “Take care of yourself and my regards to Esme.”
“Sure, bye.” The call ended.

“Sorry; she’s with her cousin right now. Those two are inseparable.”
“Yes and she was at the party with them as well so you see, nothing to worry about.”
“Right. Okay, I’ll be on my way now. Thanks for clearing this up for me, sir. Really appreciate you taking the time,” Paul said, on his feet. He shook hands with Mr. Baiden.

“Always have time for family.”
“Thanks for your hospitality, ma’am.”
“Always welcome. How about you come for dinner one of these days? We can all sit down, eat and chat like a family. Nothing smooths out issues like a good meal.”
“Sounds great. I’ll check my schedule and let you know. Thank you.”

*

“Guess who’s home?” Alexa asked as she ended the call.

“Paul? He really went to take back his car? Wow, that guy doesn’t waste time.”
“Mum said it wasn’t about the car so I don’t know. I’m so glad I dodged this bullet. They would have compelled me to agree to something to make Paul comfortable. I’m not giving up on my friendship with Louie.”

“Uh huh,” Esme stopped abruptly, about to slurp her smoothie from the straw when someone bumped into her from behind. She turned.

“Hey, watch where you’re going.”
“Excuse me? You rather watch where you’re going. You bumped into me.”
“Perhaps if you weren’t strolling like you were in your bedroom, I wouldn’t have bumped into you.”
“What the heck?”
“Let it go, Esme. Some people are not worth wasting your breath on.”
“Excuse me? Who do you think you are?” Theophylline said. Alexa turned to look at her.

“I’m not in the mood to exchange words with you, okay? If you refuse to apologize for obviously being in the wrong, then I’ve no words for you.”
“Whatever. Please let’s go,” Theophylline said to another girl with her. They walked past Alexa and Esme.

“Can’t believe all these people call themselves city girls,” Esme said scornfully.

“What did you say?” Theophylline said, turning to face them. Alexa and Esme stopped.

“Girl, don’t you have anything productive to do with your time than try to pick up a fight?” Alexa said.

“Obviously not; if you want to fight, girl, I’m down,” Esme said, handing out her cup for Alexa to hold.

“No one is fighting. Let’s go,” Alexa said, pulling Esme along with her.

“She wanted some action. I would have unleashed the Lagosian side of me.”

“Yeah, I know and I didn’t want us trending on Twitter for all the wrong reasons. Come on.”

Esme opened the door to her apartment and they walked in.

“Been a while since I’ve been here,” Alexa said, plopping herself down on the sofa. She put the 1 liter of Coke down. She noticed a jacket on the armrest. She took it.

“Whose is this?” She asked, picking it up. She caught a whiff of the fragrance.

“Is this Louie’s?”

Esme put down the pizza box. “Yeah, going to get us glasses.”

Esme returned with the glasses with ice cubes in them. She sat down and poured the Coke into them. She handed Alexa’s glass to her. Alexa was staring at her, with no intent of taking the glass.

“What?”
“The jacket?”
“What about it?”
“Is it Louie’s?”
“I said yes. Now, take it.”
Alexa took the glass and put it down.

“I didn’t know Louie has been coming here.”
“I didn’t know he needed your permission to.”
“Listen Esme, I know Louie. We’ve been friends since forever. I don’t mean that I don’t want to share him; there’s a reason why I’m skeptical about you two meeting behind my back. He’s a sweet guy and for the average girl, it’s very easy to get the lines blurred. You fall for him at your peril.”
“Speaking from experience?” Esme asked and bit into a slice of pizza.

Alexa sighed. “Yes, I had a crush on him many years ago and it was terrible. You know why, because I was the only one hurting from a heartbreak and he was fine because technically, we weren’t dating! I don’t want the same thing to happen to you. He might look all interested but he may not be ready for a commitment.”
“Okay, that was you years ago but I’m a big girl, Lexa. I know how to handle guys like Louie.”

“You sure? You love hard, Esme.”

“That’s not a weakness, Lex.”
“Perhaps. Just be careful. If you two are just hanging out, then fine. But the moment you realize your feelings are involved, have a sit down with him. If he is in the same boat, cool; if not, let go. Don’t think you can love him enough to love you back.”
“Okay. Enough with the Louie 101 lectures. Now tell me about your tiff with Paul.”

*

When Alexa left Esme’s apartment, she called Louie.

“Hey love.”
“How deep are things between you and my cousin?”
“Who, Esme?”
“Do you know any other cousin of mine that you get to hang out with?”
“Okay, you sound on edge. What is it?”
“Saw your jacket at Esme’s and when I asked about it, she got all defensive. You said there was nothing going on.”
“There is nothing going on. I dropped her off sometime and she asked me in. We had a drink or two…”
“And then? You hooked up?”
“Oh no. Hey, she kissed me, alright? But I had to stop her and leave because I know how messy it would get for us.”
“I thought you said you were on the wait.”
“I am but I’m a dude, okay. With needs. If a girl feels generous, who am I to…”
“Stop, Louie. Don’t give me that crap, okay? My cousin isn’t like any other girl you can use and spit out like a mouthwash.”
“Are you sure? Because that’s not the vibe she gives me.”
“Screw you, Louie,” she said and ended the call.  “Jerk.”

*

Alexa checked her phone again. Uber six minutes away. She sighed. Her phone rang.

“Yeah.”
“Hi Alexa.”
“Hi. Got your car back?”
“No.”
“Didn’t find the key? I showed my mum where I put it.”
“I’ve no intention of taking back the car, Lexa.”
“I see. Then it’s an investment wasted because there will be no return on it.”

“Where are you?”
“Waiting for my Uber so I need to get off this call if the driver is going to reach me.”
“Where are you? I could come and get you so we can talk.”
“At this time? It’s late and I’m tired.”
“Please. Just ten minutes. Where are you?”
Alexa sighed and told him.
“Good. Will be there in the next five minutes.”
“My Uber would be here by then.”
“Cancel.”
“I’d owe a penalty.”
“Geez, Lexa. You own a car, remember? See you in five,” he said and ended the call.

Paul rolled down the window when he stopped the car.

“Gosh, is that you? You look cute with short hair.”
“Thank you,” Alexa said and opened the door. She sat inside and closed the door.

“How was your day without a car?”
“Tiring. How can I help you, Paul?”
“Look, I’m sorry. I was pissed and I shouldn’t have spoken to you like that. Also your parents assured me the dude is an old friend of yours so no headache there. I know I’ve no rights over you just because I gave you a car. It must have escaped me in that heated moment. Can we start over?”
“With another car?”
Paul chuckled. Alexa offered him her hand. He took it.

“I’m Alexa.”
“Nice to meet you, Alexa. I’m Paul.”
“May I take you home?”
“Yes please,” she said, leaning back into her seat.

Alexa watched Paul as he drove. He seemed more matured than Louie and Theo for sure. Less drama on this camp than the others. Now that she knew Louie was up to no good for the nth time, it was about time she jumped ship. Which better one than one who seemed capable to take care of her?

He turned and caught her staring at him.  “What?”
“Nothing.”

He pulled the car to a halt.

“Thanks for the ride. Goodnight, Paul.”

“Goodnight. Lexa.” He kissed her cheek. She bit down on her lip. She was tempted to kiss him but she opened the door.

“Get home safely.”
“Will text you when I do.” She waved and watched him drive off.

Maybe her parents were not wrong after all.

(c) Josephine Amoako 2019

Read Chapter 20 here.