After the storm Read Free

clouds. He may not even
call again. But she could not stop the
warm, fuzzy thoughts flitting through her mind.
    She must
have dozed off because the next thing she felt was Tola tapping her
gently on her foot.
    "Wake
up, sleeping beauty," her cousin said, tugging the duvet away from
her. "How on earth are you still going to be able to sleep
tonight?"
    Yemi
smiled sleepily as she stretched herself on the bed. "Wow, I feel
so refreshed!"
    "How did
the shopping go?"
    "Let me
show you." Yemi stretched herself again before getting out of the
bed and reaching for the shopping bags.
    "Cool
choices!" Tola said as she inspected the clothes. "But then you've
always had an eye for good stuff." Her eyes caught a particular
top. "Whoa! Look at that!" She held it up against her body, and her
eyes widened as she saw the price tag. "No way! The price can't be
that low!"
    Yemi
smirked. "Seventy percent discount, my girl. I snatched it up
immediately; it was the only one left."
    "It's
gorgeous! You're going to blow everyone away when you go back to
uni."
    Yemi put
the shopping bags away and then lay back on the bed. "I met someone
today."
    Tola
jumped on the bed beside her. "Hey, what have you been up to,
girl?"
    "Mind my
leg, will you?" Yemi shifted away from Tola and then sat up in bed.
She failed miserably in trying to keep the smile off her face as
she recounted her afternoon to Tola.
    Tola
eyed her. "I can see you like him."
    Yemi
smiled coyly. "Not really sure…"
    Tola
swatted at her playfully. "Don't deceive yourself. When is he going
to call?"
    "He may
not even call again." She pouted, "He called me a little
girl!"
    "But he
spent the whole afternoon with you. That's got to mean something;
he is definitely going to call."
    "That's
up to him, but I'm certainly not going to call him."
    "Loosen
up, girl! What have you got to lose?"
    Her
heart to a handsome stranger on a business trip? She didn't like
the picture that came up in her mind. Maybe it would be just as
well if Akeem didn't call again. She didn't need any man messing
with her emotions.
    ∞∞∞
    Yemi and
Tola watched a movie after dinner that evening and, much later,
they trudged upstairs to the bedroom they shared. Tola's parents
had already retired to bed, and the girls were the only ones
awake in the house.
    As they
settled into bed, Yemi's phone rang. She fished her handset out of
her bag, and her eyes widened as she saw Akeem's number. Tola's
eyes gleamed, catching on to who it was. She smiled and inched
closer to Yemi. Yemi put a finger across her lips, motioning her
not to speak.
    "Hello,
Akeem," Yemi said, answering the call. "Aren't old men supposed to
be in bed by now?"
    He
chuckled. "Little girls too. It's way past your
bedtime."
    "I'm
already in bed." She settled herself more comfortably against the
pillows. "What have you been up to?"
    "Thinking of you, hoping you were not just a daydream. I had
to call you to make sure."
    Yemi
laughed. "I can assure you that I'm very much flesh and
blood."
    Akeem
pretended to exhale deeply. "I feel very relieved to hear that. So
is our date on for tomorrow?"
    Yemi
paused before answering, "I believe so."
    "Great.
I'll definitely sleep better now that I know I'll be seeing you
tomorrow."
    "Do you
always call ladies this late at night?" She smiled as she saw Tola
inching closer still, trying to hear Akeem's voice through the
phone.
    "Only
beautiful ones who keep flitting around in my mind." Yemi could
hear the smile in his voice. "What are you doing during the day
tomorrow?"
    "Not
going anywhere. Just going to laze around with my cousin, I
guess."
    "I wish
I could spend the whole day with you," he said softly.
    Yemi
felt her heart flutter at his tone. "Well, that's obviously
not going to happen."
    They
talked for a few more minutes and then Yemi glanced at Tola, who
had given up trying to follow the conversation and was lying on her
back on the bed. "I've got to go now, Akeem."
    "Do
you?" He sounded as if he didn't want to end the