Chapter Three

03

The moment he was inside me, it lasted only five minutes and then he snoozed off.

This was as great as the night could get. I check the time on my phone. It's only past one in the morning. Should I stay or text Dayo to come fetch me. I decide on the latter. I grab my phone, not needing to search for her number as she was the last to text me.

I need you to come fetch me at queens park hotel _Nurys

I slowly got out of bed, staying as quiet as I could to make sure he didn't wake up. I rush to the bathroom to clean up and then get dressed.

I can't come _Dayo

What do you mean you can't come? Dayo, stop playing. Come fetch me _Nurys

I'm not playing Nurys. I left the car at the rental cottage. I couldn't drive drunk _Dayo

So what do I do now? _Nurys

Stay until it's bright outside _Dayo

No. I will just order an uber. Send me your location _Nurys

You know how stupid you sound? It's unsafe for you to use uber at this time of the night. I will just text Basim to see if he is awake _Dayo

Don't bother him. I will be on the call with you the whole ride to your place _Nurys

She doesn't respond as fast as she was which makes me realise she was texting him.

Dayo, don't text him _Nurys

He will be there in five minutes. Make sure you are ready. _Dayo

I told you not to text him _Nurys

Why not? Is he not your friend? _Dayo

He is, but… You know why I don't want him to come _Nurys

No buts, your friend will be coming to pick you up. Whether you decide to sleep with him the same night you just slept with your ex, is up to you _Dayo

I could hear her teasing me. I groan in annoyance, deciding not to respond to her comment. I wasn't going to have sex with Basim. The only reason why I didn't want him to come fetch me was… okay, I don't have a reason, but when I found out Akeem Co. was his father's company, I wanted to bury myself alive.

Kiss father and son on the same night. Check.

I never really told him, and never planned to. I was confused in the first place why he introduced himself to me as a personal assistant at Akeem Co. when in hindsight he is basically the boss.

He has arrived _Dayo

Thanks friend _Nurys

You're very welcome _Dayo

It's the way she knew to respond to my sarcastic text with her own. I place my phone in my purse as I move towards the door. I turn to look at him. I will just send him a text message first thing when I wake up.

I spotted him in Dayo's car parked across the street. He was leaning against the boot, fiddling with a coin.

"Are you not freezing?" I ask, standing in front of him, purse up against my chest.

"Why didn't you just spend the night?" He bops his head towards the hotel.

"You didn't have to come, Basim." I move to open the car door, but it's closed. "Basim, it's cold."

"My bad," he says, nonchalantly as if he didn't lock it on purpose.

He gets into the car after I do, buckling on his seatbelt then revving the car.

"Was it that bad that you needed to run away?" He asks, his eyes not leaving the road.

"No, it was okay."

"Just okay?" He turns to look at me for a slight second before returning his attention on the road.

"It was great, Basim. I just didn't want him to think it was more than just sex." I roll my eyes. "Why are we even speaking about my sex life?" I ask him.

"Because…," he trails. "If you can speak about it with Dayo, then you should feel comfortable speaking about it with me. Is that not what friends are there for?" He teases.

"You don't speak about stuff like that with your male friends. The next thing I know, you will be calling me a slut when discussing me in front of your other guy friends."

"You are probably right," he chuckles.

"Basim," I say, not amused.

"You know I would never call you a slut," he says, seriously.

"Yeah, because you're the bigger slut," I tease.

"Okay, Nurys, are you slut-shaming me?" He asks, putting his hand against his chest in exaggeration. "I am hurt," he says and I can't help myself but to laugh.

This is what I mean by Basim and I are friends - we're comfortable and there is never awkwardness.

"You don't mind if I turn on the radio, right?" I ask, but I turn the radio anyway, not waiting for him to respond.

"You know it's not my car, right?" He asks.

"Just like you're not really a personal assistant." It was dying to come out, you can't blame me for asking, I had to or else I would have burst into a million little pieces.

"I am. Why would you even question that?"

"I know Akeem is your father."

"And?" He asks, not understanding where I was going with this.

"How can you be your father's personal assistant, it just doesn't add up."

"It's a job, Nurys. Should I be ashamed of working for my father?" He asks, already sounding annoyed.

"That's not what I meant at all."

"I thought so, you don't see me asking why you kissed my father, do you?"

"Basim…," I tried, dumbfounded by his words.

"It doesn't matter," he says.

"I never planned on telling you, I didn't know how to when I found out he is your father and after what we had done that night…," I blurted then quickly shut my mouth. We never spoke about that night and right now was not fitting for that conversation.

"It doesn't bother me," he simply says.

"Of course it doesn't, why would it? It doesn't seem odd at all that I kissed your father and then…" I stop myself again. I need to stop.

"It's only weird if you let it." He ignored my slipup, and I wasn't sure if I was relieved or disappointed - did he want to forget that night?