28. More than friends but less than lovers

I was surprised at Walter's actions. Did he expect me to ride in the same car as his long-lost love? But I assume he asked because he was not aware that I knew about Rachel and how he seemed to lose his mind every time she came around. Although I was saddened by this whole situation, I managed to give him a cold shoulder which judging by the sudden change in his tone, he did not appreciate;

"Thandie, did you not hear what I said? Get in the car!", he sounded more firm and a bit annoyed,

"Oh! Mr. Sekulu, I did not see you there, don't worry about me, I will catch a taxi, please enjoy your evening.", trying to prevent my voice from cracking. I threw a glance at the lady next to him and she did not look impressed by Walter's actions. Although she was seated, her beauty did not go unnoticed. She looked like something out of a fashion magazine cover, her silk brunette hair complemented her perfectly defined jawline beautifully. The thing that annoyed me the most was how good they looked together, their kids would probably be supermodels from birth, and I also began to understand why people overlooked me as Walter's person of interest - the man's taste was incredible. Walter seemed to have noticed me starring at his soulmate, it was like he knew what I was thinking because his tone became apologetic,

"I told you the last time, taxis hardly come to this part of the city around this time, just get in the car, please." he pleaded,

"I--", just then a taxi stood in front of me, "Mam, I am done for today, but if you don't mind I can drop you off at the next stop, there are lots of taxis there...", the superhero taxi driver said, I didn't think twice, all I know was that I needed to get away from there, "Its okay sir, that will be very helpful", I glanced back at Walter to wish him goodbye and got in the taxi before he could alter a single word. As the taxi drove away, I looked through the taxi's rear windscreen to see his car going in the opposite direction, the knot I felt in my heart earlier was now 5 times worse and I had to fight off tears.

As the driver said, I did not struggle to get a taxi at the next stop, however, the traffic was not as friendly, and by the time the second driver pulled up by my road, it was already very dark. As if my day wasn't bad enough, the asshole of a driver refused to drop me off by my gate, so I had to walk a block, which took me about 10 minutes to get to my place. I started to regret not taking Walter up on his offer, 'I mean what is the worst that could have happened if I had gotten in the car with them?' My sense of regret grew even greater when I saw a familiar car parked at my apartment gate. As I got closer, I found the owner sitting on my doorstep.

"Mr Sekulu, what are you doing here?!", My voice was mixed with anger and shock, I did not expect to see him waiting for me.

"Can't you tell?", Walter sounded a bit cold, "Why didn't you get in the car?"

"Did you come all this way to ask me that?", I walked past him to unlock the door behind him.

"Well, if you had answered your phone, I wouldn't have to come all this way, now would I?", he followed me in. 

"Oh, please come in...", I said sarcastically while going through my bag to find my phone. I was very annoyed at his ignorance, did he expect me to get in the same car as his hot ex, also why did it bother me so much? My emotions had been getting away from me lately, I found myself getting jealous and annoyed every time I caught him laughing with other women. I often wondered if it was because we hadn't had sex in 3 weeks. I looked at my phone to find 5 missed calls, "Sorry I couldn't hear the phone ring", 

"So why didn't you get in the car", he probed while taking a seat on the couch

"Your car looked full", I replied calmly trying to mask my growing anger and annoyance toward him

"What do you mean?", he replied calmly with an inch of confusion on his face and his line of questioning was starting to push past the point of irritation.

Was he really that ignorant or was he trying to piss me off, given that I was already irritated because of the stupid driver for dropping me off so far from home when I paid full price and the amount of strain I went through because of the rumors, honestly, it was not my day. I unexpectedly snapped at Walter, "What do you mean by that?!",

I could feel the warm air coming out of my nostrils as I broke everything down to him, "You wanted me to sit in the same car as your ex! worse, at the back! How dare you and what do you take me for. And now you show up as if nothing happened...after the day I had. I can't believe you!", I was starting to tremble, so I went to get a glass of water, but the glass slipped and broke. Upon hearing the shattering sound, Walter rushed to me, took me to the couch, and poured another glass of water, "I am so sorry, I did not know you already knew who she was, I assure you that nothing is happening between us. I promise one day I will tell you all about it, please trust me", he sounded surprised by the fact that I know but there was a bit of agitation hidden in his tone. I took the glass of water from his hand, downed it and I felt a bit calmer in an instant,

"That is beside the point Walter! I understand that a lot is happening at home and although I do not get whatever this is with your ex-girlfriend, at least I thought you would be the one to tell me, dude, you know everything there is bout my exes, Walter seriously I-", I sighed out of frustration, does he really not get it? or was I being unreasonable right now? "I understand that we are not exclusive but by now, I thought we would have developed some form of friendship and you can confidently confide in me", I felt a tear rolling down my left cheek, 'am I crying? why am I crying? stop crying!', I tried getting ahold of myself.

"Oh Thandie, my sweet Thandie,", he pulled me into his arms and his expression didn't seem phased by my tears, instead he looked touched, "Listen, I know you are trying...I could see your efforts in trying to be there for me, but there are some things I cannot tell you at this stage, not because you are not my girlfriend, but because I am figuring things out myself..."

I sniffled and calmly said, "But that is the point, you don't have to do that alone...", but I understood what he meant because I once said something relatively similar when he was trying to get with me, "But I understand...".

Lashing out at Walter put me in a better mood, I said something I had buried at the back of my mind for weeks now, however, seeing how well that went, I decided to keep going with the same momentum and address something else that has been bothering me. I pulled out of his chest to sit up straight, "Please don't ever invite me to sit in the same car as your ex, actually, any woman who is not related to you! especially ask me to sit at the back, I don't want none of that.",

He chuckled after hearing that, "Oh...Ms. Thandie Lohan, are you perhaps jealous?", he looked amused, and for the first time in three weeks, I saw a glimpse of the Walter I miss, his eyes were shining again. 

"Yes!" I impulsively replied. Walter looked as shocked as I was.

What the hell did I just say? Did I just admit to being jealous?