49. Old Spark or New Flame?

As the dinner went on, I felt a bit more uneasy. What Bonga said was still ringing in my head, 'Decisiveness, responsibilities', it took me back to my interaction with Walter.

I decided to sit outside on the steps in the patio to enjoy the cold breeze a bit more, away from the chattery. I found myself sighing and exhaling harder the more I thought about all the mistakes I made with Walter. At the beginning, I was the one who didn't want to get serious, but at the end, I was the one who caught feelings and expected our nature of relationship to change to accomodate my sudden change in heart, 'How selfish of me?' I thought "But no, he still fucked up more than me." I countered my own thoughts. However, I kept recklessly sighing in regret while buried deep in my thoughts, 'We both could have done a lot of things differently'.

"Did I say something wrong?", Bonga suddenly asked from behind startling me and I snapped,

"Damn! Dude, are you trying to kill me? Why didn't you make any sound?",

"Oh, Sorry....I didn't mean to scare you, just that I noticed you have been quiet since my mini speech about relationships and-"

Bonga looked distressed and worried and so I hurriedly assured him, "No, no...no..there was nothing wrong about what you said...eveything you said made sense",

Upon hearing me say that his face lightened up, he exhaled and said, "I am so glad, I really thought...anyway, I am glad. Do you mind if I sit with you?", He asked pointing at the space next to me,I nodded giving him the greenlight. He smiled and handed me a light blanket he had on his hands, "Your mom said I must give you this if you agreed to let me sit with you, as a reward...",

I gritted my teeth, "Mother...", I turned around to the glass door to meet her gaze, she gave me a smile and two thumbs up then dissapeared just like she appeared, I sighed just thinking about the look on her face, 'Mother..',

He chuckled, "Don't be angry, I know she means well, she's quite cute honestly. Besides, I get this a lot. I seem to be every mother's favorite",

I raised my eye brows in surprise, "Oh really?? So you just go around randomly joining people for dinner?",

"No, not even", he laughed, "Sometimes I join them for breakfast",

I didn't expect his response, so I let out a laughed which gave Bonga a satisfied look, "I am glad I made you smile", he said

I giggled, "Sorry?",

"Just that I felt terrible thinking I may have put you in a blue mood", he said with a serious look and his tone laced with guilt.

I smiled, "No man, is not like that...", I assured him,

He looked at me, "Okay, I am really happy to hear that. Anyway, you seem to have a lot on your mind, care to talk about it?", his face was covered in anticipation,

"No..is nothing, you tell me more about these mothers inviting you to their homes". I tried to change the subject, the last thing I wanted to talk about was Walter.

Bonga paused for a while as if to read my face, then began telling me stories of how he had been approached by old women asking him to marry their daughters. I couldn't help but laugh at his stories, his faces and the impersonations of the women had me rolling on the floor. For a second I forgot about all my problems,

"Thandie, please tell me what these ladies see in me?", he asked in frustration which made me laugh even more, "Must be the dimples", I said still dying of laughter

He touched his cheeks and sighed, "Yeah, I knew these would get me in trouble someday...",

I chuckled, "I think they always got you in trouble, just that in high school you were too busy to notice",

His mood suddenly dampen,"Yeah, I was too focused on being the best back then, I missed out on a lot of things,"

Caught by surprise, I asked, "Oh? Like what?"

"You." He said with a stern look

I coughed at his sudden response, "Sorry?",

Bonga softened his tone, "Yeah, you heard me. You. I missed out on going out with you". His eyes started counting the stars in the sky, "When you confessed-"

I suddenly felt embarrased, that was one of the memories I wanted to keep burried somewhere in my mind, "Bonga, please don't remind me, that was the most embarrass-",

Bonga cut me off, "It was the coolest thing ever! I have had quite a few confessions, but none of them were like yours"

I cringed, "Dude, how can they? The whole thing was not normal."

He smiled awkwardly, "No..not like that. Thing is I liked you too back then but, dating was not in the cards for me",

I rolled my eyes, "Oh please Bonga, don't bullshit me like that, remember Pretty?"

"Pretty was not my girlfriend", he said calmly

I gave him a judgmental look, "Oh, so you guys just enjoyed holding hands and occasionally hooking up in the park", my tone was accompanied by sarcasm

Bonga suddenly wore a puzzled face, "What are you talking about?"

"Pretty told us about her boyfriend", I said nonchalantly, dismissing his puzzled face

"Did she say it was me?", he asked squinting his eyes,

I widened my eyes, "No we all just assumed it was you because you were always together",

"Y'all are some sick people. Is that why you stopped talking to me?", his question had a hint of sadness

"Well...no, so you and Pretty were?"

"We are cousins.", His response left me feeling stupid and embarrassed, "Oh! We are really sick people". I said in an apologetic tone

Bonga smirked,"Yeah, Pretty got married last month to Randy...Remember Randy?!"

"Noo! No ways! Randy the stunter?", Randy was the trouble maker of our high school, while Pretty was a teacher's pet, they were complete opposites.

"Yes.." Bonga started telling me about how they got to date, which was even more funnier than his stories with people's moms.

Hanging out with Bonga turned out to be more refreshing and nostalgic than I expected, it honestly put me in a better mood. He really had a way with story telling.

That was until he asked, "..so what have you been upto?", suddenly snapping me back to my sad broken reality

"Oh..me? Uhm, I work for a publishing company", I stuttered

"That's nice, you loving it?", he asked

I smiled politely, "Yeah very..."

His line of questions took a different direction, "Hmm, and are you seeing anyone?", leaving me nervous.

I suddenly went blank, "Uhm..."

Seeing the blank look on my face, he made his intentions clearer, "Okay, here is the thing, I am really interested in dating you. When your mother told me you were not seeing anyone, I took it as a second chance for me to right my mistake...uhm, so if you don't mind...", Bonga took out his phone and played the song I played for him back in high school, and quoted the same lines I quoted during my confession.

I was puzzled by the sudden development, I went from being speechless to having no thoughts at all, just overwhelmed with shock. He confessed the same way I confessed to him but ended his confession with, "So...one date? Please."which was a line I didn't have in my confession.