THEY CALL IT 'DADDY ISSUES'- CHAPTER 5

   “Who is the newest girlfriend in the room?!” Gloria didn’t even wait for me to open my eyes before she dropped her weight on my bed. Her voice caused both Princess and I to wake up abruptly. 

“Ah ah, Gloria. I know you are happy for her, but it’s 6 a.m. You can’t be making noise like this. I’m sure you have not even prayed” Princess said, frowning at the still grinning Gloria.  Yes, George and I were officially boyfriend and girlfriend, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t sleep. The label made me nervous. I liked him a lot, but I wasn’t sure how to act around him now. My phone beeped, and the message icon appeared on my screen. I opened the message app and read ‘Good morning, beautiful. Hope you slept well?’

“She’s blushing” Princess said, giggling. She was now fully awake, sitting on her bed on a wooden single bed frame similar to mine and Gloria’s. 

I replied to his message ‘Yeah, I did. Did you?’ I looked up from my phone to see Gloria staring at the message.

“He’s your first?” She asked, now looking at my face. I nodded shyly. They both chorused “aww” at the same time.

“He seems like a really sweet guy, but just know your girls are always here if you need any…” Gloria said, taking a fighting stance, but was interrupted by Princess.

“Gloria, not now. She hasn’t even seen him yet. The last time she saw him, he was just a friend” 

After a while of just sitting and chatting, we finally got ready for our 9 a.m. We got to the lecture room by 8:30 a.m and settled in the fifth row. We had HIS 201 that morning, the course described the world’s development and its relations with Nigerian communities. We had two other courses, and we were done for the day. George and I kept chatting between classes. We headed to our hostel, and I found him outside the hostel with a bunch of lilies and a gift bag in his hand. Princess and Gloria greeted him while stealing glances and winking at me. Soon, they left us alone. He closed the distance between us, his hand found my waist, and my body stiffened a bit. He looked at my cheeks, but before he planted a kiss, I moved my face away. I noticed his eyes seemed sad for a few seconds, but I looked back, and the shine had returned. I internally scolded myself.

“My love, I got you flowers and chocolates” He said, handing them to me with a smile plastered on his face. I collected them and hugged him, trying to compensate for the awkwardness earlier. “I’m sorry” I said in a low tone. He just held my hand, rubbing circles on the back of my palm. We headed for dinner in our Uber ride. We were both in the back seats. I reached out to hold his hands, looking at his face. I wasn’t sure if he had forgiven me or not.

“Babe, I get it. With time, we’ll get used to each other. Just relax” He was looking ahead, then he turned and looked at me. His eyes found mine, I noticed the softness in them. “Tell me about your day” He said with the same softness in his voice. I didn’t have much to say, but I searched my brain for any random information that would seem interesting to him. We soon arrived at our location, a new Chinese restaurant that had just opened. We both tried their seafood fried rice and loved it. 

“We’ll definitely come back again” He said, putting the shrimp in his mouth. I just nodded and giggled. I noticed him staring at me, so I just looked at my food, hiding the smile on my face.

“You’re so beautiful. Your parents created a masterpiece” 

“Thank you” I replied, still looking at my food, which I was now eating slowly. I finally looked up from my food to steal glances at him, only to realise that he didn’t stop looking at me.

“I’m sure your dad is like ‘Oh, focus on your books, don’t follow guys’ and all of that. He shouldn’t worry, I wouldn’t want his baby to fail” As he spoke, I tried not to cry and just kept a smile on my face. If only he knew my father wouldn’t bat an eyelid if there was ever a missing poster with my face on it, he would even be elated. I noticed his expression grew serious as he stretched his hand and held mine.

“Babe, I know I may not know a lot about what you're studying, but just know if you need help or anything, I’ll be happy to help, even if I have to do some research.” 

“Thank you, Babe.” I replied, his smile grew broad, it almost reached his eyes. “I would also love to help with whatever you tech people do”. 

We left the restaurant, and our Uber drove us to my hostel. While saying goodbye, he pecked my cheek, and this time, I didn’t move my face. His eyes lingered on my cheeks, then moved to my lips. “Can I kiss you?” He asked, and I nodded shyly. He planted a slow, soft kiss on my lips. My first boyfriend ever just gave me my first kiss ever, and I liked it. I finally left the car and walked upstairs to my room, only to find my besties behind the door. They asked for details of everything, and I just told them about the kiss instead because I knew that was the only detail they needed to hear. 

“I don’t know what to do with these flowers” I said, holding onto the bunch of lilies that smelled so good.

“Keep them in a vase, just Google how to take care of them. Ah, Daniella, start getting used to receiving flowers because your man looks like he’ll be bringing lots of them” Princess said.

‘My man’ if only she knew how giddy I was inside just hearing her say it. My phone beeped, and I opened the message from him.

‘Just got home. Thank you for today, D. I love you. XOXO’

‘I love you too, George’