Fragile

She could hear his heart beating softly as she laid her head on his chest

They had not seen each other for several months

He was a final year student in a university

She was studying for her Higher National Diploma at a polytechnic

They had been together for five years

Time and distance had changed the dynamics of their relationship

There was a time when she was all lovey-dovey and innocent

School had changed all that

She had another lover

Better put, she’d had a series of other lovers  (But only one at a time) apart from him

He had been the constant one

The true love

The others were temporary flings, something to keep her body and soul together in his absence

She loved him, she couldn’t even think of losing him

But he was often far away in school

She needed the company, the attention, the adventure

She couldn’t be without a real "life" in her early twenties

This was the time to enjoy herself

The thirties are coming when she would marry and have children

To deny herself all the fun now would be to lose out on life

He tried as much as possible to be there for her

He was in her school at least twice every semester (To spent the weekend or more)

It was because of him that she chose to live off campus

So that they can be together whenever he came around

But the whole see you ‘every other month thing’ was not meant for her

As soon as he returned to his school, she’d return to her groove

What he didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him

And to be honest, he was the only one she got down totally for

It was just casual sex with the others

"Having a bit of fun and a nice time"

Someone to take her out, pay for her hair and eat pepper soup with, shop with, cuddle with, dance with and so on

Watching someone hustle and grovel to get into her pants was fun

Experiencing love from many who wanted her to love them back the same way not knowing that she was secure and fully in love with someone else was fun

She always told them about him

She always made them realize she had a steady man in another school

And whatever they had together must die once her man is around

They always understood

Most guys don’t really want the responsibility of a relationship

Once she told them it was just sex, they jump at it

But she made them pay to get in

He was the only one with the full access to her soul

He was her man, the one to live forever and ever with

His wish was always her command

She would do anything for him!

She watched him with joy in her heart

He was fast asleep

Their ritual whenever they see each other after a long break was love

He would take her wherever convenient

Diffuse the tension and then they would catch up

She used his intensity to measure his faithfulness

He was a good honest guy who didn’t cheat as a matter of principle

She could tell by his enthusiasm

She tries to match him but he innocently didn’t know that

He believed her to be faithful too

And always tried his best to compensate her doing without with a lot of climaxes for her

He was always the special one

She looked at the time

It was almost noon

She roused, took a shower and started dressing

After a few minutes he woke up

He watched her getting dressed

He asked her where she was going

She said she had an appointment with a friend, she was already late

He was still dozing when she left his flat

Thirty minutes later he dressed up, he also had an appointment with an old friend

He had been out of town for a while and they needed to catch up

He called the friend, the friend told him he had moved into a new apartment and gave him the address

He set out but he couldn’t locate the place

He had to call his friend to come and pick him at a landmark

The description was somehow

Few minutes later his friend arrived

They decided to get something to eat before going to the friend’s house

The friend called his girlfriend, asked if she had anything good they could eat

They were all students, living off campus

Friend’s girlfriend invited them over

They got to friend’s girlfriend’s house

He went to ease himself (Rest room was at the extreme end of the building)

He came back into the house

Counted the number of rooms on his right, he remembered the lady's room was the third by the left

He got to the third room

He opened the door and stepped in

It was his babe he saw, totally naked

Bent over the reading table

Taking hot sausage from her other mouth

And a naked handsome guy, serving the sausage from her rear

She saw him

She jerked into reality, pushed the guy away and in the process scattered the contents on the table

He shrank back

What had he seen?

He opened the door and left

Her friend and girlfriend were in the passage

He had miscounted the number of room’s to her door

The first one he counted was the store

He smiled and told them he just interrupted two lovers having a go in the wrong room he entered

He didn’t mention anything about who he saw

He managed to get through the day

He went back to his flat

She was there

Sitting by his entrance, knees tucked in under her chin

He greeted her warmly

She apologized

Was it the sex? He wondered

He: We made love this morning, you literarily stood up from on top of me, dressed up and went all the way to so and so to have sex with another guy?

She: I am sorry

He: I accept your apology but I will still like to know why! Was it for money, was there something he was doing better?

She: It was just in my head. I couldn’t get it out. I love you. You are my life. You know this. Please don’t make any rash decision. You can do anything you want to do to me. Punish me in any way you want. I don’t know what I’d do without you. Please, forgive me

He looked at her. She was telling the truth. She was literarily shaking with terror. Her teeth were chattering. Her arms folded. She had cried her eyes out before he arrived. Her eyes were bloodshot!

He started walking away!

She fell on her knees

She: Please, I am begging you, if there was ever anytime you loved me, if I was once any good to you, please don’t leave me. I promise you it will never happen again. Never ever ever. Please have mercy on me and forgive me

He turned back.

He did a quick mental calculation.

He smiled.

He extended his hands towards her

Raised her off her knees

Hugged her

He: I forgive you

She cried and cried

She begged

He assured her it was over, he had forgiven her

She slept over that night

She wanted him to make love to her, assure her it was truly over

He didn’t touch her

He just couldn’t

He felt irritated but he masked it well

She watched his every move the next day. He had told her they would be going to his parent’s house that weekend. She just wasn’t settled that he really forgave her. Would he still take her?

He changed his mind the last minute, said he’d prefer that they go see her folks

She didn’t mind as long as he was with her and she felt it was better that he confide in her brother or sister than in his own folks

If any of his family members heard what happened, her reputation would be ruined and their relationship over

The two families had become very close in the last five years

He behaved himself

She was so glad

With each passing day, he got more comfortable with her. He insisted on using a condom when they made love unlike before. She was sure he would get over it in time

They talked about many things. The future, their lives.

School resumed. Weeks became months. She had learnt her lesson. No more sleeping around. She cherished her second chance.

He graduated. Went to serve. Got a job. Got married!

She heard. She drank poison. She died!