MY NEIGHBOUR

"Sharon, Sharon..." my mother often called my English name twice when she wanted to talk to me about boys. Other times she would stick to "Chiwendu."

That Saturday morning was not any different. I had just returned from a family friend's birthday party and was smiling up the stairs when my English name rang twice from the sitting room.

"Sharon, Sharon," my mum called out. I rolled my eyes and dragged my skirt a little lower towards my knees to avoid drawing too much attention to how short they were, and it wasn't like mummy could care less about that.

I sauntered into the room and sat down, taking in the usual long tales of boys and parties and what life in the university would be like. "Her sermons about boys became more intense when my dad won her in our small family court, which consisted of dad, mom, and me. He insisted that I attend a university that wasn't very close to our house, saying, 'She needs to learn to live without us breathing down her neck.'

Daddy dropped me at my lodge which he carefully had his friend choose for me, one where he had the landlord's number and a spare key, typical of him.

I watched him drive off alone because Mum had been crying all morning and didn't want to travel down to Port Harcourt. His tail lights disappeared around the corner, and I was about to close my door when my eyes fell on the bare chest of a man across my room.

****

I stared for about 4 seconds before he almost caught me. I closed the door and smiled to myself when I heard my name, "Sharon, Sharon." My mother's voice was now following me around.

I started unpacking and almost lost track of time till my stomach started singing. I needed something fast and wasn't ready to cook it myself nor was I ready to unpack the dried leaves, rice, beans, and the other foodstuffs my mum ensured I travelled with. If I decided to open a minimart in my lodge, I would make good profits off it as s lucrative side hustle.

I often heard of the famous Mishai bread the mallams made in makeshift kiosks at streetcorners and that it was filling if you downed it with a cold bottle of soda.

I quickly changed into free clothes and was about to leave the house when I reminded myself that I wasn't just climbing down my family house and I needed to wear a brassiere before going out or risk poking every student I meet outside my lodge tonight.

I opened the door slightly and peeked across to see if "bare-chest" was outside, he wasn't. I gently walked out the door and locked it before starting out towards the gate.

I walked for a few minutes and was a few meters away from the Mishai spot when I saw "bare-chest" trying to pay the guy making the bread.

****

I paused and waited for him to finish and move ahead before I walked up to the guy making the Mishai bread. I wasn't sure why I was hiding from him but I couldn't help it.

I ordered my bread and was amazed to see how the famous Mishai bread was done. The man was making noodles on one of the stoves while pouring some oil into the empty frying pan he was going to be making my bread in. I watched him work with so much dexterity and in about 5-7 min my bread was ready.

I excitedly walked back to my lodge with my bread and a chilled bottle of coke only to get to the gate and it was locked. I knocked once and waited but there wasn't a response. I took my headphones off my ears and knocked a second time and that was when I realized I was locked out. There was a bush very close to my lodge, the trees suddenly started forming unrecognizable shapes in my head and my heart began pounding uncontrollably. I quickly put my phone into my panties and resumed knocking with rapid successions. If I was going to be mugged, at least my iPhone 13 pro max would be safe.

I was now frantic and my knuckles were sore from hitting the gate when I saw a shadow cover my tiny form on the gate, I turned back with fear only to see "bare-chest," he walked up to the gate, used a key to open it and I immediately took out the bunch of keys I was given by the landlord and that's when I saw it. I had the gate key in my bunch.

"Thank you, I-" I started to say to him when something vibrated inside my panties. "Oh shit!" I thought to myself and ran inside the compound and up to my room.

****

"Bare-chest" had a name. People called him Kenny but I called him Ekene because I loved his Igbo name more. He became a big brother to me in the lodge, always looking out for me and helping me study most nights because he was a master's student who happened to be a graduate of my department in the school.

Ekene never visited nor did he chat me up idly except it had to do directly with something he needed me to attend to. He was always keeping to himself but never failed to remind me how beautiful I looked. I was always the one who visited with my textbooks when I needed his help with something and he was always the perfect gentleman, we would finish up and he would offer me some life lessons and we'll say good night. He looked at me most times in a way that seemed like he fancied me, but he never ever acted on that feeling,

One night after he had finished explaining MTH120.1, we said our goodnights and I ran to my room because I was hungry and noodles were the only thing on my mind, plus I needed to freshen up after a long day.

I got into my room, threw my books on the bed, dived into the bathroom and then the kitchen to make food and halfway, I ran out of cooking gas. I didn't think twice about what to do, so I quickly carried my pot that contained the noodles and started towards Ekene's room.

It wasn't until he opened the door and I caught his eyes trying so hard not to look down, that it dawned on me that I came over in my nightie.

****

Ekene wasn't expecting me, at least not at this hour of the night, and I could tell because he opened the door bare-chested, and the look on his face said the rest.

"Sharon," he said as he moved to the side, leaving enough room for me to walk in with my pot.

"I'm sorry, I ran out of gas," I said as he closed the door and looked for a t-shirt which he threw over his upper torso, and I suddenly became ashamed of myself.

"I hope you don't mind?" I said, lifting the pot high enough to cover my breasts which he couldn't help but glance at uncontrollably.

"It's fine," he said and climbed onto his bed to continue watching what was playing on his laptop.

I put the pot on fire and walked back into the room. This was the first time I was paying attention to the details of his room without a serious discussion or a tutorial to distract me.

We didn't have anything to discuss and I wasn't planning on having small talk, because that would mean I have to face him and tempt him to keep looking at my body.

The food was ready and in a bit to salvage the night, I offered to share with him. We ate while seeing a movie, and I slept off.

****

I woke up in the middle of the night to see that my nightie was slightly above my waist region and I was bare waist down. Quickly, I looked towards Ekene, he was fast asleep, at least I hoped so.

I adjusted my nightie and saw that Ekene had turned off all the lights in his room except the blue led tape lights that ran around the corners of the room. I wanted to wake him and tell him I needed to go back to my room but I know how noisy his room door was and it would definitely make a lot of noise that night, plus he seemed so peaceful as he slept.

I checked the time, it was 3 am and then the heavens began to pour. I wasn't sure where this bad luck was coming from because I definitely needed my blanket or I was going to catch a cold.

The air conditioner and his rechargeable fan were on, and it felt strange because for as long as I have known Ekene, he never used the two together. I got up, turned off the AC and the fan to see if the cold that was now getting to my body will reduce, then I folded like a ball on the bed with my back to him and tried to go back to sleep.

I was almost at the bridge between dreamworld and reality when I felt his hands on my buttocks. I hoped he was just stretching till I felt his palm grip slightly and stay as if he was trying to see how soft my butt cheek was.

I immediately turned to confront him when suddenly there was a power outage and we were both plunged into darkness.

****

I waited with bated breath and my fists were clenched at my sides. I was ready should he try to reach for my body. My plan was simple, to swing my arms hard enough to hit him till one of us was out of breath.

I felt him move on the bed and my blood thickened.

A lamp came on behind me and I turned to see him walking towards me.

"You look scared, are you afraid of the dark," was what he said as he turned on the rechargeable fan.

I wasn't sure what was going on, "Wasn't he trying a few minutes ago to grope me or was it all in my head?" I thought to myself.

"No, I am not," I replied as he sat by the edge of the bed.

"You slept off and I didn't want to disturb you."

I wanted to ask if he was the one who raised my nightie up the first time I woke up but that question seemed silly at this point. He didn't look like he was trying to touch me right now, maybe it was all in my head.

We made small talk till the morning and thankfully it was a weekend so I didn't have an early morning class the following day.

He eventually said goodnight and dozed off while I sat up till morning.

****

As weeks passed, I tried to reduce how much I visited him and whenever I had to be in his place, I would always wear a jacket over the other layers of clothing I had on.

Ekene was still my big brother and my parents eventually got to know him. Most times when my mum came to visit or when I travelled home, I would always bring a bag of foodstuffs to his room and he would compose the sweetest text for my mum.

We got closer towards the tail end of his Masters and one night after his birthday party, I stayed back to help him clean up. He didn't have many friends so he decided to have a small get-together in his room for a few of the people in our building that he talked to and a few others from his class and they came in at different times. We weren't more than 5 in his room at a time.

I wished I didn't dress as fancifully as I did that night because on numerous occasions, I could see how he looked at me and whenever I caught him, he would either stand to get something or look away at someone else.

We cleaned up the house and I was too exhausted to go back to my room, so I climbed his bed and relaxed my back. We laughed as we read some of the birthday texts he received and gisted about the people who came to celebrate with him. We eventually started talking about life in general and life after his master's degree.

It was a healthy conversation till he said "I love you."

****

I stared at him for seven long seconds trying to let his words sink and willed my mouth to open, but it didn't.

"You don't have to say anything," he said and sat up.

I looked into his eyes and there were no lies in them. it felt like I was staring into his soul and he looked very vulnerable as he spoke. I would have dismissed this as alcohol speaking but Ekene never drank and like he would always tell me, "Water is life"

I tried to think of the other night when he tried to touch me and what would have happened if I didn't react when he read my mind and looked away from me.

"The other night, when you stayed over. I fought everything in me not to misbehave but I couldn't help it. I know I loved you and I always tried to keep things official between us and never let you stay the night because I wasn't sure I would be able to control myself around you. I am sorry I touched you that night and-"

"I woke up to my nightie above my waist and was practically naked." I shot at him.

"That wasn't me, I have no reason to lie," he said and I believed him.

I still tease him about that night. It's been 6 years and 2 kids in between and he has never stopped being the best big brother, only now he has graduated to become my husband.

--->THE END<---

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