YOLANDA
With my jaw dropped to the floor and my feet froze on the same sport; my eyes watch as Kyle walks down the stairs. My tears flow out of my eyes, triggered by the emotions of seeing my boyfriend walking again. He is smiling and looks so good. He looks happy to see me when I expected him to be nonchalant.
As soon as I feel his hand groping me closer to him and his soft, warm lips attach to my lips, my body comes back to life, and I wrap my arms around his neck, kissing my boy back.
He picks me up and pins me against the wall before he stares into my eyes.
“Babe, you can walk,’ I excitedly say. “But, how, when did this happen? I only left a week ago, and I come back to this?”
“Well, those rails kind of came in handy, thanks to you. Gosh, I have missed you so much, Yolanda. I thought the men in Seychelles have taken you away from me. I hope that they did not touch what is mine, did they?” He puts me back on my feet. I laugh, not taking his question seriously, but just as I walk towards the kitchen, he grabs my hand roughly and pulls me back.
“Kyle!” I yelp in surprise. His eyes are fiery and look mad. “What is wrong, Kyle? Your hand is holding my arm too tight,”
“I am just worried, Yolanda. Who convinced you into this stupid hairstyle? How do I know that you still have my cupcake sealed?”
So, my hairstyle is the problem. Why does it have to bother him so much? It is not like I used his money to do it.
“No one convinced me into anything. I did this because I like it, and if you don’t, there is nothing that I can do to convince you to like it. For your information, I think that I look awesome in it. It is a pity that you cannot see that,” I roll my eyes and yank my arm from him.
“Is that how you are talking to me now?”
“What, you don’t like it when I defend myself, Kyle?”
“Defend yourself; is that what you want to call it? I see total disrespect, and I will not stand it, princess. Get your act together, or this might not end well for you. I don’t like this attitude,” Of course, I am the wrong one here, and Kyle is always right because he is eight years older than me, and his word should be his final say. Is this the man I am willing to spend the rest of my life with?
Gosh, I am still young, and I am not even sure if we are going to last a year. He is too controlling and says things that no girl wants to hear from their boyfriend. I love Kyle and I would do anything for him, but I do not want to feel pressured in this relationship.
“So, where do you want to go for breakfast?” He asks, moving on.
I shrug, not interested.
“Don’t do that, Yolanda. What is the point of you being here if you won’t even look interested?” He goes and grabs his car keys before he now gently holds my hand before he leads me out of the house to his car.
***
We are at Starbucks, and I am having a White Mocha with Chicken Avo Ciabatta while Kyle is having Iced Toffee Nut Latte and Macon cheese croissants. I don’t know how they taste with iced espresso, but there he is, enjoying every bit of it.
I laugh, looking at him taking a bite before he drinks his iced espresso.
“What?” He asks, smiling.
“No, it is nothing. This is our first date out,” I mention.
“A date? I thought that we were just having breakfast, sweetheart,” He places his hand on my hand and rubs the back of it with his thumb.
“Either way, I love it,”
“Yeah, me too. This could be our first date even though I never thought of it like that, but I promise to take you to better places next time — to a proper date to be precise,”
Kyle can really switch from one character to another. He is suddenly the sweet Kyle that I love and adore, and I am easily swept under my feet. I even am forgetting about what happened earlier, and I wish we could stay as we are right now.
“I would love that. Uhm, dad is hosting a Thanksgiving dinner. Are you going to come?” I ask before I sip my Mocha.
“Is that an invite?” He asks, tilting his head.
“I would love for you to come. I can ask dad to invite you,”
“As who; your boyfriend?” He smirks, making me laugh.
“Kyle, I don’t know what you do with my dad. You work for him, right; but what do you do since you are no longer my chauffeur?” I notice that he gets uncomfortable with my question when he removes his hand from mine and sits back.
“Let’s just say that I am your father’s messenger. I am always there when he summons me,”
“I thought he had a PA for that,” I interject.
“Yes, but I do the masculine work for your dad. You don’t like it?”
“It is not that. It’s just that you have a major in science, and I sometimes wonder if you would ever leave him. Have you ever thought that, if you stop working for him, we would freely date?”
“I thought about it, but it won’t be easy as you think. Besides, your dad pays me much better than any job could offer me,”
He proudly says, so I narrow my eyebrows.
“So, our relationship will be kept a secret forever? A part of me is no longer afraid, Kyle. I wouldn’t care about my dad anymore if he finds out about us, I just want to feel free with you,” I express myself, regardless of what he may think.
“I love you,” He says.
“I love you too.”
Wow, I feel so happy to hear that from him. At least I know now where I am standing with him, and as much as he upsets me, he still loves me.
“You still look ridiculous in that hair. We are changing it today, maybe install a weave of my choice.” Okay, he really knows how to ruin a special moment.
Days go by, and I just cannot stop dreaming about my stepfather. The dream is getting scarier every day because I feel like I am letting him in my life. I wish I could get him out of my head because now, I am honestly tracking him and always want to know what he is up to. I thought what he does with his secretary would not bother me, but I am getting devastated. To think that she will be here tonight kills me. Is it even right that she comes to my mother’s house?
I still do not know what I am going to wear tonight for the Thanksgiving gala, but I think I might have an idea. Gosh, why didn’t I go shopping with Thando and Anele when dad showered money on us? I could have bought myself something really nice and sexy, but anyway, it is not my party.
On the bright side, the year is almost over, and I will be getting out of here. The matric results are coming out in two weeks, and I can’t wait because I know for sure that I got distinctions, and the university cannot wait to have me. I cannot wait to become a doctor.
Sigh.
When I was fifteen, I used to have neck and back pains, so my mother decided that we go and see a chiropractor because she worked a lot, sitting behind the desk, so she needed to consult with a chiropractor, which was when we got introduced to Daniel and he became our doctor. I was fascinated by his job, and I kind of liked him and wanted to spend more time in his office, but that was only because he inspired me, and I fell in love with what every doctor does or specialises in. He invited me to come every weekend to assist him, and I thought he wanted to spend more time with my mother, but it can only make sense today that he wanted me to be closer to him.
How could mom have not seen that? But I must say that he was good at hiding it, or he is just being honest when he says he did not see me that way before I turned eighteen.
Mmm, I don’t know anymore. Why does he make me feel this way? What is worse is that in my dreams, I am not fighting him, and I am allowing him to touch me anyhow and anywhere he wants, and whenever I see him, I honestly want to hug him and see if I feel the same way I do in my dreams.
I don’t want to hurt Kyle. I am not a selfish person. Maybe I need to see a therapist.
Aksara