C12 Talk to me

Episode Twelve

Theme: Talk to me

Arike’s POV

A ring on my phone jolted me out of thought. Adedayo was calling again.

"Hello." I said.

"Did you get my message?" He asked.

"So rude, you can't even say Hi!" I hissed.

"Oh sorry...Hi." he said.

"Good I got your message."

"So should I come over?"

"No."

"Why?" He asked in a surprised tone.

I hate to admit it but I think Shalewa was right. I shouldn't give Dayo the chance to be spending the night at my place again. If I don't stop it then I won't he able to prove to Shalewa that Dayo and I aren't having an affair. We are just bestfriends. And if he get married will he be coming to my place?

"Arike are you there?"

"Yes...Yes..I can't have dinner with you anymore."

"Why?"

"You're getting married soon. You shouldn't be going out with me but your fiancee."

"Oh come on Arike, we are best friends."

"Yes I know but it's really a different case if you're single."

"Okay so how about you come over to my place?" He requested.

"Dayo..."

"Don't say no."

"It's a no from me."

"Why?"

"I have lots of work to do." I lied.

He was silent. "You're lying."

"I am serious."

"No I know you. Arike when did work become an excuse to not see me? Did I do something wrong?" He asked in a low tone.

"No Dayo, you didn't do anything."

"Perhaps did Shalewa call or meet up with you?" He asked but I didn't reply.

"I take your silence as a yes."

"No, she didn't call me." I said sharply.

"What did she say to you?"

"Nothing..I.. I haven't talked -"

The call went off.

Oh my God! I hope he doesn't do something stupid.

I tried calling him back but he didn't pick up. A message notification popped up at the top of screen.

"Where do you want to meet up?" Bamidele replied.

"Should I come over to your office?"

"No..I am not at the office."

"Where are you?"

"I am not feeling well..so I am home."

"Oh sorry...how are you feeling now?"

"Getting better, I just need to rest."

"Maybe I will bring the files later. Get enough rest okay?"

"No, it's alright. You have to solve your case anyways. Let's meet at the office shop not far to your office."

"No you don't need to stress yourself. How about I come over to your place?" I asked.

"If it's fine by you."

"And you?"

"Not bad..."

"Okay fine...text me address. I will drop by at your place before heading home."

"Okay."

Bamidele sent his address few seconds after I dropped the call.

****************************

"Good evening." I greeted once Bamidele opened the door. He hummed a response as I walked into his apartment,my eyes scanning the whole place.

"Nice apartment." I commented.

"Thank you." He replied without meeting my gaze. I could feel that awkwardness between us due to what happened at my place.

"Please take your seat."

"Thanks." I settled on the couch.

"What would you like drink?"

"Water please."

"I'll be right back." He left the sitting room only to come back some seconds later with a bottle of chilled water.

"So how are you feeling now?"

"Better...I just need to take my medications and have a good rest." He responded.

"Oh..okay." I managed to smile.

"So about my case..." I handed him the files.

"It's a murder case. A woman was found dead in her apartment. And the cause of death is strangulation. No suspect at the moment.."

"Arike..." Bamidele called my name in a low tone.

"Yes.."

"Don't act like everything is fine here."

"Ahm...erm.." I stuttered.

"I know you wanna know more about me being gay. You want to talk about what happened at your place but you don't want me to feel embarrassed." He dropped the file on the table.

"Bamidele, it's not -"

He interrupted me. "I understand."

I looked up at him. "I am sorry about everything Dayo said to you."

He chuckled. "I have always known Dayo to be a sharp mouthed person. His words are like thongs on ones flesh. But I don't blame him,he is only trying to protect you as a friend because of what I did to him in the past." He said soberly.

"Bamidele -"

"I admit that I was very wrong. And I have tried apologizing to Dayo but he claimed to have forgiven me but he would never forget what I did to him. And I should have fulfilled my promise of telling you about my sexuality."

"Are you still gay?" I blurted out.

"I was gay..." He replied. "I stopped being gay after I passed the bar exam. I knew it wasn't legalized in our country." He sighed.

"It was really hard for me to get over that feeling of loving another man. My past keeps coming at me and I am afraid that it might ruin my career someday just like what is happening now."

"Perhaps if I may ask since when did you notice this feeling of loving another man?" I asked.

I could see tears at the corner of his eyes when our gaze locked buy he looked away quickly.

"This is a really long story."

"Sad right?" I asked.

He shook his head. I stood up and sat beside him and held his hands in mine. Eversince the incident at my home, a thought hasn't left my mind that there must be a reason why Bamidele was gay.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He looked down at my hand on his. "I am ready to listen." He flashed me a small smile.

"You shouldn't be here after everything he said about me."

"To be honest, I was shocked and disappointed but something keeps telling me that there was more."

"You don't hate me?" He asked a serious face.

"I can't hate you because you are gay."

He withdrew from my hold and stood up from the couch.

"Arike you should obey Dayo. You should stay away from me."

"Why?"

"He's right. You deserve a better friend than me."

I went to him, stood in front of him with my arms folded.

"What if I want your kind of friend?"

"No."

"You are a good attorney, Bamidele."

"You're the best attorney."

"No,you have helped me solve cases I couldn't work on."

"You're also good at what you do." He replied.

It clear Bamidele is fighting an internal banter. He's pondering if it was a good idea to share the mystery behind him being gay. He doesn't trust anyone.

"You know what? I will just drop the case file for you to review it..then call me if you find anything."

There's no need to force words out of him if he wasn't ready to discuss it with me.

"Bye bye." I picked my bag from the couch and motioned towards the door.