The moment we arrived, my date and I were ushered into a setting that looked very much like a Valentine heaven.
Red and white streamers along with heart-shaped balloons danced to the tunes of a soft breeze. An archway of roses paved way up to a round luminescent dance floor. Surrounding that, were tables filled with drinks and all the chocolatey goodies you can imagine, including a large five tier chocolate fountain. And alas, adding up to the beauty of the scenery, was a glowing horizon soaking up the gentle hues of twilight; a vibrant orange mixed with a fading shade of sea blue.
"Wow." my eyes flitted over in awe. "This place looks amazing."
"Yep," Princess agreed, linking our arms together. "The SRC truly went all out for this thing. C'mon, let's go take a picture." She marched us all the way to the Cupid photoshoot setup, where three girls were already giving the camera their best poses.
Though, a number of couples waited around for their turn, Princess didn't let us join the queue. She walked boldly to the photographer, whispered something in his ear and slipped him two crispy fifty-cedi notes.
My mouth dropped open as she returned to me. "You bribed him?"
"Sshh!" She tried hiding the already evident smirk on her face.
Once the girls were done with their shots, the photographer called for us which sent a few glares our way.
"You shouldn't have done that!" I sniped in a low tone. "Now everyone's going to-"
"Oh take a chill pill, would you?" Princess rolled her eyes. "It's just swift customer service. If you want things done fast, you have to pay extra." She turned to the camera, placing an arm on my shoulder, the other on her hip and struck a dramatic pose.
Shaking my head, I adjusted my jacket and synced myself to photoshoot mode, throwing the camera a confident smile. After a series of clicks and flashes, Princess and I headed over to the celebration grounds. The dance floor was already occupied by couples, slow dancing to a Westlife song.
My phone suddenly buzzed in my jacket pocket and I pulled it. My mother had seen the few pictures I sent her and was fan-girling over how good Princess and I looked.
Ma: Oh you two look so great together! Is she your girlfriend?
My eyebrows furrowed as my fingers flew to the keyboard.
Oh no, no.
She's just a friend, that's all.
Part of me wished I'd taken the pictures with someone else but... after I ‘d turned her down on Friday, I highly doubted if she'd show up tonight.
"Hey, should we get some drinks?" Princess asked, pulling me out of my thoughts.
"Ah, sure." I followed her to the buffet table, pushing my phone into my pocket. The chocolate fountain caught my eye and I moved over to help myself by dipping a single doughnut in the chocolatey pool. Biting into it, my taste buds immediately came to life, ravishing the taste of the warm cocoa treat. I made a move to call Princess, but she soon appeared at my side and quickly scooped some of the liquid chocolate with a champagne glass.
"What are you doing?" I arched an eyebrow.
With a smug smile, she seductively licked off the excess chocolate on the glass. Just when I thought things couldn't get any weirder, she pulled a champagne bottle out of its ice bucket and poured a hefty amount of the sparkling beverage in her chocolate glass.
"Eww!" My face morphed into an expression of disgust.
"Why are you so grossed out?" She giggled. "It's just two party faves in a glass."
Miraculously, she downed the entire thing within seconds, pulling a content smile onto her face.
I just blinked. This girl is sick.
"C'mon you should try some." Princess gave me a nudge. "It's not as bad as you think." She moved towards the fountain to scoop some more chocolate.
"Will you guys stop hogging the fountain." A familiar voice chuckled and we both turned to find Deon approaching with Nadia from the engineering club on his arm.
"Oh hey guys." After exchanging short pleasantries, a conversation followed.
"Wow, you guys came real prepared for this thing huh," Princess commented, gesturing at their matching African cloth ensemble.
"Yeah, you both look awesome," I added.
"Thanks," Deon smiled, looking quite good in his long-sleeve *kente shirt. "But I can't take any of the credit. I was just gonna wear the regular suit and tie until my queen came up with this wonderful idea." He lovingly pulled a blushing Nadia closer to his side.
With her hair scarfed up in the same kente cloth as her sleeveless dress, and the beautiful beaded jewelry hanging from her neck and ears, Nadia looked as if she'd just stepped out of a magazine's cover page. "Well the idea was a little late in coming," she admitted, adjusting her glasses. "But I'm glad I went through with it, cuz when we arrived, I may or may not have heard that there was going to be an award for best dressed couple."
"Ooohh, you guys are definitely taking home that award, trust me," I grinned at my friends until Princess suddenly grabbed my arm.
"Well it was nice talking to you, Deon and Nadia, but we've gotta go. Bye."
"Ah no, wait-" Without giving me much of a choice, Princess yanked me away from the couple and into the throng of people. "Hey, wh-what was that for?" I forcefully pulled my arm out of her grasp. "I wasn't done talking to-"
"Ethan's here." Princess turned to me. "I saw him a couple of minutes ago with that girl, Kafui, from the cheerleading squad. Hmph! I can't believe he chose that bitch as his date," she scoffed.
"Ok umm..." I scratched the back of my head. "I'm sure if we keep a low profile, he won't notice that we're here an-"
"What are you saying?" Princess frowned, busily smoothening out the creases in her off-shoulder lavender dress. "We're going to find them and face them." She deliberately pushed her boobs up, exposing enough cleavage. "Good. How do I look?"
For the first time tonight, I felt anger slither its way into my heart. "No Princess! We're not doing any of that. I didn't come with you to the dance so you could manipulate me into doing what you want. I actually thought you-"
"Oh Akwasi."
At the sound of my name, my eyes moved to the left, meeting Ethan's. Princess quickly latched herself onto my arm.
"Yo bro, wassup?" Dressed in a well-pressed grey suit that screamed 'designer', Ethan and his fashionable date joined our little circle. We indulged in the usual bro hug.
"Hii Princess," Kafui called out in an overly sweet tone. "It's nice to see you here with your latest...fling."
"Fling!" Princess took a step forward, ready to punch the girl.
"Actually," I began calmly, holding Princess back. "I'm not her fling. We're just here as friends."
"Oh good." Ethan nodded. "That's very good to hear." His eyes went down his ex-girlfriend's frame, stopping briefly at her chest...was that a hint of lust blooming in his pupils?
He didn't give me the time to catch it because he sent his attention back to me. "So! Regionals is in a week. You ready for it, Akwasi?"
"Oh you bet." Now that Princess had returned to the team and had resolved her skipping issue with Coach Sarah, Amina's threat had fizzled into thin air. "I've been working on my exchanges with Nana Kwame and Seth. So there's no need to worry about the medley relays. Penfield's Sharks will win it, hands down."
"And that's what I like to hear," Ethan smirked.
Seth, out of nowhere, interrupted our conversation, trying to get us to drink from a flask of whiskey he'd brought with him. When we all turned him down, he started a rant about Amina leaving him for her blockheaded boyfriend--his words not mine.
"Just look at him!" He sneered at the couple dancing a few feet away from where we stood. "Big body, small dick. He can't even last five minutes without coming, yet Amina won't dump him for me!"
"Ok buddy, that's enough alcohol." Ethan attempted to snatch Seth's flask, but he pulled it out of his reach.
"No! Nobody is taking my baby away from me!" Seth yelled.
Ethan wouldn't give up though. He and Seth ended up in some sort of snatching game, drawing a number of heads.
I just pushed my hands in my pocket, laughing at the two of them, until I caught sight of two familiar figures, now arriving at the dance. The smile on my face slowly faded away.
Stepping into the party grounds was Akunna with a woman on his arm.
The dark-skinned beauty looked as radiant as ever in a long-sleeve red velvet gown that made every one of her curves so prominent that I struggled to take my eyes off her. I even tripped twice trying to get closer, and gravity threatened not to spare me if I tripped a third time.
Why in heavens name is he with her? I wondered.
It didn't take long for Akunna to spot me approaching. But in that same moment, his date also nudged him, pointing at the Photoshoot setup. Akunna said something to her, probably an excuse, and soon she made her way towards the photographer, meeting a few friends along the way.
Akunna then jogged over and I quickly moved, meeting him half way with "Dude! You asked Shola to the dance! Why?"
"Oh please don't give me that crap." My roommate rolled his eyes. "I only asked Shola to come with me cuz I didn't want her moping over you." He poked me hard in the chest. "Plus I also knew Princess would dump your ass once she sets eyes on Ethan."
My eyes widened. "Sh-she didn't dump me."
"Ok, then how do you explain that."
My gaze followed his pointed finger to the spot my teammates currently occupied. Memuna and Seth had left, giving Princess the opportunity to have Ethan all to herself. I heaved out a breath as I rubbed my face.
"Look," Akunna began. "I know this girl is the first friend you made on the swim team and she helped you get better with your breaststroke swimming, so you feel as if you owe her. But c'mon bro, open your eyes. Prin-cess doesn't care about any of that shit. She's just using you to get what she wants and it's affecting your relationship with Shola!" He huffed. "Shola should've been your date tonight, not Ethan's fuck buddy!"
"Ok Akunna calm down." I put a gentle hand on his shoulder.
"I am calm." He blew out a puff of air. "It's just...I've been there since the beginning, Akwasi. I know how you feel about Shola." We made eye contact. "So stop denying yourself happiness just to make other people happy. Go for what you want, go for Shola!"