MEMOIRS OF PISCES (episode 7)

ANNIE

Annie didn't really know what to do next that was why she had sat down on the lone chair in the room. She was in a Strip Club; a live one. This was the place Terry had told her that his friend managed and though, everyone looked naked, it all looked magical; like a sort of fantasy island where your erotic wishes are granted. Terry's friend; Olise had taken one look at her and had concluded that she would do well entertaining guests privately than on the pole and she had been grateful for his decision cos she was going to ask for that exactly. Olise had handed her over to Kayla who was in charge of the girls as well as their costumes. Kayla had looked at her like a foreign dish to be devoured and had said;

"Hmm, if I had that body, I'll have every man that comes into this place at my beck and call. Use it wisely. Don't get all cocky about it but always remember that your body is your weapon. Draw strength from that thought. Your patron might want you to do some extras while you dance, do it without hesitation. Maintain eye contact and make him feel like in his being is your existence. Touch yourself while you dance. It'll turn him on. Lastly, serenade him with your body like your life depends on it."

Annie's throat went dry and she stuttered; "This is my first time doing this Kayla"
Kayla looked at her with her usual poker face and said in a not so assuring way, "Just think about the money you'll make and you'll be fine"

Annie smiled and nodded with gratitude after receiving her costume. She suspected that that was a perfectly rehearsed line Kayla used for all the girls especially the new ones. It sounded good but she felt it sounded too easy. For one, she had never seen herself as "sexy" and when people ogled at her body, she wondered what they saw.

So she had worn the lingerie, the comfortable heels she came with and had tied her hair in a ponytail. She hadn't worn makeup cos she needed her face to breathe out the pent up tension she was feeling but she had used her gloss and lastly, a face mask that covered just her eyes. She wouldn't want anyone to recognize her outside this place.

She had taken a deep breath, exhaled, checked herself once more in the huge wall mirror and then left the changing room to start this phase in her life.

......................

Deep, dark searching eyes welcomed her as she walked in through the door. She felt exposed like an article on display at an exhibition and as she walked she felt those eyes following her. When she sat, she didn't know what to do next and to worsen the situation, her patron in question said nothing. Instead, he had an amused but sort of daring expression on his face. What was he expecting she wondered? They were both quiet for some minutes then she heard Future's "Mask Off" and she began to move sinuously on the chair. She moved sideways; twisting her hips slowly. Then she put her hands to her neck, caressing slowly, gently moving them down to her chest and as she got closer to her breasts, she stopped and gracefully stood up. With her left hand holding the chair, she moved her right hand down her stomach, slowly deliberately allowing his eyes to linger on her hand as it trailed an invisible path on her stomach, down to the space between her legs. Then she trailed her thighs downwards and then up again, this time, putting her fingers on her lips. She threw her head backwards, revealing the smooth skin on her neck and then with her left hand, she caressed her neck down to her breasts. Then she stood up and took a few steps towards him.  When she was standing right in front of him, she raised a leg and placed it on the bed he was seated. Then just like she had seen Christiana Aguilera do in the movie "Burlesque", she bent down slowly and started rolling down her sheer tights to reveal some skin. She noticed that he had narrowed his eyes as if in concentration so she took that as a sign that she was doing great and moving to Dj Khaled's "Be with You", she stood straight and was slowly winding her waist but just as she was about sitting on his thighs, he stood up and left the room.

His sudden movement had taken her unawares and she almost fell to the ground. She looked at the shut door but couldn't move. What had she done wrong? Had she made the wrong move by attempting to sit on his thighs? This is crazy Annie thought as she sat on the sofa shaking.

..................

She had packed up her little bag and was about leaving when Olise called her and handed her an envelop with a smile on his face. He said;
"Your Patron was very generous. Well done."
Annie didn't understand what that meant so she opened the envelop and found a bunch of one thousand naira notes and on the wrap up paper, she saw "one hundred thousand naira" written on it. She was shocked. She looked at Olise and as if understanding what she wanted to ask, he said quickly before leaving to go back inside.

"About our percentage, he paid for that separately already. By the way, I'll advise you lodge into an hotel for tonight instead of going back to Ajegunle. Lagos isn't that friendly"

Annie couldn't comprehend the weird but fruitful turn of events of the night but one thing she could understand is. that man, whoever he is, is a weird one.

BURNT (EPISODE 7)

"Hey! you look great" was the first statement Tunji made the moment she entered the car. Mila felt her face go warm. She smiled and replied not being able to hide her surprise at the fact that he really looked handsome in his black short sleeved native outfit, that had a sliver brooch on the breast pocket. He looked so clean as usual with his skin glowing and creating a sharp contrast with his outfit. The interiors of the car seemed to have the same tone with his skin making him look like he was manufactured together with the sleek car.

"Thanks. You look great yourself" she said before quickly turning away and removing her phone from her purse to fidget with.

Tunji  didn't stop looking at her; he took his time and that made her feel hot even in the cool air conditioned car. She wasn't used to open assessments like this especially with the awkward silence that followed.  Then he started talking again like he never stopped before.

"Now, first things first. I'll just dash in there to get our tickets and then we move. Would you come with me?" he said 

"Sure.'' Mila replied, grateful that the conversation was back. She was about opening the door and going out when Tunji quickly said,

"No. Just stay put, I'll get the door" 

Then he came out of the car first, walked around to her side and opened the door for her. Mila was amazed. "Who are you?" she asked in her head. Nobody had ever opened any door for her. Not until now. She got out and was again surprised when he took her hand in his and they crossed to the other side of the street into Terra Kulture. They got the tickets almost immediately as it was almost sold out and were lucky to arrive Muson Center by exactly 5:30pm. 

Mila was thrilled. She had so many firsts in her life and this was another one of them. She had seen a lot of plays advertised on TV and online, but had never attended any. Now, thanks to Tunji, she's here. She wasn't sure if on her own, she could have mustered up the courage to explore places like this cos she would rather stay at home and read her novels, do some writing or just do a plain stroll along her street .

.....................

The movie didn't start until 6pm so they both spent the 30 minutes in waiting, gossiping about the other people who had come to see the play. Apparently, Tunji knew a lot of people as he kept pointing stylishly to each and giving a brief description about their lifestyle. This cracked her up so much for he looked so relaxed doing it. Then the organizers announced the opening of the doors of the theater for the play to begin and they went into the theater. Tunji again, led her in.

During the play, Mila explained to Tunji, the arrangement of the cast on the stage. She told him the name of the group of seven singers on the left part of the stage was called the "Chorus" in Literature and that usually, they should be a group of fifteen but this version was the modernized version that came with a full musical band. She explained the frequent use of "Aside" by some of the actors to converse with the audience and their use of "Soliloquy" too to think aloud about their issues. 

Tunji was really impressed and leaned closer to her to learn more as she whispered into his ears in the dimly lit theater. During a sad moment in the play, she unconsciously held on to his arm and left it there until the end of the play.

....................

The drive home was deliberately unhurried. Tunji wasn't in a haste and Mila; as if reading his mind, enjoyed every moment of it. They had stopped for drinks somewhere she couldn't remember and they had had fish soup to go with their drinks. There, she had told him she was originally known as Emilia Bassey but her parents were used to calling her "Mila" so the name stuck. Tunji totally loved her name and they had talked more about her job, his move to Nigeria and some funny happenings around. She had discovered that Tunji was more of a listener. He would sit quietly, with his palm resting on one side of his cheek and his drink in the other hand, drinking her in as she talked. He laughed at all the jokes she attempted even though she felt they weren't funny and he in turn did same. She also got to know that Tunji was a strong believer of "less is more" as he pointed out a group of girls dressed like they were going for a red carpet event at a casual hangout. Her thoughts at the end of the evening was "this guy is just so unusual". She felt Tunji's palm on her hand as he told her,"

"Thanks for coming out with me. Your company was really enlightening"

"I should be saying that. I've never really been to those places you took me. I'm the one that got enlightened. Thank you"

He smiled as he looked at her surprised 

"Really?"

"Yeah" she answered.

"A beautiful lady like you should be able to go anywhere she wants to go, whenever she wishes" he said matter of factly

"I wish it were so. You could say that for someone like Simi but not me" she said and smiled fondly when she mentioned Simi.

"Well, I'm glad you walked up to me and not some other girl cos usually, the kind of girls that walk up to me when I go out are girls with a lot of make up, long blonde hair that obviously don't belong to them and of course, light skinned" he paused then added, "I love your color; you're like rich coffee"

"But, I thought that's what most men want. Girls with all what you just listed'' she said not believing him

"I don't know about most men but, I like what I see in you. You look natural and your makeup suits you. And, you're not just beautiful, you're intelligent" 

Mila was flattered and baffled. Most guys like Tunji usually preferred light skinned and flashy girls. Why was he an exception? They were silent for a bit and then he asked her an unexpected question.

"Tell me Mila, why did you walk up to me. I mean, Simi could have come to me herself" he gave her a harmless smile to assure her that his question was borne out of curiosity and nothing else.

Mila sighed and answered "Well, asides Simi's dilema, I liked your countenance and I felt that you'd be friendly if I talked to you. Why do you ask?"

Tunji gave a slight smile and said, "Nothing serious, it's just that, since moving back to Nigeria earlier this year, that's been the case whenever I go out so I get suspicious when random strangers walk up to me like that"

"Well, it's your fault. You're just too cute!" Mila said giggling and Tunji could't help but join in laughing as well.

They got to the gate of her home with directions from the car navigator and Tunji stopped the car. He turned fully to face Mila before saying, 

"I had an awesome time with you Mila and please, don't change who you are for anything in the world"

With that, he leaned in and kissed her on her fore head. Mila was too stunned to move. All she could say was "Thanks" before coming out of the car. He watched her go in and shut the gate before driving off.

...............

That night, Mila didn't sleep early. She mused for a while the entire episode of the day and was glad that her evening with Tunji had completely erased the moment of distress she had encountered with the woman. She refused to even mention that woman's name in her head, what's in the past stays in the past she reminded herself.  Afterwards, she spent some time on her laptop searching the internet for Tunji Jacobs and what she found shocked her to the core.