It's the thought that counts

The scorching summer sun hung still at its pinnacle, pouring down waves of heat that grew heavier by the minute; such was the case of the Lagos afternoon sun. Mayowa stood heat-stricken, underneath ablack and yellow striped ‘MTN’ umbrella of a fruit vendor, trying to survive its gruesome rampage, she furiously cursed at the afternoon weather. A stream of beads of sweat raced slowly down her temples, to her chin, and finally into the valley of her cleavage, held firm by a white cropped tank top clinging to her skin. The fabric stretched taut across the generous curve of her breast and the soft dip of her navel. A black mini jean skirt rode high on her thighs; a pair of white sneakers completed the look she had chosen with deliberate care.

She was not accustomed to dressing this way. The glances from passing man who had been fortunate to walk by her never seemed to end, often taking a second look, then a third, throwing an occasional grin when their eyes met hers. She would pay them no heed now; on a normal day, when she had been dressed modestly, none had paid her any attention, but today those stares came without invitation; she had only dressed this way for one reason and one reason only.

Bola, her best friend, had invited her to an amusement park that day; he had given her no prior notice. That was typical of him. What was not typical was the quiet hope she carried with her; that this might finally be the day she stopped being only his best friend. She had always had eyes for him, but no matter how much attention she had given, he just didn’t get the hint.

Although the attention she had received from the men that walked by was not entirely what she had planned for, she was glad that they could see her beauty clearly, which meant she had succeeded in passing the right message, scoffing at the thought that even those who walked with their spouse couldn’t keep their eyes off of her.

On a good day, Mayowa was a beauty to behold. As a child, everyone wanted to be close to her; they all loved her charming character and playful personality. Growing up, her beauty only added to her irresistible character. She was a dark-skinned beauty, with a smile that could steal the devil’s heart, literally. Every day had a man asking for her attention, and as often as not, she stopped them in their tracks. Whenever they asked, she’d always make an excuse, but truly she only had eyes for one.

Bola had been there even before her beauty had blossomed; he had been present through every awkward phase of her growing up, every triumph and every quiet heartbreak, from the very first time she went to the nursery classes up until they finished high school, although the University placements hadn’t worked out as planned with Bola gaining admission a few years earlier, both had kept in touch regardless. His family and friends often joked that they would someday end up together; Mayowa’s parents wouldn’t hear of it. It was something Bola only laughed at, but Mayowa often prayed deep down for it to come true.

“Mayowa?”

The familiar voice pulled her from her thoughts. She turned around and found him standing near the park entrance. He was in his mid-twenties, a few years older than her; his dark-skinned and masculine fitness was ever so visibly portrayed by his white short-sleeved anime-themed T-shirt that had theRikudo Crest (Six Paths Seal)across the back. He had on a pair of sunglasses and a wide smile that made you think he was in his early twenties, a pair of orange shorts, and a pair of white NIKE sneakers to go along with it. Bola had always been a fashion-centric person who made sure to keep up with the latest trends, and she loved this about him, always nagging about the fact that he never outgrew theOTAKUculture as she did.

Mayowa greeted him with a smile, hardly able to hide her excitement on her face as she approached him, slowly waving at him.

“I didn’t know you were already in; I was just about to call your phone,”she said, wrapping her arms around him, her nipples poking against his chest.

“I was going to wait, but I decided instead to go buy the tickets and then come wait for you,”Bola said, releasing himself from the tight embrace that seemed to have gone on for much longer than it normally would. But Mayowa did not stop there; wrapping her arms around his, she pressed her breast against it, making sure the top of her cleavage was clearly visible to his eyes. She pulled out a cute smile. Bola’s slightly taller build had worked in her favor, making it impossible for him not to look.

Staring at them for a moment and then locking eyes with her, his embarrassment grew tenfold. He quickly turned his gaze away, but the sightseeing session had already gone on for far too long; his second occupant had already made its presence known by the slightly visible tent in his shorts, adding to his embarrassment.

“What is it?”Mayowa asked, playing the naïve card. She could tell by how tense he was that he wanted the ground to open and swallow him whole to save him the embarrassment, but she would not let that happen even if it did.

“It’s nothing, just that you look different than normal.”He answered.

“Do you like my new look?”she asked with a wide smile.

“It’s... fine, I guess,”Bola answered, still fighting the urge to take a second look.

Mayowa, placing her palm over her mouth, chuckled at the sight of his discomfort, excited at the result of all her hard work.“So where to first?”she asked as they walked on.

“Let’s head over there,”Bola answered, pointing in the direction of a cotton candy vendor. Seeing this made Mayowa’s face light up with even more excitement; she had always been a sweet tooth, and Bola knew this. Taking this chance to recover himself, he tried to pull away.

They approached the cotton candy stand housing a bloated man with unkempt beards, whose uniform could hardly hide his stomach. One would think he had feasted on too many candies from the looks of his brown-stained teeth that only became visible when he smiled.

“How many for the lovely couple?”the candy man asked with a smile.

“Two, please,”Mayowa answered, squeezing Bola’s arm tighter, not giving him any chance to get away from her grip.

Bola turned his eyes around, as though searching for something he had never lost.“Actually, make that four”, he said. Mayowa wondered if he wanted to get enough for seconds, but before she could say a word, she noticed him smiling at the girl walking their way. He waved her over to them. Mayowa, confused, loosened up her grip, giving Bola the chance to quickly escape her grasp. He began making his way toward the girl in front of them, leaving Mayowa in her dazed state.

After a short, familiar exchange -an embrace that looked anything but casual- he returned with her to Mayowa, who still stood dazed and watching at the cotton candy vendor.

“Mayowa, meet Chioma, my girlfriend. Chioma, meet Mayowa, my best friend since kindergarten,”Bola said, introducing both ladies.

The news sent shockwaves down Mayowa’s spine; she tried to swallow saliva, but it refused to slide down her throat. She had never expected or noticed this development in Bola’s life; they had spoken a lot over several things, even about the end of his most recent relationship, but never this.

Before her stood an older girl with a fair complexion and curvy body that was immaculate enough for Mayowa to be envious. Although Chioma was slightly taller, she wasn’t as evenly well-built as Mayowa was, for she was lacking in the chest area, possessing only a small-sized cup which had been quite smaller than Mayowa’s overly abundant set, but her natural silver lens, well-shaped nose, and extremely pink lips gave her a much more noticeably attractive beauty than she had. This made Mayowa very uneasy and upset with herself for not matching in those aspects.

Putting up a fake smile, she offered her hand in greeting to Chioma, ′Hi, it’s nice to meet you,′ she lied.

‘Nice to meet you too, ’Chioma replied with a warm smile.

“Where’s Junior?”Bola asked, scanning the park quickly.

“He went to get me ice cream,”Chioma answered.“Speak of the devil”,she pointed at Junior returning with two large cups of ice cream, one chocolate and the other vanilla.

"Hi,” Junior walked over and greeted Mayowa with a grin, and handed over the chocolate ice cream to Chioma. Although he had a better body build than Bola and was even more attractive too, but not enough to catch Mayowa’s attention, he lacked the confidence that made Bola her one and only.

“Hi,”she replied, trying not to be rude.

“He is Chioma’s best friend,”Bola said, noticing the lack of introduction.

“I’m so sorry for getting you guys into this double date without even giving you the heads up first. I just wanted to introduce my baby to Junior; he was the one who put the idea of a double date in my head,”Chioma apologized, realizing how much trouble she and Bola had caused for their innocent and unsuspecting best friends.

“It’s okay,”Mayowa lied, saddened by the fact that Bola had been the one to come up with the idea in the first place. She had genuinely thought this was her time, but reality had come to prove otherwise; now it was her turn to wish for the ground to open and swallow her up to save her from this humiliation. But just like before with Bola, the earth would not listen to this request.

“Alright then, let’s go have some fun!”Bola shouted, causing the group to yell in excitement, all except Mayowa.

“What about the cotton candy?”the candy man asked.

“Oh! Sorry, I totally forgot. How much would that cost?”Bola asked, reaching into his pocket for his wallet.

“Four hundred naira,”he said with a grin.

Bola paid him off, grabbed the Cotton candies, and went back to join the group.

While they walked away, the candy man stood watching. A wide grin appeared on his face, too sinister to be considered good. For a moment, his eyes flickered a deep, unnatural red...