Life

Episode 15

‘’I never knew you could cook so well.’’ Scarlett praised accepting the glass of red wine hand over to her by Josh while settling unto the couch beside him. in her wildest dreams, she had never suspected Josh as a better cook.

The alarm bells in her head had gone off immediately she decided to come over to his place for dinner.

“so you don’t mind about the change of plans that we’re having dinner at my place?’’
“I like it here.’’
“then why don’t you move In with me?’’
Scar found it hard to swallow. Move in with Josh Riley? He was asking Her to move in with him.

this was so against what she believed in.

But hadn’t she permitted it all in the first place? She was the one meant to be pulling him towards God but He was doing a good job

moving her away from him
But wasn’t this what she wanted, what she’d dreamed of in the past?
She shook her head. ‘’I cant. Gabe…’’
He looked into her eyes then. ‘’if you loved him, you wouldn’t be here with me.’’
She closed her eyes and felt the conscience p—k her again. ‘’I can’t believe I’m doing this with you. I have to go.’’
She stood up immediately and headed for the door when he placed his hands on them making her trapped right under him.
“we’re selfish, and what we’re doing is so wrong. Gavin needs you now more than ever, and I’m his teacher who should be helping him in all ways possible. He loves you so much and that’s all I want to witness. But this thing that happened between us, if we continue like this, it’ll ruin everything.’’
“Gavin loves you…’’
“I know. But I haven’t been living up to my reputation.’’
‘’when are you going to tell Gabe about us?’’
Scarlett’s eyes widened. ‘’us?’’
Josh frowned. ‘’is there no us?’’
“I cant. I’ll break his heart.’’
“and so you’ll rather break mine?’’
“you came late Josh. Right when something could have worked between us, you walked away. Right when you should have stood up for me, you didn’t say a word and right when I was humiliated in high school and expected you to do something, you just acted like you knew nothing.’’ Her eyes were beginning to mist but she didn’t struggle to wipe away the tears when they came strolling down. “and now you tell me you love me when you have a girlfriend and a son and moved on ahead in life. don’t you care that I want to be happy too, that I want to live life too, and life doesn’t revolve around you alone?’’
“baby, I’m so sorry.’’ He tried holding her hands but she broke free. ‘’I would never hurt you and when that thing happened back In high school, I called you, I tried everything I could, I searched for you. I opted out of the football team and forfeited the scholarship all because of you. I felt everything was my fault and I wasn’t myself for days. Your parents wouldn’t even allow me near your house and my parents didn’t make things easier. I never knew what we had was Love till now. I felt it was just my heart playing tricks on me but you are the only woman who has this strange effect on me I can’t explain.’’

“I never knew you opted out of the football team…’’ she felt guilty. Sheila had done all she could to separate them and the kiss they’d shared, she thought he was in all of it.

And she had left hating him and hating herself knowing she would never fall for his type again.

And here he was looking broken and wanting her so badly. Why couldn’t she give herself to him when that was what they both wanted?

He began kissing her tears away and she weakened when his lips finally found hers, claiming them for his own gently at first and then deeply till she broke free for air.

She knew the wine had little or nothing to do with the way she was feeling presently
“we cant do this here, Gavin…’’ she managed to say before she went into his arms willingly.

He was strong enough to carry her upstairs.

Two hours later, Josh lay exhausted beside Scarlett and kissed her firmly on the lips. She didn’t resist this time but rested her head and her hands on his bare chest loving how solid he felt against her.

“I don’t know what you’re doing to me Scarlett, but you’ve got me falling head over heels for you.’’ He played with her hair absent mindedly. ‘’I don’t know how I’d survive the rest of the day without you.’’
She looked up at him and her eyes began to mist. This was wrong but it felt so good. He broke her walls and shattered every obstacle she’d created and she knew he had her right in his palms. Right now, he could crush her or he could mold her presently.
Josh Riley had the key to her heart and as they lay together, she knew this was just the beginning of something deeper between them.
“tell me about Gavin’s mum.’’ She propped her head on her elbow to be able to look fully into his eyes. His hand slipped away from her back and she was glad for the less distraction. That way, she could realize the truth in time.
“she was a colleague.’’ Was all he said
“and you don’t feel I deserve to know so much more about you and how much you’ve moved on.’’
“I don’t want to fill your head with something that never really happened. It was just a case of two adults fooling around.’’
Scarlett sat up pulling the sheet to her body. ‘’so what are we doing now?’’
Gavin looked at her then, the feeling of trepidation crawling up his spine. Scarlett had come to him whole keeping her word to remain a virgin and he’d taken that from her whereas he didn’t wait. He knew she was bound to ask him how much he’d been faring without her.

“its much more than s-x you know that.’’
“so you forgot all about me and moved on.’’ she managed to get the words out though the tears were already stuck in her throat.
He rose to move closer to her. ‘’not for one second did I forget you Scarlett. For a while, I thought I couldn’t do without you. If you know how hurt I felt, how I tried looking for you, how I even came over to your house the day before you moved out and tried to hold you and comfort you, but your parents thought I was the one who had hurt you and wouldn’t even let me get close to you. And then I heard you had gone just like that.’’

“whatever happened between Ashley and I wasn’t meant to. It just happened cos I was trying to move on without you. And then she wanted to get rid of the baby but I couldn’t allow her do that. I felt like I had a responsibility and was gonna stick by it even if she didn’t want to. I got her to sign a contract that she wouldn’t try anything funny in the future against Gavin and she was more than ready. She’s no more in my life.’’
‘what about your new girlfriend?’’
“she can’t even stand a chance in places where you’re concerned.’’
He started to kiss her and she surrendered to him. when he pulled away, it was to smile into her eyes with desire.
“I have something for you.’’ He mumbled against her lips.
She smiled. ‘’really…’’
He stretched his hand to his bed table and snatched the velvet box that lay beside him.
Scarlett’s heart beat wildly in her chest and her eyes widened on full realization of what was about to happen.

“I know I’m meant to plan the perfect proposal for you, being the special woman in my life but I just can’t hold it in anymore.” He opened the box and got down from the bed to get on his knees. ‘’Scarlett Rose Ruby, please do me the honour of being my wife.’’
She covered her mouth and let the tears flow easily. This was what she’d ever dreamed of and it was happening presently.
“I don’t know what to say. It’s all too much for me right now.’’
“I can give you time. I’m a patient man, and I can wait.’’

And she reached for him and kissed him passionately.
“I love you Josh Riley.’’ She managed to say as he rose to join her on the bed once more, forgetting everything else apart from their passion for each other.

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For a while, Scarlett found it difficult to say anything to Gabe but the tension In their relationship was palpable enough to detect that something was wrong and not as before anymore. She kept postponing the date but Josh didn’t mind most especially since they spent almost all their time together and sometimes Gavin joined in the fun, making Scarlett wish he was hers.
Josh dropped hints on how to make that possible and so she knew she most definitely had to tell Gabe.
Most Fridays were spent in his place after their poetry reading at the café or sometimes after dinner. She told him she couldn’t invite him to her place since she didn’t live alone and didn’t want Rea to get mad at her.
“that would be a good idea, y’know.’’ He said jokingly one time when they were in the kitchen together and she’d been preparing dinner for him, wearing only his Shirt.
She cocked her eyebrows. ‘’oh really…’’
He came close and slid his hands around her waist pulling her close nuzzling her neck in the process. ‘’in that way, she’d send you packing and you could come over my place.

Then you can answer my proposal question in time.’’
“you’re not gonna give up are you?’’
“I can’t lose you again.’’
She smiled remembering the second surprise he’d given her the night after he proposed to her. He’d come to snatch her away from the house with the pretense that he just wanted to take her out.
But when they drove closer to the harbor, she knew it was much more than a lunch date.
He got down from the car and he urged her to come out and join him.
It was when she stepped out from his car she saw the surprise and gasped, covering her mouth in shock
“oh no!’’
She looked at him and saw him grinning like a boy in love. The boy she’d fallen in love with years ago and looked at the big boat her name was boldly scripted upon.
“The Scarlett.’’
“Josh, this is all too much.’’

He came and pulled her close to his side, kissing her hair. ‘’anything for you baby.’’

They walked into the boat together while Josh greeted the engineers behind the whole ordeal. Their rapport had been so natural and then she saw the captain smiling at her and excusing them as they looked around.

“wanna check out the cabin?’’
She could only nod as he reached for her hand and led her inside closing the door behind him.

“it’s beautiful Josh, I don’t even know what to say’’
“anything to make you make up your mind about marrying me.’’
‘’you’re serious aren’t you?’’ she looked into his eyes then.
He came closer to her and caressed her face with his fingers, raw desire in his eyes. ‘’ I want you to be mine.’’

She swallowed when he traced his fingers on her lips. How in the world did he have so much authority over her this way? ‘’I’m yours already.’’
“we could take time out and set sail on this baby when you’re ready. And then when we get married, we could spend time at my beach house together.’’
‘’hmmmn..’’ she closed her eyes when his lips settled on hers and could do nothing else when he peeled off her clothes.
And now, she couldn’t figure out how many times she’d allowed him into her body and into her life but she didn’t care anymore.
With time, she couldn’t hear her conscience speak again.

She laughed basking in his scent and not wanting him to let go ‘’I’ll give you an answer at the right time and I bet you it wouldn’t be a no.’’
‘’you smell good, delicious in fact.’’ He trailed kisses down her bare shoulders.
“you’re distracting you know that don’t you?’’ she tried to stop him but didn’t succeed and gave up.

The food had gotten burnt with Demi had walked in on them and the look on her face was enough to remind Scarlett of where she’d placed her before she had been reduced to Josh’s bedmate.
One afternoon while he was still away and she was teaching Gavin his lessons, she interrupted rudely and told Gavin to go to the neighbour’s house sweetly while she had a talk with Scarlett alone.

“I don’t need to be a rocket scientist before I know what you’re doing with my nephew.’’ She began looking right into her eyes. ‘’and the fact that you’re sleeping with him without any guilty conscience when you read those stories to Gavin amazes me.’’

Scarlett blushed and tried averting her gaze.

The woman knew where to hit her
“I know I don’t have the right to judge you or anything, but I expected so much more from you than this. I trusted you and brought you into my family. I told you everything about us hoping you would work your way into his heart and bring him to Christ but it seems to me like you’re working your way into his bed instead.’’
“Demi…’’
“you’re not the first woman he’s going to have s-x with, but for your sake and mine, I hope you qualify being the last cos you’d be losing on both sides.’’
And she was gone.

And for the first time in weeks since she’d been going out with Josh, she began to see what she had been doing and broke into tears.

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When Scarlett started throwing up and feeling queasy, she didn’t know what to pin it to and thought it was probably something she’d eaten and took a sick leave. When she noticed a little awkwardness in her sleeping habit and her irritation for things she normally liked, she grew scared.
Was she suddenly having allergic reactions?

That was so odd.

But she suspected it was so much far from allergic reactions when after the second month, her period stopped visiting.

Oh no, this was all too much to bear and she prayed it was something else. Something far from what she suspected could be the reason.

She couldn’t handle another surprise in her life right now while she was still trying to sort her life out.
Rea was suspicious but tried not to show it most especially when Scar didn’t mention anything about herself and Josh, never talked about the weekends she didn’t sleep over, and the reason why he’d brought her home so late at night some weeks ago.
She knew it right from that moment that her friend wasn’t the same anymore and she grew worried for her.
But she decided to go with her to the hospital to confirm her suspicion and look Scar in the eye to start spilling out everything if it was true.

She didn’t know who her friend was anymore. She felt more like a stranger lived in the house with her.

When Scar was told she was six week’s pregnant, she was in shock for a while and didn’t speak. And then she burst into tears after the doctor left the room
Rea did what she could do best. Comfort her