Chapter 9

Seyi's POV

"So where are we going " I said genuinely curious

"You'll know when we get there" Ese said looking puzzled

"Why do you look like that" I said amused

"How do I look" She said looking worried

"Chill,you look beautiful,I meant you look like you have to make the worlds hardest decision" I said teasing

"How do you know the look of someone who has the worlds hardest decision to make" She said looking amused

"Hey,I'm just saying" I laughed

" Well if you must know,I'm having a hard time choosing were we should visit,I have been to almost all the best places Lagos has to offer and we obviously can't visit them all" She said still looking puzzled

"Okay maybe..." I was interrupted by her saying "i got it!! and fortunately for us it's not far from where we are now"

"Okay then"I said

She gave me directions and then in less than 10 minutes we were there.

It was a building with fine fabric looking art works,animals and even plants with different colours,sizes and shapes lacing the walls,it showed just how much time,effort and skill that was put in it,at the top of the building it was boldly written Adesola Art Center.

I was more than amazed at how much skill the person's who did this have,for someone who wasn't big on Art this place had me feeling all kinds of things and I wasn't even inside yet,as we walked towards the entrance I finally removed my eyes from the building and fixed it on the compound,it had different statues at every conner,from big to small, animals to man looking ones,to still life,there was one that particularly got my interest,it looked like wood carvings but it looked so smooth that I wasn't so sure,it was a woman with a bowl on her head and a baby on her back,i was still admiring it when I heard Ese talking to a man in front of me,this was the second person we had seen since we got here,the first being the security guard who we bought tickets from before he opened the gates.

I walked closer to them and I heard what seemed like the end of their conversation

"You're welcome to Adesola Art Center" The man said

"Thank you" ESE and I said in unison

"Since you don't want a guide, you don't have to wait, you can go right in" The man said

"Thank you"Ese said again

We got in and I sincerely didn't know where to look, there were pictures all around me,the walls were all decorated with beautiful pictures, they were all placed so nicely,the distance between the pictures we're just right,the lighten made the pictures even clearer,that was probably just me but that's how I felt , I looked from picture to picture,I saw different colors and images all coming together to form something so beautiful,some had this darkness to it that got me feeling gloomy, one that particularly got me feeling that way was an image of black men in chains and at the bottom was written we got our freedom and that made me smile .

I finally turned my attention to Ese who was looking at me with an amused face "well someone seems to love Art"she said

"Well I didn't think I did considering I have always been surrounded by it and never been interested.My mom was an archaeologist and I think that made her love Art,as a result I was always around it and I never showed interest like i said all up till now,and I don't why" I said

"Well,this is home,it's ours,it's yours,your heart just understands that"Ese said like it was so obvious

"Right"I said

She went back to looking at the images before us and all I did was stare at her, she was now my focus, how her eyes moved from picture to picture,how her expressions changed,she looked beautiful,"simply beautiful" I mouthed. I didn't want to stop looking at her.

We moved to another room,this one had more sculptures and masks,there were wooden chairs with beautiful crafted designs on them,animals of all kinds from lions to lizards,masks with wide eyes and mouths of different colors and sizes,i genuinely didn't know where to look,they all had different designs that we're all so interesting.

I noticed Ese was given a lot of attention to the wooden image of a bird.

"Why do you seem so interested in this one" I asked

"It's a sparrow,my dad told me that according to the Greek mythology the sparrow is a symbol of love and ironically science regards sparrows as lustful birds" She said with a smile

She continued "if you haven't observed I don't really have a close relationship with my dad, so this is one of the few memories I have were my dad actually seemed like my dad"

"Sorry about that" I replied

I couldn't really relate,my dad was always never around but at least I knew why and he always made it up to me when he was.

"Yea.. It's alright" She said and walked past it

While Ese and I were walking round the room admiring the sculptures,we realized that there was a different compartment,it was filled with different textiles materials, a lot of tie and dye materials we're showcased, with different colors and designs and then the urge to take pictures came.

I pulled Ese closer,she looked surprised but when she saw my phone was on camera mode, she gave a bright smile, and then I took my phone up enough so our faces will be visible and then click,we got ourselves a picture.

Ese didn't want to stop at just one though,according to her I woke her picture taking mode, we ended up taking like 50 pictures.No jokes, she was being really cute though,taking pictures with the fabrics,sculptures and even masks and of course dragging me along to take the most absurd pictures,at first I wasn't feeling it until she started doing crazy stuff like staying close to the animal sculptures and making, more like trying to make the same look they had, she looked so happy so free I just had to join in.

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We were in the car, on our way to the second location,apparently it was a resort,Ese was with my phone looking at the 50 or more pictures we took.

"Awwwn,the pictures are so nice" She said smiling,with her eyes still scanning the pictures and her hands swiping through my phone.she was being so cute

"Omg,I'm keeping this one!!!"she managed to say in between laughs

I leaned towards her to see the picture she was talking about, it was a picture of I and her giving the must absurd look, this happened because She was all like let's do something crazy and then me being totally into the crazy mode she was in at the time made the look and took the picture,both of my eyes we're almost looking at each other and Ese's tongue was out, she still looked so cute.

"Hey delete that picture, I look horrible" I said trying to sound angry

"No,you look happy" She said smiling down at the picture

"Well,fine,if you like it that much" I said.How does she do that,with just a smile,I'm gone.

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After some minutes we got to the resort Ese couldn't stop talking about, apparently she came here with her brother and she had a lot of fun.

We paid a fee at the gate and then we were ushered in,we joined a group of people,two young couples who apparently knew each other.

The Guy who I was guessing was the tour guide began" i'm your tour guide for today my name is Liam,Welcome to Royal Oak resort Lagos"

"Thank you" We all said in unison

"I'm here to guide you through the canopy walk,after that you are all free to enjoy other parts of the resort " He said with a smile

He led us to where the canopy was located, before we started the walk,we were attached to a steel cable for our safety,we started walking and Ese stuck so close to me.

"I thought you loved this place? " I said to her,amused by the sacred look on her face

"But this is my least favorite part of this place" She said obviously trying not to look down

"You are scared of heights?,you shouldn't be!,it's beautiful from up here" I said still amused

"That's what mudia said,but I just couldn't look " She said while wrapping her hands around me

"Then why did you suggest this place? " I asked

"Cause I knew you'll like it" She said looking a bit embarrassed

She added "plus,I have been meaning to come here despite this being a huge part of the resort,I love nature,food and music and this place has all of these in abundance"

I smiled "That's nice,well I still think you are missing,Ese the view is amazing,plus you are very safe, remember the steel cable attached to you?" I said looking down,there were trees of all kinds and it all looked beautiful.

I have been to places like this,far more amazing actually,I travelled for a year before going off to college,so I have been to a lot of amazing places,but I guess because this is home it just feels different,it feels more special.I guess home is home,honestly today has been amazing despite my bad morning and it hasn't even ended.

"Seyi" She said with pouted lips

"Yes baby" I said smirking

"Baby?,really? " She started laughing into my chest.

"You are behaving like one,so i'm calling you baby from now on" I smiled.

She smacked my chest and I chuckled.

"Look at that really cute monkey!!" I said trying to sound excited

She quickly looked down and started searching for the monkey I obviously didn't see "where?, where is it?"

I started laughing really hard

" I should have known,there's no way you would have called a monkey cute " She said looking annoyed

" Chill,at least I got you to look down " I said teasingly

She looked shocked for a minute and then looked down and said "Wow,this is amazing "

I smiled "I told you "

"Thank you" She gave me a smile,a smile I didn't want to stop looking at.

She started taking pictures of basically everything,for some reason i found it cute,like i did everything she did.

Pathetic,I know.

After some minutes we finally got to the end of the canopy,the steel cable were removed and all I could think about was food.

"I'm starving,where can we get food"I said

She started laughing "You remind me so much of my brother "

Wow,I remind her of her brother?,that got me,got me bad,so i might be falling hard for this girl and I remind her of her brother!!!

Breathe Seyi,just breathe,she didn't mean it like that,I kept telling myself so I could calm down.

"So...let's go,it's right around here" She said and walked off and I followed.

While walking to where we could get some food,we saw a peacock,some monkeys and a tortoise and of course Ese went on a picture taking spree,while all I could think about was food.After threatening to leave her there,she finally decided to leave.

We got to a really big hut,with nicely designed wooden benches and tables with beautifully designed tie and dye fabrics as table coverings,hand fans made with Palm tree branches and grass we're used to design the hut,there was a stage with a jazz life band playing,it had this 90s vibe to it .

We order glasses of drinks mostly juice,water melon,orange, grape,blue berries,banana.All Ese's idea,apparently that's what we needed,she can be a total health freak and I ordered a bottle of beer,we order fish barbeque and chips and two plates of goat meat pepper soup.

And she was right the food was nice,one of the best fish barbeque and goat peeper soup I have tasted.

"You have had pepper soup before?, while eating I was waiting for you to complain or something, probaly say it was too spicy.But nothing" She asked seeming surprised

"Of course I have,although I wasn't here for most parts of my life,my mom and dad made sure I didn't miss much of my culture and that was mostly the food" I said smiling

"Oh wow,that cool" She smiled

After spending two hours eating, talking and listening to music,we decided it was time to go.

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We were currently at Ese's faculty, standing beside her car,she wanted to get it,even after I basically begged her to late me drop her home and told her that I'll personally bring it back the next morning, she argued that it was going to be stressful for me which was true,call me stupid but I didn't mind,I just wanted to have more time with her,which was beyond weird considering I spent the whole afternoon with her and then I remembered something that had been bugging me since she said it .

" So....you see me as a brother?" I asked trying not to sound hurt

"When did I say that?" She said seeming completely oblivious

" You remind me so much of my brother? " I said

She started laughing "you know what I meant,like you have a lot of similarities,that's all and that's a compliment,he is my favorite person"

My face brightened all of a sudden "yea sure, I knew that" I said rubbing the back of my hair with my hands

She smiled at me " Right.. "

I then realized our positions,her back was resting on the right back seat door and I standing in front of her,I leaned in wanting to feel her lips on mine,I was so close,so close,but then i stopped myself, I didn't want to scare her or make her think this was all I wanted.I really need this to last so I'm going to take this slow I said to myself.

I made it seem like i was that close cause I wanted to open the door for her by actually opening it,instead of doing what i actually wanted to do,which was to kiss her very soft and full lips.Men was this was so frustrating.

She gave me a look I couldn't decipher and got into her car,she lowered her car window and said "Good night Seyi,I had a nice time and I hope you feel better"

"I sure do" I smiled

And she drove off.