Chapter 40

"Col. Anthony wants me to be at the party taking place at the officers' Mess tomorrow night." Stephen told his friends as they sat under the tree three days later, at their usual restaurant spot in Mami.

"Wait, he personally invited you himself?" Rufus asked in surprise. "Like, it was from him to you directly, no third parties, especially through that little pompous fool, Nosa, whom he goes around with?"

"Yes...in person..." Stephen answered after sipping his beer. "He actually came over to my block three days ago."

"You kidding? What could he possibly want in your block?" Jerry asked then exchanged a knowing look with Rufus, then nodded their heads severally together when they had finally figured out the answer, they both said in unison: "Vioolllleeetttt!"

"Yes, Violet." Stephen affirmed. "I came out and there he was, talking to her like a lovesick mouse."

"This is bad news, man." Jerry shook his head as he picked a chunk of fried meat from his plate with a toothpick and put it into his mouth. "Bad news."

"Real bad news..." Rufus seconded. "How did he even get to know about her? She barely goes out. Does he now have spies looking out for beautiful slim girls on his behalf?"

"Guy, you know that Violet is hard to miss, that girl is hot and I don't trust all these idle barrack women, they must have spread a rumor about her around the barrack, especially that nosy neighbor of Stephen...radio without battery."

"Well, I don't think so. I don't think that's what happened. If you ask me, I think they had already met before now." Stephen told them.

"Really? You mean back at the club?" Rufus asked.

"Yes, I mean, what else would you expect from a stripper? She's exposed to a lot of men." Stephen replied.

"That doesn't mean that she's sleeping with any of them." Jerry calmly defended.

"And how would you know that?" Stephen asked, shooting his friend a hard look.

"You ate her cookie first, remember?" Jerry reminded him.

"Yeah...that..." Stephen shook a finger in the air near his head. "How could I forget? Perhaps she has been giving hand-jobs and blowjobs to get more tips, or perhaps, after I slept with her, she decided to open shop."

"Don't talk like a fool, Stephen, you and I know that Violet is not like that." Jerry chided.

Stephen diverted his gaze to Jerry again with an unpleasant smile on his face. "Tell me, Jerry, why are you so quick to defend her like you know her so well? You jump at every little opportunity to vouch for her, is there something I should know, buddy?"

"Just from the short time that I've spent with that girl, I can tell that she's way better than a lot of girls that I've met!" Jerry boldly answered.

"Then why not marry her since she's so good to you?!" Stephen said coldly.

"I would have done just that if I didn't already have Anne. It just sucks to see that you are making her pay for the sins of another!" Jerry retorted.

"Don't go there, Jerry, don't!" Stephen warned now as he leaned back into his chair, his hands on his open laps.

"You know that I say nothing but the truth, Stephen! It's high time you realized that that girl is not Susan! Stop treating her as if she was the one who had left you standing on the altar. She doesn't deserve it, man!"

"You don't know nothing, Jerry!" Stephen snapped now. "I know what Violet is up to and I'm only being smart about it so that I don't become a victim twice! That girl is trying to ensnare me! She wants to catch me off guard and then when I finally fall, she'll leave me high and dry like Susan and quickly hop into the arms of a superior officer, and I'm not going to let another woman put me through such hell again. Never! I won't let it happen!"

"Well, get over your fear already and be a man Stephen, be a man! If you keep getting all defensive and putting your walls up, how are you going to find out if her intentions are genuine or not?! Why stick to your assumptions when you don't even have the facts?!" Jerry said.

"Can you guys not pretend like I'm not here?" Rufus stated, feeling left out and not liking the tension between the two friends. "You two keep going back and forth over Violet, is this ever going to end?"

"Then tell him to treat that girl right!" Jerry pointed at Stephen who was glaring at him under his brows, a bit tipsy.

"Let's just leave Stephen alone. I won't blame him for having such fears. It's barely four months since Susan dealt him such a blow. If he wants to keep pushing Violet away, it's up to him and sorry to say this, Stephen, but you'll regret it. Man, that girl is everything a man can ever ask for and more, I wonder why you can't just see it and give her a chance." Rufus said.

"I'd rather not." Stephen remained adamant. "I'm better off without a woman in my life!"

"Well fine, the decision is up to you anyway... So, is nobody going to ask how Doris and I are doing?" Rufus asked but when none of the men said anything, he shrugged and said, "I'll say it anyway, we are good, she's a great person and I think that I really like her a lot! A whole lot to be precise!" He smiled.

"Good for you." Jerry indifferently said, taking a swig from his beer.

"Good for me? Is that all you are going to say? Guy, you no try at all o. So, you can't invest the same energy you do for Stephen and Violet into me? You sure aren't a good friend." Rufus said with a displeased frown. After drinking from his glass of beer, he soberly continued, "Anyway, we had deep talks and she told me about her past. Although, her past is dirty but that girl has really been through a lot."

"And her past doesn't bother you?" Stephen asked.

"No, why should it bother me? We all have our pasts." Rufus answered.

"Not even the fact that she's a stripper?" Stephen pressed.

"Well, she's already given up that life and I'll make sure she doesn't go back to it." Rufus stated.

"I see..." Stephen said in doubt. "A leopard never really sheds its spots."

"Na you sabi...but there's somebody I need to find and deal with."

"Who?" Asked Jerry.

"Her ex... that guy treated her like crap. Pimped her and forced her to do all manner of things just to enrich his pockets. I need to find that guy and teach him a lesson of his life."

"Well done, Superman." Jerry teased. "But don't worry, anytime you wish to do that, I have your back...we gather dey."

"So, what do you guys think about Col. Anthony's request that I be at the party?" Stephen finally asked after a brief silence ensued among them.

"You'll have to go to that party if you don't wanna get on his bad side. We all know how very vindictive he can be. I think the person he really wants is Violet and you are just his ticket to her." Rufus said.

"More reason we need to go with you. I'll be there with Anne; Rufus, be there with Doris." Jerry stated.

"Is that really necessary?" Stephen asked.

"Do you have a better idea?" Jerry asked but when Stephen said nothing, Jerry added: "I thought so... But Stephen, you really need to give Violet a chance. That girl likes you. You have to change your perception of her and the only way to do that is to stop judging her by her job but by her personality. Stephen, you might not know it but if you let that girl slip through your hands because of your pride and fear, you'll live to regret it because it will hurt you more than Susan's ever did." 

Stephen said nothing but simply slipped into thoughts about what Jerry had just told him.

★★★

Stephen got back home late into the night and realized that Violet must have waited up for him for hours for him and had then left the door unlocked for him when she couldn't wait anymore. When he walked into the living room, he found her sleeping on the couch, and since the atmosphere reeked of cigarette smoke, he could tell that she had been smoking again.

 On the small stool beside her stood a bottle of alcohol, a pack of cigarettes and several stubs and ashes. He deposited himself into an armchair across the living room and stared at her for a moment. He let his eyes run over her body since she was dressed in a silk singlet and matching shorts, and he knew that she had no panties underneath the shorts. This very thought caused movement in his groin and he began to imagine a lot of things about her. 

He slightly tilted his head to the side and stared at her lips. He had never kissed them before and he wondered how it would feel to do so. His eyes slowly descended down her chin, down her slender long neck, towards her chest and his eyes caught how her chest gently rose and fell as she breathed in her sleep. He watched her breasts and saw how her nipples were significant in the silk material and he began to imagine what they would taste like. 

He felt like going over to her and trying out all his imaginations but he restrained himself. He didn't want to repeat his mistake of taking her against her will twice. Although, the first time he had raped her, it had been because he had wanted to make someone pay for what Susan had done to him. But this time, it was because she looked so tempting sleeping belly-up on that couch, and also because he hadn't had sex for more than a month now.

Making up his mind that he wasn't going to do anything foolish tonight, he stood up and dragged his feet to his bedroom, closing the door behind him before he lost his restraint and pounced on her. A minute after he had closed the door, Violet slowly opened her eyes. She had heard him come into the apartment and had known when he had heavily sat down on the couch.

She knew that he had sat down there for a while and she wondered what he had been thinking of. She thought of going to knock on his door to inquire if he was okay but the last thing she wanted was his yelling at her or dishing her hurtful words, so she decided that it was best if she stayed put. After what felt like half an hour, she slowly closed her eyes again and went to sleep.

                                                                                 ★★★

Saturday Night...

After checking herself in the mirror and making sure that she looked okay, Violet turned, walked out of the apartment, locked the door and approached the group of people who were waiting around Stephen's car for her. They were Stephen, Jerry, Rufus, Doris and Anne. The women looked stunning in their outfits and makeup, while the men were simply dressed in their uniforms.

Stephen had his back leaned against the side of the car with his arms folded under his chest and the sleeves of his uniform were folded up to reveal his biceps. While the others began to compliment her on how stunning she looked, she noticed how impassive Stephen remained and he said nothing to her.

"Anne, meet Violet. Violet, this is my fiancée, Anne." Jerry made a quick introduction and both women hugged each other and exchanged pleasantries as they beamed at each other as if they had just found new best friends.

After watching the others rain compliments on her, Stephen suddenly leaned away from the car and said stiffly as he walked around the car to the driver's side. "Let's get going already, we are already late!"

The other men got into the backseat, putting their ladies in between them while Violet rode shotgun. Stephen got into the car and without a word, he drove them to the venue. As they alighted in front of the Officer's Mess whose parking lot was already occupied with a lot of cars, they could hear loud music and noise blasting from inside the building. 

Several soldiers, both male and female and a few civilians who were probably their dates could be seen in small groups outside the building and most of them had drinks in their hands. While Jerry and Rufus held their women's hands, Violet was pretty much on her own. After the men shook hands with and exchanged pleasantries, mostly in slangs with their colleagues, they all filed into the club with Stephen at the fore, leading the way. 

As they got into the busy hall, the music got louder. In here, soldiers were rocking women, some who had no companion were either dancing with one another or with a female soldier since most of the females hardly had any civilian who wanted to date them, and much to their dismay, most of their male colleagues also preferred civilian women to them. Heads turned to look at Violet as she walked by with Jerry, Rufus and their girlfriends following behind her. 

Feeling nervous, Violet lowered her head. Tucking her purse under her arm, she followed Stephen who was maneuvering his way through the crowd, looking for a spot for them. Nosa who had sighted her, walked to Col. Anthony who was seated on a couch at the other end near the bar with several bottles of assorted drinks on his table and was surrounded by his colleagues of the same rank or closer to. 

Nosa bent down and whispered to Col. Anthony who stretched his head upward and glanced around until he spotted Violet far away, then he nodded and dismissed Nosa by flicking two fingers outward. Once Nosa was gone, he refilled his glass cup and continued chatting with his fellow superiors.

Soon, Stephen finally found a long couch with three sides. The other sides were partially occupied, so the ladies sat down in the middle which was empty. While Jerry and Rufus offered to go to the bar and buy them drinks, Stephen sat down away from Violet, pulled out his smartphone and got busy with Twitter.

Violet glanced at him, realizing that he had deliberately left a wide gap between them which meant that anyone could just come and sit down there. Her attention was suddenly called by Anne who was seated between her and Doris and Anne began to ask questions about them in order to get to know them better, and as they answered, she also told them about herself. 

Violet could hardly concentrate on their conversation because her mind was on Stephen. She would occasionally glance at him and find out he was so engrossed in whatever he was doing on his phone that he was oblivious to her presence. Soon, Jerry and Rufus returned and handed over the drinks to the ladies which they had requested for.