Chapter Seven

THE JIMI YOU KNOW

Nike raised a brow. "Why do I feel like you just unlocked a new level of wahala?"

"Oh gawd!" Adesua sighed tiredly as she just stared at Darey expecting some reasonable explanation and he too sighed.

Meanwhile Jimi was just looking around keenly, and intensely observing the man wearing the blue cap. Seems like he knew their suspicion of him and decided to leave the area. But Jimi was quick to follow him sharply.

"So, where is he going?" Adesua asked and Darey shrugged. "What the hell do you mean by family drama?" she asked again with a somewhat annoyed face.

"Look, I'm not so sure yet, but… I hope it's not what I'm thinking?" he said massaging his temples.

****

"Yup! It is exactly what you are thinking!" Jimi exclaimed few minutes later as soon as he came back with the man. He was holding a phone in his hand which was obviously the person's phone.

He had left earlier to confront the man directly seeing him as most suspicious.

"Guy wetin sup? Why you de take am picture?" Jimi asked keeping his cool demeanor and the guy just hissed and started walking away when Jimi dragged him back by his hand without even flinching.

"You don't walk out when I'm talking to you," Jimi said with such a cold authoritative look and his deep voice screamed dominance.

"Who are you? I don't know what you are talking about sir!" the man replied flinching at the sudden authority in his aura.

"Oh really? Then what is this?" he asked waving the man's phone to his sight which was the last picture of Darey talking to them where they were.

The man was shocked, not just because Jimi knew he was taking the pictures, but how the hell did he get his phone which was in his pocket just now?! He had panicked and forgot to password it.

"I was just exploring photography," he said shimmering and Jimi just smirked taking him straight to Darey.

Darey quickly took the phone and stared with such an annoyed look and glared hard at the dude which he recognized immediately as one of the father's worker who was with an unapologetic face as he stood before them.

"Why?" Darey asked with a deep frown.

"Is it that no job? Or you are too stupid to do one," Jimi added

"Na my fault? No be your papa send me?" he replied also with a frown. "And you!" he said pointing at Jimi, you better warn yourself oo! I de injure oo!" he said with a stern dangerous hoodlum kind of look.

"Okay," Jimi replied throwing his hands to the air feigning surrender.

"Boss man!" Nike said in a hearty tone like she wanted to hail him. "be like say your wire don cut or you don finally craze," she said shaking her head like she was pitying him.

"Who be this one now?" he asked now looking at Nike. "You no even get nyash!"

"Abeg shut up!" Adesua cut in sharply as she glared at him. And that took everyone by surprise. "una don de craze for this lagos abi? Or… you de new to the system ni?"

"No mind am! Oloshi! Oloriburuku!" Nike started raining abuses on him and Jimi was just trying to shut her up just when she was enjoying the whole thing.

"Odeniyen! Ozuor!!" Adesua also joined of course to insult the man who was just standing perplexed like he didn't know where to start from and wasn't expecting this 'ajebo' looking girls to start taunting him. They were not just Lagos girls, but they were the typical Lagosians.

"Oh chim," the man mumbled to himself bowing his head like he wanted to cry. While Darey was so deep into thinking that he was oblivious of his surroundings.

"Nike stop its okay…" Jimi said in a low tone from behind her and she just ignored him and continued. She and Adesua having the fun of their lives.

"Like look at this failed lab experiment oo!" Adesua exclaimed.

"With his teeth glowing like the sun? Like who yellow pass?" Nike asked such a rhetorical question while laughing her life out.

"You can go….." Darey finally said seeing that the roasting enough or he was probably done with his thoughts and the man hurriedly left immediately of course with the besties insulting him from behind.

"You girls ehh, una blood just de hot!" Darey said laughing heartily after watching the scene. He hadn't laughed like this for a while now though.

"Normal na!" they chorused giving each other high fives.

"Darey, what's up?" Jimi asked referring to what happened earlier.

"My dad is monitoring me using that man, trying to see if I can actually take responsibilities on my own or…" he trailed off with a sigh. "My dad just thinks I'm one irresponsible dude like that who cannot make sense with his life!" he half shouted like he was beginning to vex.

"Oh chim," Nike and Adesua chorused with funny sad faces.

"Bro, just calm down okay…" Jimi said calmly understanding fully well what Darey was experiencing.

"He doesn't even trust me to handle one business, he rather gives his inheritance to that his trustee servant named Fred!" he exclaimed with a frown.

"Chai!" they chorused again with funny shocked faces.

"See do the calms Darey, he's just testing you and you should see this as a challenge to do things right and change his perspective about you, I got you bro," Jimi said with a chill attitude that made Darey sigh with a small smile.

"So, what about us?" Nike asked seeing the mood had lightened up a bit.

"Nike please just shut the hell up!" Jimi suddenly attacked her with a very unfriendly tone and Nike looked downwards with a sad face.

Or so he thought.

There was a brief silence as everyone was shocked by his outburst.

"Darey," Nike called out calmly with a voice so tender, no one will ever believe it was hers. "What are you planning to do now?" she asked softly and Darey seemed out of words for a while trying to understand what was happening there and why she was suddenly being soft. Is it the harsh tone of Jimi that made her mellow?

"Well… I'll let him do whatever he wants, it is his business, otilon, all good," Darey smiled cutely and Nike half nodded.

Adesua was just looking at her, like what type of reaction is that? She was still shocked by his outburst.

"Akinjimi….." Nike called out in a low sensual tone moving a bit forward towards him and for some weird reason Jimi stiffened as he felt quick shivers.

"Don't you ever shut me up again, ever in your time of existence, like… don't you think of trying it ever to me again, ever!" she warned laying emphasis on each word with such a low bedroom voice, but her face was so fucking angered as she glared at him dangerously like she could squeeze life out of him with her eyes.

"I'm not one of your freaking whores you speak to anyhow," she continued, her voice beginning to rise. "So you better calculate your words, refine it and groom it thoroughly before posting them out to me, or else!" she suddenly paused with such open eyes staring right into his own that night.

Then she just grinned, then chuckled, and began to laugh and laugh like a crazy witch. Without breaking the eye contact like she had used her eyes to magnetize him, she took her handbag and stormed out of the hub, hailed a taxi and went home immediately.

"Well goodnight Darey," Adesua said in a haste and was about to go after Nike.

"Wait! I should drop you home na," Darey suggested with a worried look. What was happening?

"No no need, I'm good," she said with a smile and walked away.

"Like I said," she said stopping in front of Jimi who was still looking shocked. "All of una don de craze for this Lagos, Lagos boys just mad anyhow," she said shaking her head pitifully.

As soon as she stepped out of the hub and hailed a taxi, she just realized and remembered what she did and froze there like ice water was poured on her from above.

'Wait! Did I just actually refuse my crush from dropping me off at home?' she asked to no one in particular then just sighed. "Oh God," she sighed again removing her short length wig into her bag and scratched her all back braided hair.

****

Nike arrived at her home and sighed a very long sigh. Jimi still shutting her up for no goddamned reason was still annoying her and she was still not satisfied with her response to him very well. She was at the same time feeling cringed as she remembered how she had held his head against her breast out of panic.

'Why did I even run to him like that?' she asked herself with an irritated look. "In fact, I need a cold bath!" she murmured and quickly changed to robes heading straight for the bathroom.

After she had freshened up, she quickly went online after a very long time of refusing to talk to anybody. Her phone had just approximated the unread messages to 99+ when it was upto 6,700 also by rough proxy.

She was first greeted by Darey's status update. 'GO POWER PUFF GIRLS!!' and Nike was just jaw dropped, before she could answer that one, Adesua also updated her status. 'GOATS WITH STEEZE' it was the caption of the video of a goat climbing up a staircase and even cat walking. Nike was very sure that it was Adesua that made that video herself.

"Omo," Nike muttered as she also went to her status. 'WHY IS EVERYBODY MAD THIS NIGHT?' she posted adding a sad emoji to the post to relate a hint of humor to the viewers.

"Life just soft," Darey replied almost immediately and she laughed. Like it was as if the mood just a few moments ago had lightened up and everybody has forgotten about it. Even Darey, was cool this night, not talking about the hub or the father's problem. And that is actually the real Darey.

"Omo, do you know I rejected a ride offer from Darey, I just want to cry!" Adesua complained in Nike's DM with a cry emoji and Nike laughed again.

"Why na?!" she asked.

"I don't know oo, is like they hypnotized me," she wailed further and Nike wailed with her by adding more cry, sad and laugh emoji to her texts.

"He hasn't even asked for my number since that time, we are just talking randomly in the hub, nothing attached," Adesua texted with a sad emoji.

"Me too oo! That my Instagram crush has refused to answer my message!" Nike also said with a sad emoji.

"All is hopeless!" Adesua wailed as she sent to her.

"Wait! You are supposed to be encouraging me na!" she wailed more seeing that Nike was also complaining of her own problem instead of helping her. 

"Man must survive," Nike replied with a laugh emoji.

"Abeg but…" Adesua was typing when she saw a message from someone familiar.

'ADE, MY BABY' the message read followed by a love emoji immediately she opened the chat and it showed read.

Adesua was having mixed feelings already, her fingers typing slowly as she asked.

'DAREY?'

****

Nike opened the group chat. It had been ages since she last checked in, but she always found herself returning to this space. It wasn't just a group chat—it was an online community, her digital home away from home. Relationships were built here, sometimes destroyed just as quickly. People got attached, broke away, and came back, the cycle endless.

And of course, this was where she had met Jimi.

She started typing a message but stopped as a notification popped up:

Jimi is typing...

Her fingers froze mid-sentence. Her heart skipped, picking up a faster rhythm. Without thinking, she erased the half-typed message and leaned back, pretending the sudden rush of nerves was nothing.

Then it appeared:

"But I'm really serious, Jimi! I really love you!"

The desperation practically seeped through the text. Nike frowned at the screen. Her mood shifted immediately, souring. Why did she have to open this group now? Why did she have to see this? And why, of all things, was her mood even changing over something so trivial?

"Why you no go love me? 😏"

Her heart did an involuntary flip, but her face scrunched in irritation. The others in the group erupted, chanting and reacting like he was some god of savage comebacks. Nike rolled her eyes so hard it hurt. Why are they like this?

The girl replied with a sad emoji.

"DM, baby girl."

Nike snorted, her irritation bubbling over. Of course, he'd handle this like it's nothing. Meanwhile, she's probably sitting somewhere clutching her phone and crying over him. She pitied the girl... or maybe she didn't.

"Girls without steeze, how pitiful," Nike typed, her fingers flying over the keyboard. She grinned as she hit send, the words sharp and unapologetic.

The girl, predictably, wasn't going to take the bait quietly. "And who asked you? Always looking for who to fight in this group. Bitter leaf."

Nike laughed aloud at the weak insult. Her fingers danced across her screen before sending her reply.

"It's not bitterness, babe, just facts and by the way I didn't even tag you. But hey, what do I know? You're the one who just confessed to a boy in public. How's that working out for you?"

The group lit up instantly. Reactions poured in—laugh emojis, fire emojis, and even a few gifs of people eating popcorn. Nike smirked, watching the chaos unfold.

"You're just jealous, you ugly thing! If you have mind, show us your picture!" the girl fired back.

Nike raised an eyebrow. Jealous? Of what? The fact that she humiliated herself in front of everyone? She was already typing her response when another message came through, this time from one of the girl's minions. How shameful it was even a boy. What kind of group is this?

"She won't dare! Girls like her hide behind their keypads. No steeze, no beauty, just noise."

The group quickly split into two camps—those siding with the girl and her squad, and the others egging Nike on. The chat buzzed with insults flying back and forth.

"Nike, abeg show face! Let's see if you even fit to talk."

Nike leaned back against her pillow, grinning. She could feel their desperation radiating through the screen. They wanted to tear her down, embarrass her, but she wasn't one to be easily cornered.

She typed calmly, letting them stew.

"Patience, kids. I'll give you what you want. Just don't faint when you see perfection."

More reactions. The group was practically vibrating with anticipation from the guys and more insults now from the girls, waiting to see if she'd actually follow through.

Sassy, God abeg, me I'm just waiting to see what will make me faint,

Nike chuckled softly. They're so predictable.

She scrolled through her gallery, selecting the perfect photo. It was a casual selfie, but the lighting hit just right, highlighting her flawless brown skin and sharp features. Her lips curled into a sly smile as she hit send. First time sending her picture to a whole group. She was not the Nike who was afraid of what they will think, whether they will like it or not, like she used to be.

The picture appeared in the chat a moment later, and for the first time in minutes, the group went silent.

Completely silent.

Even over the text, Nike could feel the shock, the awe, the collective loss of words. She could practically hear their jaws dropping on the other side of the screen.

One of the minions finally broke the silence.

"Ahhhh! She fine ooo!"

Another chimed in, "Forget it! Nike na goddess!"

Even the girl who had started the whole thing didn't respond immediately. When she finally did, it was weak, almost pitiful.

"Okay, but you're still rude sha."

Nike laughed outright this time, the sound echoing in her empty room. "yuwaimo," she typed back, adding a winking emoji. She stretched, feeling satisfied as the chat spiraled into a new flurry of reactions.

She didn't need to say anything else. Job's done, Nike out. Jimi wasn't responding to any message but she knew he was reading the messages just lurking. It was good that she's not the one being intimidated or ghosting when she was supposed to be having fun.

Nike leaned back, sipping on the satisfaction of her little victory as the group chat slowly came back to life. But this time, the energy had shifted.

"Nike, you're too fine abeg," one guy typed with a fire emoji.

Another chimed in: "Lowkey always knew you'd be this fine. What's good though?"

The floodgates had opened. Nike smirked as the private messages began pouring in. Notifications popped up at the top of her screen—DM requests from names she barely recognized. Boys who had been silent in the group for months were suddenly in her inbox, their messages ranging from simple compliments to outright flirty attempts to get her attention.

But one message in the group stood out.

"Nike, are you free to vibe in my DM?"

The sender's profile picture caught her eye. He had that unmistakable air of wealth—a sleek car in the background, expensive chains around his neck, and an easy confidence in his grin. Nike clicked on his profile to confirm. She just smirked clearly not impressed at all. But yep, the guy was clearly loaded, with captions that screamed soft life. It also didn't look fake.

Her reply was as flirty as it was nonchalant.

"Hmm, maybe… depends on how sweet your vibe is." She added a wink emoji for effect.

The two of them began chatting, and to Nike's surprise, his vibe was… cool. Surprisingly cool. The conversation flowed easily, and she found herself intrigued by the effortless charm in his words. There was something familiar about his energy, though she couldn't quite place it.

Her phone buzzed with a message from the guy in the group chat who had asked to DM her earlier. Nike frowned, realizing the person she'd been talking to wasn't the same one. In fact, it wasn't anyone from the group.

Alert but still composed, she decided to probe.

"Okay, so who exactly am I talking to?"

The reply came almost instantly.

"Oh, my bad! I'm actually Jimi." He added a casual smile emoji.

Nike froze for a while, then she just began to vex.

Before she could even process her irritation, another message popped up:

"The Jimi you know."

Her grip on the phone tightened, and her annoyance flared. Of course, he just had to have the last word.

****

Author's Note 💌

Hey lovelies! 🌟

I'm so sorry for the delay in updating—I've had quite a bit on my plate lately, but your support means the world to me and keeps me motivated! ❤️ I will do my best shorten the chapters for faster updates that also depends cause I can write long chaps within short time too!

If you're enjoying this story, please don't forget to vote, comment, and give it a permanent spot in your library. Your feedback and encouragement really help me grow and keep this story going strong!

Also, remember to read this story only on Wattpad—your support here is the best way to help me reach more readers. Thank you so much for sticking with me! 💕

With love,

Mireva 💖